Welcome to Excel Highway, your one-stop shop for everything Excel and Google Sheets!
In today’s tutorial, we’re diving into how to build a smart employee scheduling system using Google Sheets. Whether you’re managing a small team or coordinating a large workforce, this centralized, cloud-based solution helps you schedule shifts, track vacations, and stay organized with ease.
🔧 What You’ll Learn
- Set up a dynamic employee database
- Track national holidays and personal vacations
- Automate shift creation and scheduling
- Use Apps Script buttons to manage tasks
- Allow employees to reserve or release shifts
- View the entire week’s schedule at a glance
🗂️ Breakdown of the Scheduling System
1. Employees Sheet
This is your team’s database. It translates emails into names and displays profile pictures. You can easily add more fields like department or skill.
- 🔁 Email → Name + Picture
- 🧩 Simple structure with optional fields
- 📸 Use “Insert Image in Cell” to add employee pictures
2. Vacations Sheet
Store both national holidays and individual leave requests.
- 🌍 National holidays auto-block dates
- 🏖️ Personal vacations are user-submitted
- 📆 Gray-out unavailable days on the main schedule
3. Shift Database (Backend Sheet)
This hidden engine powers your scheduling logic. It logs every interaction:
- ✅ Created shifts
- 👤 Assigned employees
- ❌ Removed shifts
- 🔄 Weekly history tracking (for “Copy Last Week” button)
4. Open Sheet (Main Interface)
The heart of your scheduling system – a fully interactive week view.
- 📅 Set the date to automatically populate the correct week
- ⏱️ View shifts per employee (with smart row allocation)
- 📲 Buttons for adding shifts, copying last week, and managing vacations
- 📥 Filter logic using COUNTIFS, MAXIFS, OFFSET, and VLOOKUP
🖱️ App Script Buttons
This system uses Google Apps Script to add real functionality to your file:
- ➕ Add Shift
- ❌ Remove Shift
- 📆 Add Vacation
- 🔁 Copy From Last Week
You can extend these with email notifications, Slack integrations, or approval workflows!
🙋♂️ Who is This For?
- Small business owners
- HR and team managers
- Freelancers managing remote teams
- Anyone who wants to ditch spreadsheets chaos!
🔚 Final Thoughts
This project combines the flexibility of Google Sheets with the logic of Apps Script – creating a lightweight but powerful scheduling system you can scale and customize. Whether you’re just starting out or need something quick and collaborative, this solution works across devices and roles.