How ShiftWerx Works in a Restaurant

You create the shifts and set their times. Your staff then mark each shift in one of four colors: Really Want, Available, Reluctant or Cannot Work. They also set the fewest, the most and their ideal number of shifts a week. Students update it when their class schedule changes, and it applies to every schedule you build after that.

Time off works differently. A time-off request is a request, not a decision. It shows up for you as pending and does not remove anyone from the schedule until you approve it.

You approve or reject from your phone or your computer, and the employee is notified either way. Once approved, that time off is a hard block: auto-schedule will never put the person on that shift.

You set these once, and Auto Schedule follows them every week. Everything here is a real setting in the app, under the same name.

Approved Roles

Who can work which role. Auto Schedule only places people in roles they are approved for, and only they are offered that role’s open shifts. People approved for more than one role can fill in for either.

In a restaurant: Server, Host, Bartender, Line Cook

Shift Count

How many people each role needs on each shift, day by day. This is what Auto Schedule fills.

In a restaurant: Two servers at lunch, four for Friday dinner

Desired Shift Range

Each person’s Minimum, Preferred and Maximum shifts a week. Staff set it and you can change it. Auto Schedule never goes past the Maximum and aims for the Preferred.

In a restaurant: A student at 2 / 3 / 4 shifts

Weekly hours and overtime

Maximum Weekly Normal Hours (40 unless you change it), plus overtime only for the people you allow. After it fills, Auto Schedule fixes anyone over the cap by swapping a shift, handing it to someone else or leaving it open for you.

In a restaurant: 40 regular hours, overtime only for your kitchen leads

Minimum rest between shifts

Turn on “Require a minimum rest period between shifts” and set the hours. Auto Schedule won’t give anyone less rest than that between two shifts.

In a restaurant: 10 hours, so nobody closes at midnight and opens at 8am

Double shifts

Turn off “Allow scheduling of double shifts” and Auto Schedule gives nobody two shifts on the same day. You can still add one by hand.

In a restaurant: Off, unless your servers like doubles

Freeze and Lock

Freeze keeps a shift exactly where it is when you build. Lock saves someone’s pattern and repeats it every week.

In a restaurant: Your Friday closing manager

Performance Rating

One to five stars per person. With Star Rating Influence and Flex Influence you choose how much rating and flexibility count when two people could take the same shift.

In a restaurant: Your strongest closers win close calls more often, not always

Pairing Rules

Keep two people apart or schedule them together. A “Never” rule is never broken.

In a restaurant: Keep two trainees off the same shift

Hour Budget Management

A weekly hour budget. Turn on the cap and, after each Auto Schedule, the lowest-priority roles are trimmed one shift at a time until the week fits.

In a restaurant: Weekly hours, trimmed from your lowest-priority role first

1. 1.Before you build, freeze any shift you want to keep exactly as it is. Auto Schedule keeps frozen shifts and builds everything else around them.
2. 2.When you press Auto Schedule, ShiftLogic fills each shift from the people approved for that role. It never places anyone on a shift they marked Cannot Work, on a day they have approved time off, or past their Maximum Shifts. It fills Really Want first, then Available, then Reluctant, starts with the hardest shifts to fill, and brings everyone toward their Preferred number before anyone gets extra. Turn on the rest rule or switch off double shifts and it follows those too.
3. 3.The result is a draft. Weekly hours are checked after the fill, and anything worth a second look is flagged on the grid. Press Auto Schedule again for a different good week, change anything by hand, and nothing reaches your team until you publish.

Your team will ask how the schedule gets made. Here’s the honest answer, in words you can use at your next team meeting.

1. 1.The restaurant’s needs come first.These are hard rules, never broken. Nobody is put on a day they said they can’t work, on approved time off, in a role they aren’t approved for, or past their most shifts. People who must never share a shift are kept apart, and if the manager turns it on, everyone gets enough rest between shifts. If a shift can’t be filled without breaking a rule, it stays open and the manager sees why.
2. 2.Then it balances everyone’s preferences.Inside those rules there are more ways to build the week than anyone could check by hand. ShiftWerx fills Really Want days first and Reluctant days last, and everyone gets a fair share toward the number of shifts they want before anyone gets extras.
3. 3.Everyone rolls the dice.When more people want a shift than it needs, there’s a random draw. Nobody owns Friday night. Everyone has a real shot at the shift they really want, and at avoiding the one they really don’t.
4. 4.Two things tilt the odds.Do a great job, and be available when the restaurant needs you. A higher star rating adds a point or two to your roll. So does opening your availability, especially on the shifts that are hard to fill (that’s your FlexScore). It’s a better chance, not a guarantee. Only managers see star ratings, and they don’t have to share them. Managers also choose how much each one counts, or turn it off.

1. 1.When someone calls out, you log it on their shift in the Master Schedule and tick “Find coverage now.” ShiftWerx posts a ShiftCoin bounty on the ShiftMarket instead of a group text. Staff can also hand off their own shifts: give one away, sell it, or pay a teammate to take it.
2. 2.Only people who can take the shift are offered it: they need the role for it, can’t already be working that time slot, and the pickup has to keep them inside their weekly hours unless you allow overtime. Everyone else never sees it.
3. 3.The first person to claim it gets the shift and the bonus, and you’re notified right away. Staff-to-staff hand-offs can be set to wait for your approval first.

Menu changes, new specials and policy updates go out through ShiftMessage. Mark an update as required and it stays in front of each person until they acknowledge it, and you can see who has and hasn’t. Kitchens run in more than one language, so every person uses their preferred language: you write in English, and your cook reads it in Spanish, Tagalog or any of the 24 supported.

If you run more than one location, ShiftLeague lets you borrow a trusted cook or server from another location. You see immediately if they are already scheduled somewhere else, so nobody is double-booked.

How each part of ShiftWerx works for you, in plain words.

You don’t have to enter everyone by hand. Send us your current schedule and roster (a spreadsheet export, a PDF or a photo of the paper schedule) with Rapid Start, and our team sets up your staff, availability and roles. Then invite your team to the app and build your first week. Every plan starts with 30 days free, with no long-term contract.

Comparing tools? ShiftWerx vs 7shifts · ShiftWerx vs HotSchedules · ShiftWerx vs Toast Scheduling