★ Module M9 · Phase 3 · Schedule Optimizer

Two weeks ahead, two-thirds the headaches. Schedules drafted to your labor band — staff happy, margins protected.

Toast labor + the Sknny forecast in. A draft schedule out — one that hits the labor-cost band you set per service period, respects every staff constraint, and honors Josh's overrides. Saturday at 6pm. Every two weeks. Josh approves, the schedule pushes to 7Shifts, the texts go out.

Step 01
Labor band targets — per service period
The optimizer will draft shifts so each block lands inside the target band. Move a slider, the next 2-week run rebalances.
6 bands configured
Industry benchmark for full-service Mexican concepts runs 22-28% labor. Roxanne's bands are tighter because lunch + dinner mix differs by day. Catering is a flat dollar target, not a ratio (volume swings 5-10x).
Mon–Thu Lunch
11:00am – 2:00pm · weekday baseline
22–24% target
23.1%
4-wk avg · in band
OK
Mon–Thu Dinner
5:00pm – 9:00pm · steady covers
20–22% target
22.8%
4-wk avg · 0.8pt over
Tight
Fri–Sat Lunch
11:00am – 2:30pm · volume covers labor
18–20% target
18.9%
4-wk avg · in band
OK
Fri–Sat Dinner
5:00pm – 10:00pm · peak service
16–18% target
19.4%
4-wk avg · 1.4pt over
Over
Sunday (all day)
11:00am – 9:00pm · family + brunch crowd
22–25% target
23.7%
4-wk avg · in band
OK
Catering prep (Sat AM)
5:00am – 11:00am · flat $ target, volume varies
$480 per Sat
$465
4-wk avg · under
OK
Step 02
Staff roster + skills matrix
Who can work where. The optimizer respects every cell. Names anonymized for the demo — Josh fills the real list during onboarding.
12 staff · 7 skills
Staff Role · station Skills Min Max Rate Always off
Line Cook A
FT · senior
 Line · saute + grill
SauteGrillPrepExpoFOHCaterDrive
 36 42 $22 Mon
Line Cook B
FT · 2 yr
 Line · saute
SautePrepGrillExpoFOHCaterDrive
 32 40 $19 Wed (school)
Expo Lead 1
FT · key
 Expo + line backup
ExpoSauteGrillPrepFOHCaterDrive
 38 42 $24 Tue
Counter 1
FT · FOH lead
 FOH · register + runner
FOHExpoPrepSauteGrillCaterDrive
 32 38 $17 Sun
Counter 2
PT · college
 FOH · register
FOHExpoPrepSauteGrillCaterDrive
 12 25 $16 Tue / Thu (class)
Counter 3
PT · new hire
 FOH · trainee
FOHExpoPrepSauteGrillCaterDrive
 15 28 $16 Mon
Driver 1
PT · own car
 Delivery + runner
DriveFOHPrepExpoSauteGrillCater
 20 32 $17 + tips Wed
Driver 2
PT · childcare
 Delivery
DriveFOHPrepExpoSauteGrillCater
 15 25 $17 + tips Tue / Thu
Prep Lead
FT · key
 Prep · catering backup
PrepCaterSauteGrillExpoFOHDrive
 38 42 $21 Sun
Catering Captain
FT · weekends
 Catering · prep lead Sat
CaterPrepDriveFOHSauteGrillExpo
 34 42 $23 Mon (rule)
Floater 1
PT · veteran
 Anywhere
SauteGrillPrepExpoFOHCaterDrive
 16 28 $20 —
Floater 2
PT · college
 FOH / prep
FOHPrepSauteGrillExpoCaterDrive
 10 22 $16 Mon / Wed (class)
Step 03
Availability + constraints
School schedules, second jobs, family obligations. The optimizer treats these as guardrails — strictness slider sets how hard.
5 active constraints
Counter 2 · college schedule
No shifts Tuesdays + Thursdays — classes 10am–2pm + study group 6–9pm. Available all other days incl. weekends.
Updated Apr 14 · valid through end of spring semester
Floater 2 · college schedule
No shifts Monday + Wednesday before 4pm. Available evenings + full weekends.
Updated Mar 22 · re-confirm before Aug 15
Driver 2 · childcare
No shifts Tuesday + Thursday all day — kid drop-off / pickup. Available Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat/Sun.
Permanent · updated Jan 8
Line Cook B · second job
Works construction Wed days. No Roxanne's shift Wed before 5pm.
Updated Feb 2 · check-in monthly
Counter 1 · church + family
No shifts Sundays. Available Mon–Sat.
Permanent · personal preference
Soft (suggest)Hard (block)
Hard — optimizer refuses to schedule a violation. Soft — schedules anyway + flags it for Josh. Roxanne's runs at 70% Hard — school + childcare blocks are absolute, but availability "preferences" can flex on Friday dinners.
+ Add a new constraint
Step 04
Override library — Josh's rules
Things the optimizer is not allowed to violate, no matter what the math says. Toggle off to let it explore alternatives next run.
5 active
Josh always Tues lunch — FOH presence rule
Customers expect to see the owner mid-week. Don't optimize this away.
Jesse always Fri–Sat dinner — chef on the line
Peak service quality control. Jesse expedites + corrects.
Catering captain off Mondays — recovery day after weekend events
If we worked them 6 days straight they burn out by month two.
No new hire on Friday solo — training rule
Anyone under 90 days at Roxanne's pairs with a veteran on Fridays.
Prep lead in by 7am M–F — catering volume
Catering orders go out 10–11am. Prep starts at 7 or we're cooking under the gun.
+ Add an override
Step 05
Auto-actions when the schedule generates
What happens after Josh approves a 2-week draft. Anything off here means manual handling.
5 of 5 on
Push 2-week schedule to staff comms
7Shifts (current sub) → fallback SMS via Twilio if 7Shifts API errors. Every staff member sees their shifts in their phone.
Block requested-off days
Pulls from 7Shifts time-off requests + the constraint library above. Optimizer treats blocked days as unavailable.
Flag any staff under their min hours
Retention risk. If Line Cook A's draft has 28 hrs but min is 36, alert Josh before publishing — usually means a shift got dropped.
Flag any shift outside labor band target
If Fri dinner pencils to 19.4% (band ceiling 18%), surface it. Josh decides: cut a dishwasher hour, push a server to off-clock, or accept.
Sync with Toast labor settings (close-out rules)
Schedules respect Toast's clock-in/clock-out rules + role mapping. Auto-publish to Toast Labor when 7Shifts confirms staff acceptance.
Next 2-week run
Mon Jun 2 – Sun Jun 8 · Draft schedule
Week 1 of 2 · generated 6:00pm Sun · 12 staff · 28 shifts
Mon
Jun 2
AM prep · PL Lunch · LCa,C1,EL PM prep · F1 Dinner · LCb,C3,EL
$948
Tue
Jun 3
AM prep · PL,CC Lunch · Josh,LCa,C1 PM prep · F1 Dinner · LCb,C3,EL2
$1,012
Wed
Jun 4
AM prep · PL Lunch · LCa,C2,EL PM prep · F2 Dinner · LCa,C1,EL
$972
Thu
Jun 5
AM prep · PL Lunch · LCa,C1,EL PM prep · F1 Dinner · LCb,C3,EL
$984
Fri
Jun 6
AM prep · PL,F1 Lunch · LCa,C1,C2,EL PM prep · F1 Dinner · Jesse,LCa,LCb,EL,C1,D1
$1,398
Sat
Jun 7
Cater prep · CC,PL,F2 (5am) Lunch · LCa,C1,EL Dinner · Jesse,LCa,LCb,EL,C2,D1,D2
$1,484
Sun
Jun 8
AM prep · F1 Lunch · LCb,C2,EL2 PM prep · F2 Dinner · LCa,C3,EL2,D2
$1,342
Estimated
$7,140
Target
$7,260
Variance
−$120
Flags for Josh's call
3 things the optimizer flagged — none block publishing
Line Cook B requested Wed off — kept on schedule
Constraint enforce is at Soft for this one (school break, not class). Optimizer kept Wed dinner since dropping leaves the line shorthanded. Josh can override.
Fri Jun 6 dinner labor pencils at 19.4% — target ceiling 18%
Estimated overage $72 on that shift. Suggestion: drop 1 dishwasher hour (8–9pm coverage handled by Counter 1). Forecast for Fri dinner shows steady, not peak — should be safe.
Sun Jun 8 closing — Counter 3 (new hire) solo at 8:30pm
Violates override: "No new hire on Friday solo" — applied to Sundays too. EL2 leaves 8:30, Counter 3 closes alone 8:30–9. Recommend adding Floater 1 to overlap 8–9pm. +$22 labor.
Weekly cost summary
vs target band + 4-week running trend
$7,140 est · target $7,260 · under by $120
$0Target $7,260$9,500 cap
Last 4 weeks · labor $
4 wks ago $7,580 This wk $7,140 −5.8% trend
All changes auto-saved · 12 staff scheduled · next 2-week run generates Sun 6pm