For pharmacies

Pharmacy rota software: a pharmacist on every opening hour, in every branch

A pharmacy cannot open its doors without a pharmacist on the premises, so the pharmacist row of the rota is the one that matters: in every branch, on the late night and on Saturday. InShift keeps all the branches on one screen, shows where the relief pharmacist and the locum are needed, offers an uncovered day to every pharmacist in the network at once, and gives each branch its own dispensers and counter staff on the same rota.

Start for freeSee the screens ↓

Seven branches, seven pharmacist rows, and one person who covers the gaps

A chain of seven branches opens each of them from half past eight to half past six, with a late night until eight on Thursday and a shorter Saturday. Every opening hour in every branch needs a pharmacist, and the rest of the team is built around that row: two dispensers, a technician, two counter assistants and a branch manager who is often one of the dispensers. Each branch pharmacist has a day off in the week, a relief pharmacist covers those days across the chain, a locum fills what the relief cannot, and the area manager spends the week on the road between the seven.

The failures are always in the pharmacist row. A branch finds out at twenty past eight that its pharmacist is off sick, rings the relief, who is already in another branch, and rings the locum agency while the queue forms outside. The relief pharmacist is pencilled into two branches on the same Thursday by two different branch managers. Saturday cover is agreed by text and forgotten. And the hours of the counter staff are written in a diary in each branch, so head office learns the cost of the late night a month later.

Below is how a chain of seven looks in InShift: every branch on one screen with its pharmacist row, the week of one branch as a table, an uncovered day offered to the whole network in one move, and the area manager’s team in their pocket.

Branches

Seven branches on one screen, and the pharmacist row of each is the first thing you see

“All locations” shows every branch as a block: its week, its people in rows, and how many are on shift today. The area manager reads the pharmacist rows across the chain on Monday morning; a branch manager opens their own branch and nothing else. The relief pharmacist is one person who is switched to “Also works at other locations”, so their shifts sit in whichever branch they cover that day, and a day pencilled into two branches at the same time is flagged as a “Time conflict” before it is published.

  • “All locations” or one branch; “Week”, “Month”, “Year” and “List” views
  • The relief pharmacist: “Also works at other locations”, one person, shifts in the branch they cover
  • “Print all locations” for the branch noticeboards, “Download Excel” for head office
  • Two shifts at the same time for one person are flagged as a “Time conflict”
The admin panel screen by screen

The week of one branch: the pharmacist rows first, the rest around them

Open Monday to Saturday, late night on Thursday. One code per shift type, the way the planner colours them.

WhoMonTueWedThuFriSat
PharmacistDDDDD·
Relief···L·S
Dispenser 1DDD·DS
Dispenser 2·DDLDS
TechnicianDD·DD·
Counter 1D·DDDS
Counter 2·DDL·S

D is “Day 08:30–18:30”, L is “Late 11:00–20:00”, a type that exists on Thursday only, S is “Saturday 09:00–17:00”. Every opening hour has a pharmacist: the branch pharmacist Monday to Friday, the relief pharmacist on the Thursday late and on Saturday, a locum on the list for the weeks when either is on holiday. The relief pharmacist’s other days are in the other six branches, on the same person’s row.

Cover

An uncovered day is offered to every pharmacist in the network before the agency is called

When the branch pharmacist goes off sick, the day becomes an “Open shift”: the manager picks the branch, the “Position”, the “Shift type” and the “Days”, sets “How many people needed” and ticks “Offer to the team”. Every pharmacist who can reach that branch gets it on their phone at the same moment, including the relief pharmacist and anyone switched to “Available for substitution”; those who press “I want it” are on the list, and the manager picks. Dispensers do not see it: the offer goes by position.

  • “Open shift for the team”: “Position”, “Shift type”, “Days”, “How many people needed”
  • Offered by position and by branch reach, so only pharmacists see a pharmacist’s day
  • “Requests, manager picks”: the manager chooses among those who pressed “I want it”
  • A locum is a person on the list with an hourly or a per-shift rate, dismissed from the card when the contract ends

The area manager’s phone

The whole chain in a pocket: every branch, every person, a tap to call

“Team” in the manager’s app lists everyone across the branches, with a chip per branch to narrow the list and groups by role. The area manager on the road finds the pharmacist of Branch 4 and taps “Call” or “Message” to reach them; a new dispenser who has not joined yet gets an “Invite” with the code from the same list. The same app holds the “Planner” with “Publish” from the phone, the “Requests” and the day view for the branches the role allows.

  • A chip per branch, search by name, groups by role
  • A person’s card: position, branch, “Call” and “Message” in the team chat
  • “Planner” for the branches the role allows, with “Publish” from the phone
  • “View team” set to “Entire network” for the area manager, to “My locations” for a branch manager
The app screen by screen

Moving a pharmacy chain onto InShift

An afternoon for seven branches, the teams joining included.

  1. 1

    Sign up and the branches

    Email or Google. Each branch is a location with its own hours and shift types; the relief pharmacist is switched to “Also works at other locations”.

  2. 2

    Positions and shift types

    Pharmacist, dispenser, technician, counter assistant, branch manager. Shift types “Day 08:30–18:30”, “Late 11:00–20:00” on Thursday only, “Saturday 09:00–17:00”.

  3. 3

    The teams and the rates

    “Add multiple” pastes each branch with positions; hourly rates or salaries on the “Pay” tab, and “Shift at another location” on “Premiums” for the relief pharmacist. “Invite team” prints a code and a QR for everyone who has not joined yet.

  4. 4

    The first week and publish

    The pharmacist rows first, then the rest of each branch, then “Publish”. Next week is “Copy last week” in every branch, and the relief pharmacist’s days move where the days off are.

Frequently asked questions

Can the rota stop a branch opening without a pharmacist?▾

It shows it rather than stops it. The pharmacist row of each branch is visible in “All locations”, a day without a name is an empty cell, and a pharmacist shift left without a person is counted on the “Dashboard” as a gap in the week ahead. There is no rule that blocks publishing; the area manager and the branch managers see the gap days ahead and fill it with the relief pharmacist, an open shift or a locum.

How does the relief pharmacist work across branches?▾

As one person who is switched to “Also works at other locations”: the branches they cover are on their card, their shifts sit in whichever branch they are in that day, and their own row shows the whole week. “Available for substitution” goes one step further and opens every branch of the chain to them for swaps and open shifts. A “Shift at another location” premium on the “Premiums” tab pays the travel day if you want it to.

How do locums fit in?▾

As people on the “Employees” list with the pharmacist position, a branch and an hourly or a per-shift rate. A regular locum stays on the list; a one-off is dismissed from the card when the contract ends and stops being counted. Their shifts and hours are in “Payroll” like everyone else’s, with “Export to Excel” for the invoice check.

Can each branch manager run their own branch only?▾

Yes. A role with “View rota” and “Edit rota” set to “My locations” gives a branch manager their own branch and nothing else, with “Approve time-off” and “Approve substitutions” for their own people. The area manager’s role is “Entire network”. Roles live on the “Access rights” tab, and “Add role” makes as many as you need.

How do dispensers and counter staff see the rota?▾

In the InShift app on iPhone and Android, after joining with the invite code and their own email. Each person sees their own shifts, “Who else is working” at the branch, the swaps and their hours on “Stats”; the branch chat and the “Announcements” from the area manager arrive in the same app with a “Read by” count.

What does it cost for a chain of seven branches?▾

Free for one location and up to 10 people. Beyond that it is a subscription per active person on the “Employees” list, with locations, payroll and the team app included. The numbers are on the pricing page.

Get every branch on one rota

Branches, positions and the first week take an afternoon, and every pharmacist sees their rota in the app the same day.

Start for free