> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://compassly.gitbook.io/compassly-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://compassly.gitbook.io/compassly-docs/core-modules/shifts/shift-management/add-new-shift.md).

# Add a New Shift

**Page type:** Task Guide\
**Status:** Draft\
**Owner:** Compassly Documentation Team\
**Last verified:** 2026-07-08\
**Audience:** Super Admin, Admin, Supervisor, Clinician, Basic

## What This Section Covers

This material covers how to add a new shift to the schedule from scratch, including how much of it you need to fill in right away versus later.

## Before You Start

* You must have permission "Manage shifts and notes".
* You'll be adding the shift to whichever Location is currently selected in Shift Management.
* Only ***Start Date***, ***Start Time***, ***End Date***, and ***End Time*** are required to save a shift. Team Member, Client(s), and Service are all optional — but once you add a Service, a Client becomes required too. See **Available Actions** below.

## Where To Start

1. Sign in to Compassly.
2. In the left navigation menu, select ***Shifts***.
3. In the left navigation menu, select ***Shift Management*** from the dropdown menu under ***Shifts***.
4. Click ***Add Shift***, or hover over an empty cell on the calendar and click the **+** icon that appears.

## Available Actions

1. **Set the shift's date and time.**
   * Fill in the Start Date, Start Time, End Date, and End Time. These four fields are always required. If the end time is at or before the start time, the shift is treated as spanning two days.
2. **Assign a Team Member, if you're ready to.**
   * Team Member is optional. If you leave it empty, you can still save the shift — it just won't have anyone assigned yet. If you later remove an already-selected Team Member, any Service you'd chosen is automatically cleared, since Service depends on who it's assigned to.
   * The Team Member dropdown only lists people you're connected to on a shared Team **and** who are assigned to the Location this shift belongs to. If someone you expect to see is missing, check both of those connections in ***System Settings*** > ***Connections*** before assuming something's wrong with the shift itself — see [Connections](/compassly-docs/administration/system-settings/connections.md).
3. **Assign Client(s), if you're ready to.**
   * Client is optional on its own, but becomes required the moment you select a Service (see the next step). You can select up to 12 clients.
4. **Assign a Service, if you're ready to.**
   * Service is optional, but only becomes selectable once a Team Member is chosen, and only from services assigned to that Team Member. The moment you select a Service, Client becomes a required field — a shift with a Service always needs at least one Client. ***Units*** is then calculated automatically from the shift's length and the Service's minutes-per-unit setting.
5. **Set a recurrence, if this shift repeats.**
   * By default, a shift is one-time only. To repeat it, choose ***Daily***, ***Weekly***, or ***Monthly*** and set how often it repeats, which days (for Weekly) or which day of the month (for Monthly), and an end date. If you don't set an end date, it defaults to one year out — recurrence can't run longer than a year. Shifts created this way are independent records, not a linked series; editing one later doesn't affect the others.
6. **Save the shift.**
   * What you click determines the shift's resulting status:
     * ***Update*** (or ***Save***) with no Service specified creates the shift in **Template** status.
     * ***Update*** with a Service specified creates it in **Unpublished** status.
     * ***Publish*** creates it directly in **Published (Note Unsigned)** status.
     * ***Sign & Publish*** fills in and signs the Progress Note and creates it in **Published (Note Signed)** status, all in one step.
   * If the shift conflicts with an existing shift for the same team member or client on the same day, you'll see a **Shift overlap detected** message listing the conflicting shifts — you'll need to adjust the time before you can save. See [Understand Shift Overlap Validation](/compassly-docs/core-modules/shifts/shift-management/understand-shift-overlap-validation.md).

## Role Differences

* ***Super Admin / Admin / Supervisor:*** Can add a shift for any team member or client they have access to.
* ***Clinician / Basic:*** Can add a shift, but the Team Member dropdown will only ever offer themselves, and the Client dropdown is limited to clients assigned to them.

## Summary Of Section

**Upon reviewing this material, you should be able to:**

* Add a shift with only a date and time, and fill in the rest later
* Understand which fields become required once you add a Service
* Choose the right save option (Update, Publish, or Sign & Publish) for what you're ready to commit to
* Set up a recurring shift

## Related Guides

* [Apply a Shift Template to the Schedule](/compassly-docs/core-modules/shifts/shift-management/apply-shift-template.md)
* [Edit Shift Details](/compassly-docs/core-modules/shifts/shift-management/edit-shift.md)
* [Understand Shift Statuses](/compassly-docs/core-modules/shifts/shift-management/understand-shift-statuses.md)
* [Understand Shift Overlap Validation](/compassly-docs/core-modules/shifts/shift-management/understand-shift-overlap-validation.md)
* [Connections](/compassly-docs/administration/system-settings/connections.md)


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