Switching from Excel: A Weekend Guide to Digitising Your Roster

We get it. Excel is free, it’s familiar, and it’s what you’ve used since you opened. But your "free" spreadsheet is actually costing you hours of manual work and creating a compliance risk that could sink your business.

Moving from Excel to a digital tool like Shiftly doesn't have to be a month-long project. You can do it in a single weekend.

Friday: The Data Cleanse

Export your employee list from your payroll software (like Xero). This ensures you have the correct spelling of names, emails, and phone numbers. This is the foundation of your digital roster.

Saturday: The Set-Up

Upload your CSV into Shiftly. Instead of typing names one by one, you can bulk-import your whole team. Once they are in, assign their Award levels. This is the "one-time" setup that ensures your future rosters are automatically compliant with the Hospitality Award.

Sunday: The First Roster

Use a "Template" to mirror your usual Excel layout. The difference is that Shiftly will immediately show you the total cost of the roster as you build it. You will see instantly if you have accidentally scheduled too many people for a quiet Monday.

Monday: The Go-Live

Tell your staff to download the app. No more texting photos of a paper roster or emailing spreadsheets. They get their shifts on their phone, they clock in with a tap, and you get back to running your business.

The era of the spreadsheet is over. Make the switch to Shiftly this weekend and never look back.

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