The Staff Roster lets you plan which staff work which days and hours, in a week grid on Settings > Staff Roster. When you switch rostering on, every staff dropdown in KennelBooker follows it. Groomer, walker, trainer, drop-in, appointment, additional services, to-do and Daily Care Log lists only offer the people rostered for that day. The roster also decides who can clock in on the Time & Attendance screen. Staff with access to Settings build the roster; everyone else sees its effect in the staff lists.
[Image: videos\main.gif]
Where to find the Staff Roster
The Staff Roster is on Settings > Staff Roster, just below Staff Accounts in the settings menu. On a shared or multi-user login, the staff member needs the Access Settings permission to open it. Rostering is off until you switch on Enable rostering at the top of the Staff Roster page and click Save. You can build the roster first and switch it on later.
What the Staff Roster does
Shows a week grid (Monday to Sunday) with a row for every staff member, their shifts, and "Off" on days they aren't working.
Shows how many staff are on each day, and flags a day with nobody on as 0 on · nobody in amber.
Adds shifts for one staff member at a time, for one week or repeated for up to 52 weeks.
Copies a whole week's shifts forward for up to 12 weeks.
Removes one shift, or clears one person's whole week.
With rostering on, limits every staff dropdown to the people rostered that day, and shows their shift times beside their names.
Checks every date when you save a to-do, including repeating to-dos, and asks what to do on days the person isn't rostered.
Flags to-dos given to someone who isn't rostered that day with a Not rostered pill on the to-do list.
Controls who appears on the Time & Attendance clock-in screen each day.
How to set up the Staff Roster
Go to Settings > Staff Roster. Every staff member from Staff Accounts has a row in the week grid. If you have no staff yet, the page says "You haven't added any staff yet. Add them on Staff Accounts first."
Under Add shifts, choose the Staff member and the Week starting (weeks run Monday to Sunday).
Enter a Start and Finish time for each day they work. Leave a day blank for a day off. If they work the same hours Monday to Friday, fill in Monday and click Same Tue-Fri to copy Monday's times into any blank day from Tuesday to Friday.
Choose Repeat for: This week only, or 2 to 52 weeks.
Optionally add a Note, for example "grooming room". It shows under the shift in the grid.
Click Add to roster. The message says how many shifts were added, for example "5 shifts added." Shifts that would overlap one already on the roster are skipped, and the message says how many: "2 skipped because they overlap a shift already on the roster." So it's safe to click it again.
Repeat for each staff member, for every type of staff: kennel staff, groomers, walkers, trainers, drop-in and appointment staff.
To roll a finished week forward, use Copy this week's shifts to at the bottom of the grid, pick the next week up to the next 12 weeks, and click Copy. Weeks that already have an overlapping shift for that person are skipped.
When the roster is ready, switch on Enable rostering and click Save. The message reads "Rostering is on. Staff lists now show who is rostered for the day."
A finish time earlier than the start time is saved as an overnight shift, for example 22:00 to 06:00. Times follow your Use 24 Hour Clock setting.
Changing the Staff Roster
Remove one shift: click the × on the shift and confirm. The message reads "Shift removed."
Clear one person's week: click Clear week at the end of their row and confirm. All their shifts for that week are removed.
Change a shift's times: remove it, then add it again with the new times.
Move between weeks: use the ‹, This week and › buttons, or pick a week from the list (from 8 weeks back to a year ahead).
Holidays and sick days: remove that person's shifts for those days. There's no separate leave or holiday booking in the Staff Roster.
Your roster dates: what happens when nobody is rostered
The Staff Roster works out your roster dates: from the first day anyone is rostered to the last day anyone is rostered. The Staff Roster page shows them under the week title, for example "Your roster runs from 02/11/2026 to 06/12/2026." The roster dates move forward on their own as you roster further ahead.
Inside your roster dates, the Staff Roster is taken as complete. A staff list only offers the people rostered that day. If nobody of the right type is rostered that day, the list offers nobody, and its blank option reads Nobody rostered. On the Staff Roster page that day's header shows 0 on · nobody in amber.
After your last rostered day, there's no roster to go by yet, so staff lists offer everyone, as they did before rostering. This means you can still take bookings and assign staff weeks or months ahead.
Before your first rostered day (older bookings), staff lists also offer everyone, so editing an old booking works as it did before.
With rostering switched off, staff lists always offer everyone, whatever is on the roster.
The roster is checked for each type of staff. Inside your roster dates, a day with kennel staff rostered but no groomer offers no groomers in the groomer list. So once rostering is on, put every type of staff on the roster: groomers, walkers, trainers, drop-in and appointment staff as well as kennel staff.
[Image: help\img\roster-d2.png]
How the Staff Roster changes staff dropdowns
With rostering on, every staff dropdown listed below follows the same rule:
Rostered staff only: the people rostered for the date, with their shift, for example "Aoife Kelly (09:00 - 17:00)". Where the list covers a week or a stay, the days are shown instead, for example "Aoife Kelly (Mon Tue Wed)".
Inside your roster dates with nobody of that type rostered: nobody, and the blank option reads "Nobody rostered".
After your last rostered day: everyone of that type.
Already assigned: whoever is already assigned always stays in the list, so saving never quietly removes them. They're marked (not rostered) if they aren't on the roster that day, (deleted) if their staff account was deleted, or (current) if they no longer have that type of work ticked on their staff account.
Picking someone who isn't rostered: you can't pick a new person who isn't rostered from the list. Add a shift for them on the Staff Roster first, then reopen the page.
[Image: help\img\roster-d1.png]
Which pages follow the Staff Roster
Additional Services on a booking (and editing a scheduled service): each service's staff list uses that service's date. On a booking with several dates, see "Staff Roster and repeating daycare, walks and drop-ins" below.
Add grooming and edit grooming: the groomer list for each pet uses the appointment date, and changes when you change the date.
Recurring grooming: the groomer list uses the first date of the series. Later dates in the series aren't checked against the roster.
Grooming added to a stay: for a boarding stay, groomers rostered on any day of the stay; for daycare or nightcare, that day.
Appointments (add and edit): the staff list uses the appointment date.
Training: the hourly trainer, evaluation trainer and per-date trainer lists use the session date; editing a training booking uses its date; a Board & Train trainer uses any day of the stay; a training class trainer uses the class date.
Walks and drop-ins (add and edit): the walker or drop-in staff list uses each walk or visit date.
Online booking portal: if Show Walk Staff on Customer Portal is on (in your walk settings in Settings), pet parents only see walkers rostered on the date they pick. They see names only, not shift times.
To-dos: the Assigned to list on Add to-do item, Edit to-do item and the to-do pop-up on the Recurring page uses the to-do's week (Monday to Sunday). See "Staff Roster and to-dos" below.
Daily Care Log: "Who's doing this round?" uses the care log day.
Report cards: the staff list uses the report card day.
Time & Attendance (clocking): see "Staff Roster and clocking in" below.
Staff Roster and to-dos
On Add to-do item, the Assigned to list shows staff rostered some time in the to-do's week, and the line under it says which: "Staff rostered the week of 09/11/2026". If nobody is rostered that week inside your roster dates, it says "Nobody is rostered the week of 09/11/2026. Add shifts on the Staff Roster page to assign someone." If the week is after your last rostered day, it says "No roster yet for the week of 09/11/2026, so all staff are shown". The list updates when you change the date, switch Repeat weekly on or off, or change Starting the week of.
When you click Add item (or Save on an existing to-do), the Staff Roster checks every date the to-do will be created on. If the person isn't rostered on some of those dates, nothing is saved yet. An amber box lists those dates, for example "Ciarán Byrne isn't on the roster on 1 of these 5 days: Wed 11 Nov 2026", and asks what should happen on those days:
Leave those days unassigned (or Save with nobody assigned for a single to-do): those days are saved with nobody assigned. They show as "Anyone" on the to-do list, so whoever is on picks them up. The other days stay with the person.
Skip those days: those days aren't created. This is only offered for a repeating to-do, and only if some days are left.
Assign them anyway (or Assign anyway): everything is saved to the person, as you set it.
Change something: closes the question so you can change the person, the days or the dates, then save again.
A date counts as "not rostered" when it's inside your roster dates and the person isn't on it, including a day when nobody at all is rostered. Dates after your last rostered day aren't checked, because there's no roster for them yet. They stay with the person, and the box says how many, for example "1 day is past the end of the roster, so it stays assigned." Only the day is checked, not the hour: a person rostered 09:00 to 13:00 counts as rostered for a 15:00 to-do. When you edit an existing to-do, the check only runs if you changed the person or the date.
The to-do list shows an amber Not rostered pill on an open to-do when its person isn't rostered that day. Hover over it to see who and which day. This also catches roster changes made after the to-do was created, for example a shift removed for a sick day. The to-do isn't changed automatically; reassign it if you need to.
[Image: help\img\roster-d3.png]
Staff Roster and repeating daycare, walks and drop-ins
Daycare, nightcare and boarding bookings don't have a staff member themselves, so adding a daycare booking, including a repeating one for several weeks, doesn't check the roster. Staff come in through Additional Services on the booking, and those are assigned one service at a time.
On a booking with several dates (repeating daycare, nightcare, walks or drop-ins), the Additional Services page shows Default Values - these values will be used if none are provided, with a default staff member. The default staff list shows people rostered on any of the booking's dates. When you click Update Additional Services, the default is applied date by date:
If the default person is rostered on that service's date, or the date is after your last rostered day, the service is assigned to them.
If the date is inside your roster dates and they aren't rostered, that service is left unassigned, and the message says so, for example "Updated! Niamh Doyle isn't rostered on 18/11/2026, so that service was left unassigned."
If a service's own row already has a person who isn't rostered on that date, they stay assigned, and the message names them, for example "Updated! Niamh Doyle isn't rostered on 18/11/2026."
Services left unassigned can be assigned later on the Additional Services page, once that day is rostered. Services added while creating the booking start with nobody assigned.
[Image: help\img\roster-d4.png]
Staff Roster and clocking in
With rostering on, the Clock in & out board on the Time & Attendance screen follows today's roster:
Someone is rostered today: the board shows the rostered staff with their shift, owner logins, and anyone already clocked in or finished today.
Today is inside your roster dates and nobody is rostered: the board shows only owner logins and anyone already in.
Everyone else is listed under Not on today's roster, which only admins and staff with access to Reports can see and use to clock them in. If anyone else tries, the message reads "[Name] isn't on today's roster. Ask a manager to clock them in, or add them to the roster."
Today is after your last rostered day, or rostering is off: everyone with Time & Attendance is listed, with the note "no roster yet for today, so everyone is listed" when rostering is on.
The weekly hours view shows each person's rostered shift beside their clock-in and clock-out, with flags for Late, Left early, No show, Not rostered, Still in and No clock-out.
What happens after you change the Staff Roster
Staff lists use the new roster the next time a page opens. A page that's already open keeps its list until you reload it or change the date.
Existing bookings, services and to-dos aren't changed when you add or remove shifts. Anyone already assigned stays assigned and is marked "(not rostered)" in the list, or with the Not rostered pill on the to-do list.
Prices, invoices and booking dates aren't affected.
Nobody is notified. Staff don't get an email, SMS or app notification about their shifts, and pet parents don't see the roster.
What the Staff Roster doesn't do
The Staff Roster doesn't book leave or holidays separately. Remove the shifts for those days instead. (T&A Holidays in Settings is for pay rates on public holidays, not staff leave.)
The Staff Roster doesn't check the time of day, only the day. A to-do or service at 15:00 can go to someone rostered until 13:00.
The Staff Roster doesn't block saving. It warns, asks or leaves things unassigned, but you can always assign someone who's already assigned, or choose Assign anyway on a to-do.
The Staff Roster doesn't reassign existing work when shifts change. Reassign it yourself.
The Staff Roster doesn't create grooming, training or appointment slots, and online grooming bookings don't follow it. Slots come from your slot settings.
The Staff Roster doesn't hide staff from filters. The "Assigned to" filter on the dashboard and the staff filter on the to-do list still list all staff.
The Staff Roster doesn't check every date of a recurring grooming series, only the first.
The Staff Roster doesn't change the staff member recorded on activities logged from a booking page.
The Staff Roster doesn't send staff their rota by email or text, and there's no printable roster.
Settings that affect the Staff Roster
Enable rostering (Settings > Staff Roster, top of the page): on, staff lists, to-dos and clocking follow the roster; off, every staff list shows everyone. Turning it off keeps your roster, so you can switch it back on later.
Types of work on each staff account (Settings > Staff Accounts): decide which lists a person appears in (groomer, walker, trainer, drop-in, appointments). The roster only narrows those lists further. Additional services, to-dos, the Daily Care Log and report cards use all staff.
Time & Attendance on a staff account: decides who appears on the clock-in board at all.
Show Walk Staff on Customer Portal (your walk settings in Settings; the menu item uses your own name for walks): when on, pet parents choosing a walker online only see rostered walkers for the date.
Use 24 Hour Clock (Settings): decides whether shift times in the Staff Roster and staff lists show as 09:00 or 9:00am.
Troubleshooting the Staff Roster
"The staff dropdown is empty" or "it just says Nobody rostered"
The date is inside your roster dates and nobody of that type is rostered that day. Add a shift for the person on Settings > Staff Roster for that day, then reload the page. If the day should be open, check you've rostered groomers, walkers or trainers as well as kennel staff.
"Someone is missing from the list"
With rostering on, only people rostered that day are listed. Check their row on the Staff Roster for that week. Also check their staff account has the right type of work ticked, for example groomer.
"Everyone is listed even though rostering is on"
The date is after your last rostered day (or before your first), so there's no roster to go by yet. Roster further ahead, or copy a week forward with Copy this week's shifts to.
"A name says (not rostered)"
That person is already assigned to this booking, service or to-do, but isn't rostered that day. They're kept so nothing changes by accident. Leave them, pick someone rostered, or add a shift for them.
"My to-do won't save and shows an amber box"
The person isn't rostered on some of the to-do's dates. Choose Leave those days unassigned, Skip those days or Assign them anyway, or click Change something.
"Add to roster says Nothing was added"
The page lists why. "Choose a staff member." "Choose the week to start from." "Monday: enter both a start and finish time." "Monday: the start and finish times are the same." "Enter the start and finish time for at least one day." Fix those and click Add to roster again.
"It says shifts were skipped"
Those shifts overlap a shift already on the roster for that person, so they weren't added twice. Remove the old shift first if you meant to change the times.
"A staff member can't clock in"
They aren't on today's roster. A manager (admin or Reports access) can clock them in from Not on today's roster on the Time & Attendance screen, or add a shift for them today.
"I can't see Staff Roster in Settings"
Your login needs the Access Settings permission. Ask the account owner.
Staff Roster: frequently asked questions
Do I have to use the Staff Roster?
No. The Staff Roster is off until you switch on Enable rostering. With it off, every staff list works as it always has.
Will my staff lists go empty when I switch on the Staff Roster?
Only on days inside your roster dates with nobody rostered. Days after your last rostered day show everyone, and anyone already assigned is always kept. Roster every day you're open before switching it on.
What happens to bookings after my roster runs out?
After your last rostered day, the Staff Roster has nothing to go by, so staff lists show everyone, as before. Roster further ahead to narrow them.
What happens if nobody is rostered on a day?
If that day is inside your roster dates, staff lists offer nobody ("Nobody rostered"), repeating to-dos ask before assigning anyone, default staff on Additional Services are left unassigned, and only owners and managers can clock people in. If the day is after your last rostered day, everyone is offered.
Can I assign someone who isn't rostered?
Not as a new choice from a staff list: add a shift for them on the Staff Roster first. Someone already assigned stays assigned. On to-dos, Assign them anyway saves the person even on days they aren't rostered.
Does the Staff Roster change bookings that are already made?
No. The Staff Roster never changes existing bookings, services or to-dos. People already assigned are marked "(not rostered)" or get the Not rostered pill on the to-do list.
How do repeating to-dos work with the Staff Roster?
Every date is checked when you save. For dates the person isn't rostered, you choose to leave them unassigned, skip them or assign them anyway. Dates after your last rostered day aren't checked and stay assigned.
How does repeating daycare work with the Staff Roster?
Daycare bookings don't have a staff member, so the Staff Roster isn't checked when you add them. On the booking's Additional Services page, the default staff member is only applied to dates they're rostered (or after your roster ends); other dates are left unassigned and the message says so.
Do staff get told about their shifts?
No. The Staff Roster doesn't email, text or notify staff. Share the week from the Staff Roster page yourself.
Can pet parents see the Staff Roster?
No. The only effect online is that, with Show Walk Staff on Customer Portal on, pet parents choosing a walker only see walkers rostered that day.
How do I put someone on holiday or mark a sick day?
Remove their shifts for those days on the Staff Roster (the × on each shift, or Clear week). There's no separate leave booking.
Can I copy last week's roster?
Yes. Go to the week on the Staff Roster, choose the next 1 to 12 weeks under Copy this week's shifts to, and click Copy. Overlapping shifts are skipped.
Can a shift run past midnight?
Yes. On the Staff Roster, a finish time earlier than the start time is saved as an overnight shift.
Does the Staff Roster affect pay, invoices or reports?
No. Prices, invoices and the Time Sheet report aren't changed. The Time & Attendance hours view shows rostered shifts beside clocked hours for comparison.
Can I use the Staff Roster on the mobile app or a tablet?
Yes. The Staff Roster page works in the app and on a tablet; the week grid scrolls sideways on a small screen.
Who can edit the Staff Roster?
The account owner, and staff logins with the Access Settings permission.
Does the Staff Roster check grooming or training slots for online bookings?
No. Online grooming and training slots come from your slot settings, not the Staff Roster. Only the walker choice in the online booking portal follows the roster.
Related articles