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.
At a glance
What this guide covers
Use this page when you need the shortest path from setup to a working weekly roster, with plan-aware notes for features that are not available on every plan.
Core setup
Register the organization, create the first location, invite people, and confirm employee records before scheduling.
Weekly workflow
Collect availability, create or copy the target week, add open shifts, assign staff, then publish and share the result.
Public sharing
Schedules and availability can be shared with public links. Staff-level sharing only exposes the sharer's own information.
Product view
What the product looks like in practice
These mock panels reflect the three screens most teams touch every week: building shifts, reviewing availability, and sharing the result.
Schedule workspace
Build the week, leave shifts open, then assign staff or publish.
Barista
09:00-13:00
Rostly
Open shift
10:00-14:00
Rostly
Kitchen
11:00-15:00
Rostly
Manager
12:00-18:00
Rostly
Close
15:00-21:00
Rostly
Availability review
Review submitted windows before assigning coverage.
Jordan
06:00-12:00Alice
08:00-14:00Tom
09:30-17:00Public share
Share schedules and availability by link. Staff links only expose the sharer's own information.
- Public link access
- Schedule and availability supported
- Staff shares are self-scoped
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. Teams on plans with multi-location support can add additional venues 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. If your plan includes Auto-scheduling, it works from open shifts that already exist in the target week.
9. Run Auto from availability
After availability has been submitted, teams on Plus and above can 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-scheduling is available on Plus and above. It 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.
Plan-aware notes
Important feature limits to remember
These are the limits most likely to affect onboarding and weekly operations.
Free
Includes roster creation, shift viewing, staff login, and availability submission. Limits are 5 users, 1 location, and 50 shifts per month.
Starter
Adds notifications and higher user capacity, but still stays on a single location. Use Starter when you need more staff seats without multi-location tools.
Plus
Adds drag-and-drop scheduling, auto-scheduling, shift swap support, and multi-location scheduling for up to 3 locations.
Pro
Adds reporting analytics, timesheet export, and higher limits for larger operations with up to 10 locations.
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-scheduling is available on Plus and above, and 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.