Build Your Account Structure to Unlock Scheduling

Configuring your locations, departments, roles, and company-wide settings in 7shifts creates the foundation that all scheduling, labor reporting, and time clocking depend on. None of those features produce accurate data until this is in place.

Things to know about the 7shifts account structure

• Locations are the physical sites of your business. All departments and roles live inside a location.
• Departments are the scheduling areas of your operation, like Front of House, Back of House, and Bar. Each department gets its own schedule view.
• Roles are the job positions within each department, like Server, Line Cook, and Bartender. Every shift requires a role.
• Company Settings are the account-wide rules that govern how your schedule behaves, including overtime thresholds, shift reminders, and availability policies. They affect every location in your account and need to be configured before your first schedule is published.

Set up your location

Create your location first, and complete the full department and role structure for the first location before adding a second.

A location typically represents one physical restaurant address. For example, if you operate two restaurants called "La Bananne Downtown" and "La Bananne Uptown," each would be a separate location in 7shifts.

1. Log in to your 7shifts account at app.7shifts.com.
2. In the left navigation bar, go to Settings (or, click your profile icon at the top right).
3. Select Locations / Departments / Roles.
4. Click Add Location.
5. Enter the location details. Use a location name your staff will recognize, as it appears on schedules and in the notifications your team receives.
6. Enter the physical address. It drives timezone assignment and enables geofencing in 7punches.
7. Verify the timezone is correct. Timezone affects all schedule times and labor reports for this location.
8. Click Save.

Create departments that match your floor structure

Create one department per distinct scheduling area. Most full-service restaurants start with two or three. You can always add more later, but restructuring after your first schedule is published adds complexity.

Common department examples: Front of House, Back of House, Bar, Patio, Management. Each department gets its own schedule view in 7shifts, and your team only sees the schedule for the departments they're assigned to.

1. Head to Locations / Departments / Roles.
2. Select the Departments tab.
3. Click Add Department.
4. Enter the department details. Use a department name your staff will recognize from daily operations rather than internal shorthand.
5. Choose to set it as the default department filter for everyone.
6. Click Save.
7. Repeat these steps for each department at this location.
    

Define roles within each department

Every shift on a 7shifts schedule is assigned to a role. A role must exist before you can place an Employee on a shift, so create at least one role per department before moving on.

1. Head to Settings > Locations / Departments / Roles.
2. Select the Roles tab.
3. Click Add Role.
4. Enter the role details such as a name using the job title your Managers use when building schedules.
5. Click Save.
6. Repeat these steps for each role in this department.

Configure 7shifts Company Settings

Company Settings are the account-wide rules that control how 7shifts behaves for your entire team. You don't need to configure every tab before your first schedule, just the three settings below that directly affect how your schedule is built and how your team is notified.

1. In the left navigation bar, go to Settings, then select Company Settings. You can also get there by hovering over your profile photo and selecting Company Settings.
2. Select the General tab. Set your Start week on day to match how your operation runs. This applies globally to all features and locations and controls how the schedule view is displayed.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save.
4. Select the Labor & Compliance tab and configure the following:
   • Jurisdiction: Select the region that matches your location's labor laws. Related settings will automatically update to reflect local regulations once selected.
   • Overtime: Set the daily and weekly overtime thresholds for your team. This controls when 7shifts flags an overtime risk on the schedule.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save.
6. Select the Schedules tab and configure the following:
   • Shift reminders: Enable this to send Employees a push notification or SMS before their shift. Set how many hours before shift start the reminder fires.
   • Only with shifts: Enable this to limit notifications to Employees who are scheduled. Employees without shifts on a given day won't receive notifications.
7. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save.

What's next

Your account structure is complete and your company-wide settings are configured. 7shifts now reflects how your restaurant operates.

Your next step is to connect your POS to 7shifts. This connection allows you to sync your sales data and import your employee list.

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