Staff scheduling questions, answered plainly.
What the demo does, how rules and time off work, what AI does and does not do, and how Shiftly fits alongside the tools your business already uses.
What is Shiftly?
Shiftly is a manager-controlled staff scheduling tool for small and frontline teams. It turns shift patterns, employee availability, time off, coverage needs and business rules into a roster that the manager can review, adjust and export.
Can I try Shiftly without creating an account?
Yes. The public demo opens an isolated sample workspace without an account or payment details. Use it to understand the workflow first. Create a private workspace only when you are ready to bring in a real store.
Does Shiftly replace payroll, HR or time-clock software?
No. Shiftly focuses on the schedule. You can keep your existing payroll, HR, POS and time-clock tools, then export the confirmed roster as CSV or connect other systems later when there is a practical need.
Can I use my own shift names and operating hours?
Yes. Start from a retail, restaurant, clinic, repair or warehouse pattern, or define your own operating days, shift names, start times, end times, roles and coverage requirements.
Will AI change or publish my schedule without asking?
No. AI-assisted intake produces a visible draft of the request, rules and objectives. The manager reviews or edits that interpretation, generates a roster, checks the result and decides when to confirm or share it. Nothing is published silently.
What happens when two scheduling rules conflict?
Shiftly separates must-follow constraints from preferences and objectives. If the hard requirements cannot all be met, the result shows the remaining coverage gap or conflict instead of pretending the schedule is perfect. The manager decides which business input to change.
Can I record time off and temporary rules?
Yes. A manager can add dated time-off windows and temporary requests for a specific scheduling period. The interpretation should show who or what the request affects and when it expires before it is applied to the roster.
Do employees need accounts?
Not for the manager workflow. Shiftly is currently designed for the owner or store manager to prepare, review and share the schedule. The confirmed result can be exported or shared through the channels the team already uses.
Can I reuse last week's schedule?
Yes, use the previous schedule as a starting point and compare it with this week's demand, availability, time off and hour limits. Shiftly can help reveal a different workable option, but it does not silently replace the manager's plan.
What data should I upload?
You can start with a plain-language note, a screenshot or a spreadsheet containing scheduling information. Remove unnecessary personal details before uploading. Review the extracted result carefully; the manager remains responsible for confirming the final inputs and roster.
How much does Shiftly cost?
The public pricing page currently lists a CA$20 monthly plan and a CA$199 annual plan, each with a 14-day free trial. The free demo does not require payment details. Review the current plan details before starting a subscription.
Who is Shiftly a good fit for?
Shiftly is a good fit for owner-managers and store managers of small teams that schedule recurring shifts: retail, cafes, restaurants, repair shops, clinics, warehouses, logistics and other frontline operations. It is not intended to replace a full enterprise HR suite.
Still deciding?
Run one realistic scheduling cycle before bringing in your own store.