Coffee shop scheduling
Stop scheduling people who can't work
Class schedules, second jobs, the one barista who can never do Tuesdays. Your team sets their availability in the app, and you build the opener, the rush and the close around it.
Free for small teams. No credit card.
Updated
A weekday at a small coffee shop
Example day
- 6 AM Doors open
- 8 AM Morning rush
- 3 PM Handoff to closer
- 7 PM Close
| Shift | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| Opener | 5:30 AM | 1:30 PM |
| Second barista | 6:30 AM | 12:30 PM |
| Rush cover | 7:30 AM | 11 AM |
| Mid | 11 AM | 5 PM |
| Closer | 12:30 PM | 7:30 PM |
Small team, early start, and everyone has another schedule.
Most coffee shops run on a handful of people. One call-out at 5 AM is a closed door, and half the team is working around classes.
- The opener
- Someone has to be there before the doors open. A day with no one scheduled is flagged on the board, so a missing opener shows up days early.
- The morning rush
- Add a short shift to overlap the rush. Shift templates like Short AM make it one click each day.
- Barista availability
- Students and people with second jobs set their own hours and blocked-out dates. Zchedule warns you before you publish a clash.
- Weekends
- Weekly hours are totalled per person as you schedule, so covering Saturday and Sunday doesn't push anyone into overtime.
- Call-outs
- A sick barista posts the shift, coworkers volunteer, and you approve one from your phone.
- Clocking in at the counter
- A tablet by the register works as the time clock, with a PIN per person and lunch punches.
Availability first
The schedule starts from who can actually work.
Baristas keep their availability current from their phone. When you press Publish, every clash is listed: who, which day, and whether it's a day off, a blocked date or outside their hours. The schedule generator on Pro won't place anyone outside their availability at all.
Priya S.
Availability
- Mon6 AM – 2 PM
- Tue6 AM – 2 PM
- WedDay off
- Thu12 – 9 PM
- Fri12 – 9 PM
- SatAll day
- SunDay off
Unavailable dates
Before you publish
Jun 22 – Jun 28
- Priya S. is marked unavailable on this date — Friday 12:00–21:00
- Luis M. has this day off — Wednesday 08:00–16:00
- Jordan K. is scheduled outside their available hours — Monday 14:00–22:00
The parts of Zchedule you'd use
- Employee availabilityEach barista's hours, days off and blocked dates, kept current by them.
- Employee schedulingOpeners, mids and closers as saved shifts you paint across the week.
- iPad time clockA PIN time clock on a tablet at the counter.
- Shift coverageCall-outs posted in the app for someone else to pick up.
- Schedule generatorDraft the week from your hours and everyone's availability, then edit it.
FAQ
Questions worth answering up front.
In the app, on their own phone. They mark the days and hours they can work and any dates they need off, and both the publish check and the generator use it.
Free covers up to 10 people with no time limit, so a small shop can run its schedule in Zchedule without paying.
Yes. Put counter and kitchen staff on the same week with a position on each person, so you see the whole day at once. If the kitchen stops before the counter, give it its own closing shift, and save short shifts that overlap lunch as templates.
No. Drafts stay hidden until you publish, and when you change one shift afterwards, only the affected person is notified.
One flat monthly price per team, not per person. Free covers up to 10 people including you, and every new team starts with 14 days of Pro.
Related
- Coffee shop schedule template
An example coffee shop week with openers, rush coverage and closers.
- Employee availability
Employees set the hours they can work and the dates they can't. The schedule warns you.
- iPad time clock
An iPad or any tablet on the counter that the whole team clocks in on with a PIN.
- Restaurants
Front of house and the kitchen on one week, and call-outs posted as open shifts.
- How to track employee availability
Collecting availability, keeping it current, and handling days off.
- Zchedule vs 7shifts
7shifts is built for restaurants, with tips, payroll and POS tools.
Build a week your baristas can actually work.
Invite the team, let them set their availability, and publish. The warnings do the double-checking.
No credit card. The Pro trial starts with your first shift, not today.