Weekly staff schedule from your sales forecast: AI agent prompt
Build next week's shift schedule from staff availability, expected sales and overtime limits, like Toast's Scheduling Agent for restaurants, which Toast says cut overtime hours per employee by 41% in beta.
OperationsStaff schedulingbeginnerWho this is for
Restaurants, retail and clinics building a weekly rota.
Not for
Rotas involving minors or union rules you haven't given the AI.
What you need
Staff availability and hours, last weeks' sales by day, and your staffing rules.
The prompt
Build next week's staff schedule. Staff: [paste: name, role, max hours, availability, hours already worked this pay period]. Expected busy times: [paste: sales by day and hour last few weeks, or your forecast]. Rules: [minimum staff per shift by role, opening/closing needs, overtime starts at X hours]. Give me a day-by-day schedule table, total hours per person, anyone at risk of overtime, and any shift that's under- or over-staffed compared with expected sales. Explain any trade-offs in one or two lines.
Worked example
A fictional business, so you can see what to paste in and what a good answer looks like. The example answer was written with AI help and its numbers and dates were checked; your AI's answer will be worded differently, so check it the same way.
Sample input (what you paste in)
Staff: Ana (max 40h), Ben (max 25h, no Mondays), Chloe (max 30h, weekends only), Dev (max 32h), Ed (max 20h, evenings only). Busy times: Fri-Sat dinner. Rules: 2 people minimum, 3 on Fri/Sat 5-9pm, overtime after 40h.
Example output (illustrative)
| Day | 9-5 | 5-9 | |---|---|---| | Mon | Ana | Ana, Dev | | ... | ... | ... | | Fri | Ana, Ben | Ben, Dev, Ed | | Sat | Chloe, Dev | Ana, Chloe, Ben | Hours: Ana 38, Ben 24, Chloe 22, Dev 30, Ed 16. Overtime risk: Ana (2 hours below the 40h limit). Understaffed: Sunday 5-9pm has only 1 person; add a shift or close early. Trade-off: Ben's Friday day shift keeps Ana under 40h.
Check before you use it: Check every shift against availability and local labour rules before publishing.
How to use it
- Copy the prompt above.
- Replace every [bracket] with your own details (or fill in the blanks on AgentPlaybook Real Estate, which remembers your answers for the next prompt).
- Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and review the answer before you use it.
Works with: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Google Sheets/Excel, Toast IQ, 7shifts, Homebase
Real-world example: nrn.com/restaurant-technology/toast-unveils-an-array-of-new-ai-agents-
Featured in: Free AI agent prompts for small business (beginner-friendly) · AI prompts for Google Sheets and Excel work · AI prompts for restaurants, cafes and food businesses
Before you use it: what to check
Check yourself
- Check hours, breaks, overtime and any rules for young workers against your local labour law and staff contracts before you publish a schedule.
- Remove names, contact details, account numbers and other personal data the task doesn't need before you paste, and check your AI tool's data and training settings.
- Check names, dates, numbers and any claim against your own source material before you use the answer. AI can misread or invent details.
Using an AI agent? Download this prompt as a SKILL.md agent skill with these checks built in, or get the .zip for Claude.ai. How to install skills.
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