Answer
Shift repeats tell Lightning Payroll which days of the week (or month) an employee regularly works a particular shift. When a new pay run is opened in the Rosters area, the program automatically places a rostered shift on each matching date, saving you from entering the same shifts by hand every period.
Setting Up Repeats - Desktop App
Go to Employees >> Shifts and use the pencil button next to the shift you want to configure. The Select Default Shift Pay Items dialog opens. Scroll to the Repeats section at the bottom of the dialog.
Use the green plus button in the Repeats table to open the Select Repeat Schedule wizard. The wizard shows all available days for the chosen frequency. Select one or more days and choose a frequency:
- Weekly - the shift repeats on the selected day every week.
- Fortnightly - the shift repeats on the selected day every second week.
- Monthly - the shift repeats on the selected date each month (choose a date from 1-31, or Last Day, 2nd Last Day, 3rd Last Day).
Click Select to save. You can add multiple repeat entries to a single shift - for example, a shift that repeats both on Mondays and Wednesdays weekly.
Setting Up Repeats - Online (Web/Mobile) App
Go to Employees >> Shifts and click the edit button next to the employee shift you want to configure. The Edit Employee Shift screen opens and shows three sections: Pay Rates, Allowances, and Repeats.
In the Repeats section, click Add New to create a new repeat entry. Set the Day and Repeat Frequency:
- Weekly - choose a day of the week (Sunday through Saturday).
- Fortnightly - choose a day of the week; the shift repeats every second week on that day.
- Monthly - choose a date from 1-31, or one of the end-of-month options (Last Day, Second Last Day, Third Last Day).
Each day and frequency combination must be unique for a given shift. Save the entry and the repeat is added to the table. Changes are saved automatically when you close the entry form.
Patterns Repeats Cannot Cover
Every repeat is tied to a day of the week or a date in the month, so repeats can only describe patterns that fall on the same weekday or the same date each cycle. A rotating pattern that drifts across the week - ten days on and two days off, for example - does not land on fixed weekdays, so it cannot be built with Repeats.
There is currently no automatic option for rotating cycles of this kind. Shifts that follow one need to be added to the roster for each pay run rather than generated from a repeat entry.
How Repeats Generate Rostered Shifts
When you first open a pay run in the Rosters area, Lightning Payroll checks every active employee's shifts for repeat entries and places a rostered shift on each matching date within that pay run. A shift only generates repeats if it has hours and at least one pay rate or allowance attached. This only runs once per pay run unless you force a refresh.
If you have accidentally deleted repeating shifts and want them generated again, use the Reload Repeats button. This checks the current repeat settings and adds any repeating shifts that are missing from the pay run.
Note: Reload Repeats does not remove or change any existing rostered shifts. Shifts you have edited or added manually are left as they are, and a repeat is skipped for any date where that employee already has a rostered shift for the same shift type.
Reporting on Shift Repeats
To review all configured repeats across your workforce, use the Employee Shift Repeats report. In the desktop app this is available from the Reports menu. In the online app, navigate to the Reports section and select Employee Shift Repeats. The report lists each employee, shift, frequency, and repeating day or date.
For a broader introduction to setting up shifts and rosters, see How Do I Set Up Rostered Shifts in Lightning Payroll Desktop?
