Quick Start: Create and Publish Schedules

Quick start instructions on how to add create and publish schedules for employees in Buddy Punch.

Rachel avatar
Written by Rachel
Updated over a week ago

Overview: The scheduling feature, which is only available on the Pro plan and up, allows you to create shifts for your employees from our website or mobile app, which they can view and/or punch into from any permitted device.

Instructions:


Create and Publish Schedules (Web)

1. To create a schedule, start by clicking Schedule in the top navigation:

2. On the schedule page, click an open area on the schedule to populate the shift creation box:

3. When the shift creation box populates, you can then:

  • Assign the shift to an employee

  • Specify the shift start/end time

  • Add a break duration (this is for informational purposes only)

  • Choose a color for the shift

  • Assign any location, department, or position codes

  • And add a note

Click Add Shift once you've entered all the necessary details:

4. Once the shift has been added to the schedule, it will be in draft mode. This is indicated by an outlined shift.

To publish and make the shifts available to employees and visible on your dashboard, click the Publish button in the top right-hand corner:

5. You then have the choice to send the shifts to:

  • All employees

  • Employees with changes only (i.e. edits or deletions)

  • Employees in the current view

  • Employees with shifts in the current view

Once you've made your selection, you can then either publish via email, push notification, or both:


Create and Publish Schedules (App)

1. To create a schedule, start by clicking Schedule in the bottom navigation. If no schedules are created, you'll also see on the Dashboard under Today's Schedule the +Make a schedule option. (Left image below)

2. Once on the Schedule page, you can either click the + button in the top right-hand corner or select the + button next to a specific day. (Right image below)


3. Once the Add Shift page populates, you can then:

  • Assign the shift to an employee

  • Specify the shift start/end time

  • Add a break duration (this is for informational purposes only)

  • Choose a color for the shift

  • Assign any location, department, or position codes

  • And add a note

Click Save once you've entered all the necessary details. (Left image below)

4. You'll be taken back to the Schedule where the shift is in draft mode. To publish and make the shifts available to employees and visible on your dashboard, click the Publish button at the bottom of the page. (Right image below)

5. You'll then be able to choose if you'd like to send a schedule notification and, if so, how. The schedule notifications options are Email, Push, Both, and Publish with no notifications. (Left image below)

6. Once published, you'll be taken back to the schedule page where you'll receive a publish confirmation message and the status of the shift will be changed to published as indicated by a solid color. (Right image below)


Common Issues

When creating and publishing schedules, here are some common issues that you might run into and how to resolve them:

  • Don't See the Schedule Option: If you don't see the Schedule option on the website or in the mobile app, then the feature isn't enabled or you're not on the correct plan. Start by confirming you're on the Pro or above plan from the Settings --> Billings page. If you are on the Pro plan or above, then please head to Settings --> Scheduling to ensure the feature is enabled. If the feature is enabled and you still don't see it, please log out and back in. If that doesn't resolve the issue, contact us at [email protected].

  • Getting an Error When Publishing: If the error is related to Location, Department or Position codes assignments, example below, please review the details in the message, update code assignments accordingly and the attempt to Publish again when done:


    If you're getting a different error and aren't sure how to deal with it, please contact us at [email protected].

  • Employes Can't See Shift When Punching In: If employees can't see or select their shifts when they punch in, this means the shifts are not yet published/visible to them. This can be fixed by visiting the Schedule page (from our website or mobile app) and then Publish from there.

  • Can't See Shifts on Dashboard: If an Administrator or Manager can't see Today's Schedule on the dashboard, this means there are no shifts published for the day yet. This can be fixed by visiting the Schedule page (from our website or mobile app) and then Publish from there.

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