What is a Schedule Template?

To quickly build employee schedules, many TimeForge managers rely on the TimeForge AutoScheduler and schedule forecasts, or build schedules by hand (one shift at a time). Other managers pre-build days on the schedule using collections of shifts, called templates.

Each TimeForge template contains one or more shifts, and can be used to quickly generate schedules for staff members. Each location (or store) can have many different templates (as many as are needed), and templates can be used to build new schedules.

Some examples of templates:
- Friday server / waiter template
- Monday night football template
- Summer weekend lifeguard template
- Christmas retail template

Templates can be grouped together to create Weekly Templates, for one-click schedule creation.

Employee Schedule Templates

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Employee schedule templates can be built one shift at a time, or can be copied from other templates. Additionally, a template can be created from a pre-existing schedule, and if departments are enabled, each department will have individual schedule templates.

There are no limits to the number of schedule templates that can be created at a location.

Weekly Templates can be created from Daily Templates

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Several schedule templates can be combined together into weekly templates, and supervisors and managers can use weekly templates to build entire schedules with a single click.

Templates can be assembled in different orders to handle labor scheduling across different seasonalities, holidays, or business requirements.

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What is the difference between a TimeForge Employee, Supervisor, and Manager?

TimeForge has 3 different security levels which determine what each staff member can do within the TimeForge labor management system.

Manager – A TimeForge Manager is able to do anything inside of the TimeForge system, including adding staff members, adding/editing employee schedules, changing sales forecasts, modifying the daily log, and running payroll reports.

Supervisor – A TimeForge Supervisor is directly in between a TimeForge Employee and a TimeForge Manager. Many aspects of the supervisor are able to be customized, on a location-by-location basis, to fit your business’s needs. By default, supervisors are able to perform every TimeForge function that a TimeForge Manager can – however, Supervisors cannot view the pay rates / salaries of other Supervisors or of any Manager.

Employee – A TimeForge Employee is the base security level for all staff members inside of the TimeForge system. Employee’s can clock in / out and view their time card (if enabled), view their own schedule, request time off, change availability, swap shifts, and set up text messaging and email notifications.

Employee security settings can be changed by editing the employee, and changing the Employee Type.

Employee Type Options

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Changing the employee security level is simple. The Employee Type field is listed at the bottom of the Employee Information page.

Supervisor Options

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TimeForge Supervisor capabilities can be configured on a per-site basis. Supervisors can be configured to have limited labor management capabilities, or can be configured with the same permission levels as a TimeForge Manager.

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How do I use Employee Schedule Snapshots?

TimeForge schedules are saved automatically when any field is modified – but sometimes it is useful to save the current schedule before making any modifications – so that you may come back to the previous employee schedule if necessary.

Schedule Snapshots allow you to archive / save the current version of the schedule, along with some quick stats about the number of shifts, and the cost of the schedule. At any point in time you can easily restore a previously saved Schedule Snapshot. Simply choose which snapshot you’d like to restore, and your employee work schedule will immediately roll back to the previously saved Schedule Snapshot.

Employee Schedule Snapshots are available on the Schedule Detail page, and are very useful for:

* Integrating newly hired staff members (Identifying which shifts can be moved around to accommodate the new employees)
* Rolling back to a previous version of the current work schedule
* Identifying shifts that can be removed or modified to reduce labor costs
* Viewing the effects of a drastic schedule change or shift swap prior to actually “doing it”
* And other “What If?” scenarios with the employee work schedule and staff members

Create a Schedule Snapshot

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To view Schedule Snapshots, or create a new one, click on the “View Schedule Snapshots” button at the bottom of the Schedule Detail page.

Click on “Create a Snapshot” to create a schedule snapshot. Schedule snapshots can only be used with schedules that are not yet posted.

Review Work Schedule Snapshots

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Previous Schedule Snapshots are visible in the “View Schedule Snapshots” pop up window.

Listed with each snapshot is the date and time the snapshot was created, the number of shifts in the schedule, the total number of labor hours scheduled, and the estimated labor cost (schedule cost) for the snapshot.

To restore a schedule snapshot, simply click on the radio button next to the desired snapshot, and then click on “Restore a Snapshot“. After a few seconds, your schedule will be restored to the selected snapshot.

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What is the TimeForge Corporation level?

TimeForge is a sophisticated labor management and employee scheduling system, and works well for both independently owned and operated businesses, as well as chain concepts.

TimeForge has two separate operating “levels” depending on the desired usage within your organization.

The “location” level of TimeForge is used when examining the labor or employee schedules at a single location, store, or unit.

The “corporate” level of TimeForge is used when multiple locations are being used.

When operated by a business with more than one location / store / unit, some of the functionality of TimeForge is moved to the corporate level to ensure consistent labor reports and employee schedules among all of the business locations.

The TimeForge Corporation Level – Multiple Locations

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When operating with multiple locations inside of TimeForge, a drop-down box will appear in the top right hand corner. This drop-down box allows managers and supervisors to switch locations with a single click.

In addition to the drop-down box, a new link “Corporation Settings” is available to allow manipulation of Corporate level data.

TimeForge Corporation Today Screen

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At the corporation level, many of the menus are similar to the menus at the location level, including the ability to change position names, set request types and certifications, configure sales forecasting, and manage departments across all locations.

Additional capabilities include multi-location / multi-store reports, a corporate level dashboard (displayed above) with indicators for labor costs, posted schedules, and shift satisfaction among employees.

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What is the TimeForge Location level?

TimeForge is a sophisticated labor management and employee scheduling system, and works well for both independently owned and operated businesses, as well as chain concepts with multiple locations.

TimeForge has two separate operating “levels” depending on the desired usage within your organization.

The “location” level of TimeForge is used when examining the labor or employee schedules at a single location, store, or unit.

The “corporate” level of TimeForge is used when multiple locations are being used.

When operated by a business with more than one location / store / unit, some of the functionality of TimeForge is moved to the corporate level to ensure consistent labor reports and employee schedules among all of the business locations.

The TimeForge Location Level – Multiple Locations

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When operating a single location, the location drop-down (picture above) will not appear, nor will the Corporation Settings link.

When operating with multiple locations inside of TimeForge, a drop-down box will appear in the top right hand corner. This drop-down box allows the manager (or supervisor) to switch locations with a single click.

Locations in need of manager attention will be displayed with an asterisk next to their name (indicating shift swaps or employee requests that are pending).

When more than 10 locations are present, the drop-down box will become a search box, allowing you to quickly search through tens, hundreds, or thousands of store locations by name, store number, address, or zip code.

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How can I view other employee’s schedules?

Using TimeForge, you can see when other staff members / coworkers are working, and can review the schedule for the entire location.

Get to the Other Employee Schedules Page on the Schedules Tab

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First, navigate to the “Schedules” tab, and then the “Other Employee Schedules” sub-tab.

From the “Today” Tab, you can click on the Schedules tab, or click on the Other Employee Schedules button.

Navigate to Other Employee’s Schedules

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TimeForge will allow you to view the schedules of other employees / staff members.

To view the schedule, enter a date range into the boxes, and click on Go.

View Other Employee’s Work Schedules

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The planned work schedule for the selected time period can be seen on the Other Employee’s Schedules page. Employees are listed, along with the dates and their scheduled work shifts.

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How Do I Use the Setup Wizard?

Getting started is easy with the TimeForge Setup Wizard.

The Setup Wizard is a user friendly software guide that helps you quickly set up your location, positions, and employees. Labor schedules and time attendance have never been more simple!

Login and Today Page

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Login to the TimeForge web application using your username and password (or fingerprint scanner, if you have one), and you will be presented with the “Today” tab. On this page, you will a similar a screen similar to the above picture. Choose the “Setup Wizard” from the Setup tab.

Scheduling Employees: Create Company Settings (Step 1 of the Setup Wizard)

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Step 1 of the Setup Wizard includes basic company or location settings, such as the name, address, phone, and fax number of your store. Additionally, set the day of the week that your schedule starts (if you use bi-weekly or monthly schedules, choose the most appropriate date).

Make sure that the information on the Company Settings is correct before continuing, as TimeForge will automatically choose your time zone and download weather information based on the information entered on this page.

Scheduling Employees: Create Positions and Set Pay Rates (Step 2 of the Setup Wizard)

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On Step 2 of the Setup Wizard, enter the positions or job codes that your business uses to schedule employees. Base payrates and pay scales can also be entered for each Position (you can override these rates on a per-employee basis). Payrates will be useful later to compute schedule costs, and determine sales to labor ratios, and are also used when employees clock in and clock out (if you are using TimeForge Attendance).

For example:
- A table service restaurant might have positions for: Waiter, Food Runner, Busser, Bartender, Delivery Driver, Cook, Assistant Manager, Bar Manager, etc…
- A quick service restaurant might have positions for: Cashier / Register, Drive Through, Cook, Assistant Manager, Manager, etc…
- A car wash retail business might have positions for: Cashier, Assistant Manager, Manager, etc…
- Other retail businesses could have positions for: Register, Security, Carry Out, Delivery Driver, Assistant Manager, Manager, etc…

If a Pay Scale is chosen as “Annually” (for example, a salaried manager), the software will automatically compute an equivalent hourly rate in the “Hourly Rate” column. You may override this field if necessary.

Scheduling Employees: Create Employees and Assign Positions (Step 3 of the Setup Wizard)

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In this step, begin entering the employees at your business that will be on the schedule. Each employee will need to have a first and last name (the middle name or initial is optional). If you know the employee’s email address, you can enter their email address – TimeForge will automatically send them an email to allow them to access TimeForge.

Employees can have more than one job code or position assigned to them. To assign multiple job codes, simply check each of the necessary positions for the employee.

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How do I Create an Employee Schedule?

Once your employees and positions are configured in the software, creating an employee schedule is easy!

In just a few clicks, a complete employee work schedule can be assembled and posted for other staff members to view.

TimeForge allows you to build a labor schedule in different ways – depending on your exact scheduling needs. TimeForge includes a Daily View, which includes a bar/gantt chart to easily determine staffing levels, as well as a Detail View, which resembles Microsoft Excel, and allows you to work on an entire week at a time.

Scheduling Employees: Create a Work Schedule

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Creating a schedule is very simple, using the “Add or Edit A Schedule” screen.

To begin scheduling employees, enter this information:

- Start and end dates for your work schedule (these are the begin and end dates for the schedule)

- A descriptive name to remember the schedule (the software will suggest a name for your schedule)

- If your account is configured for multiple Departments, you can choose an applicable Department

- If your account is configured with Sales Forecasting, you can choose an appropriate Sales Type

Schedule Employees with Different Views – Daily View

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TimeForge allows you to build a labor schedule in different ways – depending on your needs. TimeForge includes a Daily View, which includes a bar chart to easily determine staffing levels, as well as a Detail View, which resembles Microsoft Excel, and allows you to work on an entire week at a time.

Pictured above is the Schedule Daily View. Some of the powerful features and benefits of the Daily View include:

1. The schedule can be built by employee (Schedule By Employee), or by position (Schedule By Position). Switch back and forth with a single click.

2. Make a template from the shifts you have created, or use a previously created schedule template to make a schedule fast!

3. Choose Daily Labor Costs to review a graph of labor costs by position.

4. Important messages about the schedule, including scheduling rule problems and best practices are displayed at the top of the Daily View.

5. Adding a shift is easy – just pick the start and end times, then choose the employee or position from the drop-down. That’s it!

6. A graphical chart is shown next to each shift to allow you to easily staff your business.

Schedule Employees with Different Views – Schedule Detail

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TimeForge allows you to build a labor schedule in different ways – depending on your needs. TimeForge includes a Daily View, which includes a bar chart to easily determine staffing levels, as well as a Detail View, which resembles Microsoft Excel, and allows you to work on an entire week at a time.

Pictured above is the Schedule Detail View. Some of the powerful features and benefits of the Detail View include:

1. The schedule can be built by employee (Schedule By Employee), or by position (Schedule By Position). Switch back and forth with a single click.

2. Group summaries (such as the total hours, number of shifts, and labor costs) can be switched on and off by clicking on Hide Group Summaries or Show Group Summaries.

3. Clicking on Show Shift, Show Hours, or Show Cost to quickly display each shifts start and end times, hours of duration, or the cost of the shift. No more sorting through Excel for this data!

4. Important messages about the schedule, including broken scheduling rules and best practices are displayed at the top of the Detail View.

5. Click on the date header (such as Sat 08/08 or Sun 08/09) to view a pop-up window of additional actions, such as switching to the Daily View, creating a template, copying shifts from one day to another day, and much more!

6. The group summaries can be seen for the position or employee, as well as totals for the entire week and each individual employee, position, and day.

7. Click on Add Shift or the start and end time of the shift to add or edit a new shift for the employee.

Schedule Staff with the Add/Edit Shift Pop-Up in Detail View

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In the Detail View, clicking on Add Shift will show the above window.

This window allows you to quickly add a shift to an employee / position combination, and also shows any other shifts that the employee is already scheduled for, and requested time off. Shifts can also be copied to other days of the schedule with a single click!

Drag and Drop Shifts to Quickly Copy Schedules

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In the Detail View, select an employee (or position) and drag it to another employee (or position). Release your mouse button when you see a “check” icon, and then you will then see the window displayed above.

You can choose to copy (duplicate) or move the shifts from one employee to another. Copy the shifts to copy any upcoming shifts, leaving the original shifts intact. Move the shifts to move shifts from one staff member to another.

Use the Daily View to Add Shifts to a Day

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Instead of using the Detail View to add shifts and manage the schedule, many TimeForge users will use the Daily View.

To add shifts while using the Daily View:

- Pick the appropriate Start Time (when the employee should arrive) and End Time (when the employee will likely leave) for the shift. Instead of choosing from the drop-down box, you are free to enter your own start and end times (such as 2:12pm)

- Choose the position for this shift from the Position drop-down box. (Positions that do not have employees assigned will not be shown)

Use the Daily View to Schedule Employees

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After choosing start and end times on the Daily View, and a position for the shift, click on the Employee drop-down. TimeForge will display a listing of all possible employees that are available to fill this shift.

Information about each employee will be shown, including their name, skill level for this position, an approximate cost to have the employee work this shift, and any notes about employee availability or requests.

Additionally — the “AutoSchedule” option is available. When you choose the “AutoSchedule” option, TimeForge will automatically look for the employee that is a “best fit” for the schedule, based on available hours, employee constraints (such as their availability), cost of labor, and a number of scheduling best practices.

Scheduling Employees: Post the Employee Schedule to be Viewable by Employees

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When the schedule is complete, it should be Posted. Posted schedules can be seen by all other staff members that have access to TimeForge. Schedules that are not yet posted cannot be viewed by employees.

The schedule can only be posted from the Detail View, giving you one last chance to see the entire schedule before giving it to your employees.

If you would like to come back later and continue editing the schedule without allowing other employees to see the schedule, simply leave the page – all of the changes are already saved.

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heartWhat some of our clients have to say ...

We are one year into it now, well past being enamored with the newness. We are married to TimeForge. It's as essential to us now as any of our management tools today, and we very happy about that.- Steve @ Hermosa Cyclery
We really like the program so far. I know that it is geared towards restaurants, but we are a real estate company and we love it because it is inexpensive and it is so easy to use.- Nicole @ Exit Premier Realty
The Timeforge scheduling system has not only increased our efficiency tremendously; decreased the errors in what is normally an error prone environment; it has also saved us ten times what it costs us each month.- Michael @ Tiara Cafe
I would highly recommend TimeForge to anyone making work schedules. ... What used to take 1-2 hours, now takes 15 minutes. The reports section is comprehensive and useful.- Lawrence Payne @ Mid Pacific Country Club
I've been really pleased with this latest version of TimeForge. I'm really getting familiar with this program and its become a great time saver! Keep up the good work!- Loren @ Fresh Produce
Before using TimeForge, creating a schedule took 2 hours. With TimeForge, it takes less than 10 minutes.- Gail @ Kerr Drug

Quick Contact

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Phone: 1 866 684 7191
Fax: 1 866 684 7191
E-Mail: info@timeforge.com

 

About TimeForge

The best tools available for managing labor in the restaurant, retail, food-service, and hospitality industries. Includes time management, employee scheduling, and other labor management tools.

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