Guide

How Skedova works.

Everything you need to know to get the most out of Skedova. Bookmark this page or share specific sections with your team.

Getting Started

Set up your account, add stores, and invite your team.

Signing In

Log in for the first time and set your password.

Your company administrator creates your account and sends you login credentials via email. Here is how to get started.

First-Time Login

1Open Skedova in your browser or the mobile app
2Click the "Set Your Password" link in your welcome email
3Choose a password at least 8 characters long

Forgot Your Password?

Contact your company administrator. They can reset your password from the Employees screen, which sends you a password reset link via email.

Supported Devices

Skedova works in any modern browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge) and as a native app on iOS and Android. Your data syncs across all devices automatically.

Check "Remember me" on the login screen to keep your email pre-filled for next time.

Quick Start for Admins

Get your company up and running in five steps.

New to Skedova? Follow these steps to get your company up and running.

1Add your stores — go to Stores and create each physical location with its name and address
2Set up shift types — go to Shift Types and define the types of shifts you use (e.g., morning, evening, delivery). Set default times and colors for each
3Add your employees — go to Employees and add each team member. Assign them to stores, set their role, and toggle "Send Welcome Email" so they receive login credentials
4Build your first schedule — go to Schedules, select a store, and start adding shifts to the weekly grid
5Publish — when the schedule looks right, click Publish to notify all assigned employees via email

After Setup

Ask employees to log in, set their availability, and upload any required documents
Save your first schedule as a template so next week is even faster
Explore Reports to track labor hours and coverage

You can import employees from a CSV file to speed up onboarding. Go to Employees and click "Import CSV" for the format guide.

Scheduling

Build, publish, and manage weekly schedules.

Schedule Builder

Create shifts, assign employees, and manage the weekly grid.

The schedule builder is a visual weekly grid for creating and managing employee shifts. It is the core tool for building your team's work schedule.

Creating Shifts

1Click any empty time slot on the grid to open the side panel
2Select an employee from the searchable dropdown
3Select a shift type — this auto-fills the default start and end times and sets the block color
4Adjust times if needed, then click "Create Shift"
The side panel stays open after creating a shift so you can add multiple shifts quickly
Click any existing shift block to edit it in the side panel
Right-click (or long-press on mobile) a shift block for quick actions: edit, duplicate, move, or delete

Grid Navigation

Day/Week Toggle — switch between viewing one day or the full week
Week Picker — navigate between weeks with arrows, click "Today" to jump back, or click the date range to jump to any week
Week Start Day — configure which day starts the week (Monday through Sunday). Your preference is saved automatically
Now Line — a red horizontal line shows the current time on today's column
Overlapping Shifts — if two shifts overlap for the same time, they display side by side so both remain visible

Builder Mode (Desktop)

Toggle Builder Mode using the wrench icon in the toolbar to access three tools:

Shift Palette — drag shift types directly onto the grid to create shifts at that time and day
Employee Pool — drag employees onto unassigned shifts to assign them. Employees with conflicts are dimmed
Auto-Fill — automatically assign employees to unassigned shifts using configurable rules

Auto-Fill Rules

Configure these options before running auto-fill:

Respect Availability — only assign employees within their available hours
Respect Time Off — skip employees with approved PTO on that day
Check Conflicts — avoid overlapping shift assignments
Respect Overtime — skip employees who would exceed the weekly hour threshold
Balance Hours — prefer employees with fewer scheduled hours for fairer distribution

Click "Preview" to see proposed assignments before applying. You can always undo assignments manually after applying.

Employee Sidebar

The sidebar on the right shows all employees at the current store:

Availability Dots — green = available, red = approved PTO, orange = PTO pending, gray = unavailable
Highlight Mode — click an employee name to highlight all their shifts for the week
Weekly Hours — see each employee's total scheduled hours

Conflict Detection

Overlapping shifts for the same employee show a red conflict border in real time
Overtime warnings appear when employees exceed the configured weekly threshold (default 40 hours)
The summary panel below the toolbar shows total shifts, hours, employees, unassigned shifts, overtime, and conflicts at a glance

Save a template from your best week and apply it every week, then use auto-fill to assign employees. You can have a full schedule ready in minutes.

Publishing Schedules

Publish, unpublish, and notify your team.

Publishing a schedule locks it and notifies all assigned employees via email.

How to Publish

1Finish adding all shifts for the week
2Review the summary panel for conflicts or coverage gaps
3Click "Publish" in the toolbar
4Every assigned employee receives an email notification with their schedule

Making Changes After Publishing

Published schedules are locked to prevent accidental changes
To edit, click "Unpublish" first, make your changes, then republish
Republishing sends a new notification so employees see the updated version

Exporting

Export PDF — generate a printable PDF from the toolbar, useful for posting in the break room
Archive — archive completed schedules to keep your list clean. Archived schedules can still be viewed

Review time-off requests before publishing. Knowing who is off helps you plan coverage and avoid creating shifts that will need to be changed.

Templates and Cloning

Save time with reusable templates and week cloning.

Templates and cloning help you build schedules faster by reusing previous work.

Templates

Save as Template — save the current week's schedule as a reusable template. Templates store shift types, times, and day patterns but not employee assignments
Apply Template — apply any saved template to any future week. This pre-populates shifts that you can then assign employees to manually or with auto-fill
Manage your templates from the Templates screen to rename or delete them

Cloning

Clone Week — copy the current week to the next week or pick a specific target date
Cloning copies all shifts including employee assignments, making it ideal for repeating schedules

Templates are best for the general structure (which shift types on which days), while cloning is best when the same employees work the same shifts week after week.

Shift Types

Customize shift categories, colors, and default times.

Shift types define the categories of shifts your company uses. Each has a name, color, and default start/end times that auto-populate when creating shifts.

Default Shift Types

Skedova comes with system defaults common to food service and retail (Inshop, Driver, PIC, Manager, GM). You can change their colors and times but not delete them.

Creating Custom Shift Types

1Click "Add Shift Type"
2Enter a name (e.g., "Opening", "Closing", "Catering")
3Pick a color for visual identification on the schedule grid
4Set default start and end times
5Save

Managing Shift Types

Tap any shift type to edit its name, color, or default times
Drag to reorder — this controls the order they appear in dropdowns throughout the app
Delete custom shift types from the edit view (system defaults cannot be deleted)

Choose distinct colors for each shift type so you can quickly scan the schedule and see the mix of shifts at a glance.

Team Management

Employees, roles, stores, and documents.

Managing Employees

Add, edit, and organize your workforce.

Manage your company's entire workforce from the Employees screen. Add, edit, deactivate, and organize employees across all your stores.

Adding Employees

Add Employee — open a form to enter name, email, role, phone, and store assignment. Toggle "Send Welcome Email" to automatically email them login credentials
Quick Add — rapidly add multiple employees with minimal fields. You can fill in details later
CSV Import — bulk-add employees from a spreadsheet with columns for first name, last name, email, and role

Employee Details

Click any employee to open their detail page with four tabs:

Details — name, phone, email, address, role, and pay rate
Contact — emergency contact name and phone number
Driver — license number, expiry date, and vehicle details (for delivery drivers)
Permissions — override specific permissions for this employee without changing their role

Store Assignments

Employees only see schedules and data for stores they are assigned to
An employee can be assigned to multiple stores — they will see all of them in their store picker
Assign or remove stores from the employee's detail page

Deactivation

Deactivate an employee to revoke login access without deleting their history. Shifts, time-off records, and documents are preserved. Reactivate at any time to restore access.

Use Quick Add when onboarding a group of new hires. You can fill in their detailed information later from each employee's detail page.

Store Management

Add locations and manage store assignments.

Each store operates independently with its own schedules, time-off tracking, and shift management.

Adding a Store

1Click "Add Store"
2Enter the store name, address, phone number, and operating hours
3Save — it immediately appears in the store picker across the app

Store Settings

Click any store to edit its name, address, phone, or hours
View which managers and employees are assigned to each store
Deactivate a store that is no longer in use to hide it from the store picker while preserving historical data

How Stores Work

Schedules are built per store — each store has its own weekly schedule
Time-off requests and shift pickups are scoped to the store
Reports can be filtered by store for per-location analysis

Assign employees to stores from the Employees screen. Go to the employee's detail page and add store assignments there.

Documents

Upload and track licenses, insurance, and certifications.

Track employee documents for compliance: driver's licenses, vehicle insurance, and professional certifications.

Uploading Documents

1Go to the employee's detail page and scroll to Documents
2Click "Upload" and select a file (JPEG, PNG, PDF, or GIF — 10 MB max)
3Set the document type, optional description, and expiration date
4Save

Expiration Tracking

Red badge — the document has expired
Yellow badge — expires within 30 days
Green badge — current and valid
The dashboard shows a company-wide view of all documents needing attention

Employee Self-Service

Employees can upload and manage their own documents from their Profile screen. Admins can also upload documents on behalf of employees.

Check the dashboard's Expiring Documents widget regularly and ask employees to renew documents before they expire.

Employee Tools

Availability, time off, shift pickups, and your schedule.

Viewing Your Schedule

See your shifts for the week and take action on them.

See your assigned shifts for the current and upcoming weeks. This is your primary screen for knowing when and where you work.

Viewing Your Schedule

Week View — all your shifts for the week, grouped by day in chronological order
Day View — focus on a single day with more detail per shift
Use the week picker arrows to navigate between weeks. "Today" jumps to the current week

Shift Cards

Each shift card shows the shift type with its color, store name, start and end times, and duration. Tap any card to see full details including notes from your manager.

Actions

Post for Pickup — if you cannot work a shift, post it so a coworker can claim it (requires manager approval)

Multiple Stores

If you work at multiple locations, your schedule shows shifts from all stores. Each card indicates which store. Use the store picker to filter to a specific location.

Check your schedule regularly after it is published. Your manager may make changes, and you will receive a notification when the schedule is updated.

Setting Availability

Tell your manager when you can work.

Set when you are available to work. Your manager sees this when building schedules, and the auto-fill engine uses it to avoid scheduling you outside your available times.

Setting Your Availability

1Open the Availability screen
2You will see a 7-day grid (Monday through Sunday)
3Toggle each day on or off
4For available days, set start and end times for partial availability (e.g., "8 AM - 3 PM")
5Save your changes

How It Is Used

Your manager sees colored dots next to your name: green = available, gray = unavailable
Auto-fill respects your availability when the "Respect Availability" option is enabled
Your availability applies across all stores you are assigned to

Updating Availability

Changes take effect for future schedules only — already-published schedules are not affected
Your manager is not automatically notified, so communicate major changes directly

Be as accurate as possible. The more precise your availability, the fewer scheduling conflicts you will have.

Time-Off Requests

Request days off and track approval status.

Employees submit time-off requests, and managers review and approve or deny them.

Submitting a Request (Employees)

1Click "New Request"
2Select your start and end dates
3Enter a reason (e.g., "Doctor's appointment", "Vacation")
4Submit the request
Pending (yellow) — waiting for review. You can cancel before it is decided
Approved (green) — confirmed off for those dates
Denied (red) — denied with a reason from your manager

Reviewing Requests (Managers)

1Open a pending request
2Review the employee, dates, and reason
3Check the schedule for coverage impact
4Approve (with optional notes) or deny (with a reason the employee will see)
Approved time off appears as an overlay on the schedule builder
Auto-fill skips employees with approved PTO when "Respect Time Off" is enabled
Employees receive email and in-app notifications when you make a decision

Submit requests as far in advance as possible. This gives your manager time to plan coverage.

Shift Pickups

Post shifts for others or claim open shifts.

When an employee cannot work a shift, they can post it for pickup so a coworker can take it over, with manager approval.

The Pickup Process

1

Post

An employee posts one of their shifts for pickup

2

Visible

The shift becomes visible to all coworkers at the same store

3

Claim

Another employee claims the shift

4

Review

The claim goes to the manager for approval

5

Reassign

On approval, the shift is reassigned to the claimer

For Employees

Posting — select a shift from your schedule or the Shift Pickups screen. You remain assigned until a claim is approved. Cancel before anyone claims it if plans change
Claiming — browse the "Available Pickups" tab, review shift details, and click "Claim." Wait for manager approval

For Managers

Claimed pickups appear for your approval in the Shift Pickups screen and on the dashboard
Approve or deny with an optional note
Both the poster and claimer receive email notifications

Approving a pickup permanently reassigns the shift. Make sure the claiming employee is qualified and available before approving.

Pickups are a great way to earn extra hours. Check the Available Pickups tab regularly for open shifts.

More Features

Reports, messaging, shift photos, notifications, and settings.

Reports and Exports

Labor hours, overtime, coverage gaps, and financial reports.

Analyze your workforce and financial data with built-in reports. Filter by store and date range, and export to CSV or PDF.

Operations Reports

Labor Hours — total hours by employee and store for any date range, with bar charts and detailed breakdowns
Overtime — employees exceeding the weekly hour threshold, with total and excess hours
Coverage Gaps — time periods with insufficient staffing relative to expected levels
Heatmap — a visual grid showing staffing levels by day and hour. Darker cells = more shifts
Mileage — driver mileage logs and reimbursement totals

Financial Reports

Financial reports use a 13-period (4-week) accounting calendar. Generate accounting periods for your fiscal year from the Financial section, then configure COGS, fixed costs, and bonus settings in Settings.

Net Income — annual P&L with sales, costs, and net income per period
Store Overview — multi-store comparison for a given period
Labor Costs — per-employee cost breakdown by hours, rate, and pay type
Bonus — bonus calculations based on configurable thresholds
Sales Data — enter weekly actual and projected sales per period
Pay Rates — manage per-employee hourly rate overrides by shift type

Exporting

Export any report as CSV for payroll integration or as PDF for records
Filter by store and date range before exporting to get exactly the data you need

Start with the Net Income report for a high-level financial view, then drill into Store Overview and Labor Costs for details.

Messaging

Direct messages and group conversations (Pro).

Communicate with your team using built-in messaging. Send direct messages, create group conversations, and keep all work communication in one place.

Conversations

Direct Messages — private one-on-one conversations
Group Conversations — multi-person threads for teams, stores, or custom groups

Starting a Conversation

1Tap "New Message"
2Search for and select one or more recipients (users who share at least one store with you)
3Type your message and send

Features

Read Receipts — see when your message has been read
Typing Indicators — see when someone is typing a reply
Pin Messages — pin important messages to the top of a conversation
Attachments — send images and PDF files within messages
Unread Count — unread conversations show a badge in the navigation

Messaging is available on the Pro plan. If you do not see the Messaging tab, your company may need to upgrade.

Shift Photos

Upload photos during shifts for verification (Pro).

Upload photos during or after shifts for verification, documentation, or task completion tracking.

How It Works

Employees upload photos tied to a specific shift (e.g., task completion, store condition, delivery confirmation)
Managers can review shift photos from the admin view to verify work was completed
Photos are stored securely and associated with the shift record

For Employees

1Go to the Shift Photos screen or tap a shift on your schedule
2Select the shift to attach photos to
3Upload one or more photos from your camera or gallery

For Managers

View submitted photos from the Shift Photos screen in the admin view
Filter by employee, date, or store
Photos help verify that tasks were completed and shifts went smoothly

Shift photos are available on the Pro plan. Standard plan subscribers can upgrade to unlock this feature.

Notifications

Stay updated on schedule changes and approvals.

Stay updated on schedule changes, approvals, and team activity. Skedova sends notifications for all important events.

What You Get Notified About

Schedule Published — a new or updated schedule was published
Shift Changes — a shift you are assigned to was modified or removed
Time-Off Decisions — your request was approved or denied
Pickup Updates — new shifts posted, claims, and manager decisions on pickups
New Messages — incoming messages in conversations (Pro plan)

Managing Notifications

Unread count appears as a badge on the Notifications tab
Tap a notification to navigate directly to the relevant screen
Mark individual notifications as read by tapping, or use "Mark All Read"
Filter by type using the tab pills at the top

Email vs In-App

Most notifications are sent both in-app and via email
Opt out of email notifications from your Profile settings (in-app notifications remain active)

Enable push notifications on your phone for real-time alerts. Go to your device settings to allow notifications from Skedova.

Profile and Settings

Personal info, password, theme, and preferences.

Manage your personal information, documents, and account preferences from your Profile screen.

Personal Information

Edit your name, phone number, email, and physical address
Add an emergency contact name and phone number (visible to your company admin)

Driver Information

If you are a delivery driver, enter your vehicle and license details:

Driver's license number and expiration date
Vehicle make, model, year, and license plate
This information is used for mileage reimbursement tracking and EPA fuel economy lookups

Documents

Upload your own documents (license, insurance, certifications) from your Profile
Supported formats: JPEG, PNG, PDF, GIF (10 MB max)
Set expiration dates for compliance tracking

Account Settings

Change Password — set a new password (minimum 8 characters)
Email Notifications — toggle email notifications on or off
Theme — switch between light and dark mode. Your preference syncs across devices

Keep your phone number and emergency contact up to date. Your manager uses this info to reach you about schedule changes.

Get a week of your time back.

Most teams publish their first schedule in under 30 minutes. Want a walkthrough first? Schedule a 15-minute demo and we'll show you the platform live.