Calculator Inputs
Example data table
| Day | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Break (min) | Daily hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 09:00–13:00 | 14:00–17:00 | 30 | 6.50 |
| Tue | 09:00–17:00 | — | 30 | 7.50 |
| Sat | 10:00–14:00 | — | 0 | 4.00 |
Formula used
For each date in your range, the calculator selects the matching weekday template and computes daily minutes:
- SlotMinutes = max(0, End − Start) for Slot 1 and Slot 2
- DayMinutes = round(Slot1 + Slot2, rounding)
- If DayHours ≥ threshold, then DayMinutes = max(0, DayMinutes − breakMinutes)
- Excluded dates contribute 0 minutes; override dates use your fixed hours.
Total hours are the sum of all daily minutes divided by 60. Averages are computed using the number of days in range.
How to use this calculator
- Select a start and end date for your planning window.
- Enter weekly availability times for each weekday (up to two slots).
- Set rounding to match your scheduling policy.
- Add break minutes and choose the minimum hours to apply them.
- Optional: exclude dates for holidays or personal time off.
- Optional: override specific dates with fixed hours for special cases.
- Click “Calculate Availability” to view totals and the daily breakdown.
- Use the export buttons to share results as CSV or PDF.
Availability patterns and staffing confidence
Shift planning starts with repeatable availability patterns. A weekly template turns scattered preferences into a consistent baseline, letting managers forecast coverage with fewer surprises. When you apply the template across a date range, the resulting totals support hiring decisions, overtime limits, and realistic workload commitments for individuals and teams. Weekly and daily averages convert raw hours into clear capacity signals for demand forecasts and service targets across departments and locations.
Two-slot days reduce fragmentation
Many schedules include split availability, such as morning and evening windows. Two daily slots capture these gaps without forcing a single long block that inflates hours. This improves accuracy for service desks, clinics, and delivery routes where mid-day downtime is common. Clean slot boundaries also help prevent overlaps during shift handoffs. When staff can only cover peak windows, the split view highlights where coverage is thin across the week.
Rounding rules and operational consistency
Organizations often round to 5, 10, or 15 minutes to standardize planning. Rounding each day’s availability before subtracting breaks creates consistent totals across weeks, especially when staff enter approximate times. Consistency is more valuable than perfect precision when decisions depend on capacity bands, such as whether a week supports an extra shift. Standard rounding also aligns availability with payroll blocks and scheduling software increments.
Break thresholds protect realistic capacity
Availability is not equal to productive working time. Applying a break only when daily hours meet a threshold models real-world rules and wellbeing policies. This prevents overestimating capacity on long days while leaving short windows untouched. The output clarifies how much time is actually schedulable after standard rest periods. Use the threshold to mirror local policy, union guidance, or internal standards.
Exceptions, overrides, and exportable audit trails
Holidays, training, and one-off commitments require exceptions. Excluding dates sets hours to zero, while overrides replace the template with fixed values for special days. The daily breakdown acts as an audit trail that explains totals transparently. Exports make it easy to share assumptions with stakeholders, attach reports to requests, and re-run scenarios quickly. Saving CSV or PDF supports comparisons between templates and preserves snapshots for recurring shift cycles and compliance audits.
FAQs
1) Can I model availability that changes mid-week?
Use the weekly template for your baseline, then add overrides for specific dates where hours differ. Overrides replace template hours for that date only.
2) What happens if I leave a day blank?
Blank times mean you are unavailable that day. The calculator assigns zero hours for those weekdays unless you add an override.
3) How does rounding affect my totals?
Each day’s slot minutes are summed and rounded to your chosen increment. This can slightly increase or decrease totals, but it keeps schedules consistent.
4) When are breaks subtracted?
Break minutes are subtracted only when daily hours meet or exceed your threshold. If a day is excluded or overridden, no break is applied.
5) Can the calculator handle shifts that cross midnight?
This version expects end times to be later than start times on the same day. For overnight availability, split it into two slots across adjacent days.
6) What’s included in the exports?
CSV includes the full daily breakdown with slots, break minutes, hours, and notes. PDF provides a summary plus a readable list of daily rows.