Schedule Creation Overview

Learn how the Schedules page is organized and how the two-step schedule creation wizard works. This article covers the layout, tabs, and general workflow before you dive into specific schedule types.

What Is This?

The Schedules page is your central hub for creating and managing employee work schedules. It features two tabs: Schedules and Shift Templates. The Schedules tab lists all existing schedules with key details, while the Shift Templates tab lets you define reusable shift configurations.

Creating a new schedule follows a two-step wizard:
– Step 1: Set basic information — name, color, project, date range, pay rate, and employee permissions.
– Step 2: Choose the schedule type and configure its specific settings.

Each schedule can cover a maximum period of 3 months.

Prerequisites

#	Prerequisite	Details
1	Active Shifton account	You must have a registered company account
2	Admin, Owner, or Manager role	You need permissions to create schedules
3	At least one project created	Schedules are always linked to a project
4	Employees added to the system	You need employees to assign to the schedule

Step-by-Step Instructions

Navigating to the Schedules Page

Open the left sidebar menu.

Click on Schedules

You will see two tabs at the top: Schedules and Shift Templates.

Understanding the Schedules Tab

The Schedules tab displays a table of all your existing schedules:

Column	Description
Name	The title of the schedule
Number of employees	How many employees are assigned to this schedule
Project	The project this schedule belongs to
Period (From/To)	The start and end dates of the schedule
Actions	Available operations: Edit, Extend, Delete, and more

Creating a New Schedule — The Two-Step Wizard

Step 1: Basic Information

Click the + Create schedule button.

Fill in the following fields:

Schedule name

mdash; a descriptive title.

Color

mdash; select a color to identify this schedule on the calendar.

Project

mdash; choose which project this schedule belongs to.

Date range (From / To)

mdash; set the start and end dates. Maximum span is 3 months.

Pay rate

mdash; define the pay rate settings for this schedule.

Permissions

mdash; configure what actions employees can take (swap shifts, drop shifts, etc.).

Click Next to proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Choose Schedule Type

Select one of the available schedule types:

Basic

mdash; fixed working hours with standard work days and days off.

By Availability

mdash; generates shifts based on employee availability settings.

Advanced

mdash; different numbers of workplaces per shift.

Preset (Pattern)

mdash; repeating rotation pattern (e.g., 2 on, 2 off).

Empty

mdash; blank schedule for fully manual shift assignment.

Configure the type-specific settings.

Click Create to generate the schedule.

Understanding the Shift Templates Tab

Click the Shift Templates tab at the top of the Schedules page.

Here you can view and manage pre-defined shift configurations.

Shift templates save time by letting you reuse common shift setups (e.g., “Morning 8-4,” “Night 10-6”) when adding shifts to any schedule.

Access Permissions

Role	View Schedules	Create Schedule	Edit Schedule	Delete Schedule
Owner	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Admin	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Manager	Yes (assigned projects)	Yes (assigned projects)	Yes (assigned projects)	Yes (assigned projects)
Employee	Yes (own schedule only)	No	No	No

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum duration for a single schedule?
A: A single schedule can span up to 3 months. For longer periods, create a new schedule that continues where the previous one ended, or extend the existing schedule.

Q: Can I change the schedule type after creation?
A: No. The schedule type is set during creation and cannot be changed afterward. You can delete the schedule and create a new one with a different type if needed.

Q: What happens when a schedule expires?
A: Expired schedules remain visible in the list with a warning icon. They can be extended if needed. See the article on extending and shortening schedules for details.

Q: Can I have multiple schedules for the same project?
A: Yes. You can create as many schedules as needed within a single project, each covering different date ranges or different groups of employees.

Q: Do I need to create shift templates before creating a schedule?
A: No. Shift templates are optional and are used for convenience when manually adding shifts. Automatic schedule types (Basic, By Availability, Advanced, Preset) generate shifts on their own.

Possible Issues and Solutions

Issue	Possible Cause	Solution
“Create schedule” button is not visible	Insufficient permissions	Confirm you have Admin, Owner, or Manager access to the project
Date range exceeds 3 months	The system enforces a maximum period	Shorten the date range to 3 months or less, then extend later if needed
No projects available in the dropdown	No projects have been created yet	Create a project first on the Projects page
Schedule appears with a warning icon	The schedule’s end date has passed	Extend the schedule or create a new one for the upcoming period
Cannot see employees after creating the schedule	Employees are not assigned to the selected project	Assign employees to the project before creating the schedule