Demand Templates

A Demand Template is a staging area for Smart Scheduling results. It holds the shifts generated for a forecast, together with the demand forecast they were based on, so you can review them against the forecast and make adjustments before committing them to a live roster. It is also a safe way to test forecasts and shift generation without touching your live roster.

A Demand Template belongs to the dates of the forecast that created it. Nothing on your live roster changes until you choose to import the template.

Demand Templates are created automatically by Smart Scheduling. You can't create one manually.

1. Start a forecast from the Smart Scheduling menu in Roster Manager (or from the Manage Forecasts page). See Creating a forecast.

2. Under Additional Actions, select Generate shifts.

3. Choose Demand Template as the destination.

4. Select Create Forecast.

When shift generation finishes, Smart Scheduling creates the template:

• It is named after your forecast.

• Its description records the location, the department (or "All departments") and the dates, for example "Demand Template created automatically for Location: City Cafe, Department: Kitchen for the dates 20/10/2026 - 02/11/2026".

• It starts on the first day of the forecast and covers the forecast period, up to 84 days.

• It contains the shifts Smart Scheduling generated and any shifts that were already on the roster for those dates. If you also selected Autofill shifts, the shifts come with suggested employees already assigned.

If the forecast fails, no template is created. Use View Logs on the Manage Forecasts page to see what went wrong.

1. Go to Manage Forecasts (Smart Scheduling menu in Roster Manager).

2. Find your forecast. Once it has finished processing, open the menu at the end of the row.

3. Select Open Template.

Demand Templates are only reached this way. They don't appear in the Template Manager list or in the Import Template dialog in Roster Manager, so they don't get mixed up with your standard roster templates.

A Demand Template opens in the template editor and works much like other roster templates, with some differences.

• Demand graph: the forecast demand is shown above the shifts and is on by default. Use the graph toggle to hide or show it. A legend shows demand, shifts that are in range, excess and shortfall.

• Demand Profile: shown for reference and can't be changed. It is the profile used for the original forecast, and the location and department filters are set to match it.

• Side panel: select a bar on the graph to open a role-by-role breakdown of demand and headcount. Select a role to see the shifts for it.

• Calendar dates: columns show actual dates (for example "Mon 21") instead of "Week 1" and day names.

The graph updates as you add, move or remove shifts in the template, so you can see straight away how a change affects coverage.

The demand curve is only shown inside the Demand Template. It isn't displayed in Roster Manager.

You can add, edit, move, delete and unassign shifts, including in bulk, as you would in any template. Some options are not available because Smart Scheduling manages them: you can't edit the template's details (such as its name and description), and the bulk Edit All Shifts and Edit Selected Shifts actions are hidden.

When you're happy with the shifts, import them onto the live roster:

1. Open the Demand Template.

2. Select Import to roster, next to the Actions menu at the top of the template.

3. In the dialog, check the details. The template is already selected, and the dates are fixed to the template's own dates, so they can't be changed.

4. Complete the import. The dialog also has an option to include shifts that have errors.

A few things to know:

• Nothing is overwritten. The template's shifts are added to the roster. Any shifts already there stay exactly as they are.

• Shifts only. Only the shifts are imported. The demand curve stays in the template.

• Importing again. If the template has already been imported, you'll be asked to confirm before importing it a second time (the message reads "This template has already been imported to the roster. Are you sure you want to import again?"), because the shifts would be added again.

• After the import. A confirmation message appears (with no Undo option), followed by a reminder to check costing. On the Manage Forecasts page, the forecast now offers Open Roster as well as Open Template.

Because the template keeps the plan as Smart Scheduling generated it, you can use it as a reference. Once your shifts are on the live roster, compare the roster with the template for the same dates to see how far your final roster moved from the original plan.