Retail rostering software, with wage cost against sales before publishing
Roster each department to its trading pattern and see wage cost as a percentage of sales before you publish.
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Pack coming soon: General Retail, Pharmacy and Hair and Beauty awards
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Retail sales assistant, checkout operator and stock replenisher on one roster
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Day, evening (after 6pm) and late-night trading, saturday and Sunday peaks and casual and student crews
How RosterElf handles retail
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Labour % against your forecast
Enter a revenue forecast, and the roster's financial summary shows labour cost and labour % against last week as you build (Core and Full Suite).
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Templates per department
Positions for each department and store, templated weeks per department, and one combined wage cost.
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Set the Retail Award rates once
Set the General Retail Award rates once in the pay rate builder: evening after 6pm, weekends, public holidays, and a junior template per age band. RosterElf then applies them to every shift (the ready-made pack is coming soon).
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Availability, swaps and open shifts
Staff set availability and swap shifts in the app (Core and Full Suite), team chat is on every plan, and open shifts go out to staff for a manager to approve.
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Kiosk or mobile clock-in
Kiosk with photo verification, or mobile clock-in, plus a geofence that can block clock-ins outside the store.
Retail staff scheduling
Build the roster around the work, not last week's
- Copy a template week, then move cover to the busy days
- Every shift costed at your pay rates as you build it
- Publish to the staff app in one click
Availability, swaps and open shifts
Staff set availability and swap shifts in the app (Core and Full Suite), team chat is on every plan, and open shifts go out to staff for a manager to approve.
Retail staff scheduling for every kind of store
Fashion and apparel
Schedule by department, balance fitting room, floor and register coverage, and template Boxing Day and EOFY sales.
Electronics and tech
Roster product specialists and repair technicians by certification, and split sales floor from service counter.
Home and lifestyle
Homewares, furniture, gifts and florists: design consultants, warehouse and delivery, peaking at Mother's Day and Christmas.
Convenience stores
Extended and overnight trading with lean teams, RSA expiry reminders for alcohol sales, and the penalty rates you set applied to every shift.
Hardware and auto
Trade counter, floor and warehouse together, with forklift and dangerous goods licences held per person.
Pharmacy and optical
Pharmacist and practitioner registrations held per person, with automatic expiry reminders. Community pharmacies are covered by the Pharmacy Industry Award (MA000012), not General Retail.
Beauty and grooming
Specialist practitioners rostered by treatment skill, with hygiene certificates tracked. Salons are covered by the Hair and Beauty Industry Award (MA000005), not General Retail.
Specialty and hobby
Music, sporting goods and hobby retail, where the roster is really an expertise roster: staff rostered by the products they know.
Franchise and pop-up
Standardised roster templates across locations and fast onboarding for seasonal stores.
Bicycle shops
Sales floor and workshop on one roster: mechanics rostered by skill and brand certification against booked workshop hours, the floor covered through weekend peaks.
Garden centres
Template the spring rush and Christmas before they arrive, with nursery, landscaping and checkout teams on one roster and chemical handling certificates held per person.
Pet stores
Retail hours and animal care hours in one roster, with livestock care rostered on days the store is closed and animal handling certificates tracked.
Tattoo studios
Artists rostered by specialty, the front desk covered for consultations and walk-ins, and infection control certificates held per artist with expiry reminders.
Retail Award and your roster
Set your award rates once, then roster with them
Today, enter the MA000004 rates once in the pay rate builder and RosterElf applies your evening, weekend, public holiday and overtime rules to every shift. Pharmacies: see the Pharmacy Award. Salons: see the Hair & Beauty Award.
- Your pay rates and penalties, set up in the pay rate builder
- Every rostered shift costed at the rates you set
- Check each rule against your own award or agreement
General Retail Industry Award (MA000004) — pay rates by period
| Period | Full-time & part-time | Casual |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary hours (Mon–Fri, day) | 100% | 125% |
| Evening (Mon–Fri after 6pm) | 125% | 150% |
| Saturday | 125% | 150% |
| Sunday | 150% | 175% |
| Public holiday | 225% | 250% |
Casual employees get a 25% casual loading, and the award sets how it combines with weekend and public holiday penalties. Rates change each 1 July; the full breakdown by classification, junior age and allowance is in the general retail award pay guide. Always verify against Fair Work.
From clock-in to payroll
Staff clock in on a tablet kiosk or their phone, managers approve timesheets against the roster, and approved hours go to Xero or MYOB. RosterElf is not payroll software: it costs the timesheets and sends them to your payroll.
Clock-in
A tablet kiosk or the staff app, with GPS recorded at clock-in, breaks and clock-out. The geofence can block clock-ins off site. On Core and Full Suite.
Timesheets
Worked hours land beside the rostered shift, costed at your pay rates, for a manager to approve before the pay run.
Xero and MYOB
Approved, costed timesheets go to Xero or MYOB, so nothing is re-keyed. Your payroll still runs the pay.
TerryWhite Chemmart Lindisfarne on RosterElf
Doing the pays takes 70% less time. I love the templates and being able to have multiple to use, and being able to adjust shifts on the app easily — it's made rostering so much simpler.Anna, Manager — TerryWhite Chemmart Lindisfarne, Tasmania Read the customer story
Reviews from RosterElf customers
Andrew Nathan
November 13, 2025
"We are extremely happy with Roster Elf, it's a great improvement on the previous system we were using. Sean and all the staff have been fantastic, really know their stuff and make using RosterElf a pleasure."
Monica Van De Laak
October 16, 2025
"Sean was an amazing help, very patient and thorough."
Mary C.
October 13, 2025
"I can see my roster, enter availability, put leave in advance and clock on and off easily."
Retail rostering templates and guides
Free templates, guides and job descriptions for your business.
Comparing tools? Read our guide to the best rostering software in Australia .
Try retail rostering free for 15 days
Set your rates once now; the pack is coming soon.
No credit card 4.7 stars from 329 reviews on Google, Xero, G2 and Capterra
Real support from people who understand your business
At RosterElf, support isn't a ticket system — it's part of the product.
More about our support
Our Australian-based team helps you set up correctly, understand award rules, and stay compliant as your business changes. No scripts. No offshore handoffs. Just real help when you need it.
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Guided setup and onboarding
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Award and payroll questions answered
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Ongoing help as your team grows
Retail rostering FAQ
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Retail stores need rostering software that templates each department, shows wage cost as a percentage of sales before publishing, and handles evening, Sunday and junior rates. RosterElf does this with a revenue forecast on the roster and award rates you set once in the pay rate builder, then sends approved timesheets to Xero or MYOB.
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Most shop and store employees are covered by the General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004), including sales assistants, checkout operators, stock replenishers and store managers. Community pharmacies are covered by the Pharmacy Industry Award (MA000012), and hair and beauty salons by MA000005. Check your coverage with Fair Work before setting up pay templates.
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The ready-made General Retail Award pack is coming soon. Until then, enter the MA000004 rates and rules once in the pay rate builder, covering ordinary, evening, Saturday, Sunday, public holiday, overtime and junior rates. RosterElf then applies them to every rostered shift and timesheet. Packs are already live for the Hospitality, Restaurant, Clubs and Fast Food awards.
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Full-time and part-time staff get 125% for work after 6pm Monday to Friday and on Saturdays, 150% on Sundays and 225% on public holidays. Casuals get 150%, 150%, 175% and 250% (2026/27), with the casual loading built into those figures. Overtime is time-and-a-half for the first 3 hours, then double time. Verify with Fair Work.
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Under the General Retail Award, a casual’s minimum engagement is 3 hours. It’s 1.5 hours for a school student working between 3pm and 6.30pm on a school day, if the conditions in clause 11.3 are met. A short after-school shift for an adult casual must still be paid for 3 hours, so build the roster around those minimums.
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Under the General Retail Award, junior rates are a percentage of the adult rate, from 45% under 16 up to 90% at 20, rising with each birthday. In RosterElf you set a pay template for each age band and assign it. Automatic birthday reminders tell you when to move someone to the next band, so the change isn’t missed.
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An afternoon or late shift. In retail it usually covers the evening trading peak through to close and pack-down. Under the General Retail Award, hours worked after 6pm Monday to Friday attract a 25% penalty for full-time and part-time staff, so a late shift costs more per hour than the same hours earlier in the day.