Commonly Asked Questions about Staff Scheduler Pro 

Q: How is the Staff Scheduler program Licensed?

A: Staff Scheduler Pro is licensed on a per machine basis. Any number of authorized staff may log on to one machine or network server. If more that one concurrent installation of the software is required for your operation then purchasing additional licenses (please call for volume discounts) are needed for the number of concurrent installations required.

Q: We are installing Staff Scheduler on a Citrix or Microsoft Terminal Server, how many licenses do we need to purchase?

A: For these types of server installations, as is for all software, you will require one license of Staff Scheduler for each and every server Client Access License (CAL) / user that is expected to concurrently use the software.  

Q: How do I activate the Staff Scheduler software? 

A: Start the Staff Scheduler software on your computer, leaving it on the License Activation form. Go to the DBI Staff Scheduler Website at:
https://staff-scheduler.com/  

• Click on the “Order" link in the menu.

• Enter your MID and Site Code from the License Activation form on your computer into the Purchase DBI Staff Scheduler web form. ( You can copy (using the CTRL – C command) and paste (using the CTRL-V command) the MID and Site Code values from the License Activation Form or you can enter the codes manually. )

• Enter your payment information. Submit the purchase request. ( DBI will send you a valid Initialization Code by email)

• When you receive the Initialization code, enter it into the Init Code field beside the Unlock application radio button in the License Activation form on your computer.

For more information please refer to the "Unlock (License)" topic in the User Guide or Online Help.  IMPORTANT: Please make a hard copy backup of the Init code (in a text file or hand written document) for your records. The Init code is used to transfer the license to a new computer from a licensed computer or to remove a license. 

Q: What happens if more than one user is working on the same Schedule Plan simultaneously?

A: Whereas multiple user editing of a schedule plan is not recommended, Staff Scheduler conflict checks based on the data in the database, not on the data loaded into the schedule planner.  Accordingly, as changes occur due to the input of each user, conflicts are reported correctly although they are not reflected in each users screen.  The "Refresh Schedule" action (Alt+Z) located under the View menu in the main menu will refresh the schedule plan with all changes from any user at any time. If multiple user/simultaneous editing of a schedule plan is required, it is highly recommended that each user refresh their schedules as often as possible to insure their display is reflecting the most up-to-date information. 

Q: Is the DBI Staff Scheduler software multi-user?

A: Yes.  The DBI Staff Scheduler software has been designed to run as a stand-alone application (single user connected to a local database) or as a multi-user application, i.e. multiple users connected to a centralized database.

Q: Am I limited to 7 day schedules? 

A: Definitely not!  Schedule plans can be for any number of days.  Normal schedule cycles vary from 1 day to 28 days (or even monthly).  The comprehensive department or organization-wide schedules produced from the schedule plans can be 7 day or 28 day views. Individual schedules can be for any defined period of time (start date to end date).

Q: Do I have to set up and use the Labor Burden functionality in the software?

A: No. If you do not set daily revenue budgets or default wages the budget analysis detail will report N/A for the labor burden.

Q: Do I have to set up and use the Staff Availability functionality?

A: No. If you set the "Conflict Check Employee Availability" check box off in the System form, the software will not conflict check based on Staff Availability, and will not require you set up the availability of each staff member.

Q: Can I set up a coverage requirement and have Staff Scheduler automatically assign personnel to positions/tasks? 

A: The scheduling professional understands the nuances of their organization's scheduling requirements. Once a Master Schedule (or more) has been created Staff Scheduler Pro uses a very powerful "Copy Schedule" feature that allows you to set up a plan (with or without staff assignments) and copy that plan to create a new plan. 

In essence you can create a schedule plan that defines your Position/Task requirements including start and end times and the number of staff required, and use that to create any number of new schedule plans.  Once copied, all you do is drag and drop the staff members onto the time bars. 

NOTE: If your staff remains fairly constant from one schedule to the next, you would create the first schedule including staff assignments and use that plan as the basis for future schedule plans and making adjustments for the exceptions. 

Q: How do I transfer the license from my current computer to a different computer?

A: IMPORTANT: Please make a hard copy backup of the new Init code (in a text file or hand written document) for your records. The Init code is used to transfer the license to a new computer from a licensed computer or to remove a license. For more information please refer to the "Transfer License" topic in the User Guide or Online Help. 

• Install and run the software on the new computer.

• Press the Scroll Lock key on the old computer and run the software.

• When the software starts up the licensing form will appear. Click on the Transfer radio button.

• Enter the original Initialization Code in the Init code field and the site code from the new computer's licensing form into the
  New Site code field in the old computer's licensing form.

• Press the Continue button to obtain the new Init code for the software on the new computer.

• Enter the new Init code into the new computer before pressing the OK button and closing the transfer dialog on the old machine.

Q: How can I determine the number of shifts and average hours per shift worked by a staff member in a given period of time?

A: Using the Staff Hours Report, select Actual or Scheduled hours, enter the start and end dates for the period of time in question, select to Show Staff Detail, DO NOT select Subtotal by Department (uncheck the option), DO NOT select Subtotal by Day (uncheck the option).   The report will have one line for each staff member with the total number of shifts worked and the average hours per shift along with the total number of hours worked in the period.

Q: Do I have to use Experience when filtering for staff availability?

A: No.  The Availability filter is flexible and can be set to include or exclude any of the availability criteria including
Experience.

Q: When assigning a staff member to a time bar, why do I sometimes get a message saying an Actual Hours record was not created?

A: Actual Hours records can only be automatically created if the Actual Hours records for that department on that day have NOT been saved.  Once the Actual Hours records for a Department on a given day have been saved, modifications to the Actual Hours can only be made through the Actual Hours Maintenance interface.  Accordingly, when assigning a staff member to a time bar in a position/task in a department whose Actual Hours have been saved the Actual Hours record must be created manually using the Add Shifts function in the Actual Hours Maintenance interface.

Q: How do I delete an Actual Hours record?

A: If the Actual Hours record was created as the result of a Schedule Time Bar (NOTE: The source column in the Actual Hours record is labeled as "SP"), deleting the time bar will automatically delete the Actual Hours record if the Actual Hours record has not been saved. 

If the Actual Hours record has been saved then the record cannot be deleted, the record must be Cancelled by checking off the Cancelled column in the appropriate record inside the Actual Hours Maintenance form. 

If the Actual Hours record was created by an entry in the "Add Shifts" form from within Actual Hours Maintenance form, the record can be deleted at any time by highlighting it (clicking on it or up/down arrow keys) and pressing the Delete Shift button.