Switching scheduling software
Updated October 12, 2026 · with an example to try
Before you switch, export a year of history and everything published ahead, list every shift name with its hours and every person with their role, and write down the rules and the holiday rotation. A calendar file from the old system shows much of it: the dates it covers, the shift names and the entries that aren't shifts.
Check what your calendar file holds
Example · runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent
Open a calendar file (.ics) from your current scheduling system: the whole group's export if it has one, since one person's calendar holds only their own shifts. If your system gives a link instead, here's how to get the file.
Copies the list, with what you've checked, and the shift names from your file.
The file is read in this browser and sent nowhere: open this page, turn off your internet, and the checklist still reads a file. A whole-group export holds everyone's shifts, so keep it as you would any staff record.
What a calendar file carries
- Each entry's start and end, its name, and often a place and notes.
- Not the rules, requests, approvals or preferences behind the schedule, and not fixed patterns or standing requests.
Plan the switch
- 1
Start early
Leave time to build at least one schedule period in both systems before the switch date, on top of the period you're building now.
- 2
Keep one official
While both run, the old system stays the official schedule: staff look at the new one, but swap and request in the old one until the switch date.
- 3
Keep the old records
Export everything, or keep read-only access to the old system after its contract ends, for fairness counts, pay questions and audits.
Common questions
- How much history should we bring over?
- At least a year, so nights, weekends and holidays per person can be counted across seasons.
- Can a calendar file move our rules?
- No. A calendar file holds the shifts, not the rules or requests behind them. Write those down separately.
Schedule your whole team with rest checked.
Capillary Health makes scheduling software for hospitals and clinics. Nurses, physicians and advanced practice providers share one schedule, and every change is checked for overlaps and rest, counting shifts people work at other sites, before it's published or swapped.