Three ways to build a schedule

Three ways to build a schedule#

For: Manager | Admin You’ll need: Nothing.

You almost never build a schedule one shift at a time. Shiftavo gives you three ways to scale up: schedule templates, recurring shifts, and calendar copy (Alt+drag). Each one fits a different shape of work. This article walks all three so you know which to reach for.

The one-off shift#

Before the three patterns, there’s the basic primitive: open the calendar, click an empty slot, fill in a position and time, save. See How to add a shift and How to add a shift from the calendar.

This is fine for an extra shift you tacked on. It does not scale beyond a handful per week.

1. Schedule templates — a reusable week (or month)#

A schedule template is a complete plan — a day, a week, or a month of shifts at the right positions, areas, and times — saved as a reusable artefact. Apply it from the calendar at whatever range your current view covers, and Shiftavo stamps out the shifts. A day template can be applied to a day, week, or month view; a week template to week or month; a month template only to a month.

Templates fit when:

  • Your week looks the same most weeks. Two cashiers 09–17 Mon–Fri, one closer 16–24 Tue–Sat never moves.

  • You run several versions — summer / winter, busy / quiet — and want to swap between them.

  • You need to clone last quarter’s schedule for the new quarter and tweak from there.

Templates carry both the shape of the work (positions, areas, times) and any assignments you’ve put on the template shifts. Applying a template stamps out the shifts with those assignments already in place — staffing comes along for the ride. You can still adjust or re-assign on the real calendar afterwards.

See Schedule templates and How to apply a schedule template. If you don’t like what got stamped out, How to undo the last template apply reverses the apply.

2. Recurring shifts — one rule, many occurrences#

A recurring shift is a single shift with a pattern attached: every Monday at 09:00, every other Friday, the second Tuesday of each month. Shiftavo expands the pattern into individual child shifts you can edit independently.

Recurring shifts fit when:

  • One shift repeats. You don’t want to copy it 52 times for the year.

  • The pattern is irregular but rule-based.

Assignments on the parent are carried down to every generated child, so a recurring shift staffed once is staffed for the whole series — you don’t re-assign each Monday. Individual occurrences can still be re-assigned or left blank on the calendar.

When you edit or delete a recurring shift you’ll be asked the scope: This occurrence, Following ones, or All. That’s the trade-off — flexibility per occurrence, with bulk control when you need it.

See Recurring shifts.

3. Shift duplicating#

The shift calendar has direct-manipulation shortcuts that let you build by example. The fastest is Alt+drag (Option+drag on macOS): hold the modifier key, drag any shift, drop it at the new time or day, and Shiftavo creates a copy — same position, area, duration, and assignments — at the drop location. The original stays put.

This fits when:

  • You’re cloning a single shift with its assignments without committing to a template — Alt+drag is the lightweight option.

  • You’re filling in irregular spots. Tuesday 14:00 looks like Monday 14:00 but later in the week.

  • You’re building a one-off week and don’t want to invest in a template you’ll throw away.

See How to duplicate a shift for the duplicate flow, and Shift calendar for the full set of calendar shortcuts (multi-select, split, resize, open-in-new-tab).

Which one when#

Situation

Best fit

Week shape is stable and you’ll re-use it for months.

Schedule template

The shape changes seasonally and you want to swap versions.

Schedule template (multiple)

One shift repeats on a pattern.

Recurring shift

Same person, same time, every Monday.

Recurring shift (staff once on the parent, applies to every occurrence)

Cloning a shift with its assignments.

Alt+drag

Building a one-off week.

Alt+drag from a similar week

Adding extras on top of a template.

One-off shift

You’ll mix all three on a real schedule. A common pattern: apply a template for the baseline week, recurring shifts for the standing positions, Alt+drag for the irregular extras.