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Schedule templates

ScheduleIf Templatesmost helpweeks look about the same, you don't have to build scheduleseach fasterone from scratch. Save a good week as a schedule template, and morelay accuratelyit byonto reusingany shifts that stay consistent fromfuture week toin week.a Insteadcouple of recreatingclicks. theYou same shifts every time, you can apply a template andthen only adjust what’for that week's changed—saving time and reducing mistakes.changes.

Templates belong to a location. The templates you see are flexiblethe andones cansaved at the location picked at the top right. You need to be useda for full schedules, specific job roles,Manager or justAdministrator partthere to use them.

All three template actions are in the Schedule templates section of the week.schedule's Options menu.

The Options menu, with Create a template from this week, Apply a template to this week and Manage templates

When to Use Schedule Templates

Schedule Templates are especially helpful in situations like these:

  • Your schedule is mostly the same every week - Create one full schedule template and apply it each week. Then, only adjust shifts for time-off requests or exceptions.

  • Certain job roles rarely change - If roles like Cooks or Bartenders work the same shifts every week, you can create a template for just those job roles. Apply the template to quickly fill in those shifts, then schedule the remaining roles manually. 

  • Weekday schedules are consistent, weekends vary -

    Create a template

    for weekday shifts only. Apply it each week and manually build the weekend schedule based on business needs.

    1. Lunch vs. Dinner staffing patterns - If your lunch shifts are predictable but dinner coverage varies, create a template just for lunch shifts and build dinner manually.

    2. Skeleton or minimum-coverage schedules - Create a baseline template that covers only required positions. Apply it first, then add extra shifts ifOpen the week is expected to be busier.

How to Create a Schedule Template

Before creating a template, start by building the schedule exactly how you want it to appearsave inon the template.Schedule This can be:

  • A full schedule

    page.

  • A minimum or skeleton schedule

  • Shifts for specific job roles only (such as just Cooks or Bartenders)

  • Shifts for certain days of the week (like weekdays only)

If you only want certainpart departmentsof orit, use the department and job roles included, applyrole filters first. OnlyFor example, filter to the shiftsKitchen currentlydepartment visibleto save a kitchen-only template. Everything the two filters leave on thescreen schedulegoes will be saved ininto the template.

  • Open

    Options and choose Create thea Template

    Once the schedule is set up the way you want:

    image.png

    1. Go to Options → Schedule Templates → Create New Templatetemplate from Currentthis Schedule

      week.
    2. Give

      A pop-up window will appear

    image.png

    In the pop-up:

    • Enterit a Schedule Template Name
      Choose a clear, recognizable name sothat it’s easy to understandsays what theit's templatefor, includessuch (for example:as WeekdayRegular Lunch Shiftsweek or CookHoliday & Bartender Base Scheduleweek).

    • Choose

      Selectwhether anyto optional settings:

      include:

      • Include Employee Notesnotes: –each savesshift's anynote notesis enteredsaved with it. Off by default.

      • Unpublished hours: off by default, so only published shifts are saved. Turn it on shifts

        to
        • save
      • a

        Includeweek Unpublishedyou're Hoursstill –working includes shifts that have not been published yet

        on.

    1. Click Create

      template.

    YourThe Create a template window, named Kitchen - regular week

    schedule

    The template iskeeps noweach shift's employee, job role, day of the week, times and End Display. House shifts are saved andtoo, canstill bewith appliednobody toon futurethem. schedules.Shadow shifts are left out, since they are just copies of shifts in another job role.

    How to

    Apply a Scheduletemplate Template

    Onceto a Schedule Template has been created, you can apply it to quickly fill in shifts for the current or future week.

    To apply a template:

    image.png

    week

    1. Go to the Schedule view and navigate to the week you want to build

      fill. It doesn't have to be empty.
    2. Open

      ClickOptions Optionsand →choose Schedule Templates → Apply Templatesa template to Currentthis Schedule

      week.
    3. Pick

      Selectthe Template.

    4. Check the two options:
      • Skip approved time off (on by default): nobody gets a shift on a day they have approved time off.
      • Overwrite existing hours (off by default): if a template shift clashes with something already on the schedule, the template youshift wantis skipped. Turn this on to apply

        remove

    When applying a template, you’ll be prompted with a few options to control how it’what's applied:

    image.png

    • Overwrite Existing Hours

      • When checked, any existing shifts on the schedule will be replaced by the template

      • When unchecked, the template will only add shifts where none already exist

        there instead, published or not        .
    • Click Apply template.

      • Skip Employees with Approved Time OffThe Apply a template window

        A

      • summary

        Whenshows checked,how many shifts willwere notadded beto appliedeach day. If any were skipped, it lists them and says why: for employeesexample, whothe alreadyemployee havehad approved time offoff, duringhas left, no longer works at this location or in that periodjob role, or was already working at that time.

    The Template applied summary: 102 shifts added, with the count for each day

    AfterEverything selectinga template adds is unpublished, so check the week, make your options,changes, confirmthen topublish applyit as usual. If you applied the template.wrong template, click Undo in the summary, or use the schedule's undo arrow.

    The week after applying the template, with every new shift unpublished

    AfterOverwrite Applyingexisting hours removes published shifts too, and removing a Templateshift doesn't notify anyone. If you overwrite a week your team has already seen, send them their schedules again once it's published.

    Remove a template

    OnceOpen Options, choose Manage templates, pick the template isand applied:click Remove template. Weeks you already filled from it stay exactly as they are.

    • The Manage templates window

      TheTemplates selected shifts willcan't be addededited. toTo change one, build a week the schedule

    • Shifts will follow the same published or unpublished status saved in the template

      image.png

    • A confirmation window will appear showing:

      • How many work items were added

      • How many were skipped due to time-off conflicts

      • How many were skipped because shifts already existed

    This confirmation provides a summary only and does not list which specific shifts were skipped.

    After closing the confirmation window, review the schedule to:

    • Verify coverage

    • Identify any shifts that may have been skipped

    • Make any needed adjustments before publishing

    Applying a template helps speed up schedule creation, but it’s always a good idea to review availability and coverage after applying it.

    How to Manage or Delete a Schedule Template

    At this time, Schedule Templates cannot be viewed or edited directly once they are created. Templates can only be applied or deleted.

    If you need to make changes to an existing template, the recommended approach is to replace it with an updated version.

    Delete a Schedule Template

    If a template is no longer needed, it can be deleted at any time.

    To delete a template:

    image.png

    1. Go to Options → Schedule Templates → Manage Templates

    2. Select the templateway you want toit, remove

    3. Click Delete

    4. Confirm the deletion when prompted

    Once deleted, the template will no longer be available to apply to future schedules.

    How to Make Changes to an Existing Template

    If you need to update a template, follow this workflow:

    1. Apply the existing template to the current week

    2. Go to Options → Schedule Templates → Manage Templates

    3. Delete the original template

    4. Make the needed changes to the schedule

      • Add, remove, or adjust shifts as needed

    5. Createcreate a new template from it, and remove the updatedold scheduleone.

      Templates, or copying last week?

      • Copy

        Youschedule mayfrom reuselast week (in Options) copies last week's published shifts as they are. It's quickest when this week will look like last week, but it doesn't skip approved time off.

      • A template is better for a week you come back to again and again, such as a regular week, a holiday week or a week with a big event. It can skip approved time off.
      • Copy a day onto other days (in Options) copies one day's shifts onto other days of the same templateweek, name,for ifexample desired

        to make every weekday match Monday.

    This approach ensures the template reflects your most current scheduling needs without leaving outdated versions behind.

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