How Rota Done works
Rota Done builds your schedule from three inputs: your staff, your shift templates, and how many people you need on each shift each day. Once those are set, the solver fills the grid in seconds.
Step 1 — Set up your venue
When you first sign up, setup asks what kind of place you run (pub or bar, restaurant, café, shop, events, hotel, or something else), which days you open, and who is on your team. It gives you shifts to start from, which you can rename or change. Your first rota is for this week if it is Monday or Tuesday, otherwise next week.
Adding your team at setup
For each person, tap every role they can cover. Nothing is picked for you, and you need at least one role before you can add them. There is also an Email box. It is not required, but staff need an email to see the rota on their phone. Nothing is sent until you invite them, and any emails you add here are filled in for you when you open Invite in the editor.
Step 2 — Add your staff
Open the rota editor and click + Staff in the Staff panel. Give each person a name, a role, their contracted hours if applicable, and their normal weekly availability.
Step 3 — Set up your shifts
Click Shifts at the top-left of the rota grid. Create a shift template for each pattern you run — for example, Bar Open 12:00–18:00 or Close 17:00–00:30. Set how many people you need on each shift per day of the week.
Step 4 — Solve
Click Solve. The solver fills the rota grid in seconds, respecting staff availability, contracted hours, and rest rules. Review the result, drag shifts to adjust, and lock anyone you want to keep in place.
Step 5 — Publish
Click Publish. Staff who have accepted their invite get an email and can open their shifts on their phone at rotadone.co.uk. No app download required. Staff with no email can still get the rota: print it, or open Rota as text from the ··· menu and paste it into your group chat.
The getting-started guide
The editor shows a Getting started guide with four steps: set your cover, fill the week, invite your team, and send it to your team. It comes back every time you open the editor until you have published a rota, printed one, or copied one as text (Rota as text in the ··· menu). Hide for now shrinks it to a small Getting started tab that shows how far you are, for example 2/4. Click the tab to open the guide again.
Coming back after a while
The editor opens on the latest week you saved. If that week is already over, it moves you on to this week, bringing your staff, shifts and cover with it, and tells you which week your last rota was.