Scheduling Overview Video
Take a quick (4 minute) tour through TimeForge, and see how easy TimeForge scheduling can be for you and your business.
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How do I add, edit, or delete Positions?
Adding, editing, and removing positions (also known as job codes in some industries) from within TimeForge is simple. Positions need to be created in order to schedule staff members.
Positions are automatically synchronized from some Point of Sale systems that TimeForge integrates with.
Get to the Employees Tab
First, navigate to the “Employees” tab.
Access the Position List Page
Select the “Edit Positions” link.
Add a New Position, or Choose an Existing Position to Edit
You can choose to create a new position, or edit an existing position. Also displayed are the base pay rates and pay scales for each position.
Please note: In a multi-location (multiple unit) business, Positions must be created at the Corporate Level. Each location will have it’s own version of the position, so that base pay rates and sections can be customized on a per-store basis.
Modify the Appropriate Fields
Fill in the appropriate fields. Each position must have a unique description, ie, no two positions can have the same description.
Other fields include the base pay rate and pay scale, which can include hourly or salaried, bi-weekly pay periods, and even one-time payments such as a live band or other entertainment. Choose an appropriate overtime calculation if desired.
If you are exporting payroll to a payroll system, you may need to include a Payroll identifier for the payroll company. Include this here as well.
Position Sections and Stations
Each position can have a number of sections or stations associated with it. This will allow you to schedule very specifically, if necessary.
A few examples of where this might be helpful:
- A Server position might have stations or sections for each grouping of tables, such as Section 1, Section 2, Section 3, etc..
- A LifeGuard position might have stations or sections for each lifeguard tower or chair, such as Dive Chair, Kiddie Pool, Lap Pool, etc…
- A Cook position might have stations or sections for each cooking position, such as Prep, Pizza, Grill, etc..
Multi-Level Pay Rates
In some states and municipalities, staff members are paid different rates based on the time they arrive. TimeForge supports this by allowing you to enter different rates during different time periods throughout the day.
For example, if a Server shows up before your restaurant opens, the pay rate may be lower than when the restaurant is operating.
Deleting a Position
To remove a position, simply click on the “Delete” link. TimeForge will prompt for verification before removing the position.
Please Note: TimeForge will not allow you to remove a position if an upcoming schedule or template uses the position, or if an employee is currently clocked in with the position.
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
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
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.
What is a Shift?
TimeForge schedules are a collection of many shifts, and each shift is assigned a corresponding start and end time, as well as position (or job), and employee. Other information can be included with each shift, including whether the shift is for an “extra” staff member, the section or station being worked, and other pertinent information.
Shifts can easily be created for a specific day on the schedule or copied to other days on the schedule. Shifts can be grouped together into days on the schedule, and then can be used to create a template for future schedules. Additionally, shifts can be reassigned to other staff members, and are used by the TimeForge AutoScheduler to estimate anticipated needs for schedules in the future.
Shifts can be Viewed Graphically
TimeForge shifts can be viewed graphically, for easy visual display of the staffing load for the day.
Adding and Editing Shifts is Easy
Adding and editing shifts on a schedule is simple! Each shift needs to include a start time, end time, position, and an employee. In many cases, TimeForge can automatically pick the employee based on availability, requests, and automated suggestions from the TimeForge AutoScheduler.
What is a Schedule?
Accurate and correct employee scheduling is a powerful labor cost control measure. With TimeForge, supervisors and managers can quickly and accurately build labor schedules while considering the needs of their business, as well as the desires of other staff members.
Each TimeForge schedule is a collection of many shifts, and each shift is assigned a corresponding start and end time, as well as position (or job), and employee. Other information can be included with each shift, including whether the shift is for an “extra” staff member, the section or station being worked, and other pertinent information.
TimeForge schedules can be of any usable business length – some businesses prefer one-week, two-week, or one-month schedules. Other businesses prefer a mix of schedules, and may have differing schedules based on departments or store requirements. Don’t worry … TimeForge automatically notifies managers and supervisors responsible for creating the schedule of any conflicts!
Upcoming Employee Schedules
Upcoming (and historical) employee schedules are displayed on the Schedule List page. Each schedule can be copied, modified, deleted, analyzed, printed or used to print break reports.
Schedules on the Today Page
The schedule is easily viewed on the Today Page – including all scheduled and confirmed shifts, pending shift swaps, open shift swaps, pending requests, and other information.
What is a Department?
TimeForge departments provide larger organizations with the ability to partition, or assign, groups of employees to individual managers.
Each department can have a number of positions (positions can even overlap departments, if necessary), employees, supervisors, and managers. Employees may belong to more than one department, if necessary.
Examples of departments include:
- A restaurant could have a front of house, back of house, and bar department.
- A grocery store might have many departments, including cashier, meat counter, bakery, and other departments.
- A cinema or movie complex might have departments for the ticket counter, concessions, and floor.
Departments are created at the Corporate Level – all locations (or stores) within a single corporation share departments.
Please note: Enabling departments within TimeForge will change the TimeForge interface to accommodate the many new department features. For example, schedule forecasts, sales, and positions are all linked to departments.
Enabling Departments inside of TimeForge
Departments, while powerful, should only be enabled by organizations needing them.
Adding or Editing Departments
Each Department can have one, or more, positions assigned to it. Assigning positions will ensure that staff members, supervisors, and managers are not distracted or confused by other departments that are using TimeForge.
Employees can be assigned to Departments
Each staff member can be assigned to one or more departments. Employees cannot belong to a position unless the position is assigned to one of the employee’s departments.
Schedules can be created on a department basis
Each schedule can be assigned to a department, providing very fast reporting and schedule building on a per-department basis.
Additionally, schedule templates and weekly templates are assigned to departments, providing one-click scheduling for each department.
What is a Skill Level?
Skill levels in TimeForge allow managers and supervisors to rank staff members based on experience at each position. Skill levels can be used to differentiate experienced employees from inexperienced staffers or newly hired employees. The higher the skill level, the more experienced the staff member.
Employees who work more than one position or job can have multiple skill levels. For example, a staff member may be an excellent cashier (with a skill level of 5), but may be a manager in training (with a skill level of 2).
Employees can be ranked by skill levels for each position
Skill levels can be used to rank employees for each position that the staff member can work.
Shifts can require skilled employees
Each shift may require employees of different skills, which can be set at the template or schedule level.
For example, on Saturday and Sunday, a pool or aquatics center may need a very skilled head lifeguard (skill level 5), but on other days, perhaps a slightly less skilled life guard will suffice (a skill level 3 or 4).
What is a Position or Job Code?
TimeForge Positions are similar to Job Codes, Position Codes, or Job Descriptions that are available in many Point of Sale solutions. Employees can work one or more positions in the TimeForge system. Employees can work as many positions as necessary.
Each position can have its own name / description, pay rate (and pay scale), color (for drawing on graphs), and overtime calculation. In addition, positions can have Payroll Identifiers (for use in some payroll programs), stations / sections (useful when assigning shifts to employees), and multi-level pay rates.
- Stations / sections are used to identify areas of work for a specific position or job code. For example, a “Waiter” or “Server” Position might have several sections that correspond to tables at a restaurant, such as “Section 1“, “Section 2“, etc…
- Multi-level Pay Rates can be used to pay staff members at varied rates throughout the work day. For example, a “Waiter” or “Server” Position might receive a normal hourly rate of $2.13 from the hours of 10am and 11pm. However, prior to 10am, employees working as a Server may receive $7.35
When used at the Corporation Level within TimeForge, Positions are available at every location – however, each location / site / unit can have individual base pay rates, multi-level pay rates, sections / stations, overtime calculations, and colors. This functionality enables multi-unit concepts to easily perform labor management with a single, simple tool – TimeForge!
Position List
Every TimeForge account can have as many positions / job codes as necessary – there are no limits.
Position Information
Position information can easily be configured inside TimeForge, and each position can have an unlimited number of Stations / Sections, and Pay Rates.
Overtime calculations can be based on time and a half (1.5x), double time (2.0x), or California Overtime (a combination of 1.5x and 2.0x overtime).
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
Changing the employee security level is simple. The Employee Type field is listed at the bottom of the Employee Information page.
Supervisor Options
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.
What is a TimeForge Employee?
TimeForge employees are staff members (employee or manager) that use the TimeForge system. More specifically, if a staff member can log in to TimeForge, can be scheduled inside of TimeForge, or can clock in on TimeForge (or with a 3rd party plug in), then that staff member is an “employee“.
You can add, edit, and delete employees in TimeForge from the Employee List page.
Get to the Employee List on TimeForge
The employee list page can be accessed by clicking on the Employees tab, and then choosing Edit employees
Employee List on TimeForge
Employees can be seen on the Employee List page. Each of the columns can be sorted, and employees can easily be modified, deleted, or sent a message.
What 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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Before using TimeForge, creating a schedule took 2 hours. With TimeForge, it takes less than 10 minutes.
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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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