Scheduling, swaps, time off, people and billing — the things that come up most.
Scheduling & shifts
Where do I see my shifts?Your home page shows this week's shifts as soon as you log in. Only published shifts show up there — a draft week is still being built and isn't visible to you yet.
What's the difference between a draft and a published week?A manager or admin builds the week as a draft first, then publishes it when it's ready. Nothing on a draft week is visible to employees, and nothing on it is final until it's published.
What does "Open shift" mean?A shift with nobody assigned yet. Anyone eligible in that department can claim it — see "How do I claim an open shift?" below.
Why can't I be assigned to a shift I should be able to work?The schedule blocks an assignment that would break a hard rule — most commonly less than 11 hours' rest since your last shift (the EU rest-hours rule), or a shift outside a department you work in. The error message names the specific rule.
Shift swaps
How do I offer my shift to someone else?Open the shift and offer it — either to one named colleague, or open to your whole team. Only the person currently assigned to a published shift can offer it.
How do I claim an open shift or a shift offered to the team?It shows up on the open shift board. Claiming it is a request, not automatic — a manager or admin still has to approve it before it's yours.
Why was my swap blocked instead of just warned about?Some rules are hard blocks and can't be overridden by anyone — mainly the 11-hour rest rule. Others (like going over your contracted hours) are warnings a manager can still accept. The message tells you which one it is.
Who has to approve a swap?Your manager or company admin. You'll get a notification either way once they decide.
Time off
How do I request time off?From the time off page, pick a type (holiday, sick, unpaid or parental), a date range, and optionally a reason. It goes to your manager or admin as a pending request.
Who approves time off?Whoever manages your department — your manager, or the company admin. You're notified as soon as they approve or deny it.
Can I cancel a request I already sent?Not once it's been decided. If it's still pending, ask whoever approves your leave to deny it, then send a new request if you need to.
People & departments
What's the difference between a manager and a company admin?A company admin (owner) can do anything in the account — billing, settings, every department. A manager runs their own department: building its schedule, approving its swaps and leave, and managing its people.
Can one person work in more than one department?Yes. Someone has one primary department (which decides who manages them), plus any number of additional departments they can also be scheduled into — set from their profile in People.
How do I invite someone to the team?From People, invite them by email and pick their role and department. They get a link to set their own password — nobody else ever sees or sets it for them.
How do I remove someone?From People, remove them. This deletes their account for good — it can't be undone. Any shifts they were on stay on the schedule as open shifts rather than disappearing.
Notifications
What triggers a notification?A shift being published, a swap being offered to you or decided, and a leave request being decided — those are the events that notify you today.
Can I choose which notifications I get?Whether email is used alongside in-app notifications is a company-wide setting your admin controls, not a per-person preference.
Account & security
How do I change my name, photo or password?From your profile, in the menu under your name — you can update your details and password, and see (or sign out) any other device you're logged into.
I forgot my password — can I reset it myself?There's no self-service reset yet. Ask whoever manages your account to help you back in.
Billing & plans
How is helloswap priced?Per active person on the account, per month — you're billed for the people you actually schedule, nothing else. Removing someone lowers your seat count automatically.
Can I change plans?Yes, any time, from Billing. Upgrades apply immediately; downgrades take effect at your next renewal.
Who can see or change billing?Only the company admin. Managers and employees don't have access to billing.