Free Excel template

Free Excel weekly employee shift schedule template

For managers of shops, cafes, restaurants and small teams who build the rota in a spreadsheet. Type a short shift code for each person and day; the template adds up each person's paid hours, counts who is working each day, warns about short-staffed days and anyone over the hours limit, and estimates the week's labor cost against your budget.

cellwise-weekly-shift-schedule-template.xlsxExcel workbook · 5.5 KB · works in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and LibreOffice · no signup

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Preview and try it

This is the template's sheet, calculated by the same engine as the Cellwise app. Change any number to see the formulas react before you download.

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I
1	Weekly shift schedule
2	Week starting (Monday)	Nov 9, 2026		Max hours per person			40
3	Date	Nov 9, 2026	Nov 10, 2026	Nov 11, 2026	Nov 12, 2026	Nov 13, 2026	46340	46341
4	Employee	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Hours
5	Ana Morales	O	O	O	O	O	OFF	OFF	40
6	Ben Okafor	C	C	OFF	C	C	C	OFF	40
7	Carla Jensen	OFF	O	O	OFF	O	O	O	40
8	Dev Patel	M	M	M	M	OFF	OFF	M	30
9	Erin Walsh	P	P	OFF	P	OFF	P	P	20
10	Felix Ng	C	OFF	C	C	C	C	C	48
11	Grace Kim	OFF	OFF	M	M	M	O	O	34
12	Hugo Silva	P	OFF	P	OFF	P	OFF	OFF	12
13	Imani Brooks	O	C	OFF	OFF	M	C	OFF	30
14	Jon Becker	OFF	OFF	C	O	C	OFF	C	32
15	Kira Lopez	M	OFF	M	OFF	M	M	OFF	24
16	Leo Martin	OFF	P	OFF	P	OFF	P	M	18
17	Staff working	8	7	8	8	9	8	7
18	Openers (O)	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
19	Closers (C)	2	2	2	2	3	3	2
20	Hours scheduled	52	46	54	52	62	54	48	368

How the formulas work

Paid hours per person from shift codes

I5=COUNTIF(B5:H5,"O")*$E$25+COUNTIF(B5:H5,"M")*$E$26+COUNTIF(B5:H5,"C")*$E$27+COUNTIF(B5:H5,"P")*$E$28

COUNTIF counts how many times each code appears in the person's week, and each count is multiplied by that shift's paid hours from the legend. Change the 8 next to Open to 7.5 and every total updates. Codes keep the grid readable on one screen and avoid time arithmetic altogether.

Dates and day names fill themselves

B4=TEXT(B3,"ddd")

Type the Monday in B2; row 3 adds one day per column and row 4 shows the short day name with TEXT. Next week, change B2 only.

Staff working each day

B17=COUNTA(B5:B16)-COUNTIF(B5:B16,"OFF")

COUNTA counts every filled cell in the day's column and COUNTIF takes away the OFF days. Leave a cell empty for someone who has not been scheduled yet; it is not counted either way.

Flag short-staffed days

G22=IF(G17<G21,"Short "&(G21-G17),"OK")

Compares the people working with the minimum you need that day in row 21 and says how many you are short. In the sample, Saturday needs 9 and has 8, and Sunday needs 8 and has 7. E37 counts the short days with a wildcard: COUNTIF(B22:H22,"Short*").

Who is over the hours limit

E36=COUNTIF(I5:I16,">"&G2)

Joining ">" with the limit in G2 builds the criterion ">40". Felix is scheduled for six closing shifts, 48 hours, which is over the limit and may mean overtime pay. Overtime rules depend on your location and contracts, so set G2 to the limit that applies to you.

Make it yours

Add a drop-down for the codes: select B5:H16, Data > Data Validation > List, and type O,M,C,P,OFF. It stops typos like "0" (zero) for O, which COUNTIF would not count.
Color the grid by shift: select B5:H16, Home > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cells Rules > Equal To, type O and pick a fill; repeat for M, C and P.
Need more shift types? Add a code to the legend (for example D for a double, 11 paid hours) and add one more COUNTIF term to the formulas in column I and row 20.
Copy the sheet for each week (right-click the tab > Move or Copy > Create a copy) and change only the date in B2, so you keep a history of who worked when.

FAQ

How do I make a shift schedule in Excel?

Put employees in rows and days in columns, enter a shift for each cell, and add formulas that total hours per person and staff per day. Using short codes with a legend of paid hours, as this template does, keeps the grid readable and the totals easy to check.

Can I type real start and end times instead of codes?

You can, but each cell then needs two values and a formula per day. Codes are faster for a team with set shifts. If shifts vary a lot, use a timesheet layout with start and end per day instead.

How is labor cost estimated?

Total scheduled hours times the average hourly wage in E32. It is an estimate: it leaves out overtime premiums, payroll taxes and benefits, so add those if you budget on fully loaded cost.

Functions used

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Updated November 2, 2026