Schedule Builder - FAQS

Schedule Builder is a tool in Homebase that builds your work schedule for you. Instead of figuring out who works when all by yourself, it puts together a full week of shifts for your team and hands it to you to look over.

You make any changes you need, fix any issues it flags, and then post it when you're ready.

---

Can I use Schedule Builder on my smartphone?

Schedule Builder is available to managers and owners using Homebase on a web browser. It's not currently available on mobile devices.

---

How do I get started with Schedule Builder?

Open Homebase on your computer and go to Schedule. If the week you're looking at doesn't have any shifts yet, you can click the Schedule Builder Icon in the top right of your screen.

Tap Build my draft schedule and it'll take it from there. When it's done, you'll see the full week laid out and ready for you to review.

---

When does Schedule Builder show up?

It will only show up when you open a week that's completely empty — no shifts, nothing posted yet. If there's already a schedule there, it stays out of the way.

---

What does Schedule Builder use to build my schedule?

Schedule Builder looks at what roles your team members have and how they've been scheduled in the past. It uses that to put together something that actually makes sense for your team, rather than guessing from scratch.

---

Can I make changes before posting the schedule?

Yes — nothing gets posted until you say so. After it builds the draft, you'll see the full schedule on screen before anything goes live.

You can look it over, fix anything that looks off, and handle any issues it flagged before you hit Publish.

---

What kinds of issues might come up?

Before you post your schedule, Schedule Builder checks for a few common problems and lists them for you. Here's what it looks for:

• A shift that conflicts with a pending time off request
• A closing shift scheduled too close to the next opening shift (sometimes called a "clopening")
• A shift with no eligible team members available to cover it
• A team member whose hours would go above their usual threshold
• A team member whose availability is missing or hasn't been updated recently

It also uses each team member's role and five weeks of scheduling history to build the schedule. These won't show up as issues, but they help make better recommendations.

---

What if no one's available for a shift?

If Schedule Builder can't find anyone to cover a shift, it'll flag it and let you know. You'll need to assign someone to that shift yourself before you can post the schedule.

---

What happens when a shift needs to be reviewed?

When the Schedule Builder isn't fully confident about a specific assignment, it marks that shift for review. It's not an error — it's just a heads-up that this particular shift required a second look just to make sure it works for the schedule.

You can leave it as-is or swap in someone else. Either way, it won't stop you from publishing.

---

Does this change the way I normally make schedules?

Nope. This feature is just an option — it only shows up when you open an empty week, and you can ignore it if you want. Everything else in Schedule Builder works exactly the same as it always has.

---

How do I go back to building my schedule myself?

Just click Build schedule manually when prompted. You'll land right in Schedule Builder and can build things out on your own, the same way you always have.

You can also click the three vertical dots in the top right of the Schedule Builder panel, then click Switch back to previous schedule view.

You can begin using the Schedule Builder again by clicking the Schedule Builder Icon in the top right.

---

How does the Schedule Builder build my schedule?

For each shift, the Schedule Builder scores every eligible team member on how likely they are to work that role at that time. It picks the best available fit and builds out the week from there, using your recent scheduling history as a guide to keep things consistent.

What the Schedule Builder checks	Can it be skipped?
Team member availability	No — it will never schedule someone during their approved availability
Terminated employees	No — terminated employees are never scheduled
Role qualifications	No — if no one has ever been assigned to a role, that shift is left open
Matching last week's schedule	Yes — but this is the first thing it tries to get right
Keeping each person's daily schedule consistent with previous days	Yes
Keeping the same shifts covered week to week	Yes
Keeping each person's weekly hours near their usual average	Yes
Avoiding back-to-back closing and opening shifts	Yes

When it has to make a trade-off, the Schedule Builder would rather give someone an extra shift than leave a day short-staffed or make your schedule look very different from usual.