November, December and January are usually hectic months in the restaurant world. Without proper preparation for the increased traffic and inevitable scheduling conflicts that will occur, these next two months will be stressful. It is up to you to see if the mark the holidays leave on your restaurant is a negative or positive one. Here are three ways to prepare your restaurant for the holiday rush.
Topics: Tips & Ideas, Product Updates
Achieve World Class Communication, Like the World Champion Kansas City Royals
ShiftNote’s headquarters are located in the Kansas City metro, so you can imagine how insane the home office has been with the Royals winning the World Series! The Royals win is changing how baseball is played and a lot of that is due to the outstanding communication the team has.
Topics: Shift Management, Tips & Ideas
The following article is a guest post by Tim Sunderland and our friends over at NetWaiter.
Raising prices isn’t the only way for a restaurant to increase sales. There are plenty of strategies you can take to reduce costs and attract more customers. Read on for six things you can do to increase restaurant sales without charging your customers more.
Topics: Industry News
ShiftNote Summer 2015 Release Notes: Make Scheduling Even Easier
Our code ninjas have been hard at work improving ShiftNote Scheduling! They listened to your feedback about what you would like to see and have been training hard to make Scheduling a more awesome and efficient experience. We are ready to release the following new features to enhance your Scheduling capability.
Topics: Employee Scheduling, Product Updates
We’ve been hard at work listening to your requests. And, we just finished developing a new employee mobile site. We have made it easier to view your schedule, pickup open shifts, communicate with your mangers, and request time off through your mobile device. We will
Topics: Product Updates
Welcome Home! Introducing the redesigned ShiftNote app home page
As some of you might have noticed, we recently overhauled the ShiftNote home page (the first page you see after signing into ShiftNote on your computer.) It is available to all management level users, and you can currently switch back and forth between the old and new
Topics: Product Updates
We're throwing in the towel and will no longer be supporting the web browser Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) and older versions. As the web continues to evolve, older browsers simply cannot support many of the technologies needed to provide a fast and user friendlyexperience for
Topics: browser support, ie7, Support, support
New Features - Welcome Sheets, Last Year's Weather, and Mobile Uploads
There are a couple of new features we'd love to share with you all! We've been hard at work listening to your requests, and have implemented a few of them. We also have many big things on the horizon, this year is going to be very exciting! But for now, let's get to what's new!
Topics: Product Updates
The Daily Report has always been an important piece of ShiftNote, allowing users to get a summary of log notes, stats, events and weather from the previous day. Previously, you could only receive the information in the Daily Report once the day's shifts had ended. We havenow introduced a
Topics: daily report, post-shift, pre-shift, staff roster, Product Updates
New Feature - Automatically Add Holidays To Your Calendar
We recently added a new feature to all ShiftNote accounts that will allow the calendar to automatically show holidays for the US and Canada. This means you no longer have to go in and manually add them to your calendar. Holidays can definitely impact business, and we wanted to
Topics: event calendar, holiday calendar, Product Updates
On Tuesday, January 14th, 2014, we will be releasing an updated version of our employee scheduling tool to all users. Over the past year, we've met with hundreds of customers to see how they use the existing tools and have listened to amazing feedback on changes we needed to
Topics: Employee Scheduling, Product Updates
How Not To Run Your Shift Like Peyton Manning (Tips for an effective restaurant pre-shift)
There is no arguing that Peyton Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game of football. He confirmed his place in history this weekend, setting the record for the most scoring throws in a season at 51 against the Houston, Texans. His no huddle offense is extremely effective in leading his team to victory, as he's able to quickly call plays without having a discussion with his team
Topics: Tips & Ideas
We're so excited, and we just can't hide it! The ShiftNote Team has had a fantastic 2013 and we owe it all to our amazing customers. We decided to put together a little video to show our excitement and thanks.
Topics: Just For Fun
It's the most wonderful time of the year! Well maybe for some, but for those that manage and work at restaurants, the holidays can be a very busy and stressful time. We came up with a list of tips and helpful suggestions that will help restaurant staff prepare ahead of time for the
Topics: holiday tips, restaurant holiday tips, restaurant operations, Tips & Ideas
At ShiftNote, we have some of the coolest and most amazing clients there are. The type of companies using ShiftNote to help with their daily operations vary, and are located all over the world! Some of those businesses include restaurants, bowling alleys, country clubs, churches, pr agencies, resorts and hotels, and
Topics: brewery management, craft beer, Industry News
For those using the ShiftNote Scheduler, we've now made it easier to swap shifts between employees, and also to specify where an employee might be working within your business.
Topics: Employee Scheduling
New Feature Friday: Bulletin Board Notification Settings, Schedule Printing and More Reporting
Topics: Employee Scheduling, Product Updates
New Features for Employees - Calendar, Messaging, and Setting Availability
We've got some big updates for you this week! Employees can now see specific events on the ShiftNote calendar, they can send and receive messages from management, and they can set their own availability (if management allows it). These features are available if you have either
Topics: Employee Scheduling, Product Updates
Need some inspiration or new ideas? Or want to keep up with what's going on in the industry? These 7 restaurant industry experts are thought leaders and power Twitter users, and thus worthy of a follow. Whether you're a restaurant owner, looking to open a restaurant, or just want to know what's going on in the industry, these guys and gals have it going on.
Topics: Tips & Ideas
Access Permissions on Calendar & Daily Log Categories and Stat Sections
Do you have content in your ShiftNote account that you only want certain users to see? After many requests from existing ShiftNote customers, we have implemented a way to hide certain content areas in ShiftNote for specific users. Before the enhancement, all ShiftNote
Topics: Product Updates
After a brief discussion on the origin of the word "tip," I was instantly curious as to how and when the process of leaving a tip began. And so I put together an infographic on the history of tipping. Enjoy!
Topics: history of tipping, infographic, Just For Fun
Day View, New Template Design, and Auto Scheduling Enhancements Added
Three big enhancements were added to the ShiftNote scheduling tools this week to continue our mission of creating the best employee scheduling tools in the world for restaurants, retail stores, hotels, and more! As always, shoot us a note if there is a feature you would like to
Topics: auto scheduling, Employee Scheduling, employee scheduling, new features, Product Updates
Another Round of New Features Added to Our Scheduling Software
As we continue our mission to make the best scheduling software available, we've added a handful of new features that will make your life much easier! We will continue to release new features as fast as we can build them, and always welcome your thoughts and ideas on how we
Topics: Employee Scheduling, employee scheduling software, new features, News, scheduling software, Product Updates
New feature alert! The ShiftNote employee scheduling tools now includes a color coding option so that it's easier to distinguish different positions when building a schedule. To choose colors for each position, go to Schedules > Settings > Manage Positions. Then select
Topics: color coding, Employee Scheduling, employee scheduling, employee scheduling tools, Product Updates
Social media can be an easy and inexpensive way to bring new customers to your restaurant. One social media outlet that is extremely effective for restaurants is Instagram, a photo sharing app for your mobile phone. Instagram is even more effective when it is tied to your Facebook
Topics: food pictures, foodporn, restaurant marketing tips, restaurants and instagram, Tips & Ideas
The Affordable Care Act includes a plethora of new regulations, employer requirements, and potential penalties for employers that have group health plans. Almost from the moment it passed, many pundits suggested that frustrated employers should simply eliminate their group health plan and pay the penalty which they predicted would be cheaper than the cost of their current health plan. As we
Topics: health plan, healthcare reform, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, PPACA, Tips & Ideas
We're in the home stretch! Day 4 of the NRA Show was a little hectic in the morning, but things smoothed out and the day turned out great. We had a lot of traffic in the booth and enjoyed visits by ShiftNote users from Jack Stack BBQ, The Original Pancake House, Fresh Brother's
Topics: Industry News, national restaurant association show, nra show, nrashow
The third day for the ShiftNote team, 2nd day for attendees, of the National Restaurant Association Show has been crazy!!! Crazy good of course. I would have to think that today is going to be the busiest day of the show. We had people streaming into the ShiftNote booth left and
Topics: Industry News, national restaurant association show, nra show, nrashow
We've had another fantastic day at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. Today marks day 1 for attendees of the show, but day 2 for the ShiftNote team. We came to the convention center bright and early to finish off the final touches of our display. And as soon as the
Topics: Industry News, national restaurant association show, nra show, nrashow
We made it through day 1! The whole team arrived in one piece to Chicago. I've been to Chicago many times, but this is my first ever National Restaurant Association Show. Several of the ShiftNote team members have been before, so they're helping me to prepare for what
Topics: Industry News, nation restaurant association show, nra show, nrashow, shiftnote booth
New Feature - Setting Overtime to Manage the Risk of Pay or Play Penalties
We've added a new feature to the ShiftNote employee scheduling tool which will help managers to set overtime to manage the risk of Pay or Play Penalties. Currently managers could select from 40 or 50 hours worked in a week to be considered overtime, but we have added an
Topics: Employee Scheduling, employee scheduling software, new feature, overtime, pay or play penalties, PPACA, Product Updates
ShiftNote is heading to Chicago May 18th-21st for the National Restaurant Association Show 2013 or NRA Show - not to be confused with the National Rifle Association. That's cool if you're down with that, but we're more into food and stuff.
Topics: Just For Fun, national restaurant association show, nra show, nrashow, shiftnote, tradeshow
Are you a current user of our employee scheduling software? If so, we've got new features!
New to our scheduling notification options, is the option to be alerted via text message about shift changes or pending shift requests. Previously employees were notified via email about open shifts, approved or denied requests, and schedule changes. Now they have the option to
Topics: Employee Scheduling, employee scheduling text alerts, text alerts, text notifications, Product Updates
There are now multiple currency options for individual locations in each ShiftNote account. The currency format used to show as United States Dollars in the Stats section of the Daily Log, and you can now choose between the Pound, Riyal, or Australian Dollar.
Topics: currency, currency display, Product Updates
So …What Are You Doing to Manage Your Talent?
Please, Don’t Say Nothing!
There is perhaps no bigger global brand than McDonald’s. For billions
Topics: mcdonalds talent management, talent management, Tips & Ideas
We are so very excited to announce that we have released a new add-on product for the ShiftNote Digital Logbook that is going to make your life as a manager so much easier! Our employee scheduling software will allow you to create and edit schedules right from your ShiftNote
Topics: Employee Scheduling, employee scheduling software, Featured, online employee scheduling, schedule employees online
As we have already learned, large employers under PPACA may be subject to a new “Pay or Play” penalty. These potential penalties only apply to employers with 50 or more Full-Time Equivalent employees. While part-time employees will count against employers when determining whether they are subject to these penalties part-time employees do not count when
Topics: healthcare, PPACA, Tips & Ideas
Healthcare Reform includes several provisions that apply to all groups, regardless of their size. One of the most important provisions for the food service industry is the new non-discrimination rules. Included in the PPACA requirements was the expansion of existing non-discrimination rules to small, fully-insured groups. These rules will have limited impact in some industries, but will have a significant
Topics: healthcare, PPACA, Tips & Ideas
The ShiftNote team has been working hard on some much needed site updates. We have completely redesigned the Admin Area and have added in some exciting new features as well. You can access the beta version of the fully functional new Admin Area by clicking on the Admin
Topics: ShiftNote Update, software update, Product Updates
PPACA has been a very perplexing challenge for employers and their consultants since its passage in 2008. Simply by its size it created confusion and frustration for those who tried to grasp its many complex provisions and requirements. Since it dealt with nearly all aspects of our healthcare system, the interaction of each section and ultimately how employers, employees, carriers and healthcare
Topics: healthcare, PPACA, Tips & Ideas
We are experiencing some networking issues due to our web hosting service with RackSpace, which is causing slower than normal load times. We are working on the issue and hope to have it resolved as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Topics: Product Updates
In the previous articles we explained that the size of your workforce will be a key determinant in how troublesome your compliance will be under PPACA. If you have over 50 full-time equivalent employees you will be subject to potential Pay or Play penalties which could cost you tens of thousands of dollars. While this sounds scary, one of the unique aspects of PPACA provides an
Topics: Tips & Ideas
Would your restaurant benefit from a PR agency’s expertise?
As a public relations professional, agency life affords a wide variety of experiences. During my years in the field, I've had the opportunity to work with clients from high-profile restaurants, to award-winning breweries and nationally-recognized pizzerias. Though the services vary and are customized based on each clients’ needs, one thing remains constant: hiring the right public relations agency to
Topics: restaurant pr, restaurant public relations, Tips & Ideas
On a day where it is tradition to tell the ones you love that you care about them - we wanted to give a quick shout out to all those who use ShiftNote (and those thinking about it), and say....
Topics: Just For Fun, love, Valentine's Day
PPACA Series: Ten new words you’ll need to know to understand healthcare reform
Now that the chaos of court challenges and the election have subsided it’s time to get down to the task of living with PPACA. Some industries will have little problem with complying with the new healthcare reform rules, while other businesses (like restaurants) will see a quantum shift in how they run their operation. Those that adapt the quickest will be the winners.
Topics: benefits, healthcare, healthcare reform, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, PPACA, Tips & Ideas
Understanding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)
I have been asked by ShiftNote to write a periodic blog series regarding healthcare reform. At first I was skeptical, while I had been working on healthcare reform issues and their impact on my clients I didn't know if this format would work for such a complex subject matter. I have been a health benefit consultant for over 30 years and have been focused on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Topics: benefits, healthcare, healthcare reform, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, PPACA, Tips & Ideas
We've entered an age in which many restaurant goers will do a web search for specific eateries before taking the plunge to visit them in real life. Having a well designed, easy to navigate, and informative website is going to help give potential patrons the push they need to come dine
Topics: awesome restaurant websites, Just For Fun, restaurant website designs, restaurant websites
I've always been interested in the history of how things came to be, and since we've been doing a lot of fast food trivia lately for Trivia Friday on Facebook and Twitter, I decided it would be fun to put together a history of fast food infographic. It was hard to include every notable event that has occurred, so if you see something I've missed, please feel free to add
Topics: fast food history, fast food infographic, fast food trivia, history of fast food, Just For Fun
We're pleased to announce that we have reached 14 million managers logbook user entries to date! In 2012 we had just over 5 million entries entered by managers, owners and other employees. The number of entries in the ShiftNote daily log has doubled almost every year since formation in 2002. We're very excited about continuing this growth into 2013, and we have some pretty exciting new features that we will be
Topics: announcement, Industry News, milestone
ShiftNote is a useful online log book that many of you sign into each day to log notes and communicate with team members. So we thought it might be nice to point out some tips and ideas that you might not be aware of to help you better manage your workforce and save time and
Topics: shiftnote digital logbook, shiftnote features, shiftnote tips, Tips & Ideas
During the past few years, a new breed of consumer has been fast growing - those that prefer quality over quantity, and locally sourced over mass produced. The top two menu trends for 2013 as stated by the National Restaurant Association are locally produced meats and seafood, and locally grown
Topics: craft beer, draft beer, Industry News, micro brewery
ShiftNote is an amazing communication tool for workforce management that will help save you time and money. You know it, we know it - but what about your team? A tool like ShiftNote will work best if your entire team is on board, as the saying goes, there's no I in team. So how do
Topics: Tips & Ideas
We've made a minor update to both the Home and Search sections of ShiftNote to make communicating with your team even easier! Before the update you could see entries that were unread or that were filtered based on a search, but you could not see the entire conversation thread that resulted from that entry.
Topics: Product Updates
We're so happy to introduce the ShiftNote mobile website, 2.0! We've completely redesigned the entire mobile version of ShiftNote, so that it is faster, easier to use, and loaded with most of the same great features available on the regular website. This includes viewing unread entries in the daily log, replying to and
Topics: Product Updates
Tell us that you love us on Twitter, Facebook, and/or comment below, for a chance to win a beautiful new ShiftNote t-shirt! You've got until next Friday, the 12th to enter. We will pick 5 winners at random, and mail you out a shirt. If you give us love on all three websites - Twitter, Facebook and this
Topics: contest, giveaway, t-shirt, Product Updates
Saving money is at the top of everyone's to-do list! When you're running a business, it's especially important to run as efficiently as possible and save costs wherever you can to maximize profits. It can be difficult to find ways to cut cost when you are trying to please customers and employees alike. To come up with the best money saving ideas for
Topics: cost cutting for restaurants, money saving tips, tips for restaurant owners, Tips & Ideas
Currently ShiftNote users are unable to reply from a log post in the Daily Report email. This is because of a third party DNS issue, and unfortunately we do not have a time line on when this should be fixed. We apologize for the inconvenience and will continue to monitor the situation. In the meantime, you can still reply to log posts by going directly to the ShiftNote website.
Topics: Product Updates
Accountability, Cash Count and More - New Features This Week
We've added some brand new features to all ShiftNote accounts that will help keep your team on track and accountable for the things that are going on in your business. With our new tools, you can show that you've read your team member's notes, and in return see who has read
Topics: Product Updates
There's no denying that the boom of the smartphone age is changing the way we live and do business. More than 80% of smartphone owners are using their phones to access the web, yet only 4.8% of retailers have a mobile based specific website. 80% of people will search for a
Topics: mobile app ideas, mobile apps for restaurants, Tips & Ideas
Whether you're a part of a restaurant or retail store, your staff is the face of your business. Staff that is happy, knowledgeable about your products, and eager to please the customers, will ultimately result in increased sales and customer satisfaction. A great way to get your staff
Topics: contest ideas, happy employees, increase sales, making work fun, Tips & Ideas
We had an outage last night between 11:33 pm and 12:12 am CST. The outage was caused by a issue our hosting company had at one of their data centers. Here is what our hosting company said:
At approximately 12:33AM ET we experienced a power failure in our Newark, Delaware DC4 datacenter where possibly some of your infrastructure is located or services hosted. The power
Topics: Support
Browsers We Support
- Internet Explorer 9+ to latest stable version
- Firefox – 3.6+ to latest stable version
- Chrome – 1+ to latest stable version
Topics: Support
We've added a few new features to ShiftNote this month, including the long awaited - announcements! Now you can post a note to the daily log that is not specific to one day. The message can span multiple days as specified, and can also be shown as a popup message when you
Topics: announcement, new features, Product Updates, updates
We're very excited to announce some updates and enhancements to the ShiftNote website, as well as some features within the software itself. We decided that we were in need of a design overhaul in order to better convey our messaging, and to help better support new and
Topics: design overhaul, enhancements, shiftnote, software update, Product Updates
We've recently added in event color coding to the ShiftNote Calendar! Now you can more easily track important events by quickly scanning. The colors will automatically show up when you add an event to your calendar and select an event category. If you have suggestions or ideas to make ShiftNote better, please share them with us! We're always looking for ways to make the best product possible to
Topics: calendar, changes, event color coding, new features, shiftnote, Product Updates, updates