Free staff planning resources

Free Rota Templates and Staff Planning Tools

Download practical rota templates for Excel or Google Sheets. Track exact shift times, calculate hours, check staffing coverage, plan rolling patterns, estimate hospitality labour costs or manage annual leave.

View templates Build a rota online for free

No sign-up needed. Every workbook includes instructions, editable input cells and useful calculations.

Weekly Staff Rota
Staff Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Alex 09–17 09–17 OFF 12–20 12–20 Sam 12–20 OFF 09–17 09–17 09–17 Jordan OFF 12–20 12–20 12–20 OFF Taylor 09–17 09–17 09–17 OFF 12–20
Holiday Planner
Staff Jan Feb Mar Apr May Alex 2 0 4 0 0 Sam 0 3 0 2 0 Jordan 0 0 0 0 5

100% free

Download any workbook individually or grab the complete seven-template pack.

Excel + Google Sheets

The XLSX files can be edited in Microsoft Excel or imported into Google Sheets.

Built to do useful work

Hours, contract variance, coverage gaps, labour cost and leave balances are calculated for you.

Choose a template

Start with the rota format that fits your team.

These are more than blank grids. Each workbook includes an Instructions tab plus formulas, validation or summaries designed around the planning job it is meant to solve.

Flexible shift times

Staff Rota Template

Plan individual shifts using exact start and finish times when your schedule does not fit fixed shift codes.

  • Automatic paid hours and estimated labour cost
  • Contracted vs scheduled hours by employee
  • Daily minimum staffing and coverage-gap checks
Download .xlsx Staff rota guide →

Excel & Google Sheets compatible

Most popular

Weekly Staff Rota Template

A Monday-to-Sunday rota with editable shift codes, automatic paid hours and a weekly staffing dashboard.

  • Editable Early, Day, Late and Night shift definitions
  • Automatic hours, leave days and contract variance
  • Daily coverage checks with understaffing warnings
Download .xlsx Weekly rota guide →

Excel & Google Sheets compatible

Fortnightly planning

Two-Week Staff Rota Template

Plan two complete weeks while keeping a combined view of employee hours and coverage across the fortnight.

  • Separate Week 1 and Week 2 rota tabs
  • Fourteen-day minimum staffing checks
  • Fortnight totals, weekly averages and contract variance
Download .xlsx Staff rota guide →

Excel & Google Sheets compatible

Rolling patterns

Four-Week Rolling Rota Template

Build a repeating four-week shift cycle and review workload and staffing before the pattern starts again.

  • Four reusable weekly rota tabs
  • Coverage checks built into every week
  • Four-week totals and average weekly hours
Download .xlsx Explore rota software →

Excel & Google Sheets compatible

Round-the-clock cover

24/7 Shift Rota Template

Plan early, late and night shifts over fourteen days and check each shift period against your minimum staffing.

  • Editable Early, Late and Night shift times
  • Minimum cover and automatic gap warnings per shift
  • Night-shift, hours and understaffing dashboard
Download .xlsx Care home rotas →

Excel & Google Sheets compatible

Restaurants & venues

Hospitality Rota Template

Plan each hospitality shift by service, employee, role and area, with hours and estimated labour cost calculated automatically.

  • Breakfast, lunch, dinner, bar and event services
  • Automatic shift hours and estimated labour cost
  • Employee and service-level dashboard summaries
Download .xlsx Hospitality rota software →

Excel & Google Sheets compatible

Leave planning

Holiday Planner Template

Manage employee allowances, leave requests, remaining balances and team overlap in one practical workbook.

  • Allowance, carried-forward leave and remaining balance
  • Working-day calculations excluding entered bank holidays
  • Team overlap calendar with over-capacity warnings
Download .xlsx Holiday planner guide →

Excel & Google Sheets compatible

Want all seven?

Download the complete upgraded FlowRota template pack in one ZIP file.

Download all templates

Which should I use?

Pick the simplest template that solves the planning problem.

Template Best for Planning period Useful when
Staff rota Variable shift times 1 week Start and finish times vary and you want hours, cost and daily coverage.
Weekly staff rota Code-based weekly schedules 1 week Your team commonly works reusable Early, Day, Late or Night shift patterns.
Two-week rota Fortnightly planning 2 weeks You want two weeks of coverage plus consolidated employee-hour totals.
Four-week rolling rota Recurring patterns 4 weeks Working patterns repeat in a predictable four-week cycle.
24/7 shift rota Care & continuous operations 14 days You need minimum staffing checks for early, late and night cover.
Hospitality rota Restaurants, bars & venues Shift-by-shift Service, role, area, hours and estimated labour cost matter on each shift.
Holiday planner Annual leave management Ongoing You need allowances, working-day calculations, balances and team-overlap warnings.

Skip the spreadsheet

Prefer to build the rota online?

Use FlowRota's free rota builder when you want to create a staff schedule directly in your browser instead of downloading a spreadsheet first.

Open the free rota builder See FlowRota rota software

Google Sheets

Use any download in Google Sheets.

The files are supplied as XLSX so you can use one download in Microsoft Excel or import it into Google Sheets. Core formulas and editable planning fields are designed to remain usable after import.

Download the XLSX template

Choose the rota format above and save the spreadsheet to your device.

Open Google Sheets

Create or open a spreadsheet and use File → Import → Upload.

Start editing

Replace the example fields with your staff, shifts and dates. The workbook remains editable after import.

Beyond free templates

When the spreadsheet starts creating more work than it saves.

Free templates are useful for straightforward planning. As changes, leave, availability and actual worked hours increase, connected scheduling software can remove the repeated admin around the rota.

Staff rota software Move from spreadsheet planning to one live rota for your team.
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Staff scheduling Drag, drop, duplicate and publish shifts in one scheduling workflow.
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Leave management Replace the separate holiday spreadsheet with requests, allowances and rota-ready decisions.
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Employee timesheets Compare the rota with the hours employees actually worked.
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FlowRota pricing Every FlowRota feature for £1 + VAT per active user each month after the free trial.
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Template questions

Everything you need before downloading.

Are the rota templates free?

Yes. You can download and use the templates on this page without paying or creating a FlowRota account.

Can I use them in Google Sheets?

Yes. Download the XLSX file and import it into Google Sheets. Using one XLSX format means the same template works in Excel and Google Sheets.

Can I change the columns, staff names and shift times?

Yes. Yellow input cells are intended to be edited. You can change employee details, shift definitions, staffing requirements, rates and other planning inputs while the calculated cells and dashboards update from them.

Which rota template should I start with?

Choose the Staff Rota Template if shifts use different start and finish times. Choose the Weekly Staff Rota if you prefer reusable shift codes. The Two-Week and Four-Week versions suit longer planning cycles, while the 24/7, Hospitality and Holiday templates solve more specialised jobs.

Can I build a rota without downloading anything?

Yes. Use FlowRota's free online rota builder to create a schedule directly in your browser.

What if spreadsheets are becoming difficult to manage?

FlowRota brings rota planning, staff availability, leave, clock-ins and timesheets together. See the staff rota software page for the full workflow.

Start planning

Download a template or build your rota online.

Use the free spreadsheets for a simple starting point, or open FlowRota's free rota builder when you want to start scheduling immediately.

Browse free templates Build a rota online for free