StaffMagic

Schedules Guide

Learn how to create, manage, and publish weekly schedules for your locations.

This guide explains how to create, manage, and publish weekly schedules for your locations in StaffMagic.

Overview

A Schedule represents one week of shifts for a specific location. Schedules help you plan and communicate work assignments to your team.

Key Concepts

  • Week-based: Each schedule covers Monday through Sunday
  • Location-specific: Schedules are created per location
  • Draft vs Published: Schedules start as drafts and must be published to become visible to employees
  • Contains Shifts: Schedules contain individual shifts - see Shifts User Guide for details

Schedule States

| State | Description | Who Can See | |-------|-------------|-------------| | Draft | Work in progress, not yet shared | Managers, Admins, Owners | | Published | Active schedule visible to staff | Everyone | | Archived | Previous published schedule that was replaced | Managers, Admins, Owners |

Creating a Schedule

Who Can Create Schedules

Managers, Admins, and Owners can create schedules.

Steps

  1. Navigate to your organization's location
  2. Go to the Schedules section
  3. Click Create Schedule
  4. Select the week (by choosing any date in that week - it will automatically use the Monday)
  5. Optionally add notes about this schedule
  6. Click Create

The schedule is created as a Draft and is not yet visible to employees.

Tips

  • You can only have one draft schedule per week per location
  • If a published schedule already exists for that week, you can still create a new draft (useful for making revisions)
  • The week always starts on Monday, regardless of which date you select

Viewing Schedules

For Employees

Employees can view published schedules only. Draft schedules are hidden until a manager publishes them.

To view schedules:

  1. Navigate to your location
  2. Go to Schedules
  3. Use the week picker to navigate between weeks
  4. Only published schedules will appear

For Managers and Above

Managers, Admins, and Owners can see all schedules including drafts.

Filtering options:

  • By week: View schedules for a specific week
  • By status: Filter to show only drafts, published, or archived schedules

Editing a Schedule

Who Can Edit

Managers, Admins, and Owners can edit schedules.

What Can Be Edited

  • Draft schedules: Can be fully edited (notes, shifts)
  • Published schedules: Cannot be edited directly

To Edit a Draft Schedule

  1. Open the schedule you want to edit
  2. Make your changes (update notes, add/remove shifts)
  3. Changes are saved automatically

Adding Shifts to a Schedule

  1. Open the draft schedule
  2. Click Add Shift to create a new shift
  3. Fill in shift details (position, employee, times, etc.)
  4. Repeat for all shifts needed

For detailed information about managing shifts, see the Shifts User Guide.

To Revise a Published Schedule

Published schedules cannot be modified directly. Instead:

  1. Create a new draft schedule for the same week
  2. Make your changes in the draft
  3. Publish the new schedule (the old one will be automatically archived)

Publishing a Schedule

Publishing makes a schedule visible to all employees at that location.

Who Can Publish

Managers, Admins, and Owners can publish schedules.

Steps

  1. Open the draft schedule you want to publish
  2. Review all shifts to ensure they're correct:
    • Check for any open (unassigned) shifts
    • Verify shift times and positions
  3. Click Validate Schedule to check for conflicts
  4. Review the validation results (see below)
  5. Fix any errors if present
  6. Click Publish Schedule
  7. Confirm the publication

Pre-Publish Validation

Before publishing, the system automatically validates all shifts in the schedule:

| Conflict Type | Severity | Effect on Publishing | |--------------|----------|---------------------| | Double Booking | Error | Blocks publishing - must fix | | Overtime | Warning | Allows publishing with confirmation | | Rest Time Violation | Warning | Allows publishing with confirmation | | Max Daily Hours | Warning | Allows publishing with confirmation |

If there are errors:

  • Publishing is blocked until you fix the conflicts
  • Edit the conflicting shifts to resolve double bookings
  • The conflict details show which shifts and employees are affected

If there are only warnings:

  • You'll see a confirmation prompt with the warning details
  • You can choose to publish anyway ("Force Publish")
  • Or go back and adjust the schedule first

Force Publishing with Warnings

To publish a schedule that has warnings but no errors:

  1. Click Publish Schedule
  2. Review the warnings shown
  3. Click Publish Anyway or use the API with force=true

This is useful when you've intentionally scheduled overtime or short rest periods.

What Happens When You Publish

  • The schedule is validated for conflicts
  • If validation fails with errors, publishing is blocked
  • If validation passes (or you force-publish with warnings), the schedule is published
  • The schedule status changes from Draft to Published
  • All employees at that location can now see the schedule
  • If there was a previously published schedule for the same week, it is automatically Archived
  • The publication timestamp and publisher are recorded

Important Notes

  • Publishing is immediate: Employees can see the schedule right away
  • One published schedule per week: Only one schedule can be published for each week at each location
  • Archived schedules remain accessible: Managers can still view archived schedules for reference
  • Errors must be fixed: Double bookings block publishing and must be resolved

Deleting a Schedule

Who Can Delete

Managers, Admins, and Owners can delete schedules.

What Can Be Deleted

  • Draft schedules: Can be deleted
  • Published schedules: Cannot be deleted (archive them by publishing a replacement, or contact support)
  • Archived schedules: Cannot be deleted

Steps

  1. Open the draft schedule
  2. Click Delete Schedule
  3. Confirm the deletion

Warning: Deleting a schedule removes it permanently, including any shifts it contains.

Common Workflows

Creating Next Week's Schedule

  1. Go to your location's Schedules page
  2. Click Create Schedule
  3. Select any date in next week
  4. Add shifts for each day:
    • Click Add Shift for each work period
    • Assign positions and employees
    • Set start/end times and breaks
    • See Shifts User Guide for details
  5. Review the schedule for conflicts
  6. Click Publish when ready

Revising a Published Schedule

Sometimes you need to make changes after publishing (e.g., an employee called in sick):

  1. Create a new draft for the same week
  2. Copy shifts from the previous schedule (if available)
  3. Make your changes
  4. Publish the new schedule
  5. The old schedule is automatically archived

Viewing Schedule History

To see previous versions of a schedule:

  1. Go to your location's Schedules page
  2. Filter by status: Archived
  3. Select the week you want to review
  4. View the archived schedule details

Permissions Summary

| Action | Employee | Manager | Admin | Owner | |--------|----------|---------|-------|-------| | View published schedules | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | View draft schedules | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | View archived schedules | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Create schedules | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Edit draft schedules | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Validate schedules | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Publish schedules | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Force publish (override warnings) | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Delete draft schedules | | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create a schedule for a past week?

Yes, you can create schedules for any week, past or future. This can be useful for record-keeping purposes.

What happens to shifts when I archive a schedule?

Archived schedules retain all their shift data. Nothing is deleted when a schedule is archived.

Can I have multiple draft schedules for the same week?

No, you can only have one draft schedule per week per location. If you need to start over, delete the existing draft first.

Can employees see who created or published a schedule?

Yes, the schedule shows who created it and (if published) who published it and when.

How do I notify employees when I publish a schedule?

When you publish a schedule, all employees with shifts are automatically notified via email. Each employee receives a summary of their shifts for the week. See the Notifications User Guide for details on managing notification preferences.

Can I copy a schedule from a previous week?

This feature is planned for a future release. Currently, you need to recreate shifts manually.

Related Guides

Last updated: December 2024 (Task 19: Email Notifications)