A hand when you need it

Help and questions

Getting set up, getting notified, and the things people ask most.

Get notifications on your phone

Rota changes, swaps, cover requests and messages pop up straight away, even when Rotara isn't open. It takes about a minute, and there's nothing to download from an app store.

iPhone

iOS 16.4 or newer, using Safari

  1. 1Open Rotara in Safari and sign in.
  2. 2Tap the Share button (the square with an arrow). On newer iPhones you may need to tap ••• first.
  3. 3Scroll down, tap Add to Home Screen, then Add.
  4. 4Close Safari and open Rotara from the new icon on your home screen. Sign in again if it asks.
  5. 5Tap Turn on notifications (on Home, or in Me), then Allow.

iPhones only allow notifications from apps on the home screen, which is why step 4 matters: turning them on inside Safari won't work.

Android

Using Chrome

  1. 1Open Rotara in Chrome and sign in.
  2. 2Tap Turn on notifications (on Home, or in Me), then Allow. That's it.
  3. 3Optional: tap ⋮ then Add to Home screen (or Install app) to open Rotara from an icon like any other app.

Computer (managers)

Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox

  1. 1Sign in to Rotara.
  2. 2Click the bell at the top, then Turn on notifications.
  3. 3Click Allow when your browser asks.

Each phone and computer is turned on separately, so do it on every device you use.

Not getting them?

The usual reasons

  • Check your phone's settings. iPhone: Settings → Notifications → Rotara → Allow Notifications. Android: Settings → Notifications → Chrome (or Rotara).
  • Tapped Don't Allow by mistake? iPhone: remove the Rotara icon from your home screen and add it again. Android: tap the icon left of the web address → Permissions → Notifications → Allow.
  • Focus or Do Not Disturb hides notifications until it's switched off.
  • Quiet hours: anything sent overnight (10pm to 8am unless your venue changes it) arrives in the morning. Urgent ones still come straight away.
  • Still nothing? Rotara emails you instead when a notification can't reach you, so check your inbox (and junk folder).

For staff

How do I sign in?
The first time, use the link in the “Your new Rotara account” email from your manager and pick a PIN. After that, sign in at rotara.site/s/login with your email address and PIN. No email? Scan the join poster in the staff room and tap your name.
I've forgotten my PIN.
Ask your manager to email you a sign-in link (it opens your rota without the PIN for 15 days) or to reset your PIN.
How do I say when I can work?
Open Availability in the app, tap the times you can work (or paint them on the grid) and press Send. Once a week is sent, tap Amend availability to add more times. You can add, but you can't take any away, because your manager may already be planning around them. If something changes, ask for time off in Requests or talk to your manager.
Can my shifts go in my phone's calendar?
Yes. In the app, open Me and tap Add to Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Your shifts then keep themselves up to date: new shifts appear and changed or cancelled ones update on their own. Google Calendar can take up to a day to catch up on its own, so where you see Connect Google Calendar, use that instead: changes then appear within a few minutes.
How do I swap a shift or ask for time off?
Tap Swap on a shift in your rota to offer it to someone who can work it. Time off, extra hours and anything else go through Requests. You'll get a notification when there's an answer.
What's an open shift?
A shift your manager needs an extra person for. It's posted in your team's group chat and sent to people who can work it: tap “I'll take it” and, if you're first, it's yours (some managers confirm first).
Does Rotara send text messages?
No. Everything comes as a notification on your phone, and by email if a notification can't reach you. That's why it's worth turning notifications on.
Can I have it dark (or light)?
Yes. Rotara matches your phone's light or dark setting. To pick one yourself, open Me → Appearance.

Setting up a venue

About an afternoon, start to finish. Staff get their own guide in the app.

  1. 1Bring your old rota. Import → drop in last month's spreadsheet. Rotara picks out your team, roles, hours and patterns, and you check what it found.
  2. 2Check your team. Staff: contracts, hours and who does which role. Add anyone it missed, with their email address.
  3. 3Answer the setup questions. Setup: how many you need on each section, your busy days, and anything in plain English (“Maisie can't do closes”).
  4. 4Invite your staff. Staff → Email everyone their account. No email? Print the join poster for the staff room.
  5. 5Make it yours. Settings → Look & feel: your logo, home-screen icon and accent colour.
  6. 6Generate next week. Rota → Generate. Walk through it day by day, change anything, then Publish: everyone gets it on their phone.

For managers

How do I get my team on?
Add each person with their email address and Rotara emails them their account straight away: a link where they pick a PIN. People without an email can join from the staff-room poster (Staff → Join poster). You'll see who's joined on the Staff page.
What happens when someone's off sick?
Log it (or they tap “I'm sick”) and Rotara asks the best people to cover, in order, books the first to say yes and tells you. You can also post it in the team's group chat.
Can I ask for an extra person on a busy shift?
Yes: open a shift from Sickness & cover, the rota, or just ask Tara (“we need an extra bartender Saturday 6 till close”). It's offered to people who can work it and posted in the group chat.
Can I put our logo on it?
Yes. Settings → Look & feel: upload your logo as a PNG, choose how it shows in dark mode (flipped, or a file of its own), make a home-screen icon from it and pick an accent colour. The logo shows in the menu, across the top of the staff app, on the join poster, printed rotas and the clock-in tablet; the icon and your venue's name are what staff see when they add the app to their phone.
We don't use clock-in, or the sick button. Can we turn them off?
Yes. Settings → Clock-in has a switch for clock-in, and Settings → Sickness has one for the “I'm sick” button and one for finding cover automatically. Switched off, they're gone from the staff app.
More about plans and billing
See the questions on the pricing page.

Something else? Ask your manager.

Help and questions · Rotara