HR platform for retail · AI-first · Mobile

    Your store, always properly staffed.

    Rotas, time tracking, casual staff and pay — planned automatically around opening hours and customer footfall.

    Try free for 14 days
    Staffing follows the footfall

    The AI automatically schedules more staff for peak times — from Saturday afternoon to promo week.

    All stores in one place

    You see open shifts instantly — and fill them from another store with one click.

    Casual staff, sorted

    Part-timers, students and seasonal workers, premiums included — ready for payroll export.

    Sound familiar?

    The store's full of customers, not of staff.

    Saturday understaffed, Tuesday overstaffedPlanning goes by gut feeling: on Saturday afternoon the queue backs up at the till, on Tuesday morning three people are stocking the same shelf.
    A no-show just before openingA casual worker calls in sick and there's nobody on the till. You ring round the list while the first customers are already at the door.
    Flying blind on casual and part-time staffEarnings limits, student hour caps, school holidays — without an overview you only notice at month's end that someone is over.
    Every store plans for itselfOne store is short-staffed, another has someone free. Because they plan separately, nobody notices.
    A day in the store

    How your trading day runs with PlanState.

    With PlanStateEveryone sees their shift and area in the app — ready on time.
    Without a systemWho's filling shelves, who's opening the till? A note on the noticeboard.
    Try free for 14 days
    What you get

    Everything your store needs

    AI planning by customer footfallPlanState knows your peak times and suggests the staffing that fits your opening hours and expected footfall.
    Plan several stores centrallyAll locations in one view: you see open shifts instantly and fill them from another store.
    Time tracking via app or terminalClock in and out in the store or on mobile — overtime and breaks recorded in line with the Working Time Regulations.
    Part-time, casual and seasonal staffEarnings limits and hour caps are tracked in the background; your team keeps its own availability up to date in the app.
    Roles and qualificationsTill, shop floor or stockroom: only people signed off for an area get scheduled on it.
    Premiums and payroll exportSunday, public-holiday and night premiums calculated automatically and ready for payroll.
    Planning around peak times

    Enough staff when the store is busy.

    PlanState knows your peak times and automatically schedules more staff for the busy periods — from Saturday afternoon to promo week.

    Customer footfall & staffing
    Mon
    Tue
    Wed
    Thu
    Fri
    Sat
    Morning
    2
    2
    2
    2
    3
    3
    Midday
    3
    3
    3
    3
    5
    5
    Afternoon
    2
    3
    3
    3
    5
    5
    Evening
    2
    2
    2
    3
    3
    3
    Customer footfallquietnormalpeak

    Staffing follows the footfall

    Recommended staffing per time slot — lean in quiet hours, fully staffed at peak times.

    Store overview · Late shift Saturday
    City centre storefully staffed
    North branch1 open
    South branchCover availablefully staffed

    One open late shift

    The North store has an open late shift — the South store has cover available.

    Multiple stores, one rota

    All stores at a glance — in one place.

    Plan all locations centrally, see at a glance where a shift is open — and fill it from another store with one click.

    Made for every kind of retail

    From the boutique to the store chain: one platform

    Fashion & retailSeasonal peaks, sale periods and casual staff planned flexibly — the floor is staffed when the customers arrive.
    Food & supermarketsLong opening hours and till cover without gaps — even on the busiest Saturday.
    Electronics & specialist retailExpert advice on the shop floor — enough specialists at peak times and on a busy Saturday.
    Store chainsPlan and report on multiple locations centrally, and share relief staff across stores.
    Premiums & paySunday, public-holiday and night premiums calculated automatically, payroll export at the click of a button.
    Casual staff & recruitmentRecruit and manage part-timers, students and seasonal workers — with a built-in applicant pipeline.
    Digital time trackingClock in and out on mobile; overtime and breaks recorded in line with the Working Time Regulations.
    Good to know

    Staff scheduling in retail — what really matters

    In retail, customer footfall varies through the day and across the week, opening hours are long and there are often multiple stores. Casual staff, part-timers and seasonal peaks like Christmas or the sales soon turn Excel planning into a headache.

    PlanState plans your team automatically around opening hours and customer footfall — across several stores too. Minimum staffing, qualifications and premiums are taken into account; all you do is approve the plan.

    Casual and part-time staff enter their own availability in the app; time tracking and payroll prep run in the same place. That way your store is always properly staffed — mobile, UK GDPR compliant and hosted in EU data centres.

    PlanState also works for other deskless sectors — such as rota planning for hospitality or crew planning for construction & trades. If you only want digital time tracking to begin with, start your free trial.

    Frequently asked questions about staff scheduling in retail

    You enter your opening hours, roles and your team's availability. PlanState then builds a rota to match at the push of a button — tuned to expected customer footfall and automatically checked against the Working Time Regulations.

    Testimonials

    What our customers say

    • I used to spend three hours on the rota every Sunday. With PlanState I press one button and maybe tweak a couple of shifts.

      Sabine MeierHead of care

    • Finally, an app my people actually open. Rota, clocking in, payslips — it's all in there. No more excuses.

      Thomas HartmannManaging director of a care home

    • As a nurse I just want to know when I'm working and what I'm earning. PlanState shows me that in 2 seconds.

      Lisa HoffmannRegistered nurse

    • Since we started using PlanState, nobody rings me at the weekend about shift swaps any more. It all goes through the app.

      Ramira WeberSalon owner

    • The automatic cover suggestions save me hours every week. I no longer have to ring round 20 people.

      Stefan BraunHotel managing director

    • My team love that they can put their shift requests straight into the app. It takes so much pressure off.

      Julia KrauseOwner of 3 restaurants
    How to get started

    Ready to go in 15 minutes.
    From £4 per employee.

    1. 1
      Import your teamAdd employees and locations — or bring them in via import.
    2. 2
      AI plans, you reviewThe first rota is created automatically — you approve it with one click.
    3. 3
      100% mobile-optimisedEvery employee has full access to their rota, time tracking and payslips, any time.
    PlanStateRecommended
    from£4per user / month
    billed annually
    ✓ Shift planning with templates, week after week
    ✓ Shift swaps and open shifts across the team
    ✓ Holiday and absence requests with approval
    ✓ Basic employee records for every team member
    ✓ Employee app for the whole team
    ✓ Available in 4 languages for international teams

    From Core: AI auto-planning, time tracking with Working Time Regulations checks, sickness reporting with cover management, digital employee records and hours balances · from Pro: payroll export and premiums · Recruiting as an add-on module

    Try free for 14 days
    No credit card, no setup fee.
    All prices plus VAT · Annual plan runs 12 months