Frequently asked questions
How do I install ShiftPlanner?
For iPhone (Safari)
- On your mobile go to the login page
- Find the share icon at the bottom.
- Select:
- Click 'Add'
- The web app is now on you home screen.
For Android (Chrome)
- On your mobile go to the login page
- In the menu, navigate to Settings
- Select 'Install app' or 'Add to home screen'
- Click 'Add'
- The web app is now on you home screen.
For Samsung browsers
- On your mobile go to the login page
- Click on the menu icon in the bottom-right corner
- Click 'Add page to'
- Click 'Homescreen' and then 'Add'
- The web app is now on you home screen.
For Firefox browsers
- On your mobile go to the login page
- From the menu at the bottom, choose Settings
- Select 'Install app' or 'Add to home screen'
- Click 'Add automatically'
- The web app is now on you home screen.
Why can't I log in?
If you have problems logging in, you may be using an outdated version of your browser. Please try using a different browser, such as: Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge..
Why do you get the message 'Access token expired!'?
Access tokens expire 7 days after setup. If your access token has expired, you will need to log in with your username and password. Don’t worry if you have forgotten you password; you can always have it re-sent to you. Just go to your organization’s login page and click the link to I've forgotton my login details.
I have forgotten/never received my password. How do I retrieve it?
If you have already logged in and you want to change your password you can do so by navigating to My Page and then My Profile by selecting your profile picture. Click on the 'Password' tab and enter you new password.
How do I save my password? (iPhone/iPad & Android)
Auto-filling passwords is a functionality provided by the browser itself. Please refer to the instructions below.
To auto-fill a saved username and password, tap the login field. Select 'Passwords' and choose the appropriate credentials from the list.
If this option is not shown for you:
- Go to 'Settings' and select 'Safari'.
- Click 'Fill in automatically'.
- Turn on 'Names and passwords'.
If you forgot to save your password when prompted, the browser will not ask you again. However, you can delete these settings for specific webisites, which will return the password prompt. To do this.
- Open Chrome.
- Go to 'Settings'.
- Search for 'Save passwords'.
- Search for 'shiftplanner.org' amongst your saved passwords.
- Delete any settings for this page.
Can I swap a shifts instead of transferring it?
Transferring a shift is more or less the same as swapping. When swapping a shift, you should already know who wants to take it over. At the same time, you need to be willing and able to take over the other person's shift. This can be quite difficult to organize. When transferring a shift, however, there is a greater degree of flexibility.
At ShiftPlanner, we don't offer the option to swap shifts as we think it overcomplicates matters. We want to keep it as simple as possible and we think that a transfer is the easiest way to arrange last-minute cover.
Can specify my availability and holidays?
No, we have offered this feature in the past, but it proved ineffective in practice because people often forget to update it.
Although volunteers sometimes set their availability, it changes over time and people forget to make these updates into the ShiftPlanner. This is also true for holiday shifts; people do give the holiday but forget to update it if the date changes or does not go ahead.
Since volunteers usually assign themselves for shifts, they do not do so during their holidays. In the end, this option caused more inconvenience than convenience, so we decided to remove this feature.
Why do emails from ShiftPlanner end up in my junk folder?
Each mail provider (Google, Apple, Microsoft) has its own settings for spam filters and these filters are also updated each time. If the mail is opened, replied to, removed from the spam box or marked as important then the spam filters learn from this. But if the mail is deleted without reading or worse if the mail is flagged as spam then they also learn from this. This determines the ranking of a mail server.
If you notice that an email has been mistakenly marked as spam, you can remove this label. This helps your provider learn that emails from ShiftPlanner are not spam. Adding the sender’s address to your contacts can also help ensure that future emails go directly to your Inbox.
Gmail
- Open the Gmail-app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Click left-right on the menu ☰ and then Spam.
- Select the message that is not spam.
- Click on more ︙ and then No spam.
Apple
- Open op uw iPhone of iPad het bericht in de map 'Reclame', tik op de knop 'Verplaats naar map' onderaan het scherm en tik op 'Inkomend' om het bericht te verplaatsen.
- Op een Mac selecteert u het bericht in de map 'Ongewenste reclame' en klikt u in de knoppenbalk op de knop 'Geen reclame'.
- Op iCloud klikt u op de map 'Reclame' in de navigatiekolom. Selecteer het bericht en klik vervolgens op 'Geen reclame' bovenaan het berichtvenster.
Outlook
- Select in the reading pane, or open the message or messages you wish to classify as junk.
- On the Home tab, click Junk, then click Not Junk or mark as Not Junk.
In other email clients, move the message from the 'Unwanted advertising' folder to the 'Incoming' mailbox.
Is it possible to print off information, such as shift data, from the site?
Yes. Our application has been designed in such a way that if you try to print off a page, you should automatically get a print-friendly version. If, for example, you ‘make a selection’ from the Shifts page, you can then download that information in a convenient, print-friendly format.
Second option: You can also export this data and sort, filter and print it offline in a spreadsheet.
Why can someone else log in using my name?
Access tokens make ShiftPlanner more user-friendly. If someone else has managed to log in to the platform under your name, then this could be because you have inadvertently forwarded an email with your personal access token included. Make sure to always remove such links if forwarding emails to a friend or colleague.
Account management and administration
Is ShiftPlanner free?
ShiftPlanner is free to use for the first year for up to 300 people and 1000 shifts. After that, you can opt to upgrade, which will provide you with a range of enhanced features.
Please note that your account will not be automatically upgraded after the first year. You will have to do this manually. There is, of course, no obligation to continue with ShiftPlanner if you prefer not to upgrade.
What is a Corporate account?
Keep your roster on-brand with a Corporate account. This will allow your roster to maintain the same ‘look and feel’ as your other branded content, which will make it recognizable and familiar to your users. We will update the background, logo and colour theme to align with your organization’s needs.
We will also edit the footer in consultation with your organization so that it features all the necessary links and information. In addition, you’ll be able to work across multiple locations and assign an unlimited number of shifts, groups and/or volunteers. You will also have access to email and telephone support, should you have any questions.I want to close my account account. How do I do that?
You can close your account at any time by going to Management » Settings » General settings » Tab: Delete account. Make sure to delete the account before it lapses to avoid getting another invoice.
Do I need permission to put personal data into ShiftPlanner?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ame into force in Europe on Friday, 25 May 2018. Organizations processing personal data must now demonstrate that they are GDPR-compliant, which requires the organization to apply greater scrutiny of its data collection and management processes.
Importing names and contact details into ShiftPlanner, however, does not require permission. According to the General Data Protection Authority (GDPR), our system remains compliant with GDPR as the data is only accessible to a limited and select group of individuals via login.
Read more about our privacy statement
Can I also stay logged in with multiple accounts?
If you want to be logged in with two or more accounts at the same time, there are two solutions.
- For another account, launch another browser e.g. Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Edge. Then you can get a separate login session.
- You can also log in via our Dutch domain Inzetrooster which also gives you a separate session. You can switch between English and Dutch at the very bottom of the page.
Why are my personal details also entered by other people?
Sometimes browsers (Edge, Chrome, Safari and Firefox) want to fill in the data automatically. In that case, empty fields may be filled in with your personal data. Autofill is recommended only for private computers and can be turned off via the steps below:
Microsoft Egde
- Find the three dot (...) in the top right corner of the browser
- Select 'Settings' and scroll down and then click 'Show advanced settings'.
- Under 'Privacy and services', click the blue switch to disable autofill.
Google Chrome
- Find the three dot (...) in the top right corner of the browser
- Choose 'Settings' and look for the 'Auto-fill' settings.
- Disable the desired options here that you prefer not to use.
Apple Safari
- Select the 'Preferences' option from the menu bar
- Open the 'Forms' tab
- Disable the desired options here that you prefer not to use.
Firefox
- Click the menu button and select 'Settings'.
- Click on the 'Privacy & Security' panel and scroll down to the 'Forms' and auto-fill section.
- Disable the desired options here that you prefer not to use.
Can we also send the messages via Whatsapp?
It is very difficult to send “bulk” messages such as reminders and assign requests via Whatsapp
That is officially not allowed and is considered spam.
You can only send a message if the person also has the sender's phone number in their address book.
So then the users must first create a contact in their smartphone with a special 06 number which ShiftPlanner must send on behalf of your organization.
Moreover, you cannot check if the person has put the number in his address book.
Can I use ShiftPlanner to send out newsletters?
Can I set up a shift to run over two days?
To prevent someone from assigning for an overlapping shift, ShiftPlanner automatically checks the roster to ensure that said individual does not have another shift during that time. For this reason, you can only set up a shift that runs into the next day if the end time on the second day is earlier than the start time on the first day.
If you have a shift that runs into the next day, you will see this icon appear beside the time.
Can you also add a task instead of a shift?
Shiftplanner organizes shifts instead of tasks. At first glance, the two seem similar. A shift with an end time is already a task, right? Not quite, a shift has a start time and end time to the minute and an expected duration. A task has no start time or duration, and sometimes an end time.
Usually you decide when to do a task (partially). Together they are part of the planning but are so different that it is difficult to bring them together in Shiftplanner.
In a spreadsheet, how can I split the full name in one column into first name and last name?
In Shiftplanner, first name and last name are required fields. The insertion is optional. If you have one column that contains the full name then the column must be split into first name, middle name and last name.
Select the column that contains the full name. Then choose 'Data' -> 'Text to Columns' and choose the space as the separator.
The annoying thing is that some names do have a prefix and others do not, or sometimes multiple prefixes. Unfortunately, this cannot be solved. With this option, at least most names will be split and adjustments will have to be made manually as well.
More info: Support page Microsoft
Why is it better to use a CSV instead of an XLSX file when importing or updating services.
When importing date, start and end time, the values may not be processed properly. Due to the different spreadsheet programmes, each with their own peculiarities. We therefore recommend saving the Excel file (.xlsx) as CSV (Comma delimited).
Goto File > Save As. In the dialogue box, select the desired file type format -> CSV (Comma-delimited).
How do I calculate the number of hours that someone has done in a spreadsheet?
If you have downloaded shift data from the Overviews section, then you will notice that all column fields are classified as 'text'. To calculate the number of hours that someone has done, you must first reclassify the data as ‘time’. This can be done by going to the main menu and selecting Formatting -> Cells. You can then choose the correct formatting code.
The explanation above is based on the free LibreOffice packages. Excel has a similar solution.
Then you have to convert the columns from text
to time
, via the main menu Data -> Columns to text.