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Total: 0h
Free restaurant scheduling tool · No signup
Free Restaurant Schedule Maker for Small Teams
Plan front-of-house and back-of-house shifts in one weekly grid. Add split shifts, review employee and day totals, and download a PDF before creating an account.
- Split shifts
- Live weekly totals
- Up to 6 people this week
- Download this week
Build this week’s restaurant schedule
Add front-of-house and back-of-house employees, then place opening, prep, service, and closing shifts on the grid.
Build first. This browser keeps a 7-day local draft, and you can download a PDF whenever you need a separate file.
Checking local recovery...
Employee names and shifts stay in this browser for 7 days after your last edit. They are not uploaded to an account unless you choose Save with free account and complete the import here.
Totals and tips stay with the shift's start date and source week. Review provincial pay allocation and daylight-saving changes separately.
Guest draft: up to 6 employees.
| Employee | Mon Oct 19 | Tue Oct 20 | Wed Oct 21 | Thu Oct 22 | Fri Oct 23 | Sat Oct 24 | Sun Oct 25 | Total | OT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
E | — | ||||||||
| Daily Totals | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0h | |
Est. Pay — account required | Employee 1: •••• | ||||||||
A restaurant schedule is useful when a manager can answer three questions from one screen: which work is covered, how many hours each employee has, and which version the team should follow. The tool above gives a small team that weekly record without requiring an account first.
Write coverage before assigning names
Begin with the work that cannot be empty. A headcount does not show whether someone can unlock the building, run the pass, cover bar, release a refund, or complete close. Name those responsibilities first, then place employees against them.
| Coverage window | Ownership to name | Schedule check |
|---|---|---|
| Before open | Access, prep, equipment, cash | A qualified opener arrives before the door time |
| Lunch or dinner rise | Pass, kitchen stations, floor, bar, pickup | The role mix changes with the demand window |
| Handoff | Breaks, count, prep status, manager authority | One shift does not leave before the next can take over |
| Close | Cashout, tip source, food, dish, lock-up | The scheduled finish includes the work after service |
Keep split shifts and weekly totals together
If Jamie works 11:00-14:00 and returns for 17:00-22:00, add both shifts to Saturday. The cell shows the interruption, while the employee total counts eight planned hours. Do not stretch the first shift across the unpaid gap or keep the dinner block in a separate note that never reaches the weekly total.
Use one published version and one worked record
The published schedule is the plan employees received. After a call-out, extension, early cut, or swap, update the current schedule and keep the approved change visible. Payroll still needs actual time. Compare the final record with the plan instead of silently turning the planned week into a timecard.
Guest mode is suited to a temporary draft: up to six employees, the current week plus four future weeks, live totals, and PDF download. A free saved account supports up to 12 active employees, eight weeks of history, roles, day-level availability context, tips, pay estimates, PDF/print, and CSV/XLSX exports. Availability provides a day cue; it does not store exact time windows or block an assignment.
Move event detail into the catering roster
A catering event needs venue, arrival, guest window, finish, role, travel, and handoff fields that do not belong in a compact weekly cell. Use the catering staff schedule template for that event record, then place each approved paid assignment into the weekly grid so restaurant and catering work share one employee total.
Carry the week into opening, tips, and payroll
The Restaurant Weekly Operations Pack workbook connects the schedule to an opening and closing checklist, catering roster, tip handoff, and payroll handoff. Use the restaurant tip calculator for exact-cent payout math and the Canadian restaurant operations guide for the review path into current rule resources.
Who this schedule maker fits
It fits independent cafes, small dining rooms, bakeries, food trucks, and restaurant teams whose weekly schedule is still understandable on one grid. A chain with deep POS integration, automatic scheduling, complex permissions, or multi-location labour controls may need a broader platform.
Need a coffee shop employee schedule?
A coffee shop needs a narrower coverage test: a trained opener, early prep, the morning rush, handoff, closing, cleanup, and part-time availability around school or another job. Use the dedicated coffee shop scheduling software guide for that workflow. This restaurant schedule maker remains the owner when kitchen, dining-room, bar, split-shift, and catering coverage need to share the same weekly grid.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a shift at a restaurant?
There is no single standard restaurant shift length. A shift should cover the actual opening, prep, service, handoff, or closing work assigned, while respecting employee availability and the break, rest, maximum-hours, overtime, and industry rules that apply where the work happens. Record the real start and end time instead of forcing every role into the same eight-hour block.
What should I check when scheduling restaurant shifts?
This page uses the same Maxuod Shift scheduler as the general schedule maker. The restaurant guide focuses on prep, front-of-house and kitchen coverage, service handoffs, and closing work after the last order. Multiple shifts per employee per day let a lunch and dinner split stay in one weekly grid.
Can I track tipped vs non-tipped roles?
Use the public restaurant tip calculator without an account to test an hours-based or role-percentage split. A free saved account connects employee roles, worked hours, tip groups, and weekly tip records in the same workspace.
Can I record a closing shift that crosses midnight?
Yes. Enter both times and select Next day for the end. On an ordinary date, 10 PM to next-day 2 AM is one four-hour planned shift. Keep it under 24 hours; its continuation is not a second shift. Review actual worked time, daylight-saving transitions and provincial pay allocation separately.
How does it help with no-show coverage?
In guest mode, remove the unavailable shift, add the replacement, review the updated totals, and download a new PDF. A free saved account adds persistent published weeks, employee access, and CSV/XLSX exports for the revised schedule.
Can I use it to build a catering staff schedule?
Use the catering staff schedule template to record the event, venue, setup, kitchen, bar, service, cleanup, arrival, event, finish, labour-hour, and conflict fields. Add each approved arrival-to-finish assignment to the weekly restaurant schedule when event staff also work normal shifts.
Will it grow with my restaurant?
The free saved tier covers up to twelve active employees, eight weeks of history, PDF/print, tips, CSV/XLSX, and roles, which fits most cafes, food trucks, and small dining rooms. The Supporter tier extends to fifty employees with fifty-two weeks of history, no ads, and priority support. The product is not designed for chains or 100-employee operations — there are heavier tools for that.
One connected weekly workflow
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Start scheduling in minutes
No signup required. Open the free scheduler and build your first weekly schedule right now.