7shifts Manager Playbook — Shakey's El Monte

🌱

Employee Onboarding

From hire to first shift — getting a new team member set up in 7shifts

1

Create the Employee Profile

Go to Team → + Add Employee. Enter their name, email, role/department, location (El Monte), wage, and start date. This creates their login invitation.

Team tab

⬇

2

Assign Role & Department

Set the correct role (e.g., Server, Cook, Cashier) and department. This determines scheduling visibility and which punch pad they appear on.

Required for scheduling

→

3

Set a Punch ID

Assign a unique 4–6 digit PIN under the employee's profile. They'll use this to clock in/out on the 7punches pad at the store.

7punches setup

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4

Send the Onboarding Package

In the employee profile, open the Onboarding tab. Click Send Package. The employee receives an email with all company documents, forms, and their app invite link. They sign everything digitally.

Onboarding tab

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5

Employee Completes Package

They fill out and sign all forms on their phone or computer. You'll get a notification when everything is submitted.

Employee action

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6

Review & Approve Forms

Return to the Onboarding tab on their profile. Review each submitted form, approve them, then click Close Onboarding Package to finalize.

Manager approves

⬇

7

Set Availability

Ask them to submit their repeating availability in the 7shifts app so it shows up when you build schedules.

Employee app

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8

Enter In Toast POS

Create the employee in Toast so they can log into the POS terminal. Enter their name and role. Toast is used for sales — not timekeeping — so only these two fields are needed.

Toast POS setup

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9

Add to First Schedule

Go to the Schedules tab, find their name, and drag in their first shifts. Publish the schedule so they're notified.

Schedule tab

💡 Onboarding Tips for Managers

The invite email comes from 7shifts — let the employee know to check their spam folder if they don't see it within a few minutes.
Make sure the Location field is set to El Monte before saving — this affects all scheduling and reporting.
Punch IDs must be unique. Check existing IDs under Time Clocking before assigning a new one to avoid conflicts.
You MUST close the Onboarding Package before payroll recognizes the employee as fully active in HR records.
When entering the employee in Toast (Step 8), only their name and role are needed — Toast is for POS login only, not timekeeping.

📋

Updating an Employee File

Adding certifications, warnings, memos, and profile changes

Choose your update type

🎓 New Certification ⚠️ Written Warning 📝 Informational Memo 💰 Wage Change 🏷 Role Change 📄 New Document

1

Open the Employee Profile

Go to Team in the left sidebar. Search for the employee by name and click on their profile card to open it.

Team tab

⬇

2A

📄 Documents Tab — Upload Files

For certifications, memos, warning letters, or any file: click Documents tab → Upload Document. Add a clear name (e.g., "Food Handler Cert – Jane – 2025"). These are private to managers/admins only.

⭐ GM Only — Scanning Additional Documents: The GM can scan any physical document and drag it into the employee's Documents tab using the 7shifts web app. When naming the file, use this convention:

DocumentType_YYMMDD

Examples: Commendation_250615 · WrittenWarning_250701 · FoodHandlerCert_250101 · PerformanceReview_251201

Documents tab

or

2B

📊 Performance Log Tab — Add a Note

For warnings, commendations, attendance issues, or behavioral notes: click Performance Log → + Add Entry. Choose a category, write your note, and save. These entries are permanent.

Performance Log tab

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3A

💰 Wage Change

In the employee profile, go to the Pay tab. Update the hourly wage. Changes take effect immediately for future pay periods.

Pay tab

or

3B

🏷 Role or Department Change

In the employee profile, edit their Role or Department under the Overview/Profile tab. If using POS mapping, re-map if their job code changed in Toast.

Profile tab + POS map

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4

Confirm Changes Saved

7shifts auto-saves most changes. For documents, verify the file appears in the Documents list. For Performance Log entries, confirm they appear with the correct date and category. For wages, spot-check on the next timesheet review.

Verify

Quick Reference

What you're doing	Where in 7shifts	Who can see it	Permanent?
Upload a certification PDF	Team → Employee → Documents tab	Managers + Admins	No — can be deleted
Add a written warning note	Team → Employee → Performance Log	Managers + Admins	Yes — permanent
Add a commendation or memo	Team → Employee → Performance Log	Managers + Admins	Yes — permanent
Update hourly wage	Team → Employee → Pay tab	Admins + permitted Mgrs	No — editable
Change role/department	Team → Employee → Profile tab	Managers + Admins	No — editable
Send a new onboarding doc	Team → Employee → Onboarding tab	Employee receives it	No

⚠️ Important Notes

Performance Log entries cannot be deleted by managers — only admins can remove them. Write carefully!
When logging a warning, write it like a mini-report: date of incident, what happened, what was discussed, and the employee's response.
Documents are limited to 2MB per file. Compress large PDFs before uploading.
When the GM scans a document to add to an employee file, name it using the Type_YYMMDD format (e.g., Commendation_250615) so files stay organized and easy to find.

⏱

Day-to-Day Manager Operations

Your daily rhythm in 7shifts — from opening the app to closing out the night

🌅 When You Arrive / Start of Day

1

Check the Dashboard

Log in to 7shifts. The Dashboard shows today's schedule, pending requests, and live Sales vs. Labor if Toast data is flowing in.

Dashboard tab

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2

Clear Pending Requests

At the top of the Dashboard you'll see request blocks — approve or deny any time-off requests, availability changes, or shift swap requests before the team arrives.

Dashboard alerts

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3

Review the Manager Log Book

Click Log Book. Read any notes left by the closing manager from yesterday. Make your own opening notes if needed.

Log Book tab

⏰ Throughout the Day — Time & Attendance

4

Monitor Live Clock-Ins

On the Dashboard (or mobile app), you can see in real time who is clocked in, on break, or late. Employees more than 30 minutes before their shift will show a "No Scheduled Shift" flag — if you need someone in early, manually clock them in from Time Clocking.

Dashboard → Who's Working

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5A

✅ Approve a Time Punch

Go to Time Clocking → current Pay Period. Punches shown in red need approval (early/late clock-in or auto-punched out). Click the pencil ✏️ to edit, or Approve to accept as-is.

Time Clocking tab

or

5B

✏️ Edit a Time Punch

Click the pencil icon on any punch. You can adjust clock-in/out times, add or modify break entries, and add tip declarations. A full timeline of punch events is shown so you know exactly what happened.

Pencil icon → Edit punch

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6A

Handle a Missed Clock-Out

If an employee forgot to punch out, their punch is tagged as "Auto-Punched Out." Edit it to enter the correct out time before approving. Don't just approve auto-punches without correcting the time!

⚠️ Always verify

or

6B

Manually Clock Someone In/Out

Go to Time Clocking, find the employee, and click + Add Punch. This is needed when an employee can't access the punch pad or needs to be clocked in more than 30 min early.

+ Add Punch

🌙 End of Day

7

Approve Remaining Punches

Before closing, go to Time Clocking and approve or correct all remaining unapproved punches for the day. Look for any still-open red punches.

Time Clocking

→

8

Write Manager Log Book Entry

In Log Book, post your closing notes — incidents, inventory issues, maintenance needed, team shoutouts, and your actual sales summary. Use the right category for each entry.

Log Book

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9

Check Tomorrow's Schedule

Glance at the Schedules tab for tomorrow. Any open shifts? Understaffed areas? Flag issues now so you're not scrambling in the morning.

Schedules tab

🎯 Daily Operations Quick Tips

Use the 7shifts mobile app to manage punches, approve requests, and check who's working — all without being tied to a computer.
If an employee clocks in more than 30 minutes before their shift, it flags as "No Scheduled Shift." Manually clock them in via Time Clocking instead to avoid the flag.
Auto-punched-out entries need immediate attention — they usually mean someone forgot to clock out. Edit before approving.
The Manager Log Book auto-emails a daily summary to all managers and admins at end of day — great for keeping the whole team in sync.
Shift swap and time-off requests don't approve themselves — check Dashboard alerts daily so requests don't pile up.

💰

End of Payroll Period Close

The step-by-step process for closing out a pay period — timesheets flow directly into 7shifts Payroll

⏰ When does this happen? At the end of every pay period (typically bi-weekly). The exact dates are set under Time Clocking → Pay Periods. Only Admins can change pay period dates.

1

Open the Pay Period

Go to Time Clocking tab. Select the pay period that is ending from the list. You'll see all employees and their punch records for that period.

Time Clocking → Pay Period

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2

Review All Punches

Go through every employee row. Look for: red (unapproved) punches, auto-punch-outs, missing punches, labor exceptions, and any punches missing a role assignment. Check the Warnings tab — this lists punches with missing POS role data.

Review carefully!

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3

Fix Any Issues

Edit any incorrect punches (wrong time, missing clock-out, wrong role). Dismiss any labor exceptions that are valid (e.g., approved early start). Contact employees if you need to confirm their actual hours.

Edit before approving

⬇

4

Approve All Punches

Once everything looks correct, either approve punches individually (pencil icon → Approve) or use the Approve All button at the top of the pay period view to approve all at once. All punches must be approved before you can close the timesheet.

Approve All button

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5

📧 Email the Deminimis Certification

Before closing, scan the "Deminimis Open/Close Self Certification" form and email it to [email protected]. This must be done each pay period close — do not skip.

Required before closing

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6

⚠️ Admin Step: Close the Timesheet

An Admin must click Close Timesheet in the top right corner. This locks the pay period so no further edits can be made. Managers cannot close timesheets — only Admins. If you need to reopen it later, only an Admin can do that too.

Admin only

⬇

7

Payroll Processes Automatically

Because we use 7shifts Payroll, your approved timesheets flow directly into payroll — no export, no CSV, no third-party system. Once the timesheet is closed, payroll picks up the data automatically. 🎉

🎉 Done!

Payroll Period Checklist

Task	Who	Where	Status
Review all punches for the period	Manager	Time Clocking → Pay Period	□ Done
Check Warnings tab for missing roles	Manager	Pay Period → Warnings tab	□ Done
Fix/edit any incorrect punches	Manager	Pencil icon on each punch	□ Done
Dismiss valid labor exceptions	Manager	Each punch → Exceptions	□ Done
Approve all punches	Manager	Approve All button	□ Done
Scan & email Deminimis Open/Close Self Certification	Manager	Email → [email protected]	□ Done
Close the Timesheet	Admin only	Close Timesheet button (top right)	□ Done
Payroll processes automatically via 7shifts Payroll	Automatic	7shifts Payroll — no action needed	□ Done

🚨 Common Payroll Pitfalls

Managers cannot close timesheets — only Admins can. Plan ahead so an Admin is available at the end of each pay period.
Don't forget to scan and email the Deminimis Open/Close Self Certification to [email protected] before closing — this is required every pay period.
The Warnings tab is easy to miss — it only appears if there are punch issues. Always click it before closing.
Once a timesheet is closed, a manager cannot make changes. An Admin must reopen it, make fixes, then close it again.
If you have PTO or Sick Time