{"id":837,"date":"2026-07-28T14:09:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T14:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/locals.buildprosites.com\/cadence\/how-it-works\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T10:03:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:03:23","slug":"how-it-works","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/locals.buildprosites.com\/cadence\/how-it-works\/","title":{"rendered":"How It Works"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\tHow it works<\/span>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Set it up in an afternoon. Genuinely.<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Import your people, set who can do what, and build a first rota. Most teams are running live within a week.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSee features and pricing<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\tGetting started<\/span>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Three steps, no implementation project<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Import your staff from a spreadsheet or add them by hand. Set contracted hours and who is qualified for which role.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Build one week as a template. Copy it forward, then adjust — which is how rotas actually get made rather than from scratch each time.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Invite the team. They see their shifts, set availability and request swaps from their phone. Nothing changes without approval.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\tIn detail<\/span>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Three things worth understanding before you commit<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Including the parts that are limitations rather than features.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Conflicts are flagged, not prevented<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Cadence will warn you when someone is double-booked, unavailable, unqualified for the role or heading past their contracted hours — and then it will let you do it anyway with a note. Real scheduling involves judgment calls that software should not veto, and a tool that blocks you gets worked around inside a fortnight.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The staff app is deliberately small<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Your team can see their shifts, set availability, request a swap and message about cover. That is all it does. Every feature we have added to the staff side has reduced how much it gets used, so we stopped adding them.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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It does not do payroll<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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It exports hours in a format your payroll provider or accountant can import, and stops there. Payroll is a regulated, high-consequence problem and a four-person company should not be near it. If someone sells you a rota tool that also runs payroll, ask them who is liable when it is wrong.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\tIn the product<\/span>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Four things people use most<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Ranked by what actually gets clicked rather than what demos well.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The week view<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Where managers live. Drag, drop, copy forward, publish. Keyboard shortcuts for everything if you prefer.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Availability<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Staff set when they cannot work, with a cut-off you control. It removes most of the back-and-forth before a rota is even built.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Swaps and cover<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Requests go to everyone qualified, first acceptance wins, and a manager approves. The whole thread is logged.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Hours and costs<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Running totals per person and estimated wage cost per week, so you see the overspend while you can still change it.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\tCommon questions<\/span>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Asked before signing up<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAre you certified to any security standard?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Not currently. We are a four-person company and a formal certification is a serious undertaking we have not yet done, so we are not going to put a badge on the site implying otherwise. What we do have: encryption in transit and at rest, daily backups tested quarterly, access logging, and a written security summary we will send on request. If your procurement requires certification, we will fail that check and we would rather you found out now.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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You can export everything at any time as standard files, without asking us. If the company ever wound down we commit to ninety days’ notice and keeping exports available throughout. It is worth asking any small vendor this question.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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No. Under fifteen people it is free permanently, with every feature. It is not time-limited and there is no card required. Plenty of teams have used it free for years, which is fine — they tell other people.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCan it handle split shifts and overnight shifts?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Yes to both, including shifts crossing midnight and multiple shifts per person per day. Rest-period warnings are configurable but they are warnings only, and you remain responsible for compliance with working-time rules in your jurisdiction.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDo you integrate with our payroll system?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

We export a file that most systems import cleanly, and we will help you get the format right. We do not have direct integrations, because maintaining them across dozens of providers is not something four people can do well.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t

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Start free and see whether it survives a fortnight of real use.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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That is the only meaningful test of a rota tool.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart free<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFeatures and pricing<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How it works Set it up in an afternoon. Genuinely. Import your people, set who can do what, and build […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-site-content-layout":"full-width-container","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"callouts":[],"class_list":["post-837","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/locals.buildprosites.com\/cadence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/locals.buildprosites.com\/cadence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/locals.buildprosites.com\/cadence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/locals.buildprosites.com\/cadence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/locals.buildprosites.com\/cadence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=837"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/locals.buildprosites.com\/cadence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":852,"href":"https:\/\/locals.buildprosites.com\/cadence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/837\/revisions\/852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/locals.buildprosites.com\/cadence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"callouts","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/locals.buildprosites.com\/cadence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/callouts?post=837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}