Rota builder
Build and publish your rota
without the spreadsheet chaos
A clear grid of every position and shift. Assign people, spot conflicts, and publish — all in one place.
By position
See every role filled at a glance
The default rota view gives you a grid of positions against shifts. Each cell shows who's assigned, their status, and whether anything needs attention — all without hunting through a spreadsheet.
Colour-coded status
Green means filled, amber means partially filled, grey means empty. Red flags conflicts — like a volunteer assigned twice in the same shift.
Assign in seconds
Click any cell to open the picker. It shows who's free for that shift, who's already in another position, and who hasn't set their availability.
Mark positions not in use
If a position isn't needed for a particular shift, mark it "not in use" so it doesn't show as a gap you need to fill.
Multi-day support
Events that span multiple days get a day tab per day. The grid shows only the shifts for the selected day, keeping things readable.
Print-ready handouts
One click prints a clean two-page landscape PDF for the day — by position and by person — auto-scaled to fit the page. Perfect for pinning up or handing out on the day.
By person
See what every volunteer is doing
Switch to the person view and the grid flips — people are rows, shifts are columns. See each volunteer's assignment across the whole day, their availability, and whether they're free for any shift you still need to fill.
Full schedule per person
Each row shows a volunteer's assignments across every shift — perfect for checking no one is over-committed or sitting idle.
Availability at a glance
Cells show whether a volunteer is assigned, free, or busy for each shift — so you can spot who's available to fill a gap without leaving the view.
Sort by first or last name
Sort the list alphabetically by first name or last name — useful when you're working from a sign-up sheet or printed list.
Instant view switch
Toggle between position and person view any time. Both views share the same live data — changes in one appear immediately in the other.
Automation
Fill your rota in seconds, not hours
Three one-click tools do the heavy lifting for you — so you spend your time reviewing the rota, not building it from scratch.
Fill empty slots automatically
Looks at all the empty cells in a day and assigns available volunteers to fill the gaps. People who've confirmed availability are picked first — everyone else is considered if you're still short.
Great for finishing a nearly-complete rota without going cell by cell.
Reshuffle from scratch
Clears all assignments for the selected day and rebuilds the rota from scratch with a fresh random draw. Positions and shifts are filled in random order so no single role always gets priority when you're short-staffed.
Ideal when the first draft isn't balanced or you want to see a different spread.
Copy another day's rota
Running the same schedule across multiple days? Pick a source day and copy its assignments across. Volunteers who aren't available on the target day are flagged so you can swap them out.
A huge time-saver for multi-day events with a repeating structure.
How it fits into your workflow
Set up positions and shifts
Add the roles your event needs and the time blocks they cover. Set a minimum headcount per position so the grid knows what "full" looks like.
Assign as availability comes in
As volunteers confirm their availability, fill in the rota. The picker shows who's free for each slot so you can work through gaps quickly.
Publish and notify
When the rota is ready, publish it. Volunteers get an email with their schedule and can view the full rota from their personal event page.
Common questions
What if the same volunteer is needed in two places at once?
EventRota flags this as a conflict — the affected cells turn red and the volunteer's name shows a warning icon. You'll know immediately so you can reassign.
Can I reuse positions across events?
Yes. Save your standard set of positions as a template and apply them to any new event in seconds. You only build the position list once.
What if I need to change the rota after publishing?
Update it any time. You can re-notify the team so everyone with a changed assignment gets a fresh email with their updated schedule.
Can someone help me manage the rota?
Yes. You can invite other organisers to your event and they'll have full access to build and edit the rota alongside you.
Can I print the rota?
Yes. One click produces a tidy two-page landscape printout for the selected day — one page by position and one by person — automatically scaled to fit the page. Great for noticeboards or paper handouts for anyone not using a phone on the day.
Ready to build your first rota?
Free for up to 10 people per event. No credit card needed.
Get started