A shift schedule in Excel: when it stops being enough

For one store with a few people, a shift schedule in Excel is enough: the whole week fits on a screen, and the manager knows by heart who closes and who opens. Excel stops being enough when the rules have to be checked across more than anyone can see at a glance: several stores, staff who move between them, changes after the schedule is sent. Excel checks no rule; the person filling it in does.

Five signs Excel isn’t enough any more

1. Stores share people

When someone also works at a second store, their shifts are in two files. 11 hours’ rest and consecutive days count across both, but neither file sees the other.

2. The 11 hours are checked by eye

If the only check on rest is that the manager “keeps an eye on it”, the check stops the day they are away or in a hurry. The same goes for days in a row and contract hours.

3. Changes get lost

After the schedule is sent, it changes: a leave, a swap, a cover. The corrected file looks exactly like the first, and nobody knows what changed, so nobody knows what must be declared in ERGANI II.

4. Payroll types it up again

If the store’s schedule and the payroll files are different files, someone copies from one to the other every week. Every copy is a chance for a mistake (what payroll needs).

5. Only one person knows the file

The formulas, the colours, the hidden columns: if only one person knows how the file works, the business’s schedule depends on their holidays.

What to ask of an app

A shift-scheduling app is only worth it if it does what Excel doesn’t. Ask for:

• Rules that are always checked: not just when the week is built, but on every change by hand.
• One view of every store, so an employee counts once, wherever they work.
• Gaps that show, instead of shifts covered with a breach.
• Changes that are marked after the schedule is sent.
• Files in payroll’s format, with no copying.
• One account per store, so each manager sees only their own staff.
• Protection of employees’ data, such as their tax number.

The spreadsheet isn’t wasted

The move usually starts from the spreadsheet itself. To get started with Postorunner, a spreadsheet of your staff is enough: store, role and contract for each employee. The files it produces for payroll, the ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ and the ΩΡΟΜΕΤΡΗΣΗ, are spreadsheets too, in the form payroll already expects.

How Postorunner does it

Postorunner runs in the browser, with nothing to install. It builds each store’s week in about 20 seconds, with 11 hours’ rest, the limit on consecutive days, contracts, roles, days off and leave checked, and checks every change again on save. One Admin sees every store, and each manager only their own. Employees’ tax numbers (ΑΦΜ) are stored encrypted.

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep my shift schedule in Excel?

For one store with a few people, yes. With several stores and staff who move between them, Excel doesn’t check the rules on rest, days and contracts, and changes don’t show.

Does Postorunner need installing?

No. It runs in the browser, and a spreadsheet of your staff is enough to get started.

Does it produce Excel files for payroll?

Yes. The ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ and ΩΡΟΜΕΤΡΗΣΗ files come out in one click, as spreadsheets, in the form payroll wants.