For everyone who checks dates on the shop floor, and for managers setting the app up.

1 · What the app is for

FreshFirst tells you which products are close to their date, so nothing quietly goes out of date on the shelf.

Instead of walking the aisle and checking every single pack, the app gives you a short list of just the products that need looking at today, one at a time. You tell it what you found, and it works out when to ask you again.

Everything you record is saved against your name, so a manager can see what was checked and when. That's for keeping track of the work — not for catching anyone out.

2 · Signing in

1. Open the app on the store phone or tablet.
2. Pick your store from the dropdown. The phone remembers it next time.
3. Type your first name and your employee number.
4. Tap Sign in.

If it says your number isn't on the list, or that your name and number don't match, check with your manager — they can add you or fix your details in seconds.

3 · Doing a date check

The home screen shows your departments as tiles. A tile tells you how many products need checking:

• Red dot — something is at or past its date, or has never been dated. Do this one first.
• Orange dot — products are getting close to their date.
• ✓ All checked — nothing to do there today.

Tap a department and you'll see its shelves (Milk, Yoghurt, Cheese and so on), so you can do one fridge or bay at a time. Tap a shelf to start.

The card

You get one product at a time, with its photo, where it lives, the date currently on the shelf, and a suggestion — for example "Reduce 40% → $4.89 $2.90". Go and look at the actual stock on the shelf, then answer with one of the four buttons.

The phone gives a short buzz each time an action lands, so you know it registered without having to look twice.

Skip for now moves past a product without recording anything — use it if you can't get to that bay right now. It'll still be on the list.

Under the date you may see "Last checked 2 days ago by Tom" — handy for knowing whether a colleague has already been round.

When the shelf is done you'll get a 🎉 screen with a Next: … button that takes you straight to the next shelf needing work, so you can walk the department without going back to the menu each time.

The home screen shows a progress bar for the day — how many you've checked and how many are left — and turns into 🎉 All done for today when the store is clear.

Checking in advance (long weekends)

At the top of the home screen there's a Check in advance slider. Normally it sits on Normal and the usual rules apply — chilled stock is reduced 2 days before its date.

Before a public holiday or long weekend, slide it forward. At +3 everything is flagged and reduced three days sooner than usual, so chilled stock comes up 5 days before its date instead of 2. That gives you time to move it before the closed days.

• The card turns blue while it's on, so it's obvious the store isn't on normal dates.
• It applies to every department and every phone straight away.
• Slide it back to Normal after the holiday — otherwise you'll keep marking things down earlier than you need to.
• Changes are recorded in the activity log with who made them.

4 · Entering a date

After Sold or Binned, the app shows a calendar. Read the date off the front pack that's now at the front of the shelf, and tap that day.

• Use › to move to next month for longer-dated stock.
• Days already gone are greyed out — a next date is always today or later.
• Check the line underneath says the date you meant, then tap Save & next product.
• If there's nothing left behind it, tap No more stock — shelf empty.

5 · Products that need a date

When new products are loaded in, they often arrive without a date. Those show at the top of the home screen as "📅 3 products need a date".

Tap it and you'll be walked through them. These cards have just two buttons: 📅 Enter shelf date (read it off the pack) or ▢ None on shelf if there's none out yet. They keep coming back until they've got a date.

6 · Fixing a mistake

Tapped the wrong button? Straight after any action a blue ↩︎ Undo button appears under the four buttons, naming what you did and to which product. Tap it and the product goes back exactly as it was, and the record is removed.

It only covers the last action, so use it before moving on.

If you've already moved on, don't worry — tell your manager. They can fix any product's date from Products & dates.

7 · Golden rules

8 · For managers

Getting a store ready

1. Add your team — Manager menu → Staff & access. Each person gets a name, an employee number, and the departments they cover. Tick "manager" for anyone who needs the manager menu. Removing someone stops their number working immediately.
2. Load your products — Manager menu → Import sales sheet. Export your product file as CSV, drop it in, check the column matching, and preview before importing.
3. Set your shelves — Manager menu → Shelves. Break each department into the shelves staff physically walk to. This is what makes a round quick.
4. Tune the rules — Manager menu → Settings & rules. Per department: how many days before the date a product joins the list, when it should be reduced, and by how much.

The import file

A CSV with a header row. SKU and Product Name are the only required columns — everything else is optional and can be matched by hand if the names don't line up.

Keeping an eye on things

• Reports — sold through, reduced and binned by week, plus binned cost by department. The top bar is where your money is going.
• Activity log — who did what, filterable by person and period, downloadable as CSV.
• Products & dates — search and filter everything; fix any date or shelf; add a product by hand.
• Backups — a snapshot every night, kept 30 days, downloadable or restorable. Activity older than 90 days is filed by month under Archived activity.

9 · Common questions

The app says "Offline — saved on this phone". Have I lost my work?

No. Everything is saved on the phone and sent up automatically as soon as the signal comes back. Just keep going.

Someone else is checking the same department. Is that a problem?

No. Everyone's work is combined, and nobody's checks overwrite anyone else's.

A product has the wrong price or a silly date.

Tell your manager — Products & dates fixes both in a few taps.

Why does the same product keep coming back after I reduced it?

Because it's still on the shelf and still near its date. It stops appearing once it's sold or binned.

I've finished but the tile still shows a number.

Something was skipped, or another shelf in that department still has items. Open it again to see what's left.

Can I check a department that isn't mine?

Only the departments assigned to you appear. Your manager can add more.

The photo is wrong or missing.

Photos are looked up from a public barcode database, so not everything has one. A manager can set any photo by hand.