Scheduling
Build next week in minutes, not an afternoon
Start from last week or a saved template, see hours, time off, and overtime while you plan, then publish to every phone at once.
$20/month per store · Unlimited employees · Cancel anytime
Copy week and templates
Start from last week's shifts or a saved pattern, then adjust instead of filling a blank grid.
Drafts until you publish
Changes stay as drafts that everyone planning the store can see. Publish sends the week; Discard drops it.
Hours while you plan
Each person's weekly hours, open-shift hours, and the store total update with every change, drafts included.
Open shifts and events
Post unassigned shifts for the team to claim, and add meetings, trainings, or holidays to the week.
Plan around who can actually work
Approved time off and pending requests show right on the grid, so you schedule around them instead of finding out at open.
- Pending requests show with a dashed outline
- Color shifts by status, position, or employee
- Week and month views in the store's time zone
Catch overtime before it happens
Every shift you add counts toward that person's week right away, so you see who is heading past your overtime threshold and can give the hours to someone else before you publish.
- Weekly hours per person, drafts included
- A warning when a shift crosses the overtime threshold
- Totals for open shifts and the whole store
Let TimelyCreate draft the week
Owners with more than one store can ask for a schedule in plain words. TimelyCreate matches last week's staffing, skips people with time off, and puts the shifts on the planner as drafts for you to review.
- Quick starts: create my schedule, fill coverage gaps, lighter weekend
- Drafts only; nothing publishes until you do
- Included for owners with more than one store
One schedule, not three versions of it
Schedules drift when they live in more than one place: the manager's spreadsheet, a photo of the printout, and whatever people remember from the group chat. Every coverage question starts with figuring out which version is real.
In TimelyHours the published week is the only version. Planning happens in drafts that everyone scheduling the store shares, publishing is the moment it becomes real for the team, and Schedule history shows who last changed the week.
Store hours sit on the day view too, with open and close buffers and the hours nobody is scheduled to cover, so a gap stands out before you publish rather than at open. When the store needs a paper copy, export the published week as a PDF or Excel file.
Guides on building the schedule
Build a weekly retail schedule in minutes with templates
Your busy weeks already have a shape. Save it once, then adjust coverage instead of redrawing every shift from a blank grid.
Publish a schedule without coverage gaps or double-booked staff
Drafts are for thinking, published shifts are what people plan life around. Read the warnings, close the gaps, then publish once.
How far in advance should you post employee schedules?
Two weeks is the practical floor, and in some cities it is the legal one. A fixed publish day cuts last-minute swaps and the weekly "when does the schedule drop?" texts.
Control overtime costs during the pay period, not after payday
Overtime is cheapest to fix mid-week. Reports show the climb while you can still move a shift.
How to collect employee availability without a spreadsheet
A schedule built on last month availability is a schedule full of call-outs. Pull current preferences before you build the week.
Manage schedules and hours across multiple store locations
Jumping store by store hides the patterns that matter. A portfolio view shows which location needs you today.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I reuse last week's schedule?
- Yes. Copy week brings the previous week's shifts into the current week as drafts, and Templates apply a saved schedule pattern. Either way you adjust and publish, and nothing changes for the team until you do.
- Do employees see shifts before I publish?
- No. New, copied, and template shifts stay as drafts that everyone planning the store can see, so a second manager never overwrites the first. Publishing sends the week to the team.
- Can employees see each other's shifts?
- That's your call. A store setting decides whether employees see the whole team's schedule or only their own. Turning it off also turns off shift trading, because people can't trade shifts they can't see.
- Can I print or export the schedule?
- Yes. The planner exports the week as a PDF or an Excel file, so the copy on the break room wall matches the app.
- What is TimelyCreate?
- An assistant in the All Stores planner for owners with more than one store. Describe the week you want and it drafts shifts across your stores, matching last week's staffing and skipping people with time off. You review the drafts and publish; it never publishes on its own.
Run your store on one flat rate
Scheduling, GPS clock-in, time off, bonuses, and payroll-ready reports for $20 a month per store with unlimited employees.