A Simple Checklist for Your Business Information Online

A customer finds one closing time on your website and another on a map listing. Which one should they trust? A short review can help you find inconsistent information before it causes confusion.

This guide is for nontechnical small-business owners. The examples are fictional. A checklist records what you find; it does not update a website or listing by itself.

Before you start

Choose an approved source for your current details: for example, a document reviewed by the owner and the actual appointment calendar. Decide who can approve changes and who has access to each channel. Start with your website, business listing and the social profile customers use most. Only sign in to accounts you are authorised to manage.

For each location, note the page address, the person responsible and when it was last checked. If the correct information is unknown, mark it for review instead of guessing.

Check the details customers need

• Contact: Is the published phone number or email address one your business actually monitors? Check where a contact form sends a request using your normal process.
• Opening and service hours: Check the regular schedule against the approved calendar. Is a holiday or temporary closure different? Are appointment-only or delivery hours clearly described?
• Location and service area: Check the address and any service-area description against the business's current arrangements. Avoid publishing a private address unless it belongs there.
• Services and pricing: Remove or flag offers your business no longer provides. Check published prices and conditions against the approved list; explain when a final price requires a quote.
• Next step: Is it clear whether customers should call, request a quote or book? A request is not a confirmed appointment unless your normal booking process confirms it.

Google's business hours guidance explains regular and special hours for eligible Google Business Profiles. Availability and platform rules can vary; use the actual controls and account for each listing.

Try three fictional checks

Bicycle repair shop: The website says Saturday hours end at 4 p.m.; the approved schedule says 2 p.m. Record the mismatch and ask the website owner to update it. Check the live page after the change rather than marking it complete when the edit is drafted.

Cleaning service: A listing still mentions a neighbourhood the team no longer serves. Ask the business owner to confirm the current service area, then update the appropriate listing through its normal process. Do not guess which nearby addresses are included.

Garden service: A holiday schedule is different from usual hours. The owner approves the temporary hours and the person managing the listing enters them. Check what customers can actually see; if the platform is still reviewing an edit, keep its status pending.

Keep a small review log

For each issue, record the channel, published detail, approved correction, owner, check date and status: Needs review, Ready to update, Pending, or Verified. Keep a link to the source of the approved information. If a site or directory is managed by someone else, ask its owner to make the change; don't assume you can edit it.

After an authorised update, open the public page again and check the result. Some changes may take time to appear. If you use AI to draft a change request, begin with fictional details and check the wording before sending it. Never treat an AI suggestion as proof that a listing was updated.

Turn the checklist into an app brief

I run a small business. I need a private list of public information checks with a channel, page address, current detail, approved correction, reviewer, owner, check date and status. Show items waiting for review. Do not change a website or listing, or report an update complete, without my approval and a verified result.

Create a free KernelApps account to explore building an app around this brief. Manual editing and an included AI allowance are available; check current limits in your account. Creating an account does not automatically connect or update a business listing.

For your team's service prices, use the price-list review guide. If a customer asks for an appointment, use the appointment preparation checklist.