Black Friday week schedule, hour by hour
Photo: Avila Ops Tecnologia
For small stores, Black Friday week has five important days: Thursday evening November 26, Friday the 27th, Saturday the 28th, Sunday the 29th, and Monday the 30th. This schedule lists checks by time for two or three people. It covers what you can accomplish without all-night work rather than big-store operations. Dates are for 2026; use the same Thursday-evening-through-Monday sequence in other years.
The supporting rule: during the campaign, nobody creates anything. Only execute, check, and respond. Price changes, new products, and improvised posts wait for December.
What must be ready Thursday?
By 6 p.m. Thursday November 26: physically verified offer-product inventory, scheduled store prices, automatic order and tracking messages tested with a real order, and the role list printed or pinned in the group. At 8 p.m., test a R$ 1 Pix order to confirm payment receipt and messaging. Then refund through the dashboard and cancel the test so it does not affect reports or reserve stock.
At 10 p.m., the offer goes live or is scheduled for midnight. One person stays on call until 12:30 a.m. to see initial orders arrive. If none arrive by then while ads run, something is broken; better discover now than at 8 a.m.
Friday: what should you check at each time?
| Time | Task | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| 6 a.m. | Review overnight orders, pending payments, unanswered messages | Owner |
| 8 a.m. | Pick paid orders; first shipping batch | Picking |
| 10 a.m. | Answer accumulated WhatsApp messages; check top-three product stock | Service |
| Noon | Compare morning ad spending with orders; pause nonconverting ads | Owner |
| 2 p.m. | Second picking batch; ship before branch or pickup cutoff | Picking |
| 4 p.m. | Remove sold-out products from sale; update shipping time if queues grew | Owner |
| 6 p.m. | Resolve pending daily payments (unpaid boletos, unreceived Pix) and release reserved inventory | Service |
| 8 p.m. | Daily report: orders, average order value, spending, cost per order | Owner |
| 10 p.m. | Last message round; disable notifications until 6 a.m. | Everyone |
At 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., compare bestsellers’ physical inventory against the website. Overselling is the weekend’s most expensive error.
Saturday, Sunday, Monday: what changes?
Saturday the 28th: order volume generally drops while messages rise. Answer everything by noon and ship Friday leftovers. Many Correios branches and carriers operate mornings; confirm yours the preceding week. In the afternoon, prepare the daily report and review pending payments. The pending-payment guide states waiting times.
Sunday the 29th: clear the queue. Every order paid by Saturday night must be picked and packed for Monday shipping. No new offers. If inventory remains, decide Monday’s plan Sunday afternoon rather than Monday morning.
Monday the 30th: large morning shipping batch, tracking sent by 2 p.m., first “where is it?” customer at 3 p.m. The delayed-shipping guide shows how to notify first. Finalize the five-day report at night.
What to do now
Copy the table, name an owner per row, and post where staff see it. Make Thursday’s test order today, not Thursday. If knowing pending tasks still requires three screens, Avila Ops combines orders, payments, and messages on one screen: avilaops.com/sistema-para-pequenas-empresas or contact us on WhatsApp: wa.me/5517997811471.
Frequently asked questions
Must I stay awake until Friday begins?
Only until initial orders and payments arrive. Thirty minutes suffice. You cannot discover at 8 a.m. that discounts failed since midnight.
What if I work alone?
Cut to four times: 6 a.m., noon, 4 p.m., 8 p.m. Use WhatsApp away messages with response and shipping times, plus automated tracking, for the rest. Alone, your limit is daily picking capacity; do not sell beyond it.
Should I answer overnight messages?
No. An automatic reply stating return hours and shipping times works. People buying at 2 a.m. do not expect staff at 2 a.m.; they expect to know someone will answer.
Turn what you learned into your next step.
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