# From Excel and WhatsApp to a scheduling app in about 10 minutes > A step-by-step way to move your rota from a spreadsheet and a group chat into an app: photograph the roster, check the import, invite the team, build the first week. Source: https://www.turnifo.com/en/switch-from/excel-whatsapp Updated: 2026-10-31 Most small teams do not need to replace a tool. They need to stop retyping the same week every Sunday night. If your schedule lives in Excel and the changes live in a WhatsApp group, this is the shortest honest path to an app. Plan for about ten minutes the first time; most of it is checking that the names were read correctly. We will publish a measured median once we have enough real setups. ## Before you start You need the roster you use today, in any form: a photo of the paper sheet, a screenshot of the spreadsheet, or a PDF. You also need the phone numbers of your team, which you probably already have in the group chat. ## The steps 1. **Create the business.** Pick your business type (restaurant, shop, care home and so on). It pre-fills typical positions and shift templates, which you can change. 2. **Photograph your current roster.** Take a photo, a screenshot or upload a PDF. The app reads names, days and shift times and shows them in a review screen. 3. **Fix what it misread.** Handwriting and merged cells are where mistakes happen. Correct a cell and confirm; nothing is imported until you do. 4. **Say how many people each shift needs.** For example two in the kitchen and three in the dining room for dinner, one fewer on Tuesday. You do this once. 5. **Add your rules.** Start from the presets, such as a minimum of 11 or 12 hours between shifts, or type a rule in your own words and confirm the card the app shows you. 6. **Invite the team.** Send the invite link by WhatsApp or SMS, or show a QR code. Employees join with their phone number and see their shifts immediately. Employees never pay. 7. **Build the week, check it, publish.** One tap builds next week. Each assignment says why it was made, and gaps are highlighted. Change what you want, then publish. ## What maps to what | What you have today | Where it goes | |---|---| | A row per person in Excel | An employee with positions and contract limits | | Columns for days | The week board | | "M", "E", "Night" in a cell | A shift template with start and end times | | Colour codes | Shift templates; colours are not read as rules | | The group chat where people ask who can cover | Swaps and open shifts inside the app | | "I'm sick" messages | A call-out: eligible colleagues get an offer | | Hours totals at the bottom of the sheet | The hours summary and the CSV export for your payroll advisor | | Printed copy on the wall | A read-only share link anyone can open without installing anything | ## Honest differences - **Excel is free and infinitely flexible.** The app is free up to 5 employees; up to 10 employees it is a flat 8.49 EUR a month, and above that 1.99 EUR per employee, billed in bands. If your schedule never changes, a spreadsheet may be enough. - **Your team needs a phone to get the full experience.** People who will not install anything can still open a share link or receive the schedule as an image. - **Not everything in a complicated sheet survives the import.** Formulas, notes in margins and merged cells need a human look. That is why the review screen exists. - **WhatsApp can stay.** Keep chatting there if you like. The schedule and the change requests simply live in one place. - **Local rules are defaults, not legal advice.** Check your collective agreement. ## After the first week Look at the hours summary against what you expected, then turn on the weekly submissions if you have part-timers, so people offer the slots they can work before you build. When you are ready, try the [work hours calculator](/tools/work-hours-calculator) to sanity-check a tricky week. ### Do I have to delete my Excel file? No. Keep it as a backup. Nothing in the app depends on it after the import. ### What if my roster is handwritten? Photograph it in good light, flat and square-on. Expect to correct a few cells in the review screen. ### Do my employees need an account? They join with a link and their phone number. They never pay. ### Can I try it before importing real names? Yes. You can explore a demo business first.