Restaurants & hospitality

Full service, coordinated team, no last-minute chaos

Shift planning software for restaurants that adapts the team to each service, manages cross-training between front-of-house and kitchen, and eliminates emergency calls to cover absences.

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Service-based scheduling Reservation forecast FOH/kitchen cross-training Shift swaps Mobile app
AI Scheduling

The perfect team for every service, calculated automatically

Plain sizes the team to the number of reservations, service type and historical data for each day. Lunch, dinner, aperitifs, private events — every service gets its own optimal team.

  • Forecast based on reservations and historical footfall
  • Separate scheduling per service (opening/lunch/dinner/closing)
  • Distinct roles: floor manager, waiter, cook, bar
  • Guaranteed minimum coverage in kitchen and front-of-house
Reservation forecast and scheduling for restaurants — Plain
Cross-training & roles

Waiter, bar, or kitchen support: whoever is needed most, where they're needed most

Make the most of your team's versatility to cover unexpected peaks. Plain knows which employees can also work the bar in addition to the floor, and assigns them automatically when there's a gap.

  • Role profiles with skill level
  • Automatic assignment by priority
  • Peak coverage without emergency calls
Team cross-training
LM
Lucía Martín Waitress
Floor ★★★ Bar ★★ Kitchen ★
PG
Pedro García
Kitchen ★★★ Bar ★★
CR
Carlos Ruiz
Floor manager ★★★ Floor ★★★
Shift swaps & announcements

The team sorts itself out. You just approve.

Any waiter can propose a shift swap with a colleague. The manager receives the request, verifies that coverage is still guaranteed, and approves with a single click. And when there's a menu change or service instructions, an announcement reaches the whole team with a read confirmation.

  • Peer-to-peer shift swaps with manager approval
  • Announcements with read confirmation
  • Instant push notifications
Team management 2 actions
Shift swap
LM
Lucía M. gives up Friday night
PG
Pedro G. accepts · Floor Accepted ✓
Floor coverage verified ✓
Announcement sent
Tasting menu this Saturday
Whole team · Today 10:15
12/12 read
Lucía M. ✓ · Pedro G. ✓ · Carlos R. ✓ · +9 more ✓
Payroll variables

Overtime, night shifts and public holidays without spreadsheets

Night shifts, Sundays and public holidays generate different pay supplements under the hospitality collective agreement. Plain calculates them automatically and exports them at month-end to your payroll software.

  • Night and public holiday supplements per collective agreement
  • Overtime automatically classified
  • Export to a3nom, SAP, Grupo Castilla, Sage
Variables · June 2026 Calculated
EMPLOYEE NIGHT HOLIDAY EXTRA
Lucía M. +42 € +30 € 0h
Pedro G. +56 € — +2h
Carlos R. — +45 € 0h
Export to a3nom / SAP / Sage
Vacations & time tracking

The team requests, the manager approves. No paper, no WhatsApp.

Vacation requests and digital time tracking fully integrated. All in the same app, frictionless for the team.

Vacations & absences
2-level approval
  • Request from app, 2-level approval
  • Hourly absences (doctor, errands)
  • Real-time vacation balance
  • Coverage verified before approval
Time tracking
Clock-in from app or floor tablet
  • Clock-in from app or floor tablet
  • Geolocation to validate location
  • Reports for labour inspection
  • Alerts for open shifts with no clock-out
Management · Restaurante La Plaza Active
Vacation requests
LM
Lucía M. — Vacation
5 Aug – 12 Aug · 8 days · Floor
L1 · Floor manager Approved ✓
L2 · HR Pending
Service clock-ins
Lucía M. · Floor Clock-in 12:58 ✓
Pedro G. · Kitchen Clock-in 11:02 ✓
Carlos R. · Floor manager ⚠ Not clocked in
22
days available
8
clocked in today
✓
floor covered
Time tracking

Every service clocked. Every hour, exact.

In hospitality, shifts change, services overlap and overtime accumulates. Plain records every clock-in and clock-out with legal precision and alerts you before a problem arises.

Tablet on the floor or in the kitchen, no setup needed

Place a tablet at the entrance or in the back office. The team clocks in at the start of service with their PIN. Everything is recorded with a legally valid timestamp without anyone needing to remember to write it down.

  • PIN clock-in from shared tablet
  • Logged per service: lunch, dinner, opening
  • Legally valid timestamp
  • Works offline, syncs when connection is restored
Terminal · Lunch service In progress
13:15
Lunch service · Saturday 29 Mar
LM
Lucía Martín
Floor · Clock-in 12:00
✓ Clocked in
PG
Pedro G.
Kitchen · Clock-in 11:30
✓ Clocked in
CR
Carlos R.
Bar · Pending clock-in
Not clocked in
Document management

Seasonal contracts, payslips and food handler certificates. Paperless.

All team documentation centralised in Plain, accessible from any device at any time.

Temporary contracts and food handler certificate per employee

Manage temporary contracts, food handler certificates, ID documents and any file linked to the employee. HR organises them from the dashboard and employees access them from the app.

  • Food handler certificate linked to the employee
  • Temporary and seasonal contracts
  • Access from web and mobile app
Documents · Lucía Martín
Temporary_contract.pdfView
Food_handler_cert.pdfView
ID (front).jpgView
+ Upload document

Features

Everything Plain includes for restaurants

IA & Forecast
AI schedule · Reservation forecast · Service-based scheduling · 200+ constraints
Cross-training & roles
Multi-role profiles · Auto-assignment · Floor and kitchen coverage
Time tracking
App & tablet clock-in · Geolocation · Inspection reports · Shift alerts
Payroll variables
Night supplements · Holiday pay · Overtime · Payroll export
Vacations & absences
App request · 2-level approval · Hourly absences · Real-time balance
Document management
Employee folder · Food handler certificate · Digital signature · Payslip distribution

Frequently asked questions

Can I schedule by service (lunch, dinner, aperitifs) separately?

Yes. Plain lets you configure time blocks per service and schedule the team independently for each one: opening, lunch service, afternoon, dinner and closing. The reservation-based forecast automatically calculates how many people you need in each slot, with the right roles for front-of-house and kitchen.

How does Plain handle last-minute shift changes?

The employee proposes the swap from the app, the colleague accepts it and the manager approves with one click. Plain automatically verifies that service coverage is still guaranteed before confirming the change. The whole process is transparent and leaves a full audit trail.

Is it compatible with hospitality collective agreements?

Yes. Plain automatically applies collective agreement parameters: night supplements, public holiday pay, structural overtime and mandatory rest periods between services. The time tracking record complies with current working time regulations.

Can I manage several restaurants from a single account?

Yes. From a single dashboard you can manage all your venues, with centralised visibility of coverage at each restaurant. You can redistribute staff between locations, compare the status of each venue and plan additional resources for special events or new openings.

Demo available now

The best restaurants
use Plain

In 30 minutes we'll show you how Plain can transform shift management at your restaurant. No commitment, no jargon.

Book a free demo
611 991 978 [email protected]