Forecasting - Shifton Help

Enable the Forecasting module to unlock the Load Demand feature — a staffing prediction tool built into the schedule creation wizard.

What Is This?

The Forecasting module activates demand-based staffing planning in Shifton. When enabled, it adds a Load Demand tab to the schedule wizard (Step 3 – Shift Data) for Advanced and By Availability schedule types.

Load Demand lets you define how many employees are needed for each hour of the day, upload historical demand data as a CSV, and let the system use those numbers when auto-generating shifts.

Important: The Forecasting module does not add a separate page or dashboard to Shifton. Its interface is the Load Demand tab, available in two places: (1) inside the schedule creation wizard (Step 3), and (2) in the Edit schedule panel (Schedules list → Edit icon → Load demand tab).

Prerequisites

Owner or Admin role
Advanced or By Availability schedule type (Load Demand is not available for Basic, Preset/Pattern, or Empty schedules)

How to Enable/Disable

Go to Modules in the left sidebar.

Find Forecasting in the module list.

Toggle the switch to enable or disable.

Pricing

Component	Cost
Monthly module fee	$0/month
Per-employee fee	$2/employee/month
Trial period	30 days

Example: a company with 20 employees pays $0 + (20 × $2) = $40/month.

Using Load Demand (Step-by-Step)

Load Demand is accessed while creating or editing an Advanced or By Availability schedule.

Opening Load Demand

Go to Schedule → create a new schedule (or edit an existing Advanced/By Availability schedule).

Reach Step 3 — Shift Data.

Click the Load demand tab (next to the default Shift data tab).

Configuring Demand Parameters

Field	Description
Minimum shift duration	Shortest allowed shift (e.g., 1 hour)
Maximum shift duration	Longest allowed shift (e.g., 8 hours)
Minimum coverage	Minimum acceptable staffing level as a percentage (e.g., 95%)
Maximum coverage	Maximum staffing level before the system considers a period overstaffed (e.g., 105%)

Entering Demand Manually

After setting parameters, click Upload to open the Import Load Statistic panel:

Field	Description
Step (minutes)	Time resolution of demand data — e.g., 60 means one value per hour
Demand grid (0–23)	Enter the required number of employees for each hour of the day
Action with repeating dates	Replace — overwrite existing data for that date; Skip — keep existing data

You can fill this grid manually for each date you want to plan.

Uploading Demand from a CSV File

Click Download to get the CSV template.

Fill in the template with your historical or forecasted demand data (one row per date, one column per hour).

Return to the Import Load Statistic panel and upload the completed file.

Choose whether to Replace or Skip existing entries for dates already in the system.

Create Shift Templates Toggle

At the bottom of the Load demand tab, toggle Create shift templates on if you want the system to automatically generate shift template suggestions based on your demand data when the schedule is built.

How Demand Data Affects Schedule Generation

Once demand is configured, the schedule auto-generation engine uses it to:

Calculate how many employees are needed per time slot
Compare that against available employees and their constraints
Generate shifts that aim to keep actual coverage within the Min–Max coverage range

Periods where coverage would fall below the minimum are flagged for review.

Access Permissions

Role	Enable/Disable Module	Use Load Demand	View Schedule with Demand Data
Owner	Yes	Yes	Yes
Admin	Yes	Yes	Yes
Manager	No	Yes (assigned projects)	Yes (assigned projects)
Employee	No	No	No

FAQ

Q: I enabled Forecasting but I don’t see a new page or dashboard — is something wrong?
A: No. Forecasting doesn’t add a separate page. The feature lives entirely inside the schedule wizard as the “Load Demand” tab on Step 3. Open or edit an Advanced or By Availability schedule to access it.

Q: Does Load Demand work with Basic schedules?
A: No. Load Demand is only available for Advanced and By Availability schedule types, as these are the types that auto-generate shifts based on variable staffing requirements.

Q: How much historical data do I need for accurate forecasting?
A: You can start with any data. The system uses whatever demand numbers you provide — whether based on historical records, your own estimates, or seasonal patterns. The more accurately you populate the demand grid, the better the generated schedule will match your real needs.

Q: Does Forecasting automatically create shifts?
A: No. It provides the demand targets for the schedule generation engine. Actual shift creation happens when you run the schedule auto-generation — the demand data guides how many shifts to create per time slot.

Q: Can I use the same demand template for multiple weeks?
A: Yes. When uploading demand data, use the Skip option for dates that already have data, so you don’t overwrite past entries. You can upload a weekly repeating pattern by populating all 7 days in the CSV template.

Possible Issues and Solutions

Issue	Cause	Solution
Load Demand tab not visible in schedule wizard	Forecasting module not enabled, or schedule type is Basic/Preset/Empty	Enable Forecasting in Modules; use Advanced or By Availability schedule type
Generated schedule doesn’t match demand	Min/Max coverage thresholds too wide, or demand grid not populated	Tighten the coverage range and ensure demand grid has data for all relevant hours
CSV upload fails	File format doesn’t match the template	Download the template fresh from the Load demand tab and use it as the base
Import replaces data I wanted to keep	Action set to Replace instead of Skip	Re-upload with Action = Skip for dates that should not be overwritten