Rota and attendance software for retail teams
Retail Staff Scheduling Software for Shops and Multi-Site Teams
From the first person unlocking the doors to the last one cashing up, WorkPilotAI helps retail managers organise opening, daytime, evening and closing shifts, handle availability and leave, track attendance, keep an eye on estimated labour costs and prepare approved hours for payroll.
Card required to start. Nothing charged for 30 days. Your selected plan begins automatically unless cancelled.
Common retail scheduling challenges
Shop rotas follow footfall. Saturdays, school holidays and the run-up to Christmas need far more hands than a wet Tuesday, and someone still has to open and close every day. Typical pressures include:
- Opening and closing cover
- Busy weekends
- Seasonal peaks
- Late-night trading
- Last-minute absence
- Availability kept in messages
- Staff working from an old rota
- Leave clashes
- Swaps agreed without approval
- Early clock-ins
- Missing clock-outs
- Overtime noticed too late
- Running several shops
- Timesheets prepared by hand
Schedule different retail roles
Group staff into teams, give each shift a job title, and plan each team's cover in its own section, so you can see at a glance whether there's a supervisor on every close.
WorkPilotAI manages people and hours. It doesn't run tills, stock, sales targets, commission or store security.
- Store manager
- Duty manager
- Supervisor
- Sales assistant
- Cashier
- Stockroom
- Customer service
- Visual merchandising
- Cleaner
- Security
Build and publish retail rotas
Start from what your team can do and who's already on holiday, then lay out the week shift by shift. Hours, gaps and potential overtime are visible as you go. When the rota is right, publish it and everyone sees their latest shifts.
- Collect availability
- Check approved leave
- Create opening, daytime and closing shifts
- Check coverage
- View scheduled hours
- Spot potential overtime
- Use manager-reviewed AI suggestions
- Publish the final rota
- Staff see their latest shifts
AI suggestions are only drafts: they need a manager's approval and are never published automatically. See our staff rota software.
Manage leave and shift changes
Staff view their own shifts, share their availability, request leave and ask to swap a shift from their own account. An authorised manager approves or declines each request, and nobody can change the published rota directly without that approval.
Requests and availability
- Jamal K. · Available all weekendNoted
- Sofia N. · Unavailable ThursdayNoted
- Chloe R. · Approved leave 20–24 OctNoted
- Tom E. · Swap requested: Sat closing → Jamal K.Manager review required
Track attendance
Clock-ins are matched to the rota, so managers can review:
- Scheduled start and finish
- Actual clock-in and clock-out
- Early clock-ins
- Late arrivals
- Missing clock-outs
- Unusually long shifts
- Unscheduled attendance
- Manager-authorised corrections
- Approved hours
Where a manager enables them, optional location checks, shop-specific Wi-Fi checks and clock-in windows add more confidence that clock-ins happen at the right shop and time. Organisations remain responsible for transparent and lawful workplace monitoring. More on the employee clock-in app.
Monitor retail labour costs
Wages are usually one of a shop's largest running costs. Managers can see:
- Scheduled-hours visibility
- Estimated labour cost from entered pay rates
- Potential overtime
- Weekly staffing-budget comparison
- Scheduled vs recorded hours
- Attendance exceptions before approval
WorkPilotAI provides clearer staffing and attendance information to support management decisions. Actual savings depend on each organisation’s staffing arrangements, pay rules, policies and decisions.
Learn about labour cost management.
How it works
- 1
Add employees, availability and approved leave
- 2
Create shifts for each role and store
- 3
Review coverage, hours and estimated labour costs
- 4
Publish the rota and monitor attendance
- 5
Approve final hours and export payroll-ready information
Product demonstrations
Fictional data for a made-up shop. All figures are illustrative estimates, not guaranteed savings.
Linden & Co · High Street store
| Staff | Role | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chloe R. | Supervisor | Opening 07:30 | Opening 07:30 | Off |
| Jamal K. | Sales assistant | Daytime 10:00 | Daytime 09:00 | Daytime 10:00 |
| Sofia N. | Cashier | Evening 14:00 | Closing 13:00 | Off |
| Tom E. | Stockroom | Off | Closing 13:00 | Closing 11:00 |
| Coverage | Covered | Covered | Opening gap |
Requests and availability
- Jamal K. · Available all weekendNoted
- Sofia N. · Unavailable ThursdayNoted
- Chloe R. · Approved leave 20–24 OctNoted
- Tom E. · Swap requested: Sat closing → Jamal K.Manager review required
Saturday · clock-ins
| Staff | Scheduled | In | Out | Status | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chloe R. | 07:30–16:00 | 07:28 | 16:03 | On time | — |
| Jamal K. | 09:00–17:30 | 08:37 | 17:31 | Early clock-in | Pending |
| Sofia N. | 13:00–21:30 | 13:12 | 21:30 | Late arrival | Reviewed |
| Tom E. | 13:00–21:30 | 12:59 | — | Missed clock-out | Pending |
This week · illustrative estimates
Scheduled hours
348
Estimated labour cost
£4,290
Weekly budget
£4,200
Potential overtime
2 people
Pending reviews
2
Budget used
102% (est.)
Illustrative estimates only — not guaranteed savings.
Multi-site retail teams
Each shop can be set up as its own site with its own rota and attendance records. Authorised managers can be limited to the shops they look after, while owners see every location.
Professional supports up to 250 active employees across up to 3 sites. Enterprise supports larger organisations across up to 10 sites.
Suitable retail organisations
- Independent shops
- Convenience stores
- Fashion retailers
- Beauty retailers
- Mobile-phone shops
- Furniture retailers
- Garden centres
- Charity shops
- Shopping-centre retailers
- Multi-location retailers
Running one small shop? See rota software for small businesses, or browse the full feature list.
Payroll-ready hours
After reviewing attendance, managers approve the relevant hours and export payroll-ready information. Read about payroll-ready timesheets.
WorkPilotAI does not calculate tax, process payroll or make wage payments. Exported records require further review and processing by the organisation, accountant or payroll provider.
Plans and trial
New accounts start with a 30-day trial of a paid plan. A card is required to start, nothing is charged during the first 30 days, and your selected plan begins automatically unless you cancel before the trial ends.
There is also a limited Free plan for up to five active employees, which an account moves to if a payment fails after the trial, keeping your data until the card is updated. Current plans and prices are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
What is retail staff scheduling software?
It is software that helps shops plan who works when, share the rota with staff and keep track of attendance. WorkPilotAI combines rotas, availability, leave, shift swaps, clock-ins, labour-cost estimates and approved hours.
Can I create opening and closing shifts?
Yes. Shifts can start and finish at any time, so you can plan opening, daytime, evening, closing and late-trading cover, and save weekly patterns as templates.
Can employees view their rotas on their phones?
Yes. Staff sign in from a supported phone, tablet or computer to see their own shifts from the latest published rota.
Can staff provide their availability?
Yes. Employees tell you from their own account when they can and can't work, and managers see it while planning.
Can retail employees request leave and shift swaps?
Yes. Staff can request leave or ask to swap a shift from their account.
Who approves shift changes?
An authorised manager approves or declines each leave or swap request. Staff cannot change a published rota themselves.
Can employees clock in and out?
Yes. Staff clock in and out on their own supported device. Managers can optionally add location checks and clock-in windows for each shop.
Can each shop use separate Wi-Fi verification?
Yes, where configured. Each shop can have its own authorised Wi-Fi details, and one shop's network does not count as a valid check at another.
Can managers review missed clock-outs?
Yes. A missing clock-out is flagged as an exception so a manager can set the correct finish time before hours are approved.
Can WorkPilotAI identify potential overtime?
Yes. When someone's scheduled hours go above the limits you set, they are highlighted so you can rebalance shifts.
Can I estimate retail labour costs?
Yes. WorkPilotAI estimates labour cost from scheduled hours and the pay rates you enter, and can compare it with a weekly budget. These are estimates, not payroll figures.
Can I compare scheduled and recorded hours?
Yes. Timesheets show each scheduled shift next to actual clock-in and clock-out times, so differences are easy to spot.
Can approved hours be exported for payroll?
Yes. Approved hours can be exported as a CSV for your payroll provider or accountant.
Does WorkPilotAI process payroll?
No. WorkPilotAI prepares and exports approved hours. It does not calculate tax, run payroll or make wage payments.
Can I manage several shops?
Yes. Professional supports up to 250 active employees across up to 3 sites, and Enterprise supports larger organisations across up to 10 sites. Managers can be limited to the shops they look after.
Does AI publish rotas automatically?
No. AI can suggest a draft rota, but nothing is saved or published until a manager reviews and accepts it.
Is there a free plan?
There is a limited Free plan for up to five active employees. An account moves to it if a payment fails after the trial, and your data is kept until the card is updated. New accounts start with a 30-day trial of a paid plan.
What happens after the 30-day trial?
Card required to start. Nothing charged for 30 days. Your selected plan begins automatically unless cancelled. You can cancel before the trial ends from your account settings.
Read our privacy notice or contact us with other questions.
Build clearer retail rotas and review staffing costs before payroll
Try WorkPilotAI with your own shops and team, or book a live demonstration.
Card required to start. Nothing charged for 30 days. Your selected plan begins automatically unless cancelled.