WFM UK: Scheduling 2023: Schedule Management Forecast/Actual/Close & Submitting to Payroll

A video guide for this article can be accessed here.

Schedule Status Change & Schedule Workflow

The Schedule Approval Process has been preserved in the 2023 version. However a new schedule status change popup has been created which is where the Forecast and Actual boxes are now displayed along with the schedule status. This is an active popup where if users have the relevant user level permissions they can Approve/Reject schedules along with submitting to payroll. 

Fig 1. Schedule Status & Forecast/Actual. Schedule Status Change Dropdown - Classic Version

Fig.2 - Schedule Status & Forecast/Actual. Schedule Status 'Change...' button - 2023 Version

Fig.3 - Schedule Status & Forecast/Actual - 2023 Version

Schedule Workflow > Approving & Rejecting

• Select the Schedule tab from the homepage and then the Change button
• In the Schedule Status Change pop-up, tick the forecast (Fcst) boxes above each day to mark the schedule ready for review

The schedule status tag will update to "Ready to Review".

Fig.3 - Ticking Forecast (Fcst) boxes

Once all seven days are ticked, the schedule will show that it is ready for approval or rejection.

Rejected Schedules and Approval

Any rejected schedules must first be approved before they can be submitted to payroll.

Schedules can still be approved/rejected through the Rota Approval Report. 

• To check for rejected schedules, select the bell notification icon next to the location drop-down

Fig.4- Navigating to the Notifications area

• Where a schedule has been rejected or approved, select the notification to see if any notes have been added

Fig.5 - Viewing rejection notifications

• Make amendments to the schedule, based on the notes in the rejection notification

The actual approval of schedules will typically be carried out by a member of the business with an advanced level of access.

Approved schedules cannot be rejected once approved.

Fig.6 - Snapshot of schedule cost

Schedule Workflow > Submitting to Payroll

• Ensure that the Schedule Status is set to Approved 

Please Note: This is normally completed by an Area Manager or Central Team. The ability to set a schedule to 'Approved' is controlled by a user permission and can be applied to additional User Levels as required to assist in the smooth running of the business. To request this functionality, please liaise with your Fourth contact.

• Select Change... from the top left corner
• Tick the FCST boxes for each day
• Then Approve the schedule

The 'Schedule status' tag is displayed on the schedule page at all times. In the example below the schedule is "Ready for Review" meaning the 7 FCST boxes are ticked and the approving manager can approve the schedule. 

Fig.7 – Schedule Status Change 

The Schedule status will then display as 'Approved'.

• As the scheduled week progresses, update all the Hours as required on a daily basis and use the Change... button again to tick the 'act' Actual boxes for all days
• When all 7 'Actual' boxes are ticked, the Submit button will become available - select it when ready

If it is required to tick future days as 'Actual', this can be enabled via User Levels within the Company. Please liaise with your Fourth contact to enable this functionality.

   
Fig.8 – Ticked 'Actual' boxes on an approved schedule, 'Submit' button    

The ‘Transferring Details of Rota’ page will display, see Fig.9.

Fig.9 – Transfering Details of Rota

The next page that displays will confirm that the Schedule has been submitted successfully. 

Fig.10 – Payroll Submitted Successfully Message

The Schedule Status will show as 'Submitted' when going back into the Schedule for that week.  

Fig.11 – Rota Submitted

If any further support is required with adding the functionality detailed within this article, and/or user permissions, please contact Fourth’s Technical Support Team.