Rota Creator
Your step-by-step guide to setting up employees, defining availability and preparing a weekly rota in Excel.
Excel · Weekly scheduling · Setup guideWelcome to Rota Creator
This guide walks through the main areas of your workbook. Start with the basics, or use the menu to jump straight to the feature you need.
Get ready
Enter staff details, set working rules and review availability before scheduling.
Build the week
Select employees and shift times. The workbook calculates scheduled paid hours.
Quick start
Follow these steps in order when setting up Rota Creator for the first time.
Employees
Add names, roles and contracted weekly hours.
Settings
Choose the week and configure working-time rules.
Availability
Review which days each employee can work.
Rota
Assign shifts and review calculated hours.
Employees
Start by building your employee list. The rest of the workbook uses these details for staff selection and scheduling.
- 1Open the Employees worksheet.
- 2Enter each employee's name, role and weekly hours.
- 3Set whether the employee normally works weekends, then check for duplicate names.
Rota settings
Use the Settings worksheet to define how shifts are entered and which working times are allowed.
| Setting | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Week start | Starting date of the displayed rota week. |
| Time interval | Available increments in the shift-time dropdowns. |
| Role time limits | Earliest start and latest finish for a given role. |
| Unpaid break | Break time deducted when calculating paid hours. |
Availability
Availability determines which employees can be selected for a given day. Review it before creating a new rota.
- 1Open Availability and review each employee's days.
- 2Mark individual days as Yes or No as required.
- 3Use the weekly holiday or absence flag when the employee is away for the full week.
Build your weekly rota
Use the rota view to choose employees and assign their shift times. Employee selections take role and availability into account.
- 1Open Rota and select the correct week.
- 2Choose an available employee from the appropriate dropdown.
- 3Set shift Start, End and break values.
- 4Review the calculated Paid Hours and daily staff totals.
Hours & indicators
Rota Creator helps you compare scheduled time with contracted hours and spot missing or unusual entries.
| Item | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Paid hours | Shift duration less the unpaid break. |
| Scheduled hours | Total paid hours currently allocated in the week. |
| Daily staff count | Number of scheduled employees for a day. |
| Colour indicators | Visual guidance for entries and hour comparisons; exact legend to be added from the final workbook. |
Reset & protection
Rota Creator may be supplied in versions with or without a Reset button, and with different visual indicators.
With Reset button
Use the provided button to clear the weekly schedule as intended by that workbook version.
Without Reset button
Clear only the manual schedule entries. Avoid deleting cells containing formulas.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I select an employee?
Check that the employee exists in Employees, has the correct role, and is marked available for that day.
Why are paid hours different from the shift length?
Paid hours subtract the configured unpaid break from the total shift duration.
Can I change the working week?
Yes. Use the week/date controls in your workbook, then verify the dates shown on Rota.
Where are the short tutorial videos?
The video positions are prepared in this starter website. We will replace them with recordings from the actual workbook.