Set up and manage Gusto Time Scheduling (for admins)
With Gusto’s Time Scheduling feature, admins and managers with the required permissions can create and publish work schedules up to 6 months in advance. You can organize workers by group (role, department, location, etc.), or have everybody on one work schedule.
Most workers can be added to scheduling groups, including active hourly workers, salaried workers, and contractors, with few exceptions.
Workers can belong to multiple groups.
By default, employees can only view their own shifts/schedule—you can update this in the schedule settings.
Once time off requests are enabled, approved and pending time off requests will be visible on the schedule to prevent scheduling an employee when they're off.
Scheduling is available on Plus, Premium, or Time & Attendance Plus Simple add-on plans—upgrade your plan at any time.
In order to set up Scheduling, you first need to enable Time tracking—it does not need to be fully set up, just enabled.
Part 1: Enable Time tracking
Click your company name at the bottom of the left-menu.
Go to the Customization tab.
Click edit next to Time tracking.
Toggle to Enabled.
Click Save.
Part 2: Set up Time scheduling
Only admins with the required permissions can create a schedule group. Managers can create and assign shifts once the scheduling group has been created—review the Access and permissions for Time scheduling dropdown for more information.
Click Time & attendance and select Scheduling.
Click Setup scheduling.
Name the scheduling group—each group must have a unique name.
Confirm what weekday you want the scheduling calendar view to begin with.
This does not change the payroll workweek.
Set the schedule’s default time zone.
This will apply to the schedule calendar view and creating new shifts.
Click Continue.
Add workers to the group by searching by name or job title.
Workers can belong to multiple groups, and can only see the shifts for the groups they’re assigned to.
Hourly contractors can be added to schedule groups—to stay compliant, make sure scheduled work for contractors is aligned with their contract terms.
These worker types cannot be added to a schedule:
International contractors
Team members with a hire date in the future
Dismissed team members
Click Finish and view schedule.
If you're new to Gusto Scheduling, you can use Gus — Gusto's AI assistant — to create your first scheduled shifts by uploading an image of your existing schedule.
This feature is available to customers on the Plus or Premium plan, or with the Time & Attendance Plus Add-on, who have not yet set up Gusto Scheduling.
Note: If you've already configured Scheduling in your account, you won't see this option.
To upload a photo of your schedule:
Click Time & Attendance and select Scheduling.
When prompted, select Upload a schedule (instead of Set up manually).
In the Gus chat window, click the paperclip icon to upload your schedule file.
Accepted formats: JPEG, PNG, or PDF
Gus will process your file — this typically takes about 1 minute — and generate a draft schedule for your review.
Once the draft is ready, you can:
Keep the draft and continue editing
Publish the shifts to make them live
Delete the draft if you'd like to start over
For the best results:
Make sure employee names on the schedule image are legible and match the names of employees in your Gusto account.
Use a clean, well-lit image or a clearly formatted PDF for the most accurate results.
Shifts can be scheduled up to 6 months in the future.
If you make a change to a shift that's coming up within the next day, we'll immediately send the employee an email and in-app notification.
For changes to shifts that are further out than the end of the following day, regardless of the number of changes, employees will receive a single email saying that changes have been made.
Drag and drop shifts
For ease, you can drag any published or unpublished shift that's already been created and drop it in another cell. If you move the shift to a date or person that already has an overlapping shift, the cell will display a red striped background and you'll get an error message if you try to drop the shift there.
When a shift has been dragged/dropped to another cell, the job and project of a shift will update automatically, depending on the day and member the shift gets added to.
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Select a group (if there are multiple).
Click on any shift to see the following:
Shift status (draft or published)
Date and time of shift
Overnight shifts show on the start date in the schedule.
Team member's name who the shift is assigned to
Unpaid breaks and paid breaks (if a policy is set up that includes them)
Job
Project
Notes
From here, you can also:
Click the pencil icon to edit shift details.
Click the plus sign to duplicate the shift.
Click the upward facing arrow to publish the shift.
Click the eye icon to unpublish a shift.
Click the trash can icon to delete the shift.
Shifts can be scheduled up to 6 months in the future. At this time, employees cannot schedule their own shifts.
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Select a group (if there are multiple).
Click the Actions dropdown and select +Add shift, or click the + on the individual shift cells you'd like to add the shift to.
Choose who you'd like to assign the shift to.
These worker types cannot be added to a schedule:
International contractors
Team members with a hire date in the future
Dismissed team members
Select the start date and time of the shift.
Select the end date and time of the shift.
If someone’s break policy says they need a required break, the break will be added to their shift automatically. You cannot delete these breaks. They will also update if the shift times change or if the shift is given to someone else.
Click Add start time to choose when the break should happen (this is optional).
Click Add break to add other paid or unpaid breaks. You can change the start time and length of these breaks.
Note: If the shift is given to someone with a different break policy, those extra breaks will be removed. Required breaks will update automatically. You can add any breaks back if needed. See below for more info.
Add other shift details (like a job title or projects, if applicable).
Add shift notes—these can be viewed by other admins, the employee's manager, and the employee.
Click Save as draft to save for later, or Save & duplicate to duplicate the shift.
Published and unpublished shifts can be edited by following the steps below.
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Select a group (if there are multiple).
Select the individual shift cells you’d like to edit the shift. You can modify:
Who the shift is assigned to
The start date, end date, and time of the shift
Unpaid breaks and paid breaks (if a policy is set up that includes them)
Other shift details (like job title, or projects, if applicable)
Add shift notes—these can be viewed by other admins, the employee's manager, and the employee.
Click Publish to post the modified shift assignment immediately.
You can duplicate both assigned and unassigned shifts.
Duplicate multiple shifts in a date range
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Select a group (if there are multiple).
Click the Actions dropdown and select Duplicate shifts.
Select the date range of shifts you'd like to duplicate.
Select the start date for the duplicated shifts.
Choose if you want the duplicated shifts to include worker assignments.
Selecting No will make all duplicate shifts unassigned.
Click Duplicate shifts.
Duplicate a single existing shift
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Select a group (if there are multiple).
Click on the shift you want to duplicate and select the Edit icon button (pencil).
Click More actions at the bottom and select Duplicate.
The current shift and any changes will be saved and a new drawer will open to add a new shift with all the same details.
Update the date or start/end times so it does not overlap with the original shift.
Click Save.
Duplicate a new shift being added
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Select a group (if there are multiple).
Click the Actions dropdown and select +Add shift, or select the + on the individual shift cells you’d like to add the shift to.
Fill out the necessary shift details like date and start and end times.
Click Save & duplicate.
The current shift and any changes will be saved and a new drawer will open to add a new shift with all the same details.
Update the date or start/end times so it does not overlap with the original shift.
Click Save.
Reminder: Copy and paste for shifts is not available on small mobile browsers.
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Pick a group (if there are multiple).
From the schedule, click the shift you want to copy, then click the Copy shift button (
) in the top-right.
Click anywhere to paste the shift to as many days or people as you need. Pasted shifts are saved as drafts right away (so you will not lose your work).
You can switch weeks and keep pasting.
Some details (like project, job, or breaks) may update automatically when pasted.
You cannot paste a shift on a day with an overlapping shift.
To undo a pasted shift, click Undo in the floating bar at the bottom. Or press:
Ctrl + Z (Windows) / Cmd + Z (Mac) → Undo
Windows + Shift + Z (Windows) / Cmd + Shift + Z (Mac) → Redo
To exit copy mode, click Done, press Esc, or click outside the schedule.
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Select a group.
Select the shift you want to unpublish.
Click the Actions dropdown and select Unpublish shift.
You can remove both assigned and unassigned shifts.
Remove a single shift
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Select a group.
Click the shift you'd like to remove.
Select Delete shift.
Remove all shifts
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Select a group.
Click the Actions dropdown and select Delete all shifts in this view.
Breaks on scheduled shifts may change automatically when you:
Publish or move a shift to somebody who has a different break policy.
Publish or move a shift to a day where a different policy (or no policy) exists.
Duplicate shifts in bulk
We’ll let you know when any breaks are changing and ask you to confirm
Unassigned shifts are treated as if no break policy exists.
In general, shift changes may cause these updates to the affected shifts:
If a person’s break policy has changed
Required breaks will be updated based on the new break policy.
Any start times added to required breaks will be removed.
Any additional breaks will be removed.
If a person no longer has an assigned break policy
All existing breaks will be removed.
If a person now has a break policy but previously did not
Any existing breaks will be removed.
Required breaks will be automatically added based on the break policy.
If a shift is within an hour of another shift
If more breaks are required by the break policy, they will be automatically added to either shift.
Change or delete a break policy with scheduled shifts
If you change or delete a break policy, shifts that already use it will not update automatically. You'll need to edit the shift to add them.
How to get breaks added back after a shift change
Go to Time & Attendance and click Scheduling.
Click on the shift you want to update breaks for and click Edit.
This will refresh the shift with the new or removed break policy.
Check the updated breaks on the shift. If everything looks right, click Save.
If not, click Cancel to undo the changes.
If the breaks still are not right, you’ll need to fix them manually in the schedule.
You can publish individual shifts, or all draft shifts in the schedule view. Only assigned shifts can be published.
When you publish shifts, the workers assigned to those shifts will receive an email and in-app notification. They can view their assigned shifts on the website and in the Gusto mobile app.
Publish individual shifts
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Select a group.
Click on the drafted shift and select the upward facing arrow ↑.
Click Yes, publish to post the shift assignment immediately.
Publish all shifts
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Select a group.
Click Publish drafts in the top-right corner.
Admins and managers with the right permissions can set or edit team member availability. You'll be informed if you try to schedule them outside of their available days and times. Employees can also manage their own availability.
Compliance tip for contractors: Ensure any availability you set for contractors aligns with their contract terms, as some contracts may not allow you to dictate specific shift times.
To manage availability in Gusto (for admins):
Go to Time & Attendance > Scheduling in Gusto.
Click the Actions button in the top right of the calendar, select the employee’s availability you want to set, and choose Set Availability.
Choose the dates (period) you want to manage availability for. Changes to availability will only be applied to future dates.
For each day in the period, choose Available or Unavailable all day. If someone is only available for part of the day, choose Available and unclick the All day checkbox to set their specific time availability.
Click Save. You will now see the team member’s availability in the schedule.
To change availability later: Go back to the Actions button in the top right of the calendar, select the employee’s availability you want to set, and choose Set Availability.
Reset someone's entire availability:
Go back to the Actions button, select the team member’s availability you want to set, and choose Set Availability.
Scroll to the bottom of the availability popout, and click Reset [name's] entire availability.
Admins control whether employees can view or edit availability. When you turn Availability off:
Employees cannot view or edit availability.
Managers and admins also cannot view or edit availability.
The change applies to all schedule groups and team members.
Turn availability off or on
To turn availability off:
Go to Time & Attendance.
Select Scheduling.
Open Settings in the top right corner.
Scroll to the bottom.
Toggle Availability to Off.
To turn availability back on, toggle Availability to On. When you turn availability back on, any availability entered before will still be there.
Q: Can I set availability for past dates?
A: No. You can only set availability for future days.
Q: Who can see the availability I set?
A: Both admins and managers with scheduling permissions can see your availability.
Q: Can availability be changed after it is saved?
A: Yes. Both admins/managers and employees can edit or adjust availability at any time.
Q: What is the difference between Availability and Time off?
A: Availability is when an employee marks times they cannot work for scheduling reasons. Managers and admins use availability to plan schedules and avoid assigning shifts during these times.
Example: A retail employee cannot open shifts because they have class in the mornings.
Time off is when an employee requests a specific absence from work for a reason, such as: jury duty, vacation, or sick leave. Time off helps allocate pay and meet legal requirements for certain types of leave. Employees can learn how to request and manage time off in another article.
Learn more about how hours will appear on your schedule below.
Total hours
When you view a schedule, you can see the total hours a worker has scheduled. The total includes hours across all group schedules.
Total hours will be displayed on:
Schedules for customers that DO NOT have Time tracking enabled
Schedules for contractors
Regular and overtime hours
When you view a schedule, you can see the total regular hours and overtime hours a worker has scheduled during a week. The overtime and regular hours shown include scheduled hours across all group schedules.
Overtime hours and regular hours will be displayed on:
Schedules for customers that have Time tracking enabled with overtime policies assigned to scheduled workers
The information tooltip will provide a breakdown of the hours (regular and overtime) for the employee.
Overnight shifts and hours
For shifts that go past midnight—overnight—they'll show on the start date in the schedule.
Print your schedule
Follow the steps below to download a PDF version of your schedule.
Sign in to Gusto.
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Select a group.
Click Actions and select Download printable PDF.
A PDF will be generated of the current schedule view with published shifts only.
You can access the report after it’s generated from the Reports history section.
This is for customers that have Time tracking enabled and for employees that have been added to Time tracking.
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Time tracking.
Select the pay period you wish to view.
If there were workers scheduled in Gusto during that period, under the pay period dates will be a table that shows total scheduled hours, total worked hours, and the total difference.
Click View breakdown to see a detailed breakdown of hour comparisons by person.
The Attendance Report is for companies that use both Gusto Scheduling and Time tracking. It compares the hours employees were scheduled to work with the hours they actually worked. If a company does not use both tools, the report cannot be made.
How to run an Attendance Report
Go to Reports.
Find and click the Attendance Report.
The report will always include:
Names
Job titles
Manager names
Shift times and dates (scheduled and actual)
You can also choose to include:
Total hours (scheduled vs actual)
Scheduled shifts with attendance flags (like no shows, early or late start times, and early or late end times).
If you included attendance flags, let us know the criteria for the flags you’d like shown—we’ll only show the shifts that meet the criteria.
No shows
Started early by more than [#] minutes
Started late by more than [#] minutes
Ended late by more than [#] minutes
Ended early by more than [#] minutes
Click the checkbox if you want to save the criteria as your default.
Let us know what time frame the report is for, pick from:
A single pay period—choose which one.
A custom date range—choose a start and end date.
Select the people you want in the report from the dropdown.
Click Generate report.
Use the dropdowns below to learn how to add or archive/remove a scheduling group.
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
In the group dropdown, click +Add another group.
Name the scheduling group—each group must have a unique name.
Set the schedule’s default time zone
This will apply to the schedule calendar view and creating new shifts.
Click Continue.
Add workers to the group by searching by name or job title.
Job titles need to be added to employees for them to show as an option.
Workers can belong to multiple groups, and can only see the shifts for the groups they’re assigned to.
These worker types cannot be added to a schedule:
International contractors
Team members with a hire date in the future
Dismissed team members
Click Finish and view schedule.
Admins can remove or archive schedule groups at any time. Once a schedule group has been removed, admins, managers, and workers will no longer be able to access the schedule or shifts within the removed schedule group.
Other existing schedule groups will remain accessible by admins and assigned managers and workers.
Archive/remove a schedule group
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Select the group you'd like to remove or archive.
Click Settings in the top-right corner.
Click Remove group at the bottom.
In the popup, confirm you'd like to remove the group.
You can change these schedule settings:
Group name
Calendar settings
Calendar week start date
Default time zone
Schedule visibility: Workers assigned to the schedule can have one of two settings applied:
Can only view their assigned shifts on this schedule
Can view all shifts on this schedule, including coworkers’ shifts. Workers won’t be able to see overtime estimates or notes on coworker shifts.
Availability: Turn off, or on, the ability for team members to provide their availability so you know who can be scheduled.
To edit a schedule's settings:
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Select a group.
Click Settings in the top-right corner.
Make the necessary changes.
Click Save.
Add or remove employee view access to coworkers' schedules
Admins with the required permissions can enable the ability for employees to view an entire schedule, including coworkers shifts.
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
In the scheduling group, click Settings in the top-right corner.
Under the “Schedule visibility” section, select one of the following:
Can only view their assigned shifts on this schedule.
Can view all shifts on this schedule, including coworkers’ shifts.
Workers will not be able to see regular/overtime hours estimates, notes, draft shifts, unassigned shifts, or time off.
Click Save.
Only admins with the required permissions can add or remove workers from a schedule group.
Employees (hourly or salaried), and hourly domestic contractors can be added or removed from a schedule group.
Click the Time & Attendance section and select Scheduling.
Select a group.
Click People in the top-right corner.
To add a worker: Click into the search bar and select their name.
Only workers selected below will appear on this group’s schedule, and scheduled shifts can be created for them.
When you add someone, you can add shifts for them for the current date and up to 6 previous days.
These worker types cannot be added to a schedule:
International contractors
Team members with a hire date in the future
Dismissed team members
To remove a worker: Click the x next to their name.
When you remove someone, you can still add shifts for them for the current day (until midnight) and previous days.
Any shifts for the worker you removed that have any overlap with time after midnight of the current day will be unassigned so you can assign them to someone else.
Click Save.
Full access or limited access admins (with time tracking and time off access) can create a schedule group and edit/manage schedules (such as adding/removing employees).
People managers can have access to managing direct reports’ schedules within a schedule group—managers must be added to the scheduling groups they'll be managing.
Make sure the manager is added to the scheduling groups they'll be managing.
Click Settings and toggle to the Permissions tab.
Click the People Manager tile.
Under “Time & Attendance”, click Edit.
To give access to managers to view direct report schedules, select View only.
To give access to managers to manage schedules, select Edit Access.
Click Save.
What actions the user can take
Full access admin
Limited access admin
(Time tracking & PTO)
People manager
(Scheduling - edit access)
People manager
(Scheduling - view access)
Create schedule group
Yes
Yes
No
No
Add or remove workers from a Schedule Group
Yes
Yes
No
No
Create or edit shifts in scheduling
Yes
Yes
Yes—direct reports only
No
Publish shifts
Yes
Yes
Yes—direct reports only
No
View shifts
Yes
Yes
Yes—direct reports only
Yes
View "Approved" and "Pending" time off requests on schedules
Yes
Yes
Yes—approved PTO only
Yes—approved PTO only
Remove/archive schedule groups
Yes
Yes
No
No
Edit and publish availability
Yes
Yes
Yes—direct reports only
No