Scheduling

 

Homebase makes scheduling a breeze with these tools. You’ll never want to use paper again!

Click any link to jump to that section. 

The basics

Approve or deny shift trades and covers

Copy schedules to future weeks

Customize schedule settings

Event scheduling

Prevent employees from seeing each other's schedules

Remove wages from schedule

Schedule a split shift

Shift notes

Show or remove employees on the schedule

Sort employees on schedule

Upload a photo of your paper schedule

 

The basics

 

Build schedules with multiple views:

We offer a number of ways to view and build a schedule:

• By Employee. Assign shifts and publish schedules by individual employees (the default view).
• By Role. Assign shifts to various roles.
• By Department. Assign shifts and publish schedules by individual departments.
• You can also view by Day, Week, or Month.

 

Add shifts to your schedule:

For the best experience, we recommend using the web version of our schedule builder.

1. Sign in to your Homebase account.
2. Select the Schedule tab in the top navigation bar.
3. Note the date range for the week in the upper left corner. You can advance or go back a week using the arrows. Or click into the box to set the date range.
4. To create a shift for an employee, select the box under the date and across from their name. Click ADD+.
5. The scheduling window will pop up. Set the start and end time for the shift.
6. You can add or create a role from the drop-down menu.
7. Assign a color to the shift.
8. Click Add.
9. Make sure to click Publish when you are ready to publish the schedule for your employees.
10. If you have a recurring schedule, click here to learn how to make a template.

 Edit and delete shifts:

1. Click on the shift block you wish to edit or delete.
2. To edit, change shift info and click Save.
3. To delete the shift, click Delete.

Publish a schedule and notify employees:

1. Once you have added all your shifts, you need to publish the schedule for it to be visible to employees.
2. If the green Publish button is available in the upper right corner of your page, that signals that you have shifts yet to be published.
3. To publish shifts, click Publish.
4. After you click publish, you will be given the option of which employees should be notified of the new schedule: everyone, only those employees with changes, or no-one.
5. Employees will be alerted of a new schedule via email and push notification to the mobile app.
6. All unpublished shifts will fill in with color once they are published.
7. To resend a schedule to your staff, do one of these:
• Create a new shift and publish
• Edit a shift and publish
• Create an open shift and publish 

Mobile scheduling

1. Sign in to the Homebase mobile app.
2. Tap Schedule in the navigation bar. 
3. Tap the plus icon in the top right corner to create a shift.
4. Customize your shift
• Date
• Time
• Choose an employee or leave the shift open
• Role
• Color
• Shift note
5. Tap the purple check in the top right corner.
6. Repeat to add necessary shifts.
• To delete a shift, select the shift and tap Delete Shift at the bottom.
7. When all shifts have been created, tap Publish.
8. Choose how you would like to notify your employees.

 

Approve or deny shift trades and covers

From the Homebase mobile app, employees can trade and cover shifts with each other. Those requests are sent to managers for approval.

First, employees initiate a trade or cover:

1. Open your Homebase Employee Scheduling app.
2. Tap Schedule on the lower navigation bar.
3. Select My Shifts from the top bar.
4. Tap Find Cover to the right of any future shifts you want covered.
5. Tap Trade Shift, select all or specific teammates, and click Submit.
6. Tap Request Cover, select all or specific teammates, and click Submit.
7. Your teammates and manager will receive your request for approval.

When employees request a shift trade or cover you will be notified and must approve or deny it.

Web

1. Sign in to your Homebase account.
2. Click the bell icon in the top right corner.
3. Approve or Deny the shift trade or cover.

Mobile

1. Open your Homebase mobile app.
2. Tap More.
3. Tap Requests.
4. Tap the request to approve or deny.

Copy schedules to future weeks:

Reduce your scheduling time even further with the Copy feature.

1. Select the Schedule tab in the top navigation bar.
2. Click the Copy button in the upper right corner to copy the current week's schedule to a future week.

Customize schedule settings:

These settings provide additional control over how your employees and managers view and interact with the schedule.

Send employee schedules via text message:

1. Sign in to your Homebase account.
2. Select the Settings tab in the top navigation bar.
3. Select Alerts & Permissions from the navigation bar on the left.
4. Check the box next to Text Schedule to Employees.
5. Click Save Changes.
6. When you publish your next schedule, employees with phone numbers in their profiles will receive a text message of the new schedule.

Only show employees their own schedule:

1. Select the Settings tab in the top navigation bar.
2. Select Alerts & Permissions from the navigation bar on the left.
3. Check the box next to Only show employees their shifts.
4. Click Save Changes.

Limit managers to build schedules for their department only:

1. Select the Settings tab in the top navigation bar.
2. Select Alerts & Permissions from the navigation bar on the left.
3. Check the box next to Allow managers to build schedules for their assigned departments only.
4. Click Save Changes.

Event scheduling

From food truck visits to desk moves, you can add special events to your team schedule so your employees always know what’s coming up. 

Add an event

1. Select the Schedule tab in the top navigation bar.
2. Select Tools in the upper right corner of the page.
3. Hover over Add then click on An Event.
4. Enter the date, title, and description of the event.
5. Click Add Event.

 Edit or delete an event

1. Select the Schedule tab in the top navigation bar.
2. Edit the date range to find your event.
3. Click the name of the event.
4. To edit, change the title or description of the event. Click Save Changes.
5. To delete, click Delete, then click Yes. Your event will no longer show on the schedule.

 

Prevent employee's from seeing each other's schedules

With this feature, employees will see only their own shifts and any open shifts. Other employees' shifts will not be visible from the time clock app on tablet/iPad or mobile. 

1. Sign in to your account.
2. Select Settings in the top navigation bar.
3. Select Alerts & Permissions in the left navigation.
4. Check the box that reads “Employees can only view their own schedule.”
5. Save Changes in the upper right corner.

 

Remove wages from schedules

1. Select Schedule in the top navigation bar.

1. Select Tools in the upper right.
2. Select Show/Hide.
3. Uncheck Wages Forecast.
4. (Optional) Print without wages.

Schedule a split shift:

1. Select Schedule in the top navigation bar.
2. Set the date range in the top left corner.
3. Click ADD+ on the schedule and create the first shift.
4. Click the plus icon at the bottom right of the created shift.
5. Click on the duplicated shift and adjust the time.
6. Save.
7. Select Publish in the top right corner to publish the schedule.

Shift notes:

You can add Shift Notes to your scheduled shifts for your employees. With this feature, let your staff know what you need during this shift. 

Web

1. Sign in to your Homebase account.
2. Select Schedule in the top navigation bar.
3. Click ADD+ to create a shift.
4. Add a shift note in the field provided.
5. Select Add.
6. Publish in the upper right corner.
7. Your employees will see the notes attached to their shifts via web or mobile.

Mobile

1. Open your Homebase mobile app.
2. Tap Schedule in the navigation bar.
3. Click the plus icon to add a shift.
4. After customizing the shift, enter a shift note at the bottom.
5. Tap the check icon to save the shift.
6. To publish your shifts for your team to see them, tap Review Schedule and Publish.

Show or hide employees on schedule

If you cannot see your employee on the schedule builder, or you need to remove an employee from the schedule builder, you will need to change a setting on their personal profile.

You can only do this on the web:

1. Select Team in the top navigation bar.
2. Select the name of the employee to open their personal profile.
3. Select Locations & PINs.
1. This is the second tab below their name.
4. There are boxes you can check and uncheck under the location the employee works.
5. Make sure there’s a green check in the box that reads “Show [name] in location schedule”
6. This will ensure their name appears on the schedule builder list of employees.
7. If you need to remove the employee, make sure there is no green check.
8. Save Changes in the top right corner.

Sort employees on schedule

Homebase allows you to customize how to view your employees on the schedule builder.

Sort by name

1. Sign in to your Homebase account.
2. Select Schedule in the top navigation bar.
3. Select Tools in the upper right corner.
4. Select Sort by:
• First Name
• Last Name
• Custom Sort

Drag and drop

1. Select Schedule in the top navigation bar.
2. To the left of the employee's name on the schedule, click the 3 vertical dots to drag and drop their name on the schedule.

By view

1. Select Schedule in the top navigation bar.
2. Next to the date range box, select the view drop-down to choose one:
• Employee view
• Department view
• Role view

By color

1. Select Schedule in the top navigation bar.
2. Click ADD+ to create a shift, and choose a color in the drop-down.
3. This allows you to keep track of roles by separating by color.

Upload a photo of your schedule

Already have a copy of your schedule in a spreadsheet? Don’t want to manually add the info to Homebase? If you use the Homebase mobile app, you can upload a photo of the schedule right from your phone to easily share with employees.

1. Open your Homebase Employee Scheduling app.
2. Tap Schedule on the lower navigation bar.
3. Scroll the dates at the top to select the week you’ll be adding a schedule for.
4. Underneath the Build a Schedule button, tap Click or upload a photo of the schedule instead.
5. You’ll have the option to upload your schedule by taking a picture or selecting one from your library.
6. Confirm the Location, Schedule Start Day, and Scheduled Dates.  
7. Click Share with Team to publish your schedule and notify your team.