AI Scheduling for Hourly Teams

Stop losing Sunday nights
to the weekly schedule

Roster reads your team availability, checks every labor law, and hands you a ready-to-publish schedule in under 60 seconds. Built for restaurants, retail, salons, and any operation running hourly shifts.

User User User User
Restaurant team at work

The average shift manager spends 4.6 hours per week building the schedule and still fields nine texts before it goes live. Roster closes that gap entirely.

Trusted by operations teams at

Coast Kitchen Urban Fade Barbershop Bright Paws Grooming Volta Retail Sunrise Urgent Care The Anchor Pub Group

Every week, the same three problems eat your time

📅

Availability chaos

Collecting availability from 15 part-timers over text, spreadsheets, and sticky notes takes two hours before you write a single shift. And someone always updates theirs after you submit the draft.

68% of schedule errors trace back to stale availability data

Compliance landmines

Predictive scheduling laws, overtime thresholds, mandatory rest periods. Every state and city has different rules, and a single violation costs more than a month of your labor budget.

$1,800 average penalty per violation under predictive scheduling laws
📲

Last-minute callouts

Someone texts out two hours before their shift. You spend 45 minutes calling backups, playing phone tag, and hoping someone picks up while your floor stays short-staffed.

3.2 unplanned callouts per location per week in food service

Three steps. One clean schedule. Zero Sunday nights lost.

Roster connects to your existing roster, pulls availability in real time, and generates a legally compliant schedule optimized for your labor budget. Publish it with one click and your team is notified automatically.

Manager reviewing schedule on tablet
1

Connect your team

Invite employees by text or email. Each person sets their availability once in under two minutes. No app download required. It all runs from a mobile-friendly link they already have in their messages.

2

Set your parameters

Tell Roster your target labor cost percentage, minimum coverage by role and time block, and any state-specific compliance requirements. It learns your preferences and improves each week automatically.

3

Review, publish, done

Review the AI draft, adjust any shift, and publish. Your team is notified the instant it goes live. Roster flags every compliance conflict before you hit send, not after the audit.

Everything a scheduling manager actually needs

🤖

AI schedule generation

Describe your week: peak hours, minimum coverage by role, budget target. Get a full schedule back in 30 seconds. Every shift is editable, every change rechecked for conflicts before you publish.

🔄

Shift-swap marketplace

When someone cannot make it, Roster texts eligible teammates automatically. The first person to accept locks the shift. You get a confirmation message, not a problem to solve at 6 AM.

Compliance engine

Built-in rule sets cover predictive scheduling laws, minimum rest periods, overtime thresholds, and minor work permits for every major US jurisdiction. Violations are flagged before publish, not after the audit.

📊

Labor cost forecasting

See projected weekly labor cost as you build the schedule. Roster shows you where you are against your target percentage and highlights which shifts are driving overages so you can trim strategically.

📱

No-app employee portal

Employees manage availability, request time off, and confirm shifts from a mobile-optimized web link sent via SMS. No app store. No account creation. Near-100% adoption rates on every team we have seen.

🔗

POS and payroll sync

Connects to Square, Toast, Clover, Gusto, ADP Run, and QuickBooks Payroll. Actual hours flow directly to payroll each period. No manual data entry, no month-end reconciliation, no corrected checks.

85%
Average reduction in time spent building weekly schedules
94%
Of callout gaps filled automatically without manager involvement
$0
Compliance penalties paid by Roster customers in the last 12 months
2 min
Average employee onboarding time, from invite to first availability set

Real teams, real results, real Sunday nights back

★★★★★

"I used to dread Sundays. Building the schedule for our 22-person team took three hours and I still missed things. Now I review the AI draft, change two or three shifts, and I am done in 15 minutes. That time went back to my family."

Restaurant manager
Marcus T.
General Manager, Coast Kitchen (38 seats)
★★★★★

"The compliance piece alone paid for itself. I had no idea Oregon required 14-day advance notice for schedule changes. Roster caught three violations in our first week before we published. We would have been fined immediately."

Retail district manager
Priya N.
District Manager, Volta Retail (4 locations)
★★★★★

"The shift-swap feature eliminated 90% of my stress texts. Someone calls out, Roster finds a replacement and sends me confirmation. I have not scrambled for a cover in six weeks. My phone is quiet again."

Salon owner
Jordan K.
Owner, Urban Fade Barbershop

Pay for the team size you have, not the one you wish you had

Starter
$29
per month, up to 15 employees

For single-location businesses getting their first taste of automated scheduling and ready to reclaim their weekends.

  • AI schedule generation
  • SMS availability collection
  • Federal compliance alerts
  • 1 location
  • Schedule publishing and notifications
  • Email support
Start Free Trial
Operator
$199
per month, unlimited employees

Multi-location operators and franchise groups who need centralized control, custom rule sets, and API access across every property.

  • Everything in Manager
  • Unlimited locations
  • Custom compliance rules
  • REST API and Zapier access
  • SSO and SAML support
  • Dedicated account manager
Talk to Sales

Works with the tools you already use

Roster connects to the most common POS, payroll, and HR systems used by independent operators and multi-location groups. Actual hours sync automatically at the end of each pay period.

Square
🍳Toast
Clover
💰Gusto
💼ADP Run
📈QuickBooks

Questions managers actually ask before they sign up

Do my employees need to download an app?

No. Employees interact with Roster entirely through SMS and a mobile-friendly web link. Nothing to install, no account creation required. This keeps adoption near 100% even for teams with older workers or high turnover rates.

Which states does the compliance engine cover?

All 50 states for federal FLSA rules. Predictive scheduling laws for California, Oregon, Washington, New York, Illinois, and specific city-level ordinances in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York City are built in. New jurisdictions are added as laws take effect.

Can I still edit the AI draft manually?

Completely. The AI draft is a starting point, not a locked output. Drag and drop to swap shifts, override any assignment, or pin specific employees to specific slots. Roster respects every manual override and learns your preferences across weeks.

How does callout handling actually work?

When an employee marks themselves unavailable for an upcoming shift, Roster looks at your qualified, available backups and sends an automated text. The first person to confirm gets the shift. You receive a push notification confirming the gap is filled. No calls required.

What if I have multiple locations with different rules?

The Manager plan supports up to three locations with independent settings. The Operator plan handles unlimited locations with centralized reporting and per-location compliance profiles. Each location can have its own labor cost targets, coverage rules, and integrations.

Is there a free trial?

Yes. 14 days, no credit card required. You get full access to the Manager plan so you can see the state compliance engine, shift-swap automation, and labor forecasting in action before choosing the plan that fits your operation.

Coffee shop team

Build your first AI schedule in under 60 seconds

No credit card. No sales call. Connect your team, describe your week, and see what Roster builds for you. Free for 14 days, and your first schedule takes less time than reading this page.

Setup takes under 5 minutes. Cancel anytime. No hidden fees.

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