The Onboarding Process

This is the guided walkthrough our team uses for live onboarding demos — the same path you’ll follow to stand up your first schedule. It starts the moment your account is created and ends with shifts on the calendar. Work it top to bottom; each step sets up the next.

Open the admin panel

Before you start

A few things happen before an admin ever logs in. Knowing the order helps the whole handoff make sense — and it’s usually where a live demo begins.

A super-admin builds the entity

A ScheduleForward super-admin creates your top-level organization. This is the container everything else lives inside — you won’t do this part yourself.

The super-admin invites the first admin

They send an invitation to the person who’ll run scheduling — that’s you, or whoever you’re onboarding.

The admin accepts and sets a password

The new admin opens the invite, creates their login, and lands in the admin panel for the first time.

Walk through it together

This is the moment to share a screen and step the new admin through the build, so they know where everything lives. The rest of this guide is that walkthrough, in order.

The path from here

Build your sub-group → configure it (settings, locations, tags, templates) → add your people → build the schedule. Four moves, in that order.

1 · Build your sub-group

The Sub-Group is the actual team whose schedule you build — everything else hangs off it. Create it first.

Create the sub-group

From the Admin Hub, create a sub-group under your entity and give it a clear name (for example, “Day Shift Physicians”). If you need a Group to hold several teams, make that first — the Admin Basics guide explains how the levels nest.

Creating a sub-group — give it a name and time zone, then create the team you’ll schedule.

2a · Configuration — Settings

Open the sub-group’s Configuration → Settings. Two settings are worth a real conversation during onboarding.

Public Calendar Sharing — enable it

Turn this on to get a read-only link to the schedule that anyone can open — no account needed. It’s the easiest way to post coverage where everyone can see it.

If the link gets out, refresh it

Because it’s a link, anyone it’s forwarded to can view the schedule. If it reaches the wrong people, refresh (regenerate) the link — the old one dies instantly — and send the new one to those who still need it.

Pay Period Markers (optional)

These mark out your payroll stretches on the calendar. They’re mostly used by VA teams; some people like them visually, and most won’t care either way. Turn them on if they help you, skip them if they don’t.

Check the time zone while you’re here

The team’s name and time zone are set when the sub-group is created. The time zone drives every shift time, so confirm it’s right early — if it looks wrong, have your super-admin fix it before you build.

2b · Configuration — Locations

A location is where a shift happens. Before you add any, talk through how this team is actually structured — it shapes everything downstream.

Decide what counts as a location

Physical sites are often built as separate locations — but not always. If it doesn’t matter where someone works (South, North, Freestanding are all equal and it’s entirely the clinician’s choice), you may not need to separate them at all.

The question to ask: does the place matter for scheduling? If yes, separate locations. If everyone’s interchangeable across sites, keep it simple.

Make Call its own location

If your team works a Call shift, we recommend giving Call its own location. Call is a separate coverage requirement from your regular shifts, and a dedicated location keeps it clean to schedule and count.

Don’t forget colors

Each location gets a color, and that color is how the schedule reads at a glance. Pick distinct ones while you’re here — it pays off the moment the calendar fills up.

You need at least one location to build

A location is the one hard requirement before you can place shifts. Tags and templates are optional polish; a location isn’t.

2c · Configuration — Tags

Tags are labels you stick on shifts. There are three kinds, and the kind decides what a tag actually does. Walk through all three so the recommendations land.

Primary — what the shift is

A primary tag replaces the location in the count: the shift is counted as the tag rather than the place. Our recommendation: make Nights a primary tag — on most teams the night crew is the night crew, whatever unit they’re on.

Balanceable — shared out fairly

A balanceable tag tells the app to keep count so these shifts get spread evenly across the team. Our recommendation: make Holidays balanceable so nobody carries more than their share. Weekends are another common one; teaching / non-teaching shifts come up occasionally.

Basic — for stats and searching

A basic tag (neither primary nor balanceable) is just a label — it’s for statistics and searching, not a scheduling requirement. Use these freely for anything you want to spot or filter later.

Go easy on primary and balanceable

Resist adding lots of primary or balanceable tags — each one is a rule the scheduler has to satisfy. Nights primary and Holidays balanceable cover most teams. Keep the rest basic.

Pick an icon for every tag

Each tag’s icon is stamped on every shift that carries it, so choose one that represents the tag best. The full breakdown — with a quick quiz on primary vs. balanceable vs. basic — lives in the Shift Tags guide.

2d · Configuration — Shift Templates

A template is a shift you’ve saved — time, location, and tags — so you can drop it on the calendar in one click. Build them now and every schedule afterward goes faster.

Build out all your repeating shifts

Make a template for every shift your team runs again and again. This is the work that turns schedule-building into clicking instead of typing.

Using a Weekend tag? Split the template

The weekday and weekend versions of a shift carry different tags, so they’re two templates:

“TC Day” — Mon–Fri, no weekend tag.
“TC Day WE” — Sat–Sun, with the Weekend tag in the template.

Do Friday nights count as weekends?

If so, split your night shift the same way: a Mon–Thu night template and a Fri–Sun night template that carries the Weekend tag. Match the split to how your team actually counts weekends.

Saving a shift template — name, times, location, tags, and the days it repeats on.

3 · Add your people

Now bring your team into the sub-group. For a whole roster, bulk import is the fast lane.

Download the template sheet

In the Members area, choose bulk import and download the spreadsheet. It has the exact columns the import expects — fill it in, one person per row.

Upload the sheet

Drop the filled-in file back in. The app reads it, shows you a preview, and skips anyone already on the team so you can’t double-add.

Watch the email checkbox

There’s a checkbox that decides whether invitation emails go out automatically. Leave it on to invite everyone as they import, or turn it off if you’d rather get the schedule ready first and invite people later.

The email has to match

When members sign up, they must use the same email you imported them with — that match is what links their login to the shifts you build. A mismatched address is the #1 reason a new member “can’t see anything.”

Bulk import — download the template, upload your filled-in sheet, preview, and confirm.

4 · Build the schedule

Team in, locations and tags set, templates ready — let’s start building. Open the Schedule Builder inside the sub-group.

Open the Schedule Builder

This is the workspace where every schedule gets made. Drop in your templates, and place shifts by day and person. The Schedule Builders guide has the full tour.

Pick how you want to fill it

You’ve got a few ways to build, depending on the team:

Manual — place each shift yourself; easiest to learn first.
Guided Mode — you place shifts and the app keeps it fair.
Draft — people take turns picking their own shifts.
AI Generate — set your rules and let the generator fill it in.

Publishing is the payoff

Until you publish, the schedule is yours to tweak. Publishing is what makes shifts visible to your team — so once the first version looks right, publish it. You can always edit afterward.

Onboarding FAQ

Who builds the entity and the first admin login?

A ScheduleForward super-admin sets up your top-level entity and sends the first admin an invitation. That admin accepts, picks a password, and from there does everything in this guide. If you’re reading this as that first admin — you’re in the right place; start at step 1.

Should every physical location be its own location?

It depends on how you staff. If it matters where someone works — South, North, a freestanding site — build them as separate locations. But if every site is equal and it’s 100% the clinician’s choice where they land, you may not need to separate them at all. Talk it through before you build; it’s easier to start simple than to merge later.

Should Call be its own location?

If your team works a Call shift, yes — we recommend making Call a location. A Call shift is a separate coverage requirement from your regular shifts, and giving it its own location keeps it clean to schedule and count.

Why would I build two templates for the same shift?

If you use a Weekend tag, the weekday and weekend versions of a shift carry different tags — so they’re two templates. For example, a “TC Day” template runs Mon–Fri, and a “TC Day WE” template runs Sat–Sun with the Weekend tag attached. If Friday nights count as weekend shifts for you, split your night template the same way: Mon–Thu, and Fri–Sun with the tag.

How do I stop invitation emails from going out during import?

The bulk-import screen has a checkbox that controls whether invitation emails are sent automatically. Watch for it: leave it on to invite everyone as they’re imported, or turn it off if you want to get the schedule ready first and invite people later.

Someone got the public calendar link who shouldn’t have. Can I cut them off?

Yes. In Settings, refresh (regenerate) the public calendar link. The old link stops working immediately, so just send the new one to the people who should still have it.

Next up

Admin Basics