Preferred hours are weekly time windows used as a scheduling guide. They are not shifts — they do not assign staff or publish work.
There are two kinds:
- Profile preferred hours — when a profile usually needs coverage. These drive coverage gaps on the profile schedule and Team Schedule.
- Staff preferred hours — when a team member is usually available. These appear as gray bands on My Schedule and on that person's staff schedule. Managers see them when assigning people to shifts.
Both kinds use the same editor: weekly windows plus an effective date range. Times follow your account’s date and 12/24-hour format settings.
Effective dates
When you open Preferred hours, set:
- Effective from — the first day these windows apply
- Effective to (optional) — leave blank for ongoing preferred hours
Gray bands on the calendar repeat every week within that range. Coverage gaps and Team Schedule hour totals use the preferred hours that apply on each day.
Changing hours that already exist
If preferred hours are already set, a new change must start at least 24 hours in advance. The editor shows the earliest allowed Effective from date.
Past preferred hours stay on record for history. Saving a new set that starts later closes the previous open-ended set the day before. You do not edit past days in place.
First-time setup (no preferred hours yet) can use today — the 24-hour rule applies only when hours already exist.
Profile preferred hours
Who can set them
Managers and Billing users can set preferred hours for profiles they can access.
A Manager can also turn on Set Preferred Hours for a Staff or Guest user (Manage Team → open the person → permissions). That lets them edit preferred hours on profiles they can access. It does not let them create or edit shifts.
Set the weekly hours
On the website:
- Open Scheduling.
- Select the profile.
- Select Preferred hours.
- Choose Effective from (and optionally Effective to).
- Add one or more time windows to each applicable day — or leave a day blank if no preferred coverage is needed.
- Optionally use Copy to… on a day to copy that day’s windows to Weekdays, All days, or specific days you pick.
- Select Save preferred hours.
Each window must start and end on the same day. Preferred hours cannot run overnight; split overnight coverage into a late window on one day and an early window on the next.
Using more than one window
A day can have multiple preferred windows. For example:
- 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM
- 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Use separate windows when coverage is not needed for the entire period between them.
Coverage gaps
BEHCA compares profile preferred hours with scheduled shifts. Preferred time with at least 15 minutes uncovered appears as a Coverage gap.
A Manager can select a gap from the profile calendar or Team Schedule board to start a shift with the gap's date and time already filled in.
A gap means that preferred time is not fully covered by scheduled shifts. It does not automatically mean a staff member missed work.
Staff preferred hours
Staff preferred hours describe when a person is usually available to work. They are a guide for Managers when building the schedule.
Who can set them
- Managers and Billing users can always edit a team member's preferred hours from that person's staff schedule page.
- Staff and Guests can edit their own preferred hours on My Schedule only when a Manager turns on Set Own Preferred Hours for them (Manage Team → open the person → permissions).
Managers and Billing users always have both preferred-hours permissions.
Set your own hours (Staff / Guest)
If Set Own Preferred Hours is on for your account:
- Open your user menu and select My Schedule.
- Select Preferred hours.
- Set Effective from (and optional Effective to).
- Add weekly time windows for the days you are usually available. Use Copy to… if several days match.
- Save.
Gray bands on the Calendar view show those windows for the dates they apply. They do not create shifts. End time must be after start time on the same day (for example, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM).
Edit someone else's hours (Managers)
- Open Scheduling.
- Open Team Schedule, then open a staff member's week — or open their week from a profile schedule link.
- Select Preferred hours.
- Adjust the effective dates and weekly windows, then save.
Staff preferred hours also show on the shift and rotation forms when you assign people, so you can see whether a proposed time overlaps their usual availability.
Change or end preferred hours
Open Preferred hours again to save a new set with a later Effective from (respecting the 24-hour rule when hours already exist). If a day no longer needs preferred hours, clear that day’s times so it is blank before you save.
To end ongoing hours, save a set with an Effective to date, or start a new set that begins after the previous one.
Changing preferred hours updates gray bands and (for profiles) coverage-gap calculations for the days the new set covers. It does not change existing shifts.