See the schedule
This week and next, on the phone, updated the moment a manager changes it.
Staff scheduling app
The retail scheduling app your team opens every shift
Shifts, clock-in, tasks with photo proof, swaps, translated messages, certifications and tips, on the phone your team already carries.
The staff app is part of Employee Scheduling & Attendance: $49 per location per month, with no charge per employee. See Esplanda pricing.
Illustrative example
In short
The Esplanda staff app is a retail scheduling app built for the people behind the counter, not the owner. Each person sees their shift, clocks in and out, closes tasks with a photo, swaps shifts, reads messages in their own language, tracks certifications and sees their tips.
It is the product five people use every shift, and adoption is measured in shifts, not logins. It comes with Employee Scheduling & Attendance at $49 per location per month, with no charge per employee.
- Shifts on the phone
- Clock in and out
- Tasks with photo proof
- Shift swaps
- Translated messages
- Certifications
- Tips
Why it exists
Built for the person who opens on Sunday
The person who opens on Sunday isn't the person who bought the software. A clerk with eleven minutes before the doors open needs to know which cooler to face and whether their Thursday moved.
- The usual gap. The owner buys a system, the team gets a login, and a month later the schedule is back in a group chat and the closing list is a laminated sheet by the till.
- One question. The staff app answers what this person needs in the next eight hours: their shift, clock, tasks, swaps, messages, certifications and tips. Nothing else appears.
- Measured in shifts. Three weeks in, look for clock-ins, task closures and swap requests on the shifts you weren't there for.
In the app
Seven things your team does in the app
All seven happen today by text, by phone call or not at all.
Clock in and out
From the app, with breaks recorded, so hours are a record and not a reconstruction.
Close tasks with proof
A task can need a photo before it closes: the faced cooler, the mopped floor, the stacked delivery.
Swap a shift
Offer a shift, let an eligible colleague take it, and send the swap to a manager to approve. You stop being the switchboard.
Read messages in their language
A manager writes a shift note once; each person reads it in the language set on their own phone.
Track training and certification
Modules completed and certifications held with expiry dates, including alcohol-server certification, warned before it lapses.
See their tips
Tips recorded against their own shifts, in the same app they clock in with, before payday rather than after.
Two halves of one schedule
The staff app and the owner's side
The owner builds the week and watches labor cost against sales. The team works the shift. One schedule, written for two different people.
| Staff app | Owner side | |
|---|---|---|
| Who opens it | Everyone on the schedule | The owner or manager |
| How often | Every shift | Once or twice a week |
| Main job | Work this shift | Build the week and cost it |
| Device | The phone in their pocket | The back office, or the owner's phone |
| Shift swaps | Requested here | Approved here |
| Labor cost against sales | Kept off the staff screen | The core report |
| Payroll | Hours, tips and approvals recorded | Clean hours sent to your payroll provider |
Building the roster and pricing it against forecast sales is employee scheduling software. The time clock, punch exceptions and the $49 line are on the time clock app for small business page. Approved hours feed demand forecasting software, so next week's schedule is built against expected demand.
One shift
One shift, start to close
Six moments, and none of them needs the owner in the building.
The night before
The shift is on the phone, with the manager's note, in the staff member's own language.
On arrival
Clock in from the app, or at the register on our POS system with inventory management. Hours become a record, not a Friday reconstruction.
Through the shift
Tasks appear in order, and the ones that matter need a photo before they close.
Mid-shift
A swap request for next Thursday goes to a colleague, then to a manager, with no call to the owner.
At close
Clock out, see the shift's tips, and close the closing tasks with proof attached.
Overnight
Approved hours land on the owner's side, ready for labor costing and your payroll provider.
Built for
Built for the people behind the counter
The clerk, the stocker, the closer and whoever is covering Sunday.
Built for
- Liquor and wine stores, where alcohol-server certification is warned before it lapses; see liquor store software.
- Grocery and convenience stores with early opens, late closes and deliveries to receive.
- Retail counters where the schedule lives in a group chat today.
- Teams that don't share a first language, across the counter, the stockroom and the night shift.
- Several stores, with schedules, tasks and certifications held per location and rolled up; see multi location inventory management.
Works with what you have
- Your team's phones: nothing to buy for the shop floor.
- Your payroll provider: Esplanda hands over clean hours, tips and approvals; your provider runs payroll.
- A bad day: if the connection or the power drops mid-shift, the schedule and the day's tasks are in the printed pack from offline POS system.
Questions
Staff app questions owners ask
Who is the Esplanda staff app for?
The people behind the counter. It is the product five people use every shift, not the one the owner logs into once a week: the clerk, the stocker, the closer and the person covering a Sunday, on the phone they already carry.
How is the staff app different from employee scheduling software?
They are two halves of one schedule. The owner's side builds the roster, prices it against forecast sales and approves hours. The staff app is what the team opens to see their shift, clock in, finish tasks, swap a shift and read a message.
Does Esplanda run my payroll?
Your payroll provider runs payroll. Esplanda is the record keeper, not a payroll bureau: it produces the clean hours, tips and approvals your provider needs, so the pay run starts from a record instead of a reconstruction. Esplanda prepares; your provider files taxes and pays your staff.
What does proof of completion on a task mean?
A task can require a photo before it closes. The cooler faced, the floor mopped, the delivery stacked: the staff member attaches the photo and the task closes with it on the record, instead of you asking the closer the next morning.
How does translation in messaging work?
A manager writes a shift note once, and each person reads it in the language set on their own phone. In a store where the counter, the stockroom and the night shift don't all share a first language, that is the difference between a message read and a message ignored.
Can staff swap shifts without calling me?
Yes, with your approval as the last step. A staff member offers a shift, an eligible colleague picks it up, and the swap comes to a manager to confirm. You stop being the switchboard for Saturday cover and keep control of who is on the floor.
Does the app track alcohol-server certification expiry?
Yes. Each person's certifications are held with their expiry dates, and the app warns before one lapses. For a store selling alcohol, a reminder six weeks out costs far less than a lapsed certification found during an inspection.
What does the staff app cost per employee?
Nothing per employee. The staff app is part of Employee Scheduling and Attendance at $49 per location per month, so a team of four and a team of fourteen cost the same. Esplanda POS is free.
Put the schedule in their pocket
Start free today, or book a demo and we'll show a shift in the staff app from the night before to close, on a store like yours.
Esplanda POS and your website are free to start, with no card needed. Add paid tools only when you want them.
