Staying on top of all financial budgets within your business is essential to keeping it healthy and competitive. Labour budgets are essential for tracking labour costs, average pay rates, and rostering hours.

Effectively managing these aspects is crucial for your business to run efficiently and stay profitable in a competitive market. Ensuring effective management of these aspects is essential for the efficient operation and profitability of your business in a competitive market

RosterElf’s web and smartphone software will allow business owners and managers to compare and analyse significant labour trends. For example, managers can compare the past six weeks of business trends - including labour costs, hours, and the average pay rate. If your business runs in multiple sites or locations, business owners can view labour trends across their business.


To ensure your business is accurate and effective with budgeting in RosterElf, there are a few quick changes you can make now. Implementing these changes can streamline your budgeting process and provide more accurate insights into your labour costs and workforce management.

Pay Templates 



These are the groups of pay within your business or industry award. For example, you may have a pay template titled ‘Under 18’, which may include pay rates only for staff under 18. Setting up pay templates will help structure and organise your account. By categorising employees based on their pay rates, you can simplify payroll management and ensure accuracy in wage calculations.

Pay Rates 



Pay rates include the typical rates of pay as well as loading for weekends and public holiday shifts. If your business recognises overtime, this, too, can be a pay rule. Clearly outlining pay rates promotes transparency and fairness in employee compensation. It also aids in accurate budgeting by predicting labor costs based on shift types. Setting proper pay rates guarantees employees are fairly compensated, minimizing disputes and boosting satisfaction.

Unpaid Break 



You can set the time allocated for an unpaid break and how many hours into a shift it will kick in. For example, your business industry award might allow 60 mins unpaid break after 6 hrs into your shift. RosterElf allows managers to update this and create accurate labour costs and budgets. Not counting unpaid breaks can affect total work hours and costs. Make sure to track unpaid breaks to follow labour laws and improve shift scheduling for better productivity.

Sales Targets 



If your business is utilising sales targets depending on your industry, such as retail or hospitality, setting sales targets into your weekly roster will help to determine accurate labour percentage. This metric is essential to track as it determines how well your business brought in revenue against the labour costs of your business.


Sales targets provide a benchmark for evaluating business performance and help in aligning labour costs with revenue generation. By integrating sales targets with your roster, you can assess the efficiency of your workforce in contributing to business goals and make adjustments to improve productivity.



By entering actual pay templates, pay rates and unpaid breaks, RosterElf allows you to view how well you are tracking towards meeting labour costs, average pay rates, and how many hours you tend to roster each week. This integrated approach provides a holistic view of labour expenses and helps in maintaining financial discipline. Accurate tracking and analysis of labour costs enable you to identify areas where you can cut costs, optimise staffing levels, and enhance overall efficiency.



This is a clever tool for business owners and managers to track labour costs in their overall financial budget. It could help managers hire productive staff and expand their business into more locations or markets. By using RosterElf software, businesses can gain valuable insights into their labour expenses, make informal decisions about staffing, and plan for future growth. The ability to monitor and analyse labour trends across multiple locations ensures that businesses can maintain consistent performance and achieve their financial objectives.



You can download our full suite of supporting apps here:

 Apple iOS Time Clock

 Google Android Time Clock

 Apple iOS RosterElf

 Google Android RosterElf

For further information or if you would like to book a demo session, please  contact us at:

1300 353 000



help@rosterelf.com

Best wishes!

Chris Fordyce

Customer Success @RosterElf

Important Notice

The information contained in this article is general in nature and you should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs. Legal and other matters referred to in this article are of a general nature only and are based on RosterElf's interpretation of laws existing at the time and should not be relied on in place of professional advice.

RosterElf is not responsible for the content of any site owned by a third party that may be linked to this article and no warranty is made by us concerning the suitability, accuracy or timeliness of the content of any site that may be linked to this article.

RosterElf disclaims all liability (except for any liability which by law cannot be excluded) for any error, inaccuracy, or omission from the information contained in this article and any loss or damage suffered by any person directly or indirectly through relying on this information.