Artificial Intelligence

AI shift management and scheduling software

Enter your team's availability and operational needs. Plain analyses over 200 constraints — collective agreement, rest periods, preferences, historical demand — and automatically generates the most efficient schedule. No errors, no gaps, no last-minute improvisation.

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No uncovered gaps Respects agreements and rules Schedule ready in seconds HR free for value-added tasks

From €2.50/employee/month · No commitment · iOS & Android app included

AI shift scheduling — Plain
Generative AI applied to scheduling
Schedule in <30 seconds
1,000+
Companies already using Plain
2M+
Schedules generated with AI
40%
Average reduction in scheduling time

How it works

How AI-powered automatic shift scheduling works

Plain only needs two things to generate the optimal schedule for your team.

01

Your team's availability

Specify which days and time slots each person can work. Plain accounts for contracts, part-time hours and individual preferences.

AL
Alex López
Mon–Fri · 9am–5pm
LC
Lidia Camacho
Tue–Sat · 10am–6pm
RS
Rodrigo Sales
Mon–Thu · 8am–4pm
IA Plain
02

Your operational needs

Define how many people you need per shift, in which role and at which location. Plain covers every slot with the most efficient combination.

Morning shift
3 people · Cashier
Afternoon shift
2 people · Support
Night shift
1 person · Security
Optimal schedule ready in under 1 second No conflicts, no gaps, respecting agreements and each person's preferences.

The shift management software that builds your schedule for you

Some software suggests options. Some software warns about conflicts. Plain does something different: enter your rules once and the algorithm generates the complete schedule — the optimal one from millions of possible combinations — in under a second.

Not an assistant. The scheduler.

Manual scheduling Assisted software Plain with AI
Time per schedule 3–8 hours 1–3 hours < 1 second
Coverage errors Frequent Reduced Eliminated
Constraints applied The ones you remember The ones you configure manually 200+ automatic
Demand forecast No Partial Yes, with historical data
Last-minute changes Manual Semi-manual Automatic recalculation
Advanced configuration

200+ configurable constraints: collective agreement, rest periods and demand

Every company has its own rules. Plain lets you configure in detail all the conditions that affect scheduling, from collective agreements to individual preferences. The AI respects them all when generating each schedule.

+200 configurable constraints

Working hours and time

Maximum weekly hours Minimum hours per shift Maximum shift length Contracted annual hours Supplementary hours Hours bank

Rest and recovery

Minimum rest between shifts Mandatory weekly rest Maximum consecutive days Compensatory rest Minimum rest length

Holidays and availability

National and local holidays Personal holidays Availability by time slot Employee preferences Date blocks
Demand forecast — Plain
Demand forecast

Demand forecasting to size shifts with real data

Plain's forecast uses historical activity data, revenue and operational patterns to anticipate how many people you need in each shift and at each time of day.

Using variables such as customer volume, demand peaks, average tickets or time-based behaviour, Plain calculates staffing scenarios and integrates that forecast directly into scheduling. HR and Operations stop estimating by gut feel.

The information is presented visually and intuitively, making it easy to adjust before operational pressure builds: reinforce where needed, contain costs where not.

Anticipate demand peaks and troughs in advance
Reinforce where needed, contain costs where not
From reactive scheduling to data-driven decisions
Operational needs

Control operational needs by role and location

When needs vary by role, workflow or location, scheduling becomes fragile and hard to scale. Plain lets HR clearly define which profiles are needed, in what quantity and at each location, so the plan reflects operational reality.

Operational needs are managed by role and by location — production lines, stores, services or specific areas — and the AI factors them in automatically when generating shifts. This avoids common mismatches like overstaffed locations and shortfalls elsewhere.

The result is a schedule aligned with real operations, guaranteeing coverage where it matters and giving HR a clear, controlled view of the whole picture, even in distributed environments.

Needs by shift and location
Role Central Store North Store Warehouse
Cashier 3 2 —
Customer service 2 1 —
Logistics operator — — 4
Supervision 1 1 1
The AI respects these needs in every generated schedule
Multiple shift views — Plain
Planning views

Multiple shift views to make clear decisions

When scheduling gets complex, the problem isn't just creating shifts — it's understanding them. Plain offers multiple planning views so HR can analyse coverage by role, location or time slot, without duplicating work or losing context.

The role and location views let you quickly spot mismatches between needs and assigned staff, while the hourly view with 15-minute detail gives real visibility into peaks, overlaps and gaps that often go unnoticed.

The result is a more precise and actionable schedule, allowing shifts to be adjusted with confidence, problems anticipated and operational control maintained even in complex environments.

Role view Location view Hourly view · 15 min Weekly / monthly view
Time tracking

Time tracking integrated
with shift scheduling

When scheduling and time tracking run separately, HR loses visibility and hard-to-explain deviations appear. Plain integrates time tracking directly with scheduling to ensure what was planned and what was worked align from day one.

Clock-in connected to the shift

The system includes clock-in terminals, geolocation and automatic alerts for non-compliance or deviations from the assigned shift. Detects incidents in real time, without manual reviews or after-the-fact checks.

Real-time alerts and detection

Plain automatically detects when an employee clocks in outside the authorised location, late or not at all. Alerts reach the manager without them having to check manually, allowing action before the incident escalates.

Reports ready for Labour Inspection

Plain automatically generates the legally required work-time records, with full traceability of every change. The result: guaranteed regulatory compliance and no legal surprises for HR.

See Time tracking in detail
Payroll and integrations

Payroll variables and frictionless integrations for HR

One of the biggest pain points in shift management is when the plan doesn't match payroll. Miscalculated overtime, supplements or holidays end up causing errors, rework and internal conflicts. Plain connects shift scheduling with real payroll variables to prevent mismatches at the source.

Plain's AI accounts for concepts like hours worked, night shifts, holidays and extras, and prepares them for direct integration with HR and payroll systems. No manual exports or subsequent corrections.

What was planned and what gets paid always match.

Automatically calculated variables

Overtime Night shift supplement Public holidays Shift supplements Supplementary hours Hours bank Compensatory rest

Native integration with

SAP HCM
Grupo Castilla
Intrho
a3nom
Meta4
Sage HR
Digital signature

Signaturit integration to formalise agreements without disrupting operations

When scheduling involves contractual changes or formal approvals, Plain integrates with Signaturit so documents can be sent and signed digitally from the same HR workflow — no printing, no chasing signatures and no disruption to operations.

HR generates the document Addendum, change of terms or employment agreement, from Plain
Automatic send to the employee The employee receives the link by email or SMS to sign
Signed in seconds, from any device Electronic signature with full legal validity, no installation needed
Document signed, tracked and archived Timestamp, legal audit trail and complete traceability
Certified integration with Signaturit · Full legal validity in Spain and the EU

Everything you need to manage your team

20 features designed so HR can schedule better, faster and without errors.

Feature Description
AI scheduling Automatically generates optimal schedules based on availability and operational needs
Demand forecasting Anticipates staffing needs using historical activity data and operational patterns
Needs by role and location Define coverage by profile, quantity and location so the AI schedules with operational precision
+200 configurable constraints Maximum hours, minimum rest, consecutive days, holidays, individual preferences and more
Integrated time tracking Clock-in connected with scheduling: detects deviations in real time and generates legal reports
Geolocated clock-in Employees clock in from the app with location verification to confirm physical presence
Reports for Labour Inspection Work-time records with full traceability, automatically generated and legally compliant
Multiple planning views Views by role, location, hourly (15 min), weekly and monthly for clear analysis
Employee app (iOS and Android) Employees see their shifts, clock in, request changes and receive notifications from their phone
Shift swaps between employees Employees can request swaps with each other; HR approves or delegates directly from the app
Automatic payroll variables Calculates overtime, night supplements, holidays, supplements and hours bank without manual exports
Payroll integration Natively connected with SAP HCM, Grupo Castilla, Intrho, a3nom, Meta4 and Sage HR
Digital signature with Signaturit Formalise employment agreements with legally valid e-signature directly from Plain
Real-time alerts Automatic notifications of deviations, uncovered gaps and out-of-shift clock-ins
Holiday and absence management Requests, approvals and absence calendar integrated with shift scheduling
AILA — AI Copilot Conversational AI assistant that answers questions, suggests schedules and explains deviations
Multi-company and multi-site Manage multiple companies or locations from one account with independent data and permissions
Granular roles and permissions Define what each user can see and do: manager, HR, supervisor or employee
Open API Integrate Plain with your own systems via documented REST API and real-time webhooks
Complete audit trail Audit log of every change in scheduling, clock-ins and documents with timestamp

Frequently asked questions

What is shift scheduling software?

Shift scheduling software is a digital tool that automates the creation and management of work rotas. It replaces Excel and manual processes: the manager defines coverage needs, collective agreement constraints and team availability, and the software generates the optimised schedule. The most advanced, like Plain, use artificial intelligence to find the optimal combination from millions of possibilities in seconds.

What's the difference between managing shifts with Excel and with AI software?

With Excel, the manager builds the schedule by hand: checking availability, avoiding conflicts and filling coverage gaps one by one. The process can take 3–8 hours per schedule. With AI software like Plain, you enter the rules once and the algorithm generates the complete schedule in under a second, automatically applying 200+ constraints: minimum rest, weekly maximums, holidays, preferences and historical demand.

How does automatic AI shift scheduling work?

Plain needs two inputs: each team member's availability (days, time slots, preferences, contract) and operational needs (how many people you need per shift, role and location). With that data, the AI algorithm evaluates all possible combinations respecting 200+ configurable constraints and generates the optimal schedule in under a second. If conditions change — a sick leave, an unexpected demand spike — Plain recalculates automatically.

Which sectors is Plain for?

Plain is designed for any company managing shift-based teams: retail and supermarkets, hospitality and catering, healthcare and care homes, manufacturing and logistics, facility services and security. It works for teams of 10 people up to organisations with multiple sites and hundreds of employees.

How much time does Plain save in shift management?

Plain customers reduce time spent on shift scheduling by 40% on average. The biggest savings come with complex schedules: teams with rotating shifts, multiple sites or high demand variability. In these cases, moving from a manual multi-hour process to a schedule generated in seconds frees up HR time for higher-value tasks.

What constraints can Plain configure?

Plain allows you to configure 200+ constraints: maximum daily and weekly hours, annual contracted hours, minimum rest between shifts, mandatory weekly rest, maximum consecutive days, national and local holidays, availability by time slot, employee preferences and role- or site-specific constraints. This configuration ensures the generated schedule automatically complies with the applicable collective agreement.

Does Plain help comply with collective agreements and labour law?

Yes. Plain's configurable constraints include the parameters required by labour law and collective agreements: minimum 11-hour rest between shifts, weekly rest of at least 24 hours, overtime limits and respect for holidays. The generated schedule cannot be published if it violates any configured constraint, eliminating compliance errors before they reach the employee.

Can Plain integrate with payroll software?

Yes. Plain integrates natively with leading payroll systems: SAP HCM, Grupo Castilla, Intrho, a3nom, Meta4 and Sage HR. Worked hours — including overtime, night shifts, holidays and shift allowances — are calculated automatically and exported to the payroll system, eliminating manual data entry and transcription errors.

Demo available now

Ready to see Plain
in action?

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

Book a free demo
611 991 978 [email protected]