What are Schedule templates?

Schedule templates let you build a structured schedule that can be reused for recurring shifts. Instead of manually creating the same schedule each week, you can apply a template to multiple periods, ensuring consistency and efficiency.

Templates allow you to:

Set a schedule for single or multiple employees.
Assign specific shift types to designated days.
Create Open shifts that employees can apply for.
Exclude certain positions when they’re not needed.

How to create a Schedule template

To create a new template:

Go to the Schedule page.
Click Templates in the top right corner.
Select Create a new template or Save an existing schedule as a template.
Choose from:
- Week template – A full week's schedule that you can repeat.
- Day template – A one-day schedule for special occasions like holidays or busy periods.
Build your schedule as you normally would, then click Save.

Tip: If you use automatic break rules or Punch Clock breaks, avoid adding manual breaks in your template. Otherwise, breaks may be applied twice when the template is used.

Move and copy shifts in the template editor

Copy a shift: Hold Alt (Windows) / Option ⌥ (Mac) and drag the shift to a new day.
Move a shift: Simply drag and drop it to a different slot.
Duplicate a week: Click the ➕ icon to copy a completed week.
Reorder weeks: Drag them within the editor.

How to apply a Schedule template

Navigate to the week or day on the schedule where you want to apply the template.
Click Templates > Apply template.
Choose the template and adjust the settings:
- Update existing, and add new shifts – Merges existing shifts with the template shifts.
- Delete all and add new shifts – Clears the schedule and applies the template.
- Keep existing shifts and add new shifts – Adds template shifts without affecting existing ones.
Choose how many times to apply the template.
Select which employees, shift types, or positions the template should apply to.
Click Apply and review any warnings that may be breaking any Working time rules.

When applying a schedule template you have two choices:

Apply as draft – This option puts the shifts from the template as drafts on your schedule when you apply a template. You will have to publish the schedule to make the shifts visible to employees. Read more about How to use Draft shifts in Planday.
Apply – This option publishes the shifts from the template and makes them visible to employees at once.

Settings to consider when applying a Schedule template

Applying templates to empty schedules gives the best control and clarity.

If you have made a mistake and want to start over, press Tools > Delete this week to remove any created schedules.
You also have the option to hide certain days or periods from the schedule or you are not ready to share them yet.

Existing open shifts are replaced only in case they have exactly the same time and the same employee group as the shift from the template. Otherwise, a new shift will be created.
When select how many times you want to apply the template:
- If using a day-based template, you can apply it up to 14 times to fill a two-week schedule.
- For larger templates covering multiple weeks, it's best to limit how many times you apply them. For example, applying a 2-week template 4 times will generate an 8-week schedule.

Duplicate a schedule to a future week

If you want to reuse a weekly schedule, you can copy it:

Go to the Templates menu.
Click Copy week.
Select the week you want to copy it to and confirm.

Important: Copying a week overwrites any existing shifts that aren’t approved for payroll or don’t have Punch Clock entries. To avoid issues, always copy to an empty week.

Schedule templates and Working time rules

When you apply a template, an automatic check is performed for Working Time Rule violations. This helps prevent scheduling conflicts and ensures compliance with your company’s rules. The system will also check rule violations whenever you:

Move or copy shifts.
Assign employees to Open shifts.
Change shift lengths.

For more details, read How to set up Working time rules.

See related articles:

ℹ️ Need more help?

🔍 Search the Help Center | See videos at Tutorials.Planday.com | Watch a webinar

💬 For personalised support

Login and contact our support team via the blue icon at the bottom if you have more questions or book a one-to-one professional training session with an expert.