This checklist links to the detailed guides for each stage, so you can follow the process and open extra help when you need it. You will use planning access for the intended location and configuration access for setup changes.
Gather employee details, shift times, staffing requirements and your team's rules, and agree who will review and authorise publication. If RosterLab has supplied an implementation model, arrange the import with your contact rather than re-entering the same setup.
Confirm the location and planning period before you start. The surrounding app navigation shows where to find the setup and planning tools.
Prepare the roster
Confirm the location and planning period. If you need a new location, start with Create a new roster location. Check the roster name, start date and period mode. The current period contains today's date; choose the future period you intend to prepare. Choose and change roster periods explains fixed and custom options, including the irreversible conversion warning.
Set up employees and eligibility. Add employee records and assign the skills and shifts they can work. Check area eligibility if you use areas. Add and maintain employee records covers this separately from sign-in invitations.
Define the work. Create shifts and any tasks or shift groups needed to express duties and patterns. Create and edit shifts is the starting point.
Set rules and patterns. Configure the relevant rules and employee-specific values with Configure rules and individual exceptions. Use Rules - Set Patterns for repeating pattern rules.
Set coverage and planning requests. Start with demand sentences in Set staffing coverage and demand, which also covers table demands and public holidays. Check recurring requirements and date-specific exceptions, then review fixed shifts, leave and preferences. A preference is not the same as a fixed allocation; use Set fixed shifts and allocations for commitments.
Build and review
Check history where it affects AI planning. RosterLab brings previous roster history into AI planning automatically. Review the preceding allocations when checking rules across a period boundary. See Understand how roster history affects generation.
Build the roster. Use manual planning where appropriate, or Generate a roster if AI generation is available. For a generated result, review it before sending it to My Roster for further adjustments.
Review the actual allocations. Check coverage, warnings, statistics, fixed commitments and the relevant requests. Use Review coverage warnings and solution quality. Do not treat a completed generation as approval to publish.
Publish the checked result. Follow Publish a checked roster only after your team's review is complete. Check the intended scope and dates before confirming.
Confirm that the intended period is published and employees can see the expected assignments through their employee view. Use the separate sharing or export workflow if you need another distribution format.