How do you build a good staff rota in hospitality?

Start from demand, not from the team: how many covers you expect each day and each shift, how many people you need to serve them and who is available. Then fit in rest periods, absences and the hours set by your collective agreement (convenio). FoodSync takes care of the first part with the forecast and proposes the split.

Does the generator do it all by itself?

It proposes a rota that respects availability, approved absences and ratios. You review it and adjust it. The useful part is that it arrives with the short-staffed days already flagged.

Can staff see their schedule on their phone?

Yes, from the employee portal, in their phone’s browser. No app to install.

Does it cover working-time records too?

Yes. Clock-in is in FoodSync and only counts from the venue’s network. Clocked hours are compared with the hours planned on the rota.

Rota

A restaurant staff rota that looks at forecast covers

The rota usually gets done on Sunday night by copying last week’s. FoodSync builds it with the forecast in front of you: every day shows the covers coming in and flags in red the ones that are short-staffed.

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Updated October 2026

Week of 27-07-2026

Generate Publish

Two shifts short on Friday. Add people, lower the minimum or adjust the ratios.

Employee	Mon 27-07 ≈48 pax	Tue 28-07 ≈44 pax	Wed 29-07 ≈52 pax	Thu 30-07 ≈61 pax	Fri 31-07 ≈94 pax ⚠ short 2	Sat 01-08 ≈108 pax	Sun 02-08
Marta Ruiz Manager	Lunch	Lunch	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	+
Iván Pons Waiter	+	Dinner	Dinner	Lunch	Dinner	Dinner	+
Nadia Bel Waiter	Dinner	+	Lunch	Dinner	Dinner ·draft	Lunch	+
Luis Ferrer Kitchen	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Dinner ·draft	+

A recreation of the product screen with sample data.

Shifts built from the covers coming in

FoodSync estimates the covers for every day you open, respecting your closing calendar. The rota shows them at the top of each column, so a 94-cover Friday and a 44-cover Tuesday are not planned the same way.

The generator spreads shifts from your templates, respecting each person’s availability, approved absences and your staffing ratios. Days that come up short are flagged in red while you build the rota, not halfway through service.

Forecast covers on every day of the week
Shift templates: lunch, dinner or whatever you use
Automatic generator with your staffing ratios
Red flag on the days that come up short

Absences and shift swaps in one place

Absences and shift swaps are recorded alongside the rota, and the generator takes them into account. Everyone on the team checks their schedule from the employee portal, in their phone’s browser, without anyone having to post a photo of the rota in the group chat.

Planned against clocked

Clock-in only counts from the venue’s own network, so the working-time record comes from the same place as the rota. At the end of the week you see planned hours against clocked hours for each person, and the gap stops being discovered at payroll.

Frequently asked questions

How do you build a good staff rota in hospitality?: Start from demand, not from the team: how many covers you expect each day and each shift, how many people you need to serve them and who is available. Then fit in rest periods, absences and the hours set by your collective agreement (convenio). FoodSync takes care of the first part with the forecast and proposes the split.
Does the generator do it all by itself?: It proposes a rota that respects availability, approved absences and ratios. You review it and adjust it. The useful part is that it arrives with the short-staffed days already flagged.
Can staff see their schedule on their phone?: Yes, from the employee portal, in their phone’s browser. No app to install.
Does it cover working-time records too?: Yes. Clock-in is in FoodSync and only counts from the venue’s network. Clocked hours are compared with the hours planned on the rota.

Keep reading

Demo

Half an hour, with your own numbers on screen

Tell us which POS you run and how you buy. In the demo we set FoodSync up around your case instead of walking you through a generic tour. If we can see it does not fit, we will say so there and then.

We check whether your POS can be integrated today
We work out what your best-selling dish really costs
No commitment and nothing to install

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