Black Friday checklist for small business

Short on time? Start with these five priorities

If Black Friday is approaching, focus on these tasks first:

1. Confirm your offer, dates and conditions.
2. Check stock levels and supplier lead times.
3. Test your website, internet and payment systems.
4. Brief staff and prepare answers to common customer questions.
5. Review cyber security and create a backup plan.

 

Around four weeks before: plan your promotion

Start by deciding what you want the promotion to achieve and which offer best supports that goal.

 

Set a goal

What would you like the promotion to achieve?

Your goal could be to:

• attract new customers
• increase sales
• promote a product or service
• clear older stock
• build awareness
• encourage existing customers to buy again.

Choose one main goal. This will make it easier to shape your offer and review the results later.

 

Choose your offer

Black Friday doesn’t mean you have to discount your full range.

Choose an offer that suits your customers, costs and business goals.

For example:

• To attract new customers: consider a first-purchase offer or free delivery.
• To increase order value: consider a product or service bundle.
• To clear older stock: consider a limited clearance offer.
• To reward existing customers: consider early access or an exclusive offer.
• To protect your margins: consider a gift with purchase instead of a large discount.

Keep the offer simple enough for customers and staff to understand quickly.

 

Check the costs

Review the full cost of the promotion before finalising your offer.

Include stock, packaging, freight, payment processing, staffing, marketing and customer support. Higher order volumes may increase these costs.

Decide what level of demand would keep the promotion commercially sustainable. This can help you avoid an offer that generates sales without supporting your business goals.

 

Confirm the offer details

Write down:

• when the offer starts and ends
• which products or services are included
• who can use the offer
• any limits or exclusions
• delivery, booking or stock conditions
• where customers can find the full terms.

Use the same details across your website, emails, social media and advertising.

Review pricing, eligibility, promotional conditions and legal terms against your approved business requirements.

 

Order stock early

Check current stock levels and speak with suppliers as early as possible.

Ask whether lead times or delivery schedules may change during the sales period. If stock is limited, decide which products need a contingency plan and how you will update customers.

If you rely on several suppliers, identify the items most likely to affect your promotion if they arrive late or become unavailable.

 

Set your campaign dates

Choose when your promotion will start and end.

Decide whether you will run a Black Friday-only promotion or extend it across the weekend and Cyber Monday. Align your campaign dates with stock, staffing, delivery capacity and customer support.

Allow enough time after the event to process orders, bookings, enquiries and follow-up communications.

Check the key dates in our Black Friday and Cyber Monday guide.

 

Around three weeks before: review your website, internet and payments

Use this time to check the systems your customers and staff will rely on.

 

Check your website

Review the pages customers may visit before they buy, book or contact you.

Check that:

• offer details and dates are correct
• product or service information is current
• important pages work on mobile devices
• text is easy to read on a small screen
• links and buttons go to the right place
• delivery and returns information is easy to find
• the checkout or booking process works as expected.

Test the full customer journey on a mobile phone, from the promotion page to payment or booking confirmation.

Ask someone who was not involved in creating the promotion to test it too. They may notice issues your team has missed.

 

Review your internet setup

Think about the systems that depend on your business internet, including:

• EFTPOS payments
• online bookings
• ecommerce
• cloud software
• video calls
• customer and staff Wi-Fi.

If your business relies on these services, review whether your current internet setup still meets your needs.

Recurring slowdowns, dropouts or connection issues may be signs that your setup needs attention before a busy sales period.

A fibre upgrade from nbn® may help support faster upload and download speeds, a more reliable connection and growing business demands.

Check whether your business is eligible for an nbn fibre upgrade.

Select addresses only. Eligible plan required.

If you’re considering changes to your internet, mobile services or technology, explore our Big Black Friday business deals.

 

Check your Wi‑Fi coverage

Test Wi-Fi in the areas where staff and customers need it.

Use the devices your team will rely on during the promotion, including payment terminals, laptops, phones and tablets.

If customers use guest Wi-Fi, check that it remains available and performs as expected in the areas where they need it.

 

Test your payment systems

Check that:

• EFTPOS terminals are working
• online checkout processes work as expected
• payment devices are updated and charged
• staff know how to use each available payment option
• support details are easy to find.

If you expect more transactions than usual, review your payment continuity plan before the promotion begins. Learn how to boost your EFTPOS resilience.

 

Prepare a backup plan

Decide what your team should do if internet, payment, booking or ordering systems become unavailable.

Your plan could cover:

• who staff should contact
• how to continue taking orders or bookings
• which alternative payment options are available
• how to record transactions that need to be processed later
• how to update customers if service is affected
• who can make decisions if an issue continues.

Keep provider details, support contacts and escalation steps somewhere staff can access quickly.

Test the plan before Black Friday so everyone understands their role.

A separate data backup process can help protect important business information. Learn about the 3-2-1 backup strategy.

 

Around two weeks before: prepare your staff and customers

Make sure staff understand the promotion and customers can find clear, consistent information.

 

Brief your team

Make sure staff understand:

• the promotion and offer details
• who is eligible
• delivery and returns processes
• available payment options
• answers to common customer questions
• who to contact if issues arise.

Give staff one reliable place to find the latest information. This can help everyone give customers the same answer.

 

Review customer communications

Before the promotion launches, review every customer-facing channel.

Check that:

• website information is accurate
• email campaigns are scheduled
• social posts are ready
• offer details are consistent
• eligibility, exclusions and conditions are clear
• payment, delivery and returns information is easy to find
• customers know where to get help.

Remove old or conflicting information.

If customers are likely to ask the same questions, bring the answers together in one place. Learn how to create an FAQ page for your website.

 

Review delivery and returns information

Make delivery timeframes and returns information easy to find before customers buy.

Check that customer-facing information matches the processes staff will follow. If you sell in-store and online, aim to provide a consistent experience across both channels.

Explore ways to improve your customers’ experience in-store and online.

 

Confirm staffing needs

Identify the times when your business may need extra coverage.

Confirm who will:

• answer customer enquiries
• monitor orders and stock
• manage delivery, booking or returns issues
• check website and payment systems
• approve customer updates if something changes.

Make sure key responsibilities are clear before the promotion launches.

 

Around one week before: review cyber security

Busy sales periods may create more customer communication, account activity and payment requests. Include cyber security in your final checks.

 

Install available updates

Check for updates on:

• computers
• mobile devices
• website systems
• payment systems.

For practical guidance on updates, account security, backups and staff awareness, read cyber security basics for small business.

 

Review account security

Check the accounts staff use for email, banking, ecommerce and social media.

Use strong, unique passwords and review whether multi-factor authentication is available. Multi-factor authentication asks for more than one form of verification when someone signs in.

Learn more about multi-factor authentication for small business.

 

Remind staff about suspicious requests

Ask staff to check unexpected emails, invoices and payment requests carefully.

Make sure they know how to report or check a suspicious request. Read our guide to phishing risks for business.

 

Review mobile device security

Check the phones and tablets your team uses for work.

Consider:

• which devices can access business accounts and information
• whether device software is current
• whether devices use screen locks
• how staff report a lost or stolen device
• whether personal devices are used for work.

If staff use phones or tablets for work, device security tools can help protect business data and support the management of lost or stolen devices.

You can also explore Telstra Device Security.

 

During Black Friday

Monitor the customer information, stock and systems linked to your promotion.

 

Monitor stock and availability

Check inventory levels throughout the promotion rather than waiting until stock runs low.

Early visibility can help you adjust marketing, contact suppliers and update customers before an issue affects their experience.

If an item becomes unavailable, update the channels you control. If appropriate, offer a clear alternative instead of leaving customers at a dead end.

 

Watch customer enquiries

Look for repeated questions about pricing, eligibility, delivery, returns or stock.

Recurring questions may show that important information is unclear. Update your website, FAQs, social posts or staff guidance when needed.

Responding quickly can reduce pressure on staff and help customers make decisions.

 

Monitor important systems

Keep an eye on:

• internet performance
• payment processing
• online checkout or booking systems
• website availability.

Keep relevant support contacts available and use your backup plan if an issue occurs.

 

After Black Friday

Review what happened, follow up appropriately and record what could improve the next customer experience.

 

Thank your customers

Send an appropriate follow-up message where relevant.

You could use the message to:

• thank customers for their purchase
• confirm delivery, booking or service information
• explain where to get support
• invite relevant feedback
• share useful information about the product or service they purchased.

Make sure follow-up communications align with your approved privacy and marketing processes.

 

Review your results

Compare the results with the goal you set before the promotion.

Review:

• sales outcomes
• average order or booking value, if available
• customer enquiries and feedback
• stock and delivery issues
• returns or refund requests
• website, internet or payment issues
• staffing pressures.

Focus on what the results can tell you about the next promotion, not only the number of sales.

 

Learn from customer feedback

Look for patterns in customer comments, questions and complaints.

Feedback may reveal unclear information, recurring service issues or improvements you can make to the customer journey.

Use these insights to update product information, delivery estimates, returns guidance, FAQs and support details.

 

Record improvements

Document what worked, what did not and what you would change.

Include feedback from staff, customers and suppliers while it is still fresh. Record which tasks should start earlier and which systems or processes need attention.

Keep these notes with your campaign information so they are ready for future planning.

 

Encourage customers to return

Black Friday may introduce your business to new customers. After the sale, consider how you can continue to provide value.

Depending on your business, this could include:

• helpful product or service information
• relevant support
• an invitation to provide feedback
• information about related products or services
• future communications where the customer has agreed to receive them.

Explore the benefits of customer retention.

 

Get your business ready for Black Friday

Start early enough to review your offer, stock, staff, systems and customer information.

If you find an issue, decide who will address it and when it needs to be resolved.

Reviewing your business internet, mobile services or technology?

Explore Big Black Friday business deals