Free fortnightly staff roster template (Excel)
A two-week roster built around fortnightly pay cycles. Plan both weeks together and align scheduling with your pay runs — ideal for hospitality, retail and shift-based teams across Australia.
Fortnightly staff roster
Excel format (.xlsx) • Ready to download
No signup required. Works with Excel and Google Sheets.
This fortnightly staff roster template is a general planning tool only. It does not calculate wages, penalties, overtime or award entitlements. For pay-aware scheduling and compliance support, use dedicated rostering software and check your obligations with Fair Work. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.
What's in this template
A complete two-week roster layout
Employee name
One row per staff member — add or remove rows as your team changes.
Role / position
Capture each person’s job title or department for quick reference.
Week 1 (Mon–Sun)
Start and end times for every day of the first week.
Week 2 (Mon–Sun)
A matching grid for the second week so both align with your pay run.
Weekly & fortnight totals
Formula columns total each week and combine them into the fortnight figure.
Notes column
Record leave, availability or handover notes against any staff member.
How shifts are displayed
Each week has columns for Monday to Sunday. Enter shift times (e.g. “9am–5pm”) or leave a cell blank for a day off. The template totals the hours for each week and the fortnight, so you can check the pay period at a glance.
| Employee | Role | W1 Mon | ... | W2 Mon | ... | W1 hrs | W2 hrs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah Jones | Manager | 7am–3pm | ... | 7am–3pm | ... | 38 | 40 | 78 |
How to create a fortnightly roster in Excel
Four steps to build one from scratch
1. Set up 14 date headers
Put "Employee name" in A1 and a start date in B1. In C1 enter =B1+1 and drag across to column O for all 14 days, then format the row as "ddd dd-mmm".
2. Add shift dropdowns
On a separate Settings tab, list your shift types (e.g. 7am–3pm, OFF, Leave), then use Data → Data Validation to turn each day cell into a dropdown.
3. Total each week & fortnight
Add a Week 1 column, a Week 2 column and a fortnight total so you can sanity-check hours against pay-period caps before you publish.
4. Colour-code for clarity
Apply conditional formatting to flag days off, overtime or back-to-back weeks so problem patterns stand out across the two weeks.
Prefer to skip the setup? The free template above already has the 14-day grid, dropdowns and hour totals built in. For more on laying out a reusable grid, read our guide to designing roster templates.
How to use this template
Download and go in four quick steps
Download
Grab the Excel file — no signup, opens in Excel or Google Sheets.
Add your staff
Replace the sample rows with your employee names and roles.
Plan both weeks
Fill in shifts for Week 1 and Week 2 to cover the whole pay period.
Share or print
Post it for the team or export to PDF for the noticeboard.
Who uses this template
Ideal for businesses with fortnightly pay cycles
Hospitality
Align rosters with fortnightly pay runs
Retail
Plan two weeks of floor coverage at once
Shift-based teams
Manage rotating patterns across pay periods
Running a hospitality venue? See our tips on solving common hospitality rostering challenges and our dedicated guide to rostering hospitality staff.
When two weeks of spreadsheets stop keeping up
A fortnightly spreadsheet works while shifts are stable. But once you're re-sending updated files, juggling swaps and tracking hours against pay-period caps every fortnight, it gets unwieldy fast. RosterElf's drag-and-drop rostering builds both weeks for you, factors in availability, and shares the roster straight to your team's phones.
Rostering guides
Plan smarter shifts with these how-to guides
How to create a staff roster
A step-by-step guide to building a roster that balances coverage, cost and fairness.
Read the guideDesign roster templates that work
Lay out a reusable two-week roster template so each pay period takes minutes, not hours.
Read the guideManage staff availability
Collect and track who can work which days before you build the fortnight.
Read the guideFortnightly roster template FAQ
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Put “Employee name” in cell A1 and a start date in B1, then enter =B1+1 in C1 and drag it across to column O for all 14 days. Format the header row as “ddd dd-mmm”, add shift dropdowns using Data Validation, and total each week plus the fortnight with formulas. Our free template comes pre-built with this two-week layout — or follow the step-by-step section above to build one from scratch. For a fuller walkthrough see our guide on how to create a staff roster.
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Many Australian businesses run fortnightly pay cycles. A fortnightly roster lines your scheduling up with the pay period, so it is easier to track hours, spot overtime and plan both weeks together. If you only ever plan a single week, the weekly staff roster template may be simpler.
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No — it totals hours only. It does not calculate wages, penalty rates, overtime or award entitlements. For automated, pay-aware calculations use rostering software instead of a spreadsheet, and check your obligations with Fair Work.
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Yes — this template downloads instantly with no signup or email required, and you can edit it to suit your business. Browse the rest of our free roster templates if you need a different layout, or compare free shift schedule template formats to pick the right one.
Before you download
General information only — not legal advice
This document is a general HR template provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and may not reflect the latest changes in legislation or apply to every workplace situation. RosterElf Pty Ltd and the template provider accept no liability for any loss arising from reliance on this document. Users should seek independent legal advice and customise the template to ensure it complies with all relevant laws, awards and workplace requirements.