Staff Coverage Calculator
Calculate how many staff members you need per shift based on operating hours, customer volume, and service time.
Plan efficient scheduling.
Staff scheduling involves matching the right number of workers to demand across shifts, while controlling labor costs. The core calculation balances coverage requirements against hourly wages, overtime rules, and total budget constraints.
Key formulas: Weekly Labor Cost = Σ(Hours Worked × Hourly Rate) for all employees Labor Cost % = (Total Labor Cost ÷ Total Revenue) × 100 Overtime Cost = Hours Over 40 × Hourly Rate × 1.5 Full-Time Equivalents (FTE) = Total Hours Scheduled ÷ 40
What each variable means:
- Hours Worked — total hours each employee works in the pay period.
- Hourly Rate — the employee’s base pay rate before taxes or benefits.
- Overtime — in the U.S., hours beyond 40 per week must be paid at 1.5× the regular rate (Fair Labor Standards Act).
- Labor Cost % — the percentage of revenue spent on labor. Benchmarks vary heavily by industry.
- FTE — converts part-time and variable schedules into a comparable full-time headcount metric.
Labor cost % benchmarks by industry:
- Full-service restaurants — 30–35% of revenue
- Retail — 15–20%
- Manufacturing — 25–35%
- Healthcare — 45–55%
- Hotels — 30–40%
Worked example: A café schedules 3 full-time employees (40 hr/week @ $18/hr) and 2 part-time employees (20 hr/week @ $15/hr): Full-time labor = 3 × 40 × $18 = $2,160 Part-time labor = 2 × 20 × $15 = $600 Weekly labor cost = $2,760 If weekly revenue is $12,000: Labor % = $2,760 ÷ $12,000 × 100 = 23% — excellent for a café.
Scheduling tip: Always build a 10–15% buffer for call-outs, unexpected rushes, and mandatory break coverage. Under-scheduling costs more in overtime and turnover than over-scheduling costs in idle time.