HospiEdgeRestaurant operating system
Operator manual

HE Schedule operator manual.

Build and publish the week, handle staff requests, review time entries and prepare payroll records. Manager and team procedures are grouped below.

Who should open what first

This quick launch map shows where owners, managers, and team members start in the Schedule week.

Owner or GM

Start with setup, policy readiness, and the weekly build-to-closeout playbook so staffing truth, labor review, payroll exports, and people follow-through all stay connected.

Schedule managers

Move into the manager playbook and screen-by-screen runbooks once setup is stable so weekly draft, publish, timekeeping, swaps, alerts, and closeout work stay in the right order.

Team members

Jump to the team runbooks only after the publish flow is clear so requests, acknowledgements, time-clock use, and pickup behavior match the live manager process.

Before You Schedule

Complete this checklist before the first live week so scheduling, approvals, compliance review, and labor reports start from the same authorized operating scope.

1) Platform Identity + Schedule Scope

  1. Sign in through the HospiEdge platform doorway; Schedule does not ask the manager to create or validate a second public credential.
  2. Confirm the provisioned Schedule entitlement, restaurant membership, selected location, and role carried from the platform launcher before opening Locations or Settings.
  3. If multi-location, switch only among locations already allowed for the current platform identity, then verify each location's separate workforce records and Schedule assignments.

2) Team, Role, and People-Ops Foundation

  1. Create roles in Roles (Server, Bartender, Line, Host, etc.).
  2. Provision staff identity and base access through the platform account, then use Team for Schedule-specific workforce records, manager/team permissions, and HR readiness.
  3. Approve Schedule role assignments so Auto-Schedule, pickup eligibility, onboarding, punch-number setup, and payroll preparation reference the intended people records without expanding platform authority.

3) Availability + Targets

  1. Have each team member set recurring availability in Availability.
  2. Add one-off overrides (vacation, exceptions) to prevent false coverage assumptions.
  3. Set demand windows and minimum staffing in Staffing targets.

4) Labor, Pay, Punch, and Alert Readiness

  1. Set and manager-review hourly rates in Pay rates so labor and payroll preparation use the intended inputs; the guide does not treat calculated output as final payroll approval.
  2. Assign punch numbers and verify personal/shared time-clock readiness before the first live week.
  3. Configure policy modes (warn/block) in Rules, validate on Compliance, then post communication in Announcements and run the first alert scan in Notifications.

Manager Weekly Build-To-Payroll Playbook

Run this sequence every week to keep schedule quality, time capture, payroll review, and people follow-through aligned before the week closes and the next publish cycle starts.

Phase Where To Go What To Do Done When
1) Week Prep Schedule board, Staffing targets Set target week, review prior publish versions, confirm staffing targets and role coverage priorities. Coverage expectations are clear before creating drafts.
2) Draft Build Auto-schedule, Schedule board Generate draft shifts (role groups, pars, days, stagger), then edit manually and drag/drop where needed. Draft contains the full week with minimal open shifts.
3) Conflict Pass Schedule board, Rules, Compliance Resolve time-off overlaps, availability conflicts, and policy blocks before publishing. No unresolved issues remain for publish target roles.
4) Publish + Snapshot Schedule board (Publish by role / all roles) Publish schedule, verify version snapshot was created, and keep rollback option available. Team sees published shifts and managers can roll back if needed.
5) Midweek Operations Time off, Trade board, Callouts Process time-off, trades, pickups, and callouts fast to protect coverage quality during service days. Requests are actioned and open shifts are reassigned or escalated.
6) Clock + Accuracy Time clock, Timesheets Ensure personal or shared clock-in/out discipline, correct exceptions, and tag manager edits with notes. Actual hours are clean enough for payroll, labor variance, and end-of-period approvals.
7) Cost + Closeout Labor actuals, Labor forecast, Payroll, Tips context, POS integration Review scheduled vs actual, labor %, overtime, payroll gross, finalized POS Server Checkout tip context, liabilities, and exported payroll files before close. The review packet is ready for authorized payroll, tax, liability, and accounting follow-through; Schedule does not claim that exporting a file submits, pays, or reconciles those obligations automatically.

Manager Screen-By-Screen Runbooks

These operating runbooks keep each manager area tied to the weekly schedule rhythm.

1) Master Schedule Board

Schedule board

  1. Set week, role filter, and optional staff view/search.
  2. Add/edit shifts with date, start/end, break, staff, role, status.
  3. Use controls: Publish, Unpublish, Copy Prev Week, Clear Drafts.
  4. Open Version History and rollback if a publish action needs reversal.

2) Auto-Schedule Draft Generation

Auto-schedule

  1. Select target Monday and enable/disable auto-assign.
  2. Add role groups with role, par count, start time, stagger, duration, and active weekdays.
  3. Generate draft shifts, then return to schedule board for manual refinement.
  4. If auto-assign leaves openings, fill with trade board or manual assignments.

3) Staffing Target Windows

Staffing targets

  1. Create day/time windows with minimum staff counts and optional role label.
  2. Use role-specific targets for high-risk stations (bar, line, host, expo).
  3. Delete stale targets when seasonal traffic changes.
  4. Recheck board coverage after updates to close under-staffed windows.

4) Team + Role Governance

Team, Roles

  1. Resolve pending platform provisioning first, then confirm each Schedule workforce record and system role (team/manager) matches the authorized identity.
  2. Approve pending Schedule role requests only within the manager's existing restaurant/location authority; an in-app request never grants broader platform access.
  3. Use roles page to maintain active role catalog and color coding.
  4. Review the team roster before each schedule cycle to validate staffing readiness.

5) Time-Off Decisioning

Time off

  1. Review pending requests by requester level (team or manager).
  2. Approve or deny with secure manager actions and immediate status update.
  3. Have team cancel stale requests still marked pending.
  4. After approvals, re-run schedule conflict check to catch new gaps.

6) Trades, Pickups, and Callouts

Trade board, Callouts

  1. Monitor trade board for pending, approved, denied, and cancelled requests.
  2. Resolve open shift coverage from callout candidates with eligibility checks.
  3. Assign available candidate directly from callout modal when eligible.
  4. Audit recurring callout patterns and adjust next week staffing depth.

7) Rules + Compliance

Rules, Compliance

  1. Set policy modes for hours, rest, overtime, and schedule-rule enforcement.
  2. Run compliance scan for current week and review violations by policy key.
  3. Use punch exception panel to catch missing or irregular time entries.
  4. Treat block violations as publish issues unless leadership approves exception.

8) Quality + Alerts

Quality scan, Notifications

  1. Run quality scan for selected week and save score trend.
  2. Use reason breakdown (time off, unavailable, overlap, rules) to prioritize fixes.
  3. Run notification scan to generate alerts from pending workflows and conflicts.
  4. Mark alerts read after action, and adjust email toggles in Notification preferences.

9) Labor, Timesheet, Payroll Operations

Labor actuals, Timesheets, Payroll

  1. Run labor report by date range for scheduled vs actual hours and labor cost deltas.
  2. Fix missing/incorrect punches in timesheet modal (add/edit/delete with notes).
  3. Generate payroll view with regular, overtime, gross, and adjustment-ready calculations.
  4. Review checks, statements, worksheet/export files, recurring items, and off-cycle adjustments before period approval.
  5. Export payroll files only after totals, overtime thresholds, finalized POS Server Checkout tip context, unresolved timekeeping items, liabilities, and statement/check outputs are verified.

10) Forecast, POS Context, HR, and Integrations

Labor forecast, Pay rates, Tips context, HR, POS integration

  1. Use forecast to compare last week, current week, and next three weeks labor posture.
  2. Update pay rates so cost, payroll, and forecast math remain valid.
  3. Review finalized Server Checkout tip context and any approved distribution records, then validate history by date range before payroll export.
  4. Maintain HR profiles, onboarding, Schedule assignments, punch-number setup, and pay rates. When an Aloha or POS connection is separately enabled and authorized, stage the import, verify restaurant/location mapping and date range, review the staged records, then finalize only the intended sales-labor context. An imported email or employee record never grants platform identity or access.

Team Member Runbooks

These steps show how staff handle personal scheduling work day to day.

1) My Work Home

My work home

  1. Open current week and review published personal shifts.
  2. Request an additional Schedule work role if needed. The request stays pending for an authorized manager and cannot expand platform restaurant, location, or product access.
  3. Open shift actions: Trade or Call Out from each shift card.
  4. Browse available pickups and submit pickup request when eligible.

2) Availability + One-Off Overrides

Availability

  1. Set recurring day-by-day availability (available/unavailable + start/end times).
  2. Save each day card after edits.
  3. Create overrides for specific dates (one-time unavailable or one-time available window).
  4. Remove overrides when plans change to avoid unnecessary staffing conflicts.

3) Trades + Pickups

Trade board

  1. Submit trade request from My Work shift card with optional note.
  2. Track request status on the Trade Board until a manager approves, denies, or cancels the request.
  3. Accept eligible trade opportunities when posted.
  4. Cancel stale pending trade requests that are no longer needed.

4) Time-Off Requests

Time off

  1. Create request with date/time range and reason.
  2. Leave times blank for all-day requests.
  3. Track history and final decision status in My History panel.
  4. Cancel request while still pending if plans change.

5) Clock In/Out + My Time Entries

Time clock, Timesheets

  1. Clock in at shift start using the personal time clock or assigned shared terminal flow.
  2. Clock out immediately at shift end to avoid inflated actual hours.
  3. Check My Entries for missing out-punches or timing issues.
  4. Contact manager for corrections when entry needs edit.

6) Alerts + Announcements

Notifications, Announcements

  1. Check alerts daily for new schedule actions, requests, and conflicts.
  2. Mark read after action is completed.
  3. Review active announcements for policy and shift updates.
  4. Set email alert preferences in Notification preferences.

Weekly + Monthly Operating Routines

These routines keep schedule quality, labor, timekeeping, payroll, and team performance stable.

Weekly Manager Routine

  • Monday: build drafts + clear issues before first publish.
  • Midweek: process time-off/trades/callouts twice daily.
  • Friday: run compliance + quality scan before next publish action.
  • Sunday: lock timesheet exceptions before payroll review, check-run preparation, and liability reconciliation.

Finance + Labor Routine

  • Update pay rates immediately when wage changes happen.
  • Compare scheduled vs actual hours and investigate repeat variances.
  • Track labor % and open shift hours in forecast panel.
  • Create a payroll export only after an authorized manager reviews overtime, finalized Server Checkout tip context, liabilities, unresolved timekeeping items, and adjustment rows. Export preparation does not file taxes, move money, or replace payroll-provider approval.

System Health Routine

  • Review role assignments and inactive users monthly.
  • Audit notification preferences and announcement cadence.
  • For each separately enabled POS connection, verify authorization, restaurant/location mapping, import status, and data recency; leave unavailable or unmapped providers off.
  • Only an authorized administrator reviews enabled API keys, webhook destinations, delivery status, and location access in multi-unit setups; never place provider secrets in the guide or a browser field that does not explicitly require them.

Choose the next destination by the next scheduling question

Keep the workflow focused on schedule build, timekeeping review, payroll closeout, and people follow-through, then move to pricing or rollout when those questions come next.

Need the shorter buyer summary?

The Schedule product page gives a shorter buyer overview before the full workflow manual.

Back to Schedule Page

Need the broader platform flow?

The integrated platform guide explains how Scheduling connects with POS closeout, labor records, operations follow-through, and the wider platform.

Open platform flow guide

Need buying guides or templates?

The Resources hub provides labor explainers, scheduling buyer context, hiring guides, and playbook templates when the next step is still educational.

Open Resources hub

Need role-based Training instead?

Move to HospiEdge Training when the next question is training cadence, standards practice, or onboarding support instead of scheduling screens and payroll flow.

Open Training

Need implementation context?

Use the implementation guide to plan workforce records, access, timekeeping equipment, training, and launch readiness.

Plan implementation Contact HospiEdge