01
Build the week
Start from templates or last week's roster, then set hours by role and site. See shift scheduling for the planning tools.
Weekly staff roster
Staff Scheduling Software for Hourly Teams
Build the staff schedule, put the right people on each shift, and share one official week with the team. Heyshift is staff scheduling software for USA operators with 20 to 500 hourly employees.
Used by restaurants, retail, healthcare, hospitality, warehouses, and field crews that publish a named roster every week.
30-day free trial on every plan, then Starter from $4/seat per month ($3.60 billed yearly). Mobile access included for staff and managers. View pricing.
- 30-day free trial
- Availability and leave
- Open shifts and swaps
- Mobile included
Why managers switch
Spreadsheet staff schedules break as soon as someone calls out
Managers searching for staff scheduling software usually build the week in Excel, then chase coverage in texts. A closer is on PTO, an opener cannot work Fridays, and the only trained closer is already at 38 hours. Heyshift keeps availability, leave, and the published roster together so you schedule people who can actually work.
Before
Spreadsheets & chat apps
Manual updates with no single source of truth.
After
One published roster
Web and mobile share the same official version.
Publish once
Week_May26_v7.xlsx+4 copies
fx=VLOOKUP(D4, OLD_SHEET!A:Z, 3, FALSE)
Staff
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
H. Cole
10a–6p
O. Blake
#REF!
2p–10p?
M. Santos
#REF!
J. Rivera
Off
Coverage conflict on Thursday close
Excel lists Hannah; ops chat lists Owen. Two staff affected.
Missed shiftOT surpriseVersion drift
River North BistroPublished
Active
WeekMay 26 – Jun 1
Mobile synced·Just now
142h scheduled$4,280 est labor0 conflicts
Staff
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
HCHannah
10a–6pBar
10a–6pBar
OBOwen
2p–10pKitchen
2p–10pKitchen
MSMaria
9a–5pFloor
11a–7pFloor
JRJordan
OpenPickup
24 staff notified
Swaps and pickups in one queue
Labor visible
Planned vs worked before payroll close
5 file versions
1 published roster
3 coverage conflicts
0 conflicts
Chat + sheet sync
Mobile synced
Read across4 weekly staff-scheduling fixesEach row moves from a Sunday-night spreadsheet to a roster the team can trust.
Spreadsheets and chats create
Heyshift staff scheduling
- 01
Availability arrives as texts after the week is already built
→Availability and approved leave sit on the same grid, so conflicts show before you publish
- 02
Open shifts hide in a group chat until someone replies
→Publish gaps staff can pick up. Approved pickups land on the official roster
- 03
Swaps change who is on without updating the posted sheet
→Managers approve swaps in one queue. The published week stays the source of truth
- 04
The same few people get every extra shift
→Hours and overtime signals sit beside the roster so you can move a shift while there is still time
Heyshift is staff scheduling software for operators who outgrew Excel plus group chat. Confirm who can work, assign the week, fill gaps, and publish one official roster.
What is staff scheduling software?
Staff scheduling software helps managers create a weekly staff roster, assign people to shifts, and keep the team on one official schedule. Heyshift is built for hourly operations, not a full HR suite. For scheduling plus attendance and labor review, see workforce management software.
02
Put the right people on each shift
Check availability, approved leave, and hours before a name is locked. See people and availability.
03
Share the roster and handle changes
Staff see the official week on their phone, request time off, pick up open shifts, and swap with manager approval. Updates stay on one schedule.
What you get in Heyshift staff scheduling
Create the roster, assign staff, fill gaps, and keep attendance tied to the same week. Each tile opens the product surface.
Shift scheduling
Build the week by role and site. Templates and copy-week tools start the grid so you are not rebuilding coverage from a blank sheet.
Learn moreAvailability and leave
See who can work and who is already off before you lock names onto shifts. Leave sits on the same grid as the roster.
Learn moreOpen shifts and swaps
Publish gaps staff can claim and approve swaps in one queue. Coverage changes stay on the official week.
Learn moreTime and attendance
Punches reference the published shift. Managers compare planned vs worked hours without a second timesheet.
Learn moreLabor and hours
Watch scheduled hours while you build the week so overtime risk shows before the extra shift is locked.
Learn moreMulti-location staff
Schedule people by site and area from one account. Compare who is short without a roster file per location.
Learn moreTeam communication
Send updates next to the roster staff already opened. Fewer side channels when a name changes.
Learn moreMobile staff app
Staff view shifts, set availability, and pick up coverage on iOS and Android. Managers adjust the same official week from the phone.
Learn more
How staff scheduling software runs a typical week
A useful staff scheduler follows the same path every week. Heyshift keeps availability, assignment, gap fill, and publish on one roster.
Step 01
01Add the team
Load roles, sites, availability, and approved leave. The grid should show who can work, not only who exists in a staff list.
1/4Start
Step 02
02Build the roster
Place people into shifts by role and site. Copy a working week, then replace names where leave or hours make last week stale.
2/4Build the roster
Step 03
03Fill the gaps
Publish open shifts and approve swaps in one queue. Staff pick up work that stays on the official roster.
3/4Fill the gaps
Step 04
04Publish to phones
Staff see the week on web and mobile. Attendance later reads the same names you published.
4/4Close the loop
Multi-site staff scheduling
Schedule staff across every site from one account
Growing operators do not need a different spreadsheet per store or clinic. They need one account that respects locations, areas, and who can float. See multi-location scheduling software.
Sites stay distinct
Schedule dining room vs kitchen, sales floor vs stockroom, or clinic vs admin desk without mixing the rosters.
Supervisors see their team
Local leads publish and approve changes for their site. Owners still see who is short across the group.
Floats stay visible
When someone covers a second site, the official week shows it. Hours do not hide in a side text.
Roster plus punches
Staff scheduling holds when attendance follows the published week
The published roster is the plan. Punches prove who actually worked. Pair the schedule with attendance management software so names, hours, and corrections stay on one path.
Punches attach to shifts
Clock-ins reference the published shift, not a generic time clock.
Planned vs worked
Supervisors see who was scheduled and who punched before payroll.
Corrections stay visible
Missed punches and edits sit beside the same staff record.
Hours inform next week
Overtime risk shows while you can still reassign a person.
Staff spreadsheets vs staff scheduling software
A color-coded sheet can list names. It cannot keep availability, leave, swaps, and the posted roster in one official week.
| Capability | Spreadsheet stack | Heyshift |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | Texts, email, or a tab that is already stale | Availability sits on the same grid as the roster |
| Leave | Vacation noted after the week is filled | Approved leave blocks the name before publish |
| Open shifts | Group chat and hope | Posted gaps staff can pick up |
| Swaps | Verbal yes, posted sheet never updates | One approval queue, one official week |
| Staff phones | PDF or screenshot | Live roster on iOS and Android |
How a 90-person group stopped rebuilding the week in chat
A four-location food and retail group of about 90 hourly staff built the week in Excel, then patched call-outs in a manager group chat. The posted sheet was already stale by Tuesday.
Before Heyshift
- Closers copied from last week's file without checking leave
- Open shifts announced in a manager group chat
- Swaps agreed verbally and missing from the posted sheet
- The same three people took every extra Saturday
After one official staff week
- Availability and leave show before a name is locked
- Open shifts publish to staff who can actually work them
- Swaps update the official week after manager approval
- Hours sit beside the roster so overtime is visible
How to choose staff scheduling software
Score tools on whether you can build a real week with your real staff. USA teams of 20 to 500 should test availability, time off, open shifts, and mobile publish before they buy.
Ask every vendor
- 01Can staff set availability on mobile before you publish the week?
- 02Does approved leave show on the grid before a name is locked?
- 03Can you post open shifts and approve pickups in one queue?
- 04Do swaps update the official roster, not a side chat?
- 05Can supervisors schedule by site and area from one account?
- 06Do scheduled hours show while you still can move a person?
- 07Is there a 30-day trial with your real staff list?
- 08Does the same week feed attendance, or is that another product?
Staff scheduling for shift-based businesses
Heyshift schedules hourly teams of roughly 20 to 500 people. Any workplace where named coverage, mobile updates, and hours matter every week.
Food and beverage
Restaurants
FOH vs BOH coverage, peak hours, and open-shift fills
- FOH and BOH
- Peak fill
- Open shifts
Stores and districts
Retail
Floor coverage, seasonal staff, and who can close
- Closer coverage
- Seasonal staff
- Multi-store
Clinics and care
Healthcare
Clinical and support rosters, leave, and multi-site floats
- Role coverage
- Leave visibility
- Floats
Hotels and venues
Hospitality
Fulfillment
Warehouses
Zone crews, shift blocks, and overtime on the roster
- Zone crews
- Hours visibility
- Open coverage
Mobile crews
Cleaning and field teams
Client-site crews, routes, and supervisor sign-off
- Site crews
- Mobile punch
- Supervisor view
Explore how operators roll out scheduling by segment for multi-site teams.
Why operators choose Heyshift for staff scheduling
The best staff scheduler is the one the team actually opens. Managers publish from it. Staff check it before they come in.
01
Faster weekly build
Copy a working week, then replace names where leave or hours changed.
02
Fewer uncovered shifts
Open shifts go to eligible staff. Approved pickups update the official week.
03
Cleaner swap trail
Verbal yes is not a roster. Swaps stay in one approval queue.
04
Hours while you schedule
Scheduled hours show before you lock the same closer onto a sixth day.
Related software
Staff scheduling, employee scheduling, and WFM
These searches overlap. Heyshift covers all three. Start here if you need a weekly staff roster. Open employee scheduling software for planning templates, or workforce management software when attendance and labor review are part of the same buy.
Employee scheduling software
Focused on building hours, copying a week, and publishing the grid. See employee scheduling software.
Staff scheduling software
The weekly roster managers and staff use. Who is on, who is off, which shifts are still open, and what changed after publish.
Workforce management software
Connects the roster to attendance, labor, and multi-site control. See workforce management software.
Why Heyshift
Seat-based pricing, a 30-day trial, mobile included, and workflows sized for 20 to 500 person operators. Start with the week you already publish.
FAQ
Staff scheduling software FAQ
Direct answers for operators comparing staff schedulers, spreadsheet workflows, and healthcare-specific products.
Get started
Build next week's staff schedule in one place
Start a 30-day free trial or book a walkthrough for weekly rosters, time off, open shifts, and mobile schedule updates.