Using Excel Templates and Spreadsheets for Scheduling

Inexpensive and easy to use, spreadsheets let you create everything from an amortization schedule to a zip code table with little or no programming skills. But just because spreadsheets can be used for various applications, it doesn’t mean they should be used for employee scheduling.

Except for simple scheduling needs, using a spreadsheet scheduling template for your business is complex, time-consuming, error-prone, and will likely cost you more in loss of productivity and opportunity. Almost every scheduling manager has a ‘war story’ to tell about a spreadsheet mishaps that caused serious employee grievances, a substantial financial loss, or embarrassing mistakes. Overwriting a formula with data, adjusting the wrong cells, forgetting to hit the F9 key to recalculate, and inadvertently copying the wrong formula are just some of the normal hazards of working with a spreadsheet. “We had been coping with these scheduling complexities in a very time-consuming way using Excel templates for shift work and task assignments.” said Dean Morrison of Excell Cleaning Services Ltd. “We manually gave some cells little dots and manually color-coded cells by employee. Even with all our ingenuity, load-balancing was very difficult. The process was error-prone and we spent many unnecessary hours in administration.”

The perception of time saving due to spreadsheet ease-of-use, to a certain extent, is just an illusion. The ongoing overheads for maintenance and constant attention that these spreadsheets need drain resources that could be used more profitability elsewhere. Do any of these scenarios ring a bell?

• The numbers don’t add up because you accidentally wrote over a formula with data.
• You spend so much of your time re-sizing, aligning, formatting, updating, re-entering data onto spreadsheets.
• You cannot roll up figures from department-level spreadsheets into company-wide work schedules.
• Extra time is spent entering the same data into separate spreadsheets in order to see the information in different views or to create and print different reports for HR, payroll, and management.
• Employees have to try to figure out what those little dots, numbered notes, and different colors that the person who creates and maintains the spreadsheet cleverly placed on each cell mean. Does that red dot mean the employee is on jury duty or taking personal time off?

Snap Schedule Employee Scheduling Software takes away spreadsheet scheduling frustrations and gives you visual tools for scheduling, reporting, and publishing work schedules. It alerts you of scheduling conflicts and helps you avoid unexpected overtime, overworked staff, and unfilled posts/positions. You can schedule employees based on position, skill, availability, cost, seniority, and other criteria. Snap Schedule’s extensive reports provide details on labor costs, vacation, time off, and key statistics. Keeping track of all your budgets, staff overtime, training, certifications, and the details of running your department is easy with Snap Schedule’s extensive reports. Quickly generate reports that keep you informed, and focus on what is important. Print, e-mail, and export work schedules and reports in PDF and a variety of formats.

Starting at only $450 USD for a single-computer license, Snap Schedule costs less than Microsoft Office Professional, yet it offers unmatched employee scheduling benefits and a rapid return on investment. To see how quickly you will jettison your scheduling spreadsheets and templates, download and try Snap Schedule for FREE for 30 days just like thousands have done!