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EnglishHow Australian SMEs Get Started with RosterElf
Updated
RosterElf is an Australian staff management platform for shift-based teams, covering rostering, time tracking, payroll, HR and team communication in one system. You can start with a free trial that the site says requires no credit card, then check the pricing page before committing. It suits Australian SMEs already using Xero or MYOB, because approved timesheets can be sent to either platform without re-keying. If your team works fixed office hours or you need deep enterprise customisation, this is probably not the right fit.
What you get in one platform
The product is built around five connected areas, all visible in the same app as the roster:
- Roster — build the week and see labour cost update as you assign shifts, before publishing them to staff.
- Time clock — staff clock on from a phone or tablet, so rostered hours sit next to actual hours.
- Payroll — approve what was worked, then send the payrun to Xero or MYOB.
- HR Hub — contracts, policies and certifications such as RSA or food safety, with expiry dates tracked.
- Team chat — shift notes, swap requests and announcements in one feed.
The homepage example shows a café week of 10 shifts totalling 72.50 hours and $2,291.50, with three staff on shift, one running 12 minutes late, and a shift swap offered, approved and applied inside the chat.
Before you start: conditions to confirm
| Check | What the site states | What to verify yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Free trial | "Start free trial", "No credit card required" | Whether the trial length and feature set match your needs |
| Pricing | A pricing page exists | Current plan tiers, per-user costs and billing terms |
| Payroll integration | Connected to Xero & MYOB | Whether your chart of accounts, pay rates and award setup map cleanly |
| Award compliance | "Award compliance built in — no manual calculations" | That your specific award and pay rate rules are covered |
| Support | Australian-based support | Response hours and channels for your onboarding window |
| Scale | "Trusted by 30,000+ workplaces" | Whether your headcount and shift patterns fit the plans on offer |
Pricing and plan limits are not published in the material here, so treat the pricing page as the source of truth rather than assuming a free tier beyond the trial.
Step-by-step: from trial to first published roster
- Start the free trial. Use the "Start free trial" button. The site says no credit card is required, so you can evaluate before any payment decision. If you want a guided walkthrough instead, "Book a demo" is the alternative entry point.
- Set up your people. Add staff and their roles (for example barista, all-rounder, kitchen hand). In the HR Hub, attach contracts, handbooks and certifications with expiry dates so the system can flag them before they lapse.
- Configure pay rates. Use the Pay Rate Builder under payroll integration to define rates before rostering, so shift costs calculate correctly as you build.
- Build and cost the roster. Assign shifts for the week. Watch the running hours and dollar total — the example shows 72.50 hours and $2,291.50 — and adjust before publishing. Publishing is the point staff are notified.
- Run the time clock. Staff clock on via phone or tablet. Compare rostered against actual; the example flags a 12-minute late arrival automatically.
- Approve timesheets. Review approved hours per person for the period, then send the payrun to Xero or MYOB.
- Connect your finance stack. Confirm the Xero or MYOB connection matches your existing payroll workflow before your first live payrun, not after.
- Hand over communication. Move shift swaps and announcements into team chat so changes are visible to everyone at once.
Expected result: a published roster, clocked hours, approved timesheets and a payrun sent to your accounting platform, with HR documents tracked in the same system.
Common sticking points
- Award and pay rate setup is the real work. "Award compliance built in" still depends on your rates and rules being configured correctly. Do this during the trial, not on your first pay week.
- Integration is a mapping exercise. Sending a payrun to Xero or MYOB is straightforward only if your accounts and pay items line up. Test with one pay period first.
- Trial-to-paid timing. Since pricing is not shown in the source material, check the pricing page early so you know what the trial converts into.
- Shift-based only. The product is explicitly aimed at shift-based teams. If your staff work standard hours, the rostering and time clock value is limited.
Who should proceed
Start the free trial if you run an Australian shift-based business — hospitality, retail, healthcare, trades — and you want rostering, time tracking, payroll and HR in one place connected to Xero or MYOB. Book a demo instead if you want help mapping awards and pay rates before committing. Check the pricing page first if budget approval is required internally.