Rostly quick-start guide
Everything you need to go from a new workspace to a published weekly roster. Follow the steps below and you'll be set up in under ten minutes.
Quick start
Recommended setup order
For a clean rollout, follow this order the first time you configure a new team:
1. Register your organization
Create the workspace owner account on the registration page. This becomes the first organization admin.
2. Create your first location
Open Operations > Locations and add the site your team works from. If you have multiple venues, create each one before assigning staff.
3. Invite employees
Go to Operations > Employees and send invitations to managers and staff. Use correct names, emails, job titles, and roles from the start.
4. Review employee records
Check imported or invited employee profiles, confirm job titles, and make sure the right people are active before building the schedule.
5. Assign each employee to a location
Set the correct primary location for every employee. Scheduling, availability, and filtering become much clearer once location ownership is correct.
6. Ask staff to submit availability
Use the Availability page so employees can enter their available time blocks for the target week before you draft shifts.
7. Create the first schedule period
Open Schedule and create the first weekly period. This establishes the week you will roster against.
8. Create open shifts first
Add the required shifts onto the calendar first, but leave them unassigned. Auto-scheduling works from open shifts that already exist in the target week.
9. Run Auto from availability
After availability has been submitted, use Auto on the Schedule page to assign employees into those open shifts based on matching availability and conflicts.
10. Use Copy from for repeated weeks
Once at least one period exists, use Copy from to reuse a previous week as the base for the next one, then adjust exceptions only.
Workflow
How each part fits together
The product works best when setup and weekly operations follow the same rhythm.
Organizations
The organization is the top-level workspace. Billing, locations, employees, availability, and schedules all live under it.
Locations
Locations define where shifts happen. They are also the main filter used across operations, availability review, and scheduling.
Employees and roles
Managers can review broader operational data. Staff mainly need access to their own schedule and availability submission flow.
Availability submission
Availability should be collected before managers finalize the week. This reduces manual back-and-forth and lowers reassignment work.
Schedule building
Managers create the week, add shifts, drag or resize time blocks, assign staff manually when needed, and review coverage gaps before publishing.
Auto-scheduling
Auto does not create demand for you. First create open shifts for the week, then run Auto to fill those existing shifts from matching employee availability.
Copy from previous week
Copy from is intended for repeatable weekly patterns. Use it after your first good baseline week exists, not before the first period is created.
Best practices
Operational tips
- Create locations before inviting large groups of staff so assignments stay clean.
- Keep employee names and roles consistent to avoid confusion in schedule review.
- Collect availability first, then create or refine shifts for the same week.
- Auto works best after open shifts already exist. It fills unassigned shifts; it does not replace shift creation.
- Use Copy from only when the previous week is a valid template for the next one.
- After copying a week, review public holidays, availability, and location-specific exceptions before publishing.