How do I Approve or Deny Availability Requests?

Using TimeForge, staff members can request time off, or change their availability. These types of requests, which can affect the hours worked, PTO, or the schedule, must first be approved or denied, by a manager or supervisor at your location.

Requests and Availability on the TimeForge Today page

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On the TimeForge Today page, you can see your labor dashboard – a screen that details the upcoming week, and many key items to keep track of. This includes shift swaps, open shifts, staff requests for time off, and messages as well as scheduled labor, and employees whom are currently on the clock.

After an employee requests time off (or time on), you will see several messages appear on your Today page, including the “Approve or Deny Pending Requests” link, and you will also see “Pending Requests” appear on the days that these requests actually occur.

To approve or deny these messages, click on the appropriate link.

Request Approval Process

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On the “Process Requests” page, you will see color-coded requests, and you can choose to Approve or Deny each request.

You can also view the type of request, notes about the availability request that staff members entered, and can review other employees whom have requested the same time off. For example, if other employees have had the same time period approved previously, TimeForge will show these staff members, and their requests, to you. Choose “Approve” or “Deny” to manage the request.

Additionally, you can see that TimeForge has predicted your necessary staffing levels, and will let you know if you are facing a staffing shortage, before approving time off requests.

Working Staff Members Who are Already Scheduled to Work

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It is inevitable that employees will need time off, even though they are already scheduled.

In this case, TimeForge will provide you with several options.

Of course, you can Deny the request, which will notify the staff member that they cannot have the time off.

- You can Find a Replacement, which will approve the request, and take you to the schedule to find a new employee for the shift.

- You can Operate Short Staffed, which will remove the shift from the schedule.

- You can turn the shift into a Bid shift, allowing staff members to bid to work the shift.

- You can also mark the shift as an Open shift, leaving it open to be staffed by management at a later date.

Send Messages to Staff based on Availability

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Once you decide to approve or deny a request or change in availability, TimeForge will automatically send a message to the staff member, letting them know of your decision.

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TimeForge University: Availability Requests 102

Managing staff members, and when they want to work (and do not want to work) in TimeForge is easy! This video shows some of the more advanced features of TimeForge availability requests. Review time off requests, approve and deny work availability, and maintain staffing levels.

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Using TimeForge, availability requests can be easily managed and monitored and schedules can quickly be rearranged based on the needs of staff and management.

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TimeForge University: Availability Requests 101

TimeForge’s powerful availability requests allow you to set up one-time requests, rotating availability, or school schedules. This video displays some of the power of the TimeForge Availability Requests.

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Using availability requests, TimeForge users can request time off, change their work availability, indicate with they are working at other jobs, and even create rotating staffing schedules.

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TimeForge University: Employees 101

Managing employees in TimeForge is easy!  This video walks you through creating staff members, modifying employees, and removing employees from your account.

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The video addresses minimum and maximum weekly hours, daily shift requirements, setting up pay rates, and creating TimeForge accounts for your staff members.

Working with labor in TimeForge is easy!  Employees in TimeForge can clock in, clock out, receive schedules, send messages, and request time off.

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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 edit or delete a Request?

Editing and deleting requests and changing availability is easy with TimeForge!

Prior to manager approval, Pending Requests can be edited or deleted.

After a request is approved by management, you cannot edit the request, but you may delete it.

Get to the Requests Tab

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First, navigate to the “Setup” tab. From the “Today” Tab, you can click on the Requests tab.

Requests that are not yet Approved can be Edited

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Requests that are pending manager approval can be seen on your Request Calendar with a small cautionary icon next to them. These requests may also be edited, or deleted.

Once a request is approved or denied by management personnel, you will not be able to edit the request.

Delete or Edit Pending Requests

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If you have made a mistake in the request, you can delete the request from this screen, prior to manager approval.

Pending Requests

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After a request or change to availability has been made, you can see the request and status on your Today page.

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How do I create a Request or change my Availability?

Creating requests and changing availability is easy with TimeForge!

Staff requests are immediately sent to management for manager approval, and you will receive notifications through TimeForge and email when your request is approved or denied.

Get to the Requests Tab

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First, navigate to the “Setup” tab. From the “Today” Tab, you can click on the Requests tab.

View the Request Calendar

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The Request Calendar shows the current week, and any requests or availability that has been set for the current week. You can navigate around this page by clicking on the Previous Week or Next Week buttons. Alternatively, you can choose a date from the calendar, and jump directly to the work date.

To create a request or update your availability, click on the date links, or click and drag your mouse on the date and times you are interested in requesting off.

Fill out the Create New Preference Pop-Up

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After clicking on a date on the Calendar, the above pop-up will be displayed.

Choose the appropriate request (Wants to work, Available to work, Does not want to work, or Unavailable to work), enter a reason for management to review, and if necessary, choose a Request Type (such as Sick or Vacation).

The Happens selection can be modified so that the request can happen:

- One time: The request occurs only once on the start date
- Daily: The request occurs every day between a start date and end date
- Every weekday (Mon – Fri): The request happens on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday’s in between the start date and the end date
- Every weekend (Sat – Sun): The request happens on Saturday’s and Sunday’s in between the start date and the end date
- Every Mon, Wed, and Fri: The request occurs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday’s in between the start date and the end date
- Every Tue and Thurs: The request occurs on Tuesday and Thursday’s in between the start date and the end date
- Weekly: You can pick which days of the week the request occurs on
- Monthly: The request can occur either monthly or based on the day of the month.

At the bottom of the pop-up window, you can see a written version of what the request will look like on the calendar.

Click Next to continue.

Enter your own Time Range for a Request or Availability Change

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Rather than click on an actual date (such as the previous example), TimeForge will allow you to make a request for specific parts of the day. You can enter your own time range (as depicted above), or you can choose from predefined Work Periods or Day Parts, if management has previously defined these time ranges.

Click Next to continue.

Requests may be denied if made too early

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Managers can require that all requests and availability changes be made several days in advance, to ensure that their labor schedule is not disrupted carelessly. In this example above, requests must be made at least 3 days in advance, and TimeForge will not allow you to continue.

If you have an emergency request, please speak directly with your manager, or send them a message using TimeForge.

Pending Requests

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After a request or change to availability has been made, you can see the request and status on your Today page.

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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

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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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