Complete Feature List

Everything You Need for
Seamless Scheduling

Powerful tools for managers and employees to streamline workforce management

For Managers

Manager Features

Powerful tools designed for Head Managers and Managers to streamline operations

AI CopilotIndustry-First

AI Copilot Chat

INDUSTRY-FIRST

FIRST conversational AI in scheduling that takes actions AND answers questions. Chat naturally and AI does the work for you.

  • •Natural language commands (chat like ChatGPT)
  • •Answer analytics: "Why are costs high?" "Who works best together?"
  • •Auto-assign all open shifts instantly
  • •Generate complete schedules via chat
  • •Create single or recurring shifts
  • •Manual assignment: "Put John on Tuesday"
  • •Bulk approve/deny PTO requests with filters
  • •Create employee accounts via chat
  • •Send messages to employees
  • •Create locations and announcements
  • •Powered by GPT-5.2 function calling

AI Copilot Insights

Smart recommendations powered by AI

  • •Schedule optimization suggestions
  • •Coverage gap alerts
  • •Employee workload analysis
  • •Priority action items
  • •Performance insights

Dashboard & Analytics

Real-Time Dashboard

Live metrics and insights at a glance

  • •Total employees count
  • •Active shifts this period
  • •Scheduled hours this week
  • •Pending PTO requests
  • •Open unfilled shifts
  • •Coverage percentage

Reports & Export

Comprehensive reporting tools

  • •Hours Report (by employee/date)
  • •Coverage Report (staffing levels)
  • •PTO Report (balances & usage)
  • •Overtime Report (tracking)
  • •Export as CSV or PDF

Real-Time Labor Cost Analytics & Overtime Tracking

NEW

See what your schedule will cost BEFORE you publish. Automatic overtime calculation using 40-hour weekly threshold, with real-time cost visibility and employee-level breakdowns.

  • •Real-time labor cost projections from scheduled shifts (not estimates)
  • •Automatic overtime tracking: 40-hour weekly threshold (Sunday-Saturday)
  • •Employee-level cost breakdown: hourly rate + overtime premium visibility
  • •Week-by-week cost analysis with location filtering (multi-site support)
  • •Salary-to-hourly conversion (2,080-hour standard) for salaried employees
  • •Overtime exempt employee handling (managers, executives)
  • •Compare planned vs actual costs for budget optimization
  • •Unpaid break deductions for accurate labor cost calculations
  • •Location-based cost filtering for multi-location operations

Schedule Management

AI Schedule Generation

Auto-generate optimal schedules in seconds

  • •Fair Rotation: Balanced distribution
  • •Maximize Hours: Prioritize performers
  • •Respects availability windows
  • •Prevents scheduling conflicts
  • •Multi-location support

Visual Calendar View

Beautiful interactive calendar interface

  • •Week & month views
  • •Drag-and-drop shift editing
  • •Color-coded by location/role
  • •Quick shift creation
  • •Conflict warnings

Shift Templates

Pre-configured shift types for faster scheduling

  • •Morning, Afternoon, Night shifts
  • •Custom shift types
  • •Set time ranges & breaks
  • •Define required employee count
  • •Template-based generation

Manual Shift Management

Full control over individual shifts

  • •Create shifts manually
  • •Edit existing shifts
  • •Delete/cancel shifts
  • •Assign/reassign employees
  • •Copy shifts to other dates

Shift Drop Management

Handle employee shift drops & pickups

  • •View all dropped shifts
  • •See drop reasons
  • •Monitor pickup activity
  • •Real-time schedule updates
  • •Automatic reassignment

Real-Time Notifications

WebSocket-powered instant updates

  • •Schedule changes
  • •PTO request submissions
  • •Shift drop alerts
  • •Clock in/out notifications
  • •Coverage warnings

Conditional Shift Trading

Smart auto-approval reduces manager workload 80%

  • •3 approval modes (Auto/Manager/Conditional)
  • •Auto-approve if role matches
  • •Auto-approve if no conflicts
  • •Auto-approve if location access
  • •Manager review only complex trades
  • •Instant notifications to both parties

Recurring Shifts

Create repeating shift patterns effortlessly

  • •Daily patterns (every day for N days)
  • •Weekly patterns (Mon/Wed/Fri for N weeks)
  • •Monthly patterns (same date each month)
  • •Custom frequency (every X days)
  • •Bulk shift creation in seconds
  • •Auto-validates staffing requirements

Schedule Publish Preview

Preview before publishing to employees

  • •See fully-staffed vs understaffed shifts
  • •Only publish complete shifts
  • •Understaffed shifts stay draft
  • •View employee notification count
  • •Prevent accidental incomplete publishes
  • •Professional appearance to team

16 Configurable Email Notifications

Granular control over all notifications

  • •Schedule published alerts
  • •Shift assignment notifications
  • •PTO request updates
  • •Shift trade confirmations
  • •Clock-in alerts (early/late)
  • •Enable/disable per notification type

Advanced Scheduling FeaturesNew

Employee Pre-Assignment During Shift Creation

Pre-assignment eliminates the publish-then-assign workflow, saving managers 3-5 hours per week on schedule building

  • •Assign employees during shift creation (single & recurring)
  • •Eliminates 3-step workflow: create → publish → assign
  • •Real-time staffing level visibility
  • •Checkbox-based employee selection interface
  • •Works with recurring shifts (daily/weekly/monthly patterns)
  • •Prevents understaffing before schedule publication
  • •Ideal for retail, healthcare, hospitality scheduling

Custom Shift Titles & Labels

Add descriptive shift titles for instant visual recognition - optional shift naming across all calendar views

  • •Custom shift titles: "Morning Rush", "Closing Crew", "Night Shift"
  • •Optional feature - enable/disable in Advanced Settings
  • •Displays on day, week, and month calendar views
  • •Improves schedule readability by 40% (user feedback)
  • •Differentiates similar time slots (multiple 9 AM shifts)
  • •Auto-fallback to time-based titles if disabled
  • •Perfect for restaurants, retail, event venues

Overnight Shift Scheduling (Cross-Midnight)

Automatic date rollover for overnight shifts - essential for 24/7 operations like hospitals, security, and emergency services

  • •Create shifts spanning midnight: 10 PM - 6 AM
  • •Automatic next-day date calculation
  • •Duration calculated across midnight boundary
  • •Supports shifts up to 24 hours (e.g., 11 PM - 11 PM)
  • •Critical for healthcare, security, manufacturing
  • •Eliminates manual date adjustment errors
  • •Compatible with timezone conversion system

Multi-Timezone Shift Management

Universal timezone conversion - shifts always display correctly regardless of manager's location or viewing timezone

  • •Shifts stored in location's local timezone
  • •View any schedule in any timezone (EST, PST, CST, etc.)
  • •Example: Pacific 7 PM automatically shows as EST 10 PM
  • •100% accurate conversion across all views
  • •Essential for multi-state & multi-country operations
  • •Supports 7 US timezones + international
  • •Prevents timezone-related scheduling errors

Timezone-Aware Schedule Printing

Professional printable schedules with location-specific timezones, custom filters, and automatic multi-page pagination

  • •Print schedules with custom date ranges (weekly, monthly, custom)
  • •Filter by locations, shift status, or print all shifts
  • •Shifts automatically print in their location timezone
  • •Multi-timezone protection: blocks printing across different timezones
  • •Clean table format with employee roles and staffing counts
  • •Automatic pagination across multiple pages
  • •Perfect for break room postings and management meetings
NEW

Automated Break Tracking

Create custom break rules and auto-apply them to shifts. PAID vs UNPAID break tracking with automatic deduction from labor costs and worked hours.

  • •Create custom break rules with names (e.g., "30-min Lunch Break", "15-min Rest Break")
  • •Auto-apply breaks when creating shifts (single or recurring)
  • •PAID vs UNPAID break distinction (affects labor cost calculations)
  • •Location-based break rule assignment (assign different rules per location)
  • •Set minimum shift hours trigger (e.g., "Apply this break if shift is 6+ hours")
  • •Break duration in minutes with precise time tracking
  • •Unpaid breaks automatically deducted from labor costs & overtime calculations
  • •Unpaid breaks excluded from worked hours before overtime calculation
  • •See exactly which breaks will apply during shift creation
  • •Enable/disable break tracking per organization in settings
  • •Perfect for managing break policies across multiple locations

Team & Organization Management

Employee Management

Complete employee lifecycle management

  • •Invite unlimited employees
  • •Invite unlimited managers
  • •Set roles (Manager/Employee)
  • •Define availability windows
  • •Track employee performance

Multi-Location Support

Manage multiple locations in one system

  • •Create unlimited locations
  • •Assign managers to locations
  • •Location-specific schedules
  • •Per-location reporting
  • •Cross-location visibility

Granular Manager Permission Configuration

HEAD MANAGER ONLY

Enterprise-grade permission system for Head Managers to control exactly what each manager can access and modify

  • •Restrict managers to specific locations (multi-site control)
  • •Toggle 12+ individual permissions per manager
  • •Shift creation/editing/deletion permissions
  • •PTO approval authority configuration
  • •Employee management access control
  • •Payroll export & announcement permissions
  • •Perfect for franchises, multi-location restaurants, retail chains

Availability Control

NEW

Two modes to manage how employees set their availability — give employees full control, or require manager approval for every change.

  • •Block entire days off or specific time windows (e.g. unavailable 2pm–7pm on Mondays)
  • •AI Schedule Generator and Auto-Assign respect all unavailability automatically
  • •Employee-Controlled mode: employees save changes instantly, no approval needed
  • •Manager-Controlled mode: employees submit change requests with a reason
  • •Managers review, approve, or deny requests with optional notes
  • •Managers can directly edit any employee's availability at any time without going through a request
  • •Full before/after comparison shown to manager on every request
  • •Switch between modes anytime in organization settings

Role-Based Access Control

Secure permissions system

  • •Head Manager: Full access + billing
  • •Manager: Team management
  • •Employee: Personal features only
  • •Data isolation per organization

Announcements

Company-wide communication

  • •Create announcements
  • •Edit existing announcements
  • •All employees see instantly
  • •Auto-refresh on dashboards
  • •Activate/deactivate

Messaging

Direct communication with team members

  • •Message any employee
  • •Message other managers
  • •Message history
  • •Real-time delivery

Direct Messaging (1-on-1)

Private employee-to-employee communication

  • •Employees message each other directly
  • •Real-time chat interface
  • •Message history saved
  • •No need for external group chats
  • •All communication in one platform
  • •Searchable conversations

Group Chats

Team and department communication channels

  • •Create team-specific group chats
  • •Department-wide discussions
  • •Share updates instantly
  • •Multi-participant conversations
  • •Real-time notifications
  • •Centralized team communication

Role-Based Staffing - Three Modes

Choose how XShift enforces staffing: Location-Based, Time-Based, or Manual control

  • •LOCATION-BASED: Fixed requirements per location (e.g., "Pool always needs 2 managers + 1 lifeguard")
  • •TIME-BASED: Requirements by day/time (e.g., "Mon 9-5 needs 3 staff, Sat 9-5 needs 5 staff") - exact time matching
  • •NONE Mode: Manual control for unpredictable staffing needs
  • •AI validates role matches before assignment
  • •Unlock individual shifts to override rules for special cases
  • •Perfect for restaurants, hospitals, gyms, retail, event venues

Settings & Configuration

Customize your organization settings

  • •Organization profile
  • •Personal profile
  • •Notification preferences
  • •Security settings
  • •Dark mode toggle

Time Tracking & PTO Management

PTO Request Approval

Streamlined time-off workflow

  • •View all PTO requests
  • •Approve/deny requests
  • •See pending requests count
  • •View employee PTO balances
  • •Instant notifications

Time Tracking Overview

Monitor employee attendance

  • •View all clock in/out times
  • •See who's currently clocked in
  • •Early/late alerts
  • •Duration calculations
  • •Export time records

Hours & Overtime Reports

Detailed time tracking reports

  • •Hours worked by employee
  • •Hours worked by date range
  • •Overtime tracking
  • •Scheduled vs actual hours
  • •Export for payroll

Early/Late Clock-In Automation

Manager alerts & approval workflow

  • •Early threshold: 15 min before shift
  • •Late threshold: 10 min after shift
  • •Auto-send manager alerts
  • •Email notifications for late arrivals
  • •Request approval for very early/wrong shift
  • •Approve/deny clock-in requests

Billing & SubscriptionHead Manager Only

Flexible Pricing

Pay only for what you use

  • Monthly: $29/mo + $1 per active user
  • 4-Month: $99 + $3.40 per active user
  • Free trials (21-30 days)
  • Cancel anytime

Stripe Integration

Secure payment processing

  • Automatic billing & renewals
  • Prorated user additions
  • Invoice management
  • Billing history & receipts
For Employees

Employee Features

Everything employees need to manage their work and stay connected

Dashboard & Schedule

Employee Dashboard

Your personal work hub

  • •View upcoming shifts this week
  • •See pending requests status
  • •Company announcements feed
  • •Recent activity timeline
  • •Auto-refresh every 30 seconds

My Schedule View

See your complete schedule

  • •Calendar view of your shifts
  • •Filter by week/month
  • •Shift details (time, location, role)
  • •Real-time schedule updates
  • •Color-coded by status

My Shifts List

Detailed shift information

  • •List view of all shifts
  • •Past and upcoming shifts
  • •Shift status tracking
  • •Location & time details

Fair Rotation & MAX Modes

Unique AI scheduling algorithms

  • •FAIR Mode: Balanced hours for everyone
  • •MAX Mode: More hours to top performers
  • •Algorithm prioritizes employees with fewer hours (FAIR)
  • •Algorithm prioritizes high performers (MAX)
  • •Ensures equitable shift distribution
  • •Transparent, bias-free scheduling

Company-Wide Announcements

Broadcast messaging to all employees

  • •Managers create announcements
  • •All employees see on dashboard
  • •Auto-refresh every 30 seconds
  • •Email notifications sent to all
  • •Activate/deactivate anytime
  • •No individual messages needed

Time Tracking & Attendance

Clock In

Start tracking your work time

  • •One-click clock in
  • •Timestamp recording
  • •Instant confirmation
  • •Can't clock in twice

Clock Out

End your work session

  • •One-click clock out
  • •Duration calculation
  • •Automatic time logging
  • •Instant confirmation

My Time Clock

View your complete time records

  • •See current clock-in status
  • •Total hours (last 30 days)
  • •Days worked count
  • •Average hours per day

Clock History

View past clock sessions

  • •Recent clock sessions list
  • •Clock in/out timestamps
  • •Session durations
  • •Last 10 sessions shown

Early/Late Alerts

Attendance notifications

  • •Alerted if clock in early
  • •Alerted if clock in late
  • •Alerted if clock out early
  • •Visual status indicators

PTO & Time Off

Request Time Off

Submit PTO requests

  • •Choose vacation, sick, or personal
  • •Select start & end dates
  • •Add reason/notes
  • •Automatic manager notification

Track PTO Status

Monitor your time-off requests

  • •View pending requests
  • •See approved time off
  • •Check denied requests
  • •Real-time status updates

PTO Balance

Track your available time off

  • •View remaining PTO balance
  • •See used PTO hours
  • •Accrual tracking
  • •Balance history

Shift Drops & Pickups

Drop Shifts

Can't make a shift? Drop it!

  • •View your upcoming shifts
  • •Select shift to drop
  • •Provide drop reason
  • •Other employees can pick up

Pick Up Shifts

Want more hours? Pick up shifts!

  • •View all available dropped shifts
  • •See who dropped it & why
  • •One-click pickup
  • •Becomes your shift instantly

Trade History

Track your drops & pickups

  • •View all past drops
  • •See all past pickups
  • •Drop/pickup reasons shown
  • •Complete activity log

Profile & Settings

My Profile

Manage your personal information

  • •Edit name & email
  • •Update phone number
  • •Change password
  • •Profile picture (optional)

Preferences

Set your work preferences

  • •Set availability windows
  • •Preferred locations
  • •Notification settings
  • •Dark mode toggle

Messages

Communicate with managers

  • •Message your managers
  • •View message history
  • •Real-time messaging

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Employee Scheduling Software Features | AI Automation & Time Tracking | XShift AI