Guide for owners and admins
Set up your workplace and publish the first roster
You run the workplace. In this journey you sign up, set eTime up for your team, invite people and publish a legal roster. Most people finish in an afternoon.
Step 1 of 10
Start your workplace
Your account is made with your work email. There is no password to remember.
What to do
- Go to etime.my/start.
- Type Your name and Work email, then press Email me a code.
- Type the 6-digit code from the email. It works once, for 10 minutes.
More in the docs: Sign in
Step 2 of 10
Answer the setup questions
Five short steps give eTime what it needs: your workplace, the roles people work in, the shifts you run, your people and when the first roster starts.
What to do
- Workplace: name it and the team you roster, pick your country, and say how the work runs (Around the clock, Set opening hours or Start empty).
- Pick the kind of workplace, like Nursing home. eTime fills in typical roles and shifts for you to change.
- Roles: check the job roles. Add pay if you have it.
- Shifts: check times, days and how many of each role every shift needs. Tick Always covered for places that must never be empty.
- People: add your team. You can paste names, one per line.
- First roster: pick the Monday it starts and how long it is (4 weeks is the default). Press Create workplace.
What you'll seeThe five setup steps. More in the docs: Your first week
Step 3 of 10
Check the rules
eTime checks every change against these rules. Make sure they match how you work before you build a roster.
What to do
- Open Rules in the menu.
- Read The law for your country.
- Press Add a company rule for anything stricter you agreed, like 12 hours rest between shifts or no more than 3 nights in a row.
- Choose who approves swaps in Shift swaps.
What you'll seeMust rules are never broken; Try to rules are kept when possible. More in the docs: Rules
Step 4 of 10
Add pay to your roles
With pay, eTime shows what every roster costs and picks the cheapest one that follows the law. Without it, every hour counts the same.
What to do
- Open Roles and click a role.
- Under Pay, choose Per hour or Monthly salary and type the amount.
- Press Save role. Change a person's own rate on People.
More in the docs: Create or edit a role
Step 5 of 10
Invite your team
Once people join, they see their shifts, get offers and clock in on their phone.
What to do
- Open People, pick a person and go to Profile.
- Under Invite to eTime, type their email and press Send invite. Or press Make invite and hand out the QR code or link yourself.
- For managers, schedulers, payroll and admins, use Invite a manager at the top of the People screen.
What you'll seeAn invite: a QR code, a link and a code. Each works once, for 7 days. More in the docs: Invite someone to eTime
Step 6 of 10
Generate the first roster
Generate fills the whole period in seconds, and everything it fills is legal.
What to do
- Open Roster. The green card says Fill the roster.
- Choose what matters most in the list, like Balanced or Fairest.
- Press Generate roster.
What you'll seeThe next step card always shows the one thing to do now. More in the docs: Generate
Step 7 of 10
Check it and make it yours
You know your team. Look it over and move what you like; eTime checks every move.
What to do
- Step through the weeks with the arrows.
- Look for red rings (a rule is broken) and red dashed tiles (must-cover places still open).
- Drag a shift to someone else, or select it and press Move or swap.
- Made a mistake? Press Undo.
What you'll seeThe roster grid, with today highlighted, open places and coverage. More in the docs: Symbols and colours
Step 8 of 10
Publish
Publishing sends the roster to your team. Each publish is kept as a version you can compare later.
What to do
- When every must-cover place is filled and no rule is broken, the card says Publish the roster.
- Press Publish.
- Later changes show as Unpublished changes until you press Publish changes.
What you'll seeReady to publish. More in the docs: Publish
Step 9 of 10
Choose a plan
You start with 30 days of Pro and no card. Up to 10 people stay free for good.
What to do
- Open Settings → Billing (owners only).
- Check how many active people you have this month.
- Press Choose … under a plan, or carry on with Free.
- Invoices, your card and plan changes are under Manage billing.
More in the docs: Billing
Step 10 of 10
Connect your own tools (optional)
Most workplaces skip this. If you use scripts or an AI assistant, an API key lets them use eTime as you.
What to do
- Open Account, press Create a key under API keys, and copy the key.
More in the docs: API keys
That's the journey
You know the path. For every button and symbol, read the docs. Or follow another journey: