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# Efficient schedule planning

Laying out a schedule does not have to take days and end in constant corrections. This article is a signpost: it shows how to prepare the account and the team, and then which method will spread the shifts out fastest in the **Work schedule** tool (you open it from the left icon bar, the calendar icon). Choose the way that suits your company, or combine several at once.

# Before you start planning

A well set-up account and team are the foundation. Without them it is hard to lay out a sensible schedule, and the system will not watch over all the rules the way it should.

1. Think about how you want to work with the schedule: whether to see everyone in one view, or split the staffing into **locations** or **departments**. The structure in the system follows from that — and for the schedule to display at all, create the locations first. More in the [Locations](https://help.proplanum.com/en/category/locations-13fypg3/) category.
2. Add employees and set their **employment terms** (contract type, full-time equivalent, limits). That way the system reads the labour law provisions correctly and counts the hours properly. We cover the subject in the [Team management](https://help.proplanum.com/en/category/employee-team-icid2m/) category.

| Important: Without employment terms set, the system will check neither hour limits nor labour law breaches — the hours may not match the full-time equivalent.

If you are just starting out, get to know the basics of the schedule first:

* [Getting started with the Schedule tool](https://help.proplanum.com/en/article/getting-started-with-the-schedule-tool-pset9v/)
* [A basic shift in the schedule – creating and managing](https://help.proplanum.com/en/article/creating-and-managing-a-shift-1nv22kq/)

# Fast planning methods

Once the account is ready, you do not have to enter every shift by hand. Choose the method that matches how your company works:

* **A fixed, recurring schedule** — similar shifts every week. The fastest way is to copy the previous week or load a saved template: [Copying and schedule templates](https://help.proplanum.com/en/article/copying-and-schedule-templates-158j7x0/).
* **Fixed demand, varying availability** — you have a staffing template but want the system to pick the people itself, taking availability into account: [Automatic schedule from templates](https://help.proplanum.com/en/article/automatic-schedule-from-templates-deq1y1/).
* **Shifts with nobody assigned** — you first lay out the "skeleton" of the staffing as unassigned shifts, then distribute them among employees automatically: [Automatic schedule from unassigned shifts](https://help.proplanum.com/en/article/automatic-schedule-from-unassigned-shifts-q6szze/).
* **Staffing to match traffic / sales** — with metrics turned on, the system will work out the staffing needed from the demand forecast: [Automatic schedule based on demand](https://help.proplanum.com/en/category/schedule-planning-n4je6/).

|| Tip: You can mix the methods — for example load a template and fill the missing people in through generation. What matters most is that the way you plan fits how you work.

# What automatic planning gives you

Automatic methods take the biggest load off day-to-day work:

* **you save time** — a schedule takes moments, not days,
* **the system watches labour law** — it catches breaches of the regulations for you,
* the system **counts the planned hours** itself, whether somebody is full-time, half-time or on a mandate contract,
* when distributing shifts and in the summaries it **takes leave and absences into account**,
* it helps avoid mistakes — it will not, for example, let you plan two shifts for one person at the same time,
* less stress and fewer last-minute corrections.

Not sure which method will work for you? Get in touch — your account manager will help pick a way of planning and, if you need it, will lay out your first Proplanum schedule with you.