Calculator

Labor Forecasting Model & Rules (Calculator & Worksheet)

Interactive worksheet to convert a half-hour sales or covers forecast into recommended shift templates, per-role staffing targets, buffer allowances, and a saved submission you can reuse when rostering.

Interactive Tool

Labor Forecasting Worksheet

What this worksheet does

This interactive calculator helps schedulers turn a sales or covers forecast (by half-hour) into defensible staffing recommendations. It captures role decomposition, minimums, target labor %, and a buffer for unpredictability. Submit and save forecasts for later export or to attach to rostering tools.

How to use it quickly: paste half-hour sales (or covers) as CSV, provide an average check if needed, list roles and target % of total labor, set your target labor % and buffer, then submit. Example CSV and role template are provided in the help text.

Short identifier (e.g., 'Sat Lunch Promo' or 'Week 2026-09-12').
Optional if you run a single site. Helpful for multi-location operations.
Human-readable date or date range for the forecast (e.g., '2026-09-12' or '2026-09-12 to 2026-09-18').
Paste half-hour sales as CSV with time (HH:MM) and sales amount. Example: 08:00,120 08:30,150 09:00,170 If you provide covers instead, use the Covers field below.
If you have covers by half-hour, paste as CSV with time and covers. If left blank, covers will be estimated from sales and average check. Example: 08:00,12 08:30,15
If you did not paste covers, provide average check to estimate covers from sales. Example: 12.50
List roles with target percent of total labor and (optionally) a minimum staff. Example lines: Cook,40,1 Server,35,2 Dish,15,1 Expo,10,1 The percent values should sum to ~100. Minimums help enforce hard constraints on low-traffic periods.
Desired labor cost as a percent of sales (enter number only, e.g., 28 for 28%). Used to convert forecasted sales into total labor minutes/cost.
Add a contingency to cover peaks or call-offs. Typical values: 5–15% depending on volatility.
If certain roles must always have a minimum number on shift regardless of calculated need, list them as Role,Min. Example: Server,2 Cook,1
Document local rules: max consecutive hours, split-shift preferences, labor law constraints, preferred shift templates, or seniority rules. These notes help turn the staffing target into rosters that honor constraints.
Contextual factors such as events, promotions, weather, delivery volume, training days, or known staff shortages.
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