Rota planning in Excel or online
Staff rota in Excel or online?
Excel is enough for a small team with fixed hours. If your shifts change often or your team is growing, online rota software like Tiemdo saves you time and mistakes every week.
For restaurants, pubs, cafés, shops and other businesses with changing shifts: below are the pros and cons of a rota in Excel, how it differs from Tiemdo and when to switch.
Pros and cons: Pros and cons of a rota in Excel
Many businesses plan their rota in Excel. That makes sense: it is free and you know it. But what is handy at the start often costs you time later.
Advantages of Excel
Free
You often already have it on your computer.
Familiar
You know how it works. There is nothing new to learn.
Flexible
You make the rota exactly the way you want it.
It has always worked
You have done it this way for years, and the business runs.
Disadvantages of Excel
It takes a lot of time
Every week you copy a template, type in the shifts and send the rota round.
Mistakes creep in
A wrong cell, an old version in the group chat, someone who turns up on the wrong day.
Little happens by itself
Excel does not know who is available, who is on leave or who wants to swap. You keep track of all of it yourself.
Still doing the rota in Excel? This is how to make a good one:
Comparison: Excel or rota software: the differences
How a rota in Excel differs from rota software like Tiemdo, which comes with an app for your whole team.
| Task | Excel | Tiemdo |
|---|---|---|
| Making the rota | Copy a template and type in shifts | Drag shifts from your default shifts |
| Availability | Through messages, notes and chats in passing | Staff pass it on in the app |
| Leave | Remember it and check it yourself | Taken into account as you roster |
| Sharing the rota | PDF or photo in the group chat | Your team sees the rota in the app |
| Versions | Several versions going round | One rota, always up to date |
| Busy days | Ring round yourself | Put out an open shift |
| Swapping | Everyone messages you | Staff swap among themselves, you approve |
| Cost | Free | £1 per member of staff per month |
What suits you: Who is a rota in Excel enough for?
Excel is enough if
- you have a small team with fixed hours;
- your rota is almost the same every week;
- you rarely need to swap shifts or find cover.
Tiemdo fits better if
- your team is growing, or you roster for more than one site;
- shifts change often or you work with casual staff;
- you spend a lot of time on messages about availability and swaps;
- everyone always needs to see the right rota.
Making the rota: Your rota done in minutes
Making a rota online is quicker than copying templates in Excel. You drag shifts from your default shifts to whoever can work them. Your week is set up in no time.
More about rosteringAvailability and leave: You see straight away who can work
Staff pass on in the app when they can and cannot work. Leave counts straight away. Roster someone who cannot work anyway? You see it immediately.
Set a deadline for availability. After that date, staff can no longer simply mark themselves unavailable in the app. So you know where you stand.
More about availabilitySwapping shifts: They sort out swaps themselves. You stay in charge.
Once the rota is published, staff can swap shifts with each other. Usually they sort it out together, without anyone ringing you.
You approve or reject every swap request. Does a new colleague want to swap with your most experienced person on a busy Saturday? Then you reject the request.
One rota, always up to date
There is only one version going round, and it is right. No more old PDF in the group chat and no doubt about who is working.
Open shifts when it gets busy
Expecting an extra busy day? Put an open shift on the rota. You see at a glance where someone is still needed.
More about open shifts‘We have always done it this way’ is no reason to stay
Good staff are hard enough to find. Take your team’s wishes into account, be flexible and plan ahead. That brings calm to your business, and your customers notice it too.
Switching from Excel: When do you switch from Excel to Tiemdo?
Often you only notice when it goes wrong. Someone does not turn up because they did not read the latest rota properly. Or they have an excuse you would rather have heard a week earlier.
Recognise any of these? Then it is time.
- You send more than one version of the rota round every week.
- Someone turned up at the wrong time, or not at all.
- On your day off you are still busy with swaps and cover.
- You retype availability from messages and notes.
Switching is quick. You enter your staff and regular shifts once. After that you do the rota in Tiemdo.
Price: You only pay for the people who are active
£1
per active member of staff, per month
For rota planning. Try it free for 30 days, no credit card.
Tiemdo is online rota planning for hospitality, retail and other businesses with changing shifts. Staff who are not working this season you archive, and from your next invoice you no longer pay for them. Want clocking in and time tracking too? Then it is £2 per member of staff.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Excel and online rota planning
Updated: November 2026
Done with copying and sending it round?
Try Tiemdo free for 30 days. Want to stay in Excel a little longer? Then download our free Excel sheet for hospitality or retail.