Rotas & scheduling
Staff rota software your team actually checks
Rota planning is deciding who works when, and then proving it holds together before anyone sees it. This is a rota planning tool that does both: build next week in minutes from a template or a copy of last week, and seven checks run as you drag each shift, so clashes with approved leave, stated availability and weekly hour caps surface while you are planning rather than at 6am on Monday. Labour cost adds up live, publishing sends it to every phone at once, and it is free for up to 10 people.
No credit card required. Free plan for up to 10 people.
Updated July 2026
01
From blank week to published rota, fast
Templates and copy-last-week get the bones in place; drag and drop finishes the job. Conflicts with availability, approved leave and double bookings show up while you are planning, not after you publish.
02
Seven checks before a shift sticks
The expensive part of rota planning is not the dragging, it is the thing you did not notice. Every assignment is checked against seven rules as you make it: an overlapping shift, approved leave, stated availability, the person's weekly hours cap, less than 11 hours rest against the shift either side, a shift over 6 hours with no break, and a required certificate they do not hold on the day. Overlaps and booked leave stop you outright. The rest warn and let you carry on, because a manager covering an emergency knows something the rota does not.
03
Let the team fill the gaps
Publish uncovered hours as open shifts and let eligible staff claim them, with your approval or automatically by rule. Swaps work the same way: staff arrange cover between themselves and you keep the final say.
04
Leave rules are not an afterthought
Bank holidays are already in the calendar, substitute days included, and accrued entitlement lives in the same product as the rota, so approved holiday physically blocks the grid. No separate leave spreadsheet, and no re-keying Easter every year.
05
Costed while you plan, not after
Every draft rota shows its wage cost live as you build it, with overtime flagged per person before it is committed. Expensive weeks stop being a surprise you discover in payroll.
06
Staff carry their rota with them
Publishing notifies everyone on their phones, changes after publishing notify only the people they touch, and the web app covers staff who will not install anything. On iPhone, a live shift timer sits on the lock screen while someone is clocked in.
07
One rota view across every site
Shifts belong to locations, staff can work across several, and the rota filters per site or shows the whole estate at once. Multi-site operators plan everything from one screen instead of one spreadsheet per building. From Pro upwards a site switcher sits at the top of every screen, so you can pin one building and run the whole workspace as if it were your only one, then switch back to the estate in a click.
Small team? It's free. Properly free.
Up to 10 people at one location, with rotas, a time clock, tasks, chat, announcements and time off included. No time limit, no card, and no nagging to upgrade until you actually grow.
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Questions about rotas & scheduling
What is rota planning?
Rota planning is working out who covers which shift, at which site, for a week or a month ahead, and checking that the answer survives contact with reality: nobody double booked, nobody rostered on approved leave, nobody pushed past their weekly hours, and the wage bill inside budget. The planning is the checking. Anyone can fill a grid.
What is a rota planning tool?
A rota planning tool is software that replaces the shared spreadsheet with a grid that knows things: who is available, who is on leave, who holds which certificate, what each hour costs and who has been told about the change. The test of one is not whether it can draw a week, it is whether it stops you publishing a week that does not work.
Is there a free rota template I can start from?
Yes, and you do not have to sign up for it. There is a free weekly staff rota template as a spreadsheet download at /free-rota-template on this site, one click from the page with no email wall. It is a sensible place to start if you are not ready for software, and everything a template cannot do, warn you about a clash, tell the team, add up the cost, is the argument for eventually moving off one.
How do I plan a rota for the week?
Start from last week or from a saved template rather than a blank grid, so most of the pattern is already there. Fill the gaps, watching the conflict warnings and the running cost. Publish uncovered hours as open shifts and let staff claim them instead of ringing round. Then publish once, which notifies everyone on their phone, and let later changes notify only the people they touch.
What is the difference between a rota and a schedule?
Nothing but vocabulary. A rota, a schedule and a roster are the same thing: who is working, when and where. Whichever word your team uses, this is the page and this is the product.
Can staff see their rota on their phones?
Yes. There is a staff app for iPhone and Android, and the web app installs to the home screen on any phone without an app store download. Shift notifications arrive by push, with a daily email digest for anyone who prefers email, so nobody misses their rota.
Are bank holidays automatic?
Yes. Bank holidays land in the calendar by themselves, substitute days included, and your leave policies decide how they interact with entitlement. The automatic feed covers England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland today.
Can employees swap shifts themselves?
Yes, within the rules you set. Staff propose a swap with an eligible colleague, and it either applies automatically or waits for a manager approval, depending on your policy.
Can I see the cost of a rota before publishing it?
Yes. Each draft shows scheduled hours and labour cost per day and per week, using the wage rates on each profile, and flags where a shift would push someone into overtime. To cost a week before signing up for anything, there is a free rota cost calculator at /tools/rota-cost-calculator on this site.
Is there a free version?
Yes. The Free plan covers up to 10 people at one location, with no time limit and no card. Paid plans add more people, locations and advanced features, with the full feature-by-plan table on the pricing page.
Can I copy last week's rota?
Yes. Copy any previous week or save recurring patterns as templates, then adjust and publish. Most weeks become a five-minute edit rather than a rebuild.
Does it handle multiple locations?
Yes. Shifts belong to locations, staff can be assigned to one or several, and the rota can be viewed and filtered per location. Plan limits on locations are shown on the pricing page.
See it with your own team
Set up takes minutes: add your people, build a week and publish. Free for 14 days on every paid plan, and free for up to 10 people.
No credit card required.