Droster Manual - Free Employee Scheduling Software DRoster by

 DRoster is a windows-based application developed by Kappix that is used to
assist companies in scheduling and managing their employee time and
resources.
About Kappix
Kappix was founded in 2004 by a team of software engineers with fifteen years of experience in
leading research and development for various major software companies. The idea was to
develop a dedicated employee scheduling program that could both meet a wide range of
requirements of various industries/organizations and be scalable in terms of organization size. In
addition, the Kappix team insisted that though the program would be dedicated, it must integrate
with other data sources (such as payroll software), giving maximum benefits to human resource
departments and scheduling managers at minimum cost.
Kappix Team's Mission: Why We Offer Free Employee Scheduling Software
Based on those cost-effective specifications, DRoster Employee Scheduling Software was
designed to provide organizations with the flexibility, robustness, functionality,
comprehensiveness of more expensive software at an incomparable cost. Confident in the quality
of DRoster employee scheduling software, the Kappix team decided to offer a fully functional
download of DRoster free employee scheduling software. Kappix wishes to make the easy
DRoster way of administrating staff scheduling readily available to anyone who requires
scheduling. Kappix designed DRoster with an industry-neutral flexibility allowing you to give your
scheduling software your own unique industry-specific flavor. With its scalability and unlimited
shift scheduling capabilities, DRoster gives your organization high value. As your company
grows, so does your scheduling capacity. No need to pay to upgrade to a corporate solution. Buy
once, and DRoster grows with you.
Kappix Clients: Who Uses DRoster Free Employee Scheduling?
It comes as no surprise that DRoster is being used for employee scheduling in a plethora of
industries and organizations. Its compabitibility has made it an employee scheduling software of
choice for people from various industries, for instance: * restaurants * hotels,motels, B&B *
medical centers * shipping * academic institutions * school districts * construction * dispatch and
call centers * military installations and organizations * manufacturing plants * small cafes *
convenience stores * non-profit organizations * recycling plants * transportation systems * airline
and travel * churches and community center * employee management services * The Kappix
team invites you to download DRoster employee Scheduling software free: no registration
required, easy setup, intuitive scheduling. Kappix appreciates your questions, inquiries and
suggestions. Send us your wish list for DRoster. Inquire about linking with us. We'd like to hear
from you. Please refer to our contact details below.
Phone Numbers 972-54-3012263
Marketing Email marketing@kappix.com
Support Services Email support@kappix.com
Info Email info@kappix.com
DRoster User’s Guide
Copyright 2012 Kappix Software
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Installing the Software
1. Download the software from Kappix.com
2. Double-click the .exe file to initialize setup
3. Follow the setup steps, accepting the License Agreement and designating
Install Destination
4. Click Install
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5. Once Setup is complete, click Finish to launch DRoster
The first time you run the software, you will see the following Quick Setup
Wizard. Click Next to follow through the steps to complete the following sections.
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Copyright 2012 Kappix Software
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Adding/Defining Positions
The first setup step in DRoster is adding positions. To add a position, on the
Names of Positions screen:
1. Click Add
2. Enter a name for the position
3. Click OK
Then, add shifts for the newly created position(s). To add a shift to a position:
1. Click Add
2. Enter a name for the shift
3. Designate the shift Start Time and duration (End Time is automatically
designated)
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4. Click OK
Adding Employees
The second setup step in DRoster is adding employees. To add an employee,
on the Employees screen:
1. Click Add
2. Enter a name for the employee
3. Click OK
With positions, shifts and employees added, the Quick Setup Wizard is complete.
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Copyright 2012 Kappix Software
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Basic Scheduling Features
Assigning resources (employees) to shifts with DRoster is easy.
1. In the Shifts window, double-click on the corresponding day/shift to
schedule
2. Select an Employee from the dropdown list
3. Enter any relevant notes regarding the shift
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Copyright 2012 Kappix Software
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4. When finished scheduling, click OK
Note that you can access additional scheduling options by right-clicking on a cell
in the Shifts window (e.g. Delete to remove an employee from a shift).
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Copyright 2012 Kappix Software
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Advanced Scheduling Features - Copy Duties
With the positions/shifts and employees defined, users can automatically build a
schedule. DRoster offers two options for this:
1. Using the "Copy Duties" Feature
2. Using the ROTA feature
The Copy Duties feature copies the duties and assignments from one time period
to another, while verifying that each designated employee is available at that
time. If an employee is not available, an Empty Duty will be created (an Empty
Duty is a duty without an assignment which can be filled in later by doubleclicking on the Empty Duty cell).
To use the Copy Duties feature:
1. Click Copy Duties in the Toolbar
2. Select the Source Week using the From dates dropdowns
Note: the source can be any period of time, from a single day(s) to a
single week(s) to a single month(s)), but the Source Period MUST be
shorter than the Target Period.
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Copyright 2012 Kappix Software
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3. Select the Target Week using the To dates dropdowns
4. Click the checkbox next to the Employee(s) to Copy Schedules for
5. Click OK to complete Schedule Copy
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Copyright 2012 Kappix Software
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Note that, to copy duties from schedules with differing lengths:
- If the Source Period duration does not match the Target Period, DRoster
will repeat the days until it fills the Target Period as follows:
o If the Source Period is an even multiple, the duties will simply be
repeated (for example, if the Source Period is 3 days and the
Target Period is 21 days, DRoster will simply copy the source
duties 7 times (one after the other) into the Target Period).
o If the Source Period is not an even multiple, the duties will be
repeated as appropriate, then the beginning remainder will be
added (for example, if the Source Period is 5 days and the Target
Period is 13 days, DRoster will copy the source duties twice and
then add only the first 3 days into the Target Period).
DRoster User’s Guide
Copyright 2012 Kappix Software
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ROTA
ROTA (Rotation of Tasks) is a DRoster feature that is used to automate
scheduling. It represents a round of duties, and is a roster indicating when
various employees are to perform specific assignments.
The first component of ROTA is the pattern, which is a set of
assigned/unassigned duties for a single day (each pattern = 1 entire day). Users
can create as many patterns as needed to cover the various combinations of
days in their business cycles (e.g. weekday, weekend, busy day, holiday, high
season/low season day, sale day, etc.).
The second component of ROTA is the rotation itself, which is a pattern or
combination of patterns used to automatically assign employees to duties.
Using a restaurant as an example to illustrate how ROTA works, let’s assume 2
different patterns (assignments), weekday and weekend.
• First, the user would create a weekday pattern, with duty assignments for
1 Chef, 1 Assistant, 1 Cashier, 4 Waiters and 1 Host
• Second, the user would create a weekend pattern, with duty assignments
for 1 Chef, 3 Assistants, 1 Cashier, 7 Waiters and 1 Host.
• Third, the user would create a ROTA called Regular Workweek, adding
the required patterns consecutively - weekday, weekday, weekday,
weekday, weekday, weekend, weekend.
• Fourth, the user would go to the planner, select the Regular Workweek
ROTA and then select a time period for the ROTA
In this example we created the ROTA under the assumption that the workweek
will start on Monday. Note that scheduling periods can start on any day.
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Copyright 2012 Kappix Software
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To create a ROTA:
1. In the planner click Manage
2. Click ROTA in the Manage ROTA screen
3. Click New to create a New Pattern
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4. Enter a Name for the Pattern
5. Click OK
6. To define a new duty, click, hold and drag the mouse to select the hours
and specify the Duty Time Slot
7. Click New to create a schedule for that Duty
8. Designate the Start Time and Duration, then designate an employee
(optional) and any notes
Note: Concerning the optional employee designation, a pattern is most
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Copyright 2012 Kappix Software
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useful when assigning a specific employee to the duty (creating and
assigning the duty based on employee availability). However, considering
that there may be cases when it is not clear which employee should/can
be assigned, N/A (Not Assigned) can be used as a placeholder for ROTA
creation and replaced with an appropriate employee at a later time.
9. Click OK
10. Repeat Steps 6 through 9 to create a schedule(s) for additional Duties
11. Click Save to Finalize the Pattern
12. Repeat Steps 3 through 11 to create an additional Pattern(s)
13. Click New on the Manage ROTA screen
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14. Enter a Name for your ROTA
15. Click OK
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Copyright 2012 Kappix Software
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16. Click on a Pattern from the Available Patterns (left column), then click the
> to move it to Selected Pattern (right column)
Note: Each list item on the left side (Available Pattern) represents a single
day. Because each pattern represents a single day, the user can and will
add the same pattern several times consecutively to designate the
different days of the week on the right side (Selected Patterns). In the
window below, 5 “Weekdays” patterns would be moved right, followed by
2 “Weekend” patterns.
17. Click OK to close the ROTA Configuration screen, and you will be
returned to the main Shifts Planner Window (if you are not returned to the
Shift Planner screen, select the Shift Planner tab from the Top Menu)
18. Click ROTA and Navigate to Select your new ROTA
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Copyright 2012 Kappix Software
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19. Enter the parameters for the time period you want to apply the ROTA
-
NOTE: As with the Copy Duties Feature, the source can be any period of
time, from a single day(s) to a single week(s) to a single month(s)), but
again, the Source Period MUST be shorter than the Target Period.
If the ROTA duration does not match the Target Period, DRoster will
repeat the days until it fills the Target Period as follows:
o If the ROTA is an even multiple of the Target Period, the duties will
simply be repeated (for example, if the Source Period is 3 days and
the Target Period is 21 days, DRoster will simply copy the source
duties 7 times (one after the other) into the Target Period).
o If the ROTA is not an even multiple, the duties will be repeated as
appropriate, with the beginning remainder being added (for
example, if the Source Period is 5 days and the Target Period is 13
days, DRoster will copy the source duties twice and then add only
the first 3 days into the Target Period).
20. Click OK
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Copyright 2012 Kappix Software
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ROTA Tips:
• The user can schedule for heavy/light days within the same week by
creating different patterns for each (e.g. “light weekday” and “heavy
weekday”), then varying the patterns in the ROTA to accommodate the
traffic
• DRoster allows the user to apply either a ROTA (collection of patterns) or
an individual Pattern, applying all defined duties regardless of whether or
not they exist, so applying the same ROTA/Pattern more than once will
duplicate the duties for a selected period
For more information, visit our website: http://www.kappix.com/.
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Copyright 2012 Kappix Software
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