Platform · Configuration

Configured per organisation. Not customised per organisation.

Every organisation that runs SkyRoster runs the same product. What differs is a set of screens an administrator, not a developer, fills in: which shift types exist, how a swap gets approved, how heavily a rule is weighed, what a week starts on, who can see what. That distinction is not a technicality. It is the difference between a rule change taking an afternoon and a rule change taking a change request to us.

The argument

Why this is the differentiator, not a footnote

Customised means forked

A customised product diverges from every other customer's copy the day someone edits it for you. Every later fix, every later feature, now has to be reconciled against that fork, or it never reaches you at all. Your collective agreement becomes our maintenance burden.

Configured means a setting

A configured product is one product with a settings layer. Your rule thresholds, your approval chains, your holiday calendars live in your own instance's data, not in a branch of the source code. A fix or a new capability reaches every organisation, including yours, without anyone having to re-apply your changes on top of it first.

Concretely: 102 of the 133 scheduling rules the engine can enforce are administrator-tunable, enabled or disabled, weighted, and set as a hard stop or a soft preference, from a settings screen. The remaining rules are the data-integrity guards no organisation would want to turn off, an assignment cannot exist twice, history cannot be silently rewritten, so those stay fixed.verified See the full rule catalogue.

Shift types and patterns

The building blocks a unit defines once

Shift types

A named definition, Morning, Afternoon, Night, on-call, carrying its working, night, off or flexible classification, its display time window, the minimum rest it requires afterward, a colour for the roster grid, and its own per-request-type approval setting. Change one and every roster built against it reads the change; nothing is hard-coded per customer.

Shift patterns and demand

A reusable rotation, such as a four-on, four-off sequence, or a per-shift-type headcount requirement that can vary by day of the week, is configured once and reused across rosters rather than rebuilt each month. The full mechanism, including flexible shifts and manpower requirements, is on the strategic rostering page.

Request types and approval chains

6 request types, one approval engine, your own chain per type

Leave, duty, work requests, off requests, shift extensions and swaps all share one generic approval engine: an ordered list of steps, each naming who is eligible to act on it. What differs by organisation is how many steps there are, who they name, and whether a step requires the person's own consent, and all of that is a setting, not a code branch.

Request type	Where the approval chain is configured
Leave	Per leave type, two chains (operational / non-operational)
Duty	Per duty type, same two-chain mechanism as leave
Work request	Per organisational unit
Off request	Per organisational unit, same chain as work requests
Shift extension	Per organisational unit
Swap	Per organisational unit, plus 0 or 2 individual-consent steps

Each step names one or more eligible-approver mappings, a membership scope paired with a role, and a step is satisfied the moment anyone matching any of them acts. At most one step per chain may be a Primary Head of Unit mapping. The full approval-engine mechanics, including live eligible-approver computation, are on leave and duty and shift swaps.

Rule thresholds and weights

A number your unit set, not a number we picked

Behind almost every rule sits the same record: whether it is switched on, how heavily it is weighed, what its numeric threshold is, over what period, and whether it is a hard stop or a soft preference. Two named examples outside the core rule catalogue show the same idea applied to fairness and to tactical staffing:

Vacation Score tables

An admin defines a biweekly calendar of scored periods, so a request for a popular week in August can be weighed against one for a quiet week in February when two people want the same dates. Different employee populations can run different tables, and an employee's earned score can only ever go up, never be eroded by a later correction.configured

Tactical threshold limits

Demanding a hundred per cent of every staffing requirement is sometimes not operationally possible during a genuine shortage. A threshold table sets the shortfall your unit will tolerate, as a percentage or a headcount, tracked separately for day and night, because night operations often run leaner by design. See tactical rostering.

This is also the mechanism behind the honesty on how the engine decides: whether minimum rest time is a hard, non-negotiable stop or a heavily weighted preference is your unit's decision, encoded here, not a difference in code between customers.

Time, week and holiday settings

The calendar the whole roster is built against

Time settings

Hours per working day, and the start and end of the night-shift window that feeds night-differential pay and rest-rule logic. Tenant-wide, and audited field by field.

Week settings

Which day starts the week, and which days count as working days for the whole organisation, so a report or a roster grid lines up with how your unit actually counts a week.

Holiday calendars

Assigned per unit, and a multi-country organisation can run several at once. The full mechanism, including bridge days, is on staff records.

Permissions

16 securable areas, a 6-level scope on each

Access is not one admin switch. Every securable area of the product carries an independent read scope and write scope, each set on the same ladder from an employee's own record up to the whole organisation, and a write grant can never exceed its own read scope. Five built-in roles cover the common ANSP job functions out of the box; an administrator can define as many custom roles as the organisation needs, and can grant one person a temporary role for a fixed date window to cover a secondment or an absence.

The security model, interrogated

verified

SkyRoster gates every business action behind a resource and scopes it with a read level and a write level, set independently, drawn from the same six-tier ladder. The table below lists every one of the16 securable areas the platform recognises. Try pushing a write scope past its row's read scope: with scripting on, it snaps back; the note underneath explains why the backend enforces this regardless.

Securable areas
16
Scope tiers
6
Read / write axes
Independent
Write may exceed read
Never

Compiled from the product source on 12 September 2026 · SkyRoster backend, common-security module, verified against the product source

The permission matrix

Every area gets its own Read row and Write row. Pick a column on either row to set that area's scope for that axis, the two rows are completely independent, which is how a role can see broadly but edit narrowly, never the reverse.

16securable areas, each with an independent read scope and write scope from the6-tier membership ladder.
Securable area	None	Individual	Selfless PU	Primary unit	Selfless mem.	Membership	Global
Organization settings
Read	Set read scope for Organization settings to No access	Set read scope for Organization settings to Individual	Set read scope for Organization settings to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Organization settings to Primary unit	Set read scope for Organization settings to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Organization settings to Membership	Set read scope for Organization settings to Global
Write	Set write scope for Organization settings to No access	Set write scope for Organization settings to Individual	Set write scope for Organization settings to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Organization settings to Primary unit	Set write scope for Organization settings to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Organization settings to Membership	Set write scope for Organization settings to Global
Dashboard management info
Read	Set read scope for Dashboard management info to No access	Set read scope for Dashboard management info to Individual	Set read scope for Dashboard management info to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Dashboard management info to Primary unit	Set read scope for Dashboard management info to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Dashboard management info to Membership	Set read scope for Dashboard management info to Global
Write	Set write scope for Dashboard management info to No access	Set write scope for Dashboard management info to Individual	Set write scope for Dashboard management info to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Dashboard management info to Primary unit	Set write scope for Dashboard management info to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Dashboard management info to Membership	Set write scope for Dashboard management info to Global
Competency management
Read	Set read scope for Competency management to No access	Set read scope for Competency management to Individual	Set read scope for Competency management to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Competency management to Primary unit	Set read scope for Competency management to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Competency management to Membership	Set read scope for Competency management to Global
Write	Set write scope for Competency management to No access	Set write scope for Competency management to Individual	Set write scope for Competency management to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Competency management to Primary unit	Set write scope for Competency management to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Competency management to Membership	Set write scope for Competency management to Global
Competency matrix
Read	Set read scope for Competency matrix to No access	Set read scope for Competency matrix to Individual	Set read scope for Competency matrix to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Competency matrix to Primary unit	Set read scope for Competency matrix to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Competency matrix to Membership	Set read scope for Competency matrix to Global
Write	Set write scope for Competency matrix to No access	Set write scope for Competency matrix to Individual	Set write scope for Competency matrix to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Competency matrix to Primary unit	Set write scope for Competency matrix to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Competency matrix to Membership	Set write scope for Competency matrix to Global
Shift management
Read	Set read scope for Shift management to No access	Set read scope for Shift management to Individual	Set read scope for Shift management to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Shift management to Primary unit	Set read scope for Shift management to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Shift management to Membership	Set read scope for Shift management to Global
Write	Set write scope for Shift management to No access	Set write scope for Shift management to Individual	Set write scope for Shift management to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Shift management to Primary unit	Set write scope for Shift management to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Shift management to Membership	Set write scope for Shift management to Global
Roster management
Read	Set read scope for Roster management to No access	Set read scope for Roster management to Individual	Set read scope for Roster management to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Roster management to Primary unit	Set read scope for Roster management to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Roster management to Membership	Set read scope for Roster management to Global
Write	Set write scope for Roster management to No access	Set write scope for Roster management to Individual	Set write scope for Roster management to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Roster management to Primary unit	Set write scope for Roster management to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Roster management to Membership	Set write scope for Roster management to Global
Sector management
Read	Set read scope for Sector management to No access	Set read scope for Sector management to Individual	Set read scope for Sector management to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Sector management to Primary unit	Set read scope for Sector management to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Sector management to Membership	Set read scope for Sector management to Global
Write	Set write scope for Sector management to No access	Set write scope for Sector management to Individual	Set write scope for Sector management to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Sector management to Primary unit	Set write scope for Sector management to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Sector management to Membership	Set write scope for Sector management to Global
Tactical planning
Read	Set read scope for Tactical planning to No access	Set read scope for Tactical planning to Individual	Set read scope for Tactical planning to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Tactical planning to Primary unit	Set read scope for Tactical planning to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Tactical planning to Membership	Set read scope for Tactical planning to Global
Write	Set write scope for Tactical planning to No access	Set write scope for Tactical planning to Individual	Set write scope for Tactical planning to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Tactical planning to Primary unit	Set write scope for Tactical planning to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Tactical planning to Membership	Set write scope for Tactical planning to Global
Reports
Read	Set read scope for Reports to No access	Set read scope for Reports to Individual	Set read scope for Reports to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Reports to Primary unit	Set read scope for Reports to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Reports to Membership	Set read scope for Reports to Global
Write	Set write scope for Reports to No access	Set write scope for Reports to Individual	Set write scope for Reports to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Reports to Primary unit	Set write scope for Reports to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Reports to Membership	Set write scope for Reports to Global
Resource management
Read	Set read scope for Resource management to No access	Set read scope for Resource management to Individual	Set read scope for Resource management to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Resource management to Primary unit	Set read scope for Resource management to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Resource management to Membership	Set read scope for Resource management to Global
Write	Set write scope for Resource management to No access	Set write scope for Resource management to Individual	Set write scope for Resource management to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Resource management to Primary unit	Set write scope for Resource management to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Resource management to Membership	Set write scope for Resource management to Global
Leave requests
Read	Set read scope for Leave requests to No access	Set read scope for Leave requests to Individual	Set read scope for Leave requests to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Leave requests to Primary unit	Set read scope for Leave requests to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Leave requests to Membership	Set read scope for Leave requests to Global
Write	Set write scope for Leave requests to No access	Set write scope for Leave requests to Individual	Set write scope for Leave requests to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Leave requests to Primary unit	Set write scope for Leave requests to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Leave requests to Membership	Set write scope for Leave requests to Global
Leave management
Read	Set read scope for Leave management to No access	Set read scope for Leave management to Individual	Set read scope for Leave management to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Leave management to Primary unit	Set read scope for Leave management to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Leave management to Membership	Set read scope for Leave management to Global
Write	Set write scope for Leave management to No access	Set write scope for Leave management to Individual	Set write scope for Leave management to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Leave management to Primary unit	Set write scope for Leave management to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Leave management to Membership	Set write scope for Leave management to Global
Baseline requests
Read	Set read scope for Baseline requests to No access	Set read scope for Baseline requests to Individual	Set read scope for Baseline requests to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Baseline requests to Primary unit	Set read scope for Baseline requests to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Baseline requests to Membership	Set read scope for Baseline requests to Global
Write	Set write scope for Baseline requests to No access	Set write scope for Baseline requests to Individual	Set write scope for Baseline requests to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Baseline requests to Primary unit	Set write scope for Baseline requests to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Baseline requests to Membership	Set write scope for Baseline requests to Global
Baseline management
Read	Set read scope for Baseline management to No access	Set read scope for Baseline management to Individual	Set read scope for Baseline management to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Baseline management to Primary unit	Set read scope for Baseline management to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Baseline management to Membership	Set read scope for Baseline management to Global
Write	Set write scope for Baseline management to No access	Set write scope for Baseline management to Individual	Set write scope for Baseline management to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Baseline management to Primary unit	Set write scope for Baseline management to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Baseline management to Membership	Set write scope for Baseline management to Global
Locked intervals
Read	Set read scope for Locked intervals to No access	Set read scope for Locked intervals to Individual	Set read scope for Locked intervals to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Locked intervals to Primary unit	Set read scope for Locked intervals to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Locked intervals to Membership	Set read scope for Locked intervals to Global
Write	Set write scope for Locked intervals to No access	Set write scope for Locked intervals to Individual	Set write scope for Locked intervals to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Locked intervals to Primary unit	Set write scope for Locked intervals to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Locked intervals to Membership	Set write scope for Locked intervals to Global
Attendance management
Read	Set read scope for Attendance management to No access	Set read scope for Attendance management to Individual	Set read scope for Attendance management to Selfless primary unit	Set read scope for Attendance management to Primary unit	Set read scope for Attendance management to Selfless membership	Set read scope for Attendance management to Membership	Set read scope for Attendance management to Global
Write	Set write scope for Attendance management to No access	Set write scope for Attendance management to Individual	Set write scope for Attendance management to Selfless primary unit	Set write scope for Attendance management to Primary unit	Set write scope for Attendance management to Selfless membership	Set write scope for Attendance management to Membership	Set write scope for Attendance management to Global

No access: No access at all.
Individual: Only the user's own record.
Selfless primary unit: Primary-unit scope, excluding the user's own record.
Primary unit: The user's own primary organisational unit.
Selfless membership: All units the user is a member of, excluding their own record.
Membership: All units the user is a member of.
Global: The entire organisation.

Why "selfless" scopes exist

modelled

Two tiers on the ladder, Selfless primary unit andSelfless membership · are identical to their plain counterparts except for one subtraction: the user's own record. They exist for approval workflows, so a manager can act on their team's requests without that same permission letting them act on their own.

“Person who ensures the presence at work of the required staff resource. Team Managers usually do not create the roster or manage the staff but do manage their teams schedule and their leave and duty requests.”SkyRoster user manual, ch. 13 Security, §13.3 Security Roles, Team Manager

Team Manager's write scope on Leave Requests approvalMembership (not selfless)Selfless membership (the real scope used here)

M. Ionescu Team Manager✓ Eligible to approve · including their own request
A. Radu Controller✓ Eligible to approve
B. Enache Controller✓ Eligible to approve
C. Tudor Controller✓ Eligible to approve

M. Ionescu Team Manager✕ Not eligible, it is their own request
A. Radu Controller✓ Eligible to approve
B. Enache Controller✓ Eligible to approve
C. Tudor Controller✓ Eligible to approve

SkyRoster backend, security/roles knowledge base, SELFLESS_MEMBERSHIP / SELFLESS_PRIMARY_UNIT add user.id !== employee.id on top of the base scope

Translations

2 interface languages, and localisation deeper than labels

SkyRoster's interface is available in English and Portuguese.verified

Localisation goes past static labels: notification titles, month names in date displays and the plain-language explanation of a rule violation are all generated in the interface's own language, and the layout itself is built to survive a language whose text runs systematically longer than English. Additional languages are a configuration and translation exercise, not a rebuild. Only English and Portuguese are shipped and verified today, said plainly rather than implied broader.

How it scales

Set it once at the top, override only where you mean to

What makes all of the above practical for an organisation with dozens of units rather than one is inheritance. A unit's contract, its leave allowance, its request caps, its overtime ceiling, cascades automatically to every sub-unit and employee beneath it. Change the top-level setting once and the change ripples down on its own. A unit or an employee can be shielded from that cascade with an explicit “read-only” flag, or given its own custom terms, so a national default and one senior team's richer overtime allowance can both be true at once, deliberately, not by accident.

The engine

How the engine decides

Rule settings are the input. This is what the solver does with them: construction, local search, hard, soft and the weights in between.

Bring your own rulebook.

A working session maps your actual approval chains, rule thresholds and roles onto these settings screens, so you see your organisation's own configuration, not a demo tenant's.

Book a working session Send a question instead

Who else will ask, and what they will want