Restaurant scheduling
Someone called out. Don't start texting everyone
Build the week for the floor and the kitchen on one board. When someone can't make a shift, they post it in the app, coworkers volunteer, and you approve one. The schedule updates itself.
Free for small teams. No credit card.
Updated
Friday at a 60-seat restaurant
Example day
- 11:30 AM Lunch opens
- 5 PM Dinner service
- 10 PM Kitchen closes
| Shift | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| Prep cook | 9 AM | 3 PM |
| Opening server | 10:30 AM | 4 PM |
| Line cook (AM) | 10 AM | 4 PM |
| Host | 4 PM | 10 PM |
| Server 2 | 4 PM | 11 PM |
| Server 3 | 5 PM | 11 PM |
| Bartender | 4 PM | 12 AM |
| Line cook (PM) | 3 PM | 11 PM |
| Closer / dish | 6 PM | 12 AM |
The week changes after you post it.
A restaurant schedule is two schedules, lunch and dinner, with the kitchen and the floor on each. Then Friday gets busy and someone's car won't start.
- Openers and closers
- Save your opening, mid and closing shifts once and paint them across the week. A day with nobody scheduled is flagged before it goes out.
- Lunch and dinner
- Put front of house and back of house on the same board so you can see a thin dinner on Friday while you're still building the week.
- Weekend rush
- Each person's hours are totalled as you go, so you can see when stacking the weekend pushes your best server toward overtime.
- Call-outs
- The employee posts the shift for coverage. Everyone else sees it in the app, someone volunteers, you approve. No group chat.
- Availability
- Servers with a second job or classes set their own availability. The publish check warns you about any shift that clashes.
- Clocking in
- A tablet by the pass works as a PIN time clock for the whole staff, with lunches. Punches are matched to the schedule.
Call-outs
A call-out becomes one posted shift.
The employee who can't come in posts the shift. Coworkers volunteer from their phones, you see their hours for the week, and you approve one. The published schedule updates, and only the two people involved are notified.
- 1MarcusEmployeeOpen
Requests coverage for Fri 4:00–11:00 PM. Note: family thing.
- 2Priya and TomCoworkers2 offers
Both volunteer from the coverage board in the app.
- 3YouManagerApproved
Priya is at 22h this week, Tom at 38h. You approve Priya.
- 4SchedulePublished weekUpdated
Friday close is Priya's. Marcus and Priya are notified.
The parts of Zchedule you'd use
- Employee schedulingFloor and kitchen on one weekly board, published to everyone's phone.
- Shift coverageCall-outs posted as open shifts that coworkers pick up.
- Shift swapsServers trade shifts with each other; you approve the trade once.
- Tablet kioskA PIN time clock on a tablet near the kitchen, with lunch punches.
- Labor cost trackingEach day's labor cost on the board, and scheduled against actual pay.
What Zchedule doesn't do: Zchedule doesn't connect to your POS, pool tips or run payroll. It gives you the schedule, the hours and a CSV to take to the system that does.
FAQ
Questions worth answering up front.
They get an email invite and see their shifts in the iPhone app or any browser. A shared kiosk tablet covers clock-in without anyone's personal phone.
No. Drafts stay hidden until you publish, and when you change one shift afterwards, only the affected person is notified.
They're on the same board so you can see the whole day. Give each person a position (server, line cook) and use shift templates for each station's hours.
One flat monthly price per team, not per person. Free covers up to 10 people including you, and every new team starts with 14 days of Pro.
Related
- How to schedule restaurant employees
Covering lunch and dinner, weekends, and the kitchen and floor together.
- Restaurant opening and closing schedule
Who opens, who closes, what each shift covers, and a sample week.
- Shift coverage
Someone can't work a shift, coworkers volunteer, and you pick who takes it.
- Tablet kiosk
A tablet on the counter that the whole team clocks in on with a PIN.
- Zchedule vs 7shifts
7shifts is built for restaurants, with tips, payroll and POS tools.
- Pricing
Free for small teams, then one flat monthly price per team, not per person.
Next week's schedule is getting built either way.
Do it in Zchedule and the next call-out is one posted shift, not thirty texts.
No credit card. The Pro trial starts with your first shift, not today.