Team & Shifts

Restaurant scheduling software your kitchen will actually open

Build next week's rota in one screen, then let every cook, server, and driver open their own shifts, prep list, and checklists on their phone. PIN to sign in, nothing to install from an app store.

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In short

Restaurant staff scheduling software builds the weekly rota, records who actually clocked in, and puts each person's shift on their own phone. ZiaPilot's Team & Shifts module pairs a manager dashboard with a PIN-login staff app, so kitchen and front-of-house staff see their shifts, prep list, and checklists without downloading anything from an app store.

The rota lives in a group chat and nobody trusts it

Next week's schedule is a photo of a whiteboard, reposted every time one shift moves
Someone swaps a shift in a side conversation and the manager finds out when nobody turns up
Clock-in is a paper sheet, so payroll week is an evening of squinting at handwriting
Prep gets missed because the only person who knew the list is off today
Opening and closing checks are ticked from memory, with nothing to show an inspector

One rota, on everyone's phone, with a record behind it

Publish the week once and every person sees only their own shifts
Swap requests and open-shift pickups come to the manager for approval instead of happening in DMs
Clock-in and clock-out timestamps build the timesheet as the week runs
Kitchen prep moves through Not started, Prepping, Ready, and Packed where everyone can see it
Opening and closing checklists can require a photo, so completed means evidenced

Weekly rota with guardrails

Plan shifts a week at a time and get flagged when someone is scheduled past an eight-hour day, before the schedule is published rather than after payroll.

Clock-in that becomes the timesheet

Staff clock in and out from the same app they check their shifts in, and the manager dashboard turns those timestamps into timesheets and attendance without re-keying anything.

Checklists with photo proof

Opening, closing, and food-safety checks can require a photo. Completed items keep the image attached, so there is a record instead of a tick from memory.

The staff app

Different job, different screen

Staff open your restaurant's own web address, tap in a PIN, and get the view for their role. A cook does not scroll past front-of-house checklists to find the prep list, and nobody sees the manager's reports.

Kitchen

Today's prep

Butter chicken, 4 traysPacked, 11:40
Veg biryani, 2 traysPrepping
Garlic naan, 60 piecesNot started
Walk-in temperature checkPhoto required

Front of house

Opening checks

Clocked inTapped at 09:02
Dining room resetComplete
Card terminal testDue before open
Specials board updatedPhoto required

Manager

Shift at a glance

6 of 7 clocked inOne late, Saturday dinner
Swap request waitingFriday close, needs approval
Open shift unfilledSunday lunch
Prep on track8 of 11 trays packed

No app store, no passwords

The staff app is a web app at your own address. Staff add it to their home screen once and sign in with a short PIN, so onboarding a new starter takes a minute and offboarding is one switch.

Built for a phone in a busy kitchen

The app shell is cached on the device, so it opens fast on restaurant wifi. Live shift and prep data is always fetched fresh, so two people are never working from different versions of the list.

Roles decide what shows

Kitchen, front of house, driver, and manager are set up as roles with their own scopes. Checklists can target specific roles, so each screen only carries work that person is responsible for.

How it works

Add your team and roles

Create the roster and put each person in a role such as kitchen, front of house, driver, or manager. Roles decide which screens and checklists they see.

Build next week's schedule

Lay out the shifts for the week, leave any you want covered as open shifts, and publish once the week looks right.

The team installs the app

Staff open your restaurant's staff address on their phone, add it to their home screen, and sign in with the PIN you issue them.

Run the week and review it

Approve swaps, watch prep and checklists complete during service, then use timesheets and the weekly report for payroll and the next team catch-up.

Frequently asked questions

What is restaurant scheduling software?

Restaurant scheduling software replaces the whiteboard or spreadsheet rota with a system that builds the weekly schedule, publishes it to staff, and records who actually worked. Most tools in the category also handle shift swaps, time-off requests, and a phone app so staff can check shifts without calling a manager. ZiaPilot's Team & Shifts module covers scheduling, clock-in and timesheets, shift swaps, kitchen prep, and checklists, with a PIN-login app for the team.

Do my staff need to download an app?

No. The staff app is a web app at your restaurant's own address. Staff open it in their phone browser once and add it to their home screen, after which it opens like any other app, full screen with its own icon. There is nothing to approve in an app store and nothing to update manually.

How do staff log in without company email addresses?

Each person gets a short PIN. There are no staff email accounts or passwords to manage, which is what makes it realistic for a team with high turnover. PIN attempts are rate limited to protect against someone guessing at the pad, and removing a leaver takes one switch in the roster.

Does it work if the restaurant wifi drops?

The app itself is cached on the phone, so it opens rather than showing a browser error. Live data such as shifts, prep status, and checklists is always fetched fresh from the server, so it needs a connection to load and save. We would rather it tell your team the connection is down than show a cook a prep list from an hour ago.

Can staff swap shifts themselves?

They can request it. Staff see open shifts they are eligible for and can ask to swap, and the request goes to a manager for approval rather than taking effect on its own. The schedule stays something one person is accountable for.

Does clock-in data feed payroll?

Clock-in and clock-out build timesheets and attendance in the manager dashboard as the week runs, so payroll week starts from recorded timestamps rather than a paper sheet. ZiaPilot does not run payroll itself, it gives you the hours to run it from.

Which plan includes Team & Shifts?

Team & Shifts is part of the Pro plan. The staff app is included for your whole team at no extra charge per person, so adding a new starter does not change your bill. Every ZiaPilot account starts on the free plan, and you can start a one-time 7-day trial from your dashboard to try Pro features including this one.

Can I use it across more than one location?

Yes. Multiple locations are a Pro feature too, so each site can run its own roster and schedule while you keep one account. See multi-location restaurant software for how the rest of the system splits per location.

Try it free for 7 days

Connect your menu, test real customer conversations, then choose the right plan. No card needed.

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Other parts of ZiaPilot that restaurants usually set up alongside this one.