FAQ

The questions that come up most often, grouped roughly by topic. If you don't find what you're after, email support — every message is read.

Trial & billing

Why does Timely require a credit card to start the trial?

To filter for serious signups. No-card trials collect a lot of accounts that try the product for a week and never come back, which dilutes the support queue. With the card on file, the trial → paid conversion is also seamless — no scramble at day 7. You can cancel any time during the trial in one click without being charged. Full detail: Signup & free trial.

What happens to my data if I let the trial expire?

You drop to a free read-only tier. Past schedules are viewable, employee + location data is intact, but you can't build new schedules or send SMS/email until you re-subscribe. Re-subscribe any time and everything is exactly where you left it.

What happens if I downgrade from Business to Pro?

Non-destructive. Schedule rules, templates, analytics history all persist in the database. The UI gates the Business-only pages (Analytics, Labor) but the underlying data isn't deleted. Re-upgrade and they reappear unchanged.

What if I have 7 locations and I downgrade from Business to Pro (5 locations)?

The 7 locations stay listed but the 2 over the limit become read-only. You can view past schedules at those locations but can't edit. Either upgrade back, or remove some locations to bring the count under the limit.

Annual vs monthly — which should I pick?

Annual saves ~17% (Pro: $66/mo billed annually vs $79/mo on monthly). The trade-off: you commit to the year. If you're confident you'll use Timely for at least 6 months, annual is the better deal. Switch any time at next billing cycle.

Can I get a refund for an unused month?

We don't auto-prorate refunds, but if something's gone wrong (billed by mistake, app outage, etc.) email support@trytimely.com and we'll sort it out.

SMS

What's the difference between shift-alert SMS and publish SMS?

Two distinct events with two distinct templates:

• Shift alert = automatic reminder ~30 min before each shift. Cron-driven. Uses the "Shift alert" template at Settings → Notifications.
• Publish SMS = manual notification when you click Publish. Uses the "Publish (SMS)" template at the same page, different tab.

Customizing one doesn't change the other. See Publishing for the full breakdown.

Why isn't an employee getting SMS alerts even though they're opted in?

Five things have to be true:

1. sms_opt_in is true on their employee row
2. They have a phone number on file
3. (For shift alerts) the per-week Send SMS Alert toggle is on for that week's schedule
4. (For shift alerts) the schedule is published
5. The org has an SMS provider configured

If any one fails, the SMS is silently skipped (no error, no retry). Audit at /admin/communications to see exactly why a specific message was skipped.

What does the per-week "Send SMS Alert" toggle do? Is it different from opt-in?

Yes. sms_opt_in is the gate (per-employee, controls whether any SMS goes to them). The per-week toggle is the intent (per-week, controls whether shift-alert reminders fire for that specific week). Both have to be on for an alert to fire.

For a brand-new week with no schedule yet, the per-week toggle defaults to the employee's sms_opt_in value. So if they're opted in, you don't have to flip the toggle every week — it auto-defaults to on.

What if an employee texts STOP?

Their sms_opt_in flips to false immediately and they get no further messages. They can text START to re-subscribe. STOP/START handling is carrier-required compliance and intercepts before any custom keywords. See SMS opt-in.

Can employees text the Timely number to request time off?

Yes — see Text-to-Timely. They text in plain English ("Off May 1-10") and the request lands in your manager Requests inbox.

Schedules & rules

When are schedule rules evaluated?

On save. Every shift edit, Smart Copy, and AI generation triggers the rules engine over the entire location's schedule and surfaces any violations. WARN actions show a banner; BLOCK actions disable the save until resolved.

Why doesn't a 30-minute break show up in the hours total?

It does — break minutes are subtracted. A 9 AM – 5 PM shift with a 30-min break shows as 7.5 paid hours under the default "Deduct breaks" policy. If you want breaks to count as paid, switch the location's policy to "Paid breaks" (Settings → Locations → break policy dropdown). See Break policies.

Why is Smart Copy missing from my schedule grid?

Smart Copy is a Pro+ feature. You'll see an upgrade prompt where the button would be on Starter. Upgrade in Settings → Billing.

What does the AI Scheduler use for context?

Your roster, the location's hours of operation, approved time off, schedule rules, and tags. You provide intent in plain English ("3 closers Friday and Saturday, no one over 35 hours") and the model fills in shifts that respect the constraints. Available on all plans during the trial; gated to Business+ on the main schedule grid afterward.

Can I build a multi-week template?

Not directly. Smart Copy is one source week → one destination week. The pattern most managers use: keep a "template week" somewhere in the calendar (e.g., the first week of January) and Smart Copy from it whenever you want a fresh week. We're considering a multi-week copy feature — file a request if it'd help.

Time off

Why did Smart Copy skip Sarah's Tuesday in next week?

Because Sarah has approved time off on that Tuesday. Smart Copy automatically excludes days covered by approved time-off periods. Pending time off doesn't block — only approved. See Time off.

Can an employee submit time off without a Timely login?

Yes — they text the Timely number. See Text-to-Timely. The phone number on their employee row is what identifies them.

Can I approve time off for a date that already has shifts assigned?

Yes. Timely warns but doesn't auto-clear the shifts. You can either delete them, reassign them, or leave them (sometimes the manager intends both — "she's off, but Mike's covering").

Does the time-off period block scheduling?

Only approved periods. pending requests show in the inbox but don't yet block scheduling — you can still put the employee on a shift while the request is being reviewed.

Tags

What's the difference between a tag and an "employee code"?

There aren't separate "employee codes" in Timely — tags are the only employee-classification mechanism. If you've seen the term "employee code" in another product, the equivalent here is either a tag (for role-like labels: Barista, Closer) or the employment_type field (for full_time / part_time / contractor classification).

Can I rename a tag without breaking anything?

Yes. Tags are keyed by UUID internally; the name is a user-facing label. Rename freely. Schedule rules, integrations, and historical assignments all keep working.

Can I merge two tags?

Yes. Settings → Tags → click a tag → Merge into… picks a target tag. Every employee + every rule reference is moved atomically and the source tag is deleted. No data loss. See Tags.

Integrations

What's the difference between Square sync and Square employees?

Square has two sync directions:

• Pull employees — one-time (or repeatable) import of Square team members into Timely. They become regular employees you can schedule.
• Pull timecards — ongoing weekly sync of actual clock-in/out times from Square POS into the Labor dashboard. Used for "scheduled vs. actual" variance.

Both require Square OAuth in Settings → Integrations → Square.

Where are calendar feed tokens stored, and are they secret?

Each location generates a private token used in its ICS feed URL. The URL itself is the secret — anyone with it can subscribe to your schedule. Treat it like a password. If a token leaks, regenerate it in Settings → Integrations → Calendar.

The feed contents are read-only — there's no way to modify the schedule from a calendar app. So worst case: someone you don't want sees your schedule, but they can't change it.

Why does Gusto sync push hours but not employees?

By design — employees flow Square → Timely (POS is the source of truth), and hours flow Timely → Gusto (the schedule is the source of truth). Going the other way would create circular sync issues. If you don't use Square, you can manually add employees and Gusto will still accept the hours push.

Plans

What's included on each plan?

See Plans & trial for the comparison table.

Can I customize my plan?

Not on Starter/Pro/Business — those are fixed bundles. Enterprise pricing is custom and can include any combination of features. Email sales@trytimely.com for an Enterprise quote.

Account & access

Why is there a "Members" tab and an "Employees" tab on /dashboard/team?

They model two different things:

• Members — people who log in (have a Timely password). Includes you, your co-managers, and any employees you've granted login access.
• Employees — people on the roster you put on the schedule. Most don't have login access; they just receive the schedule by SMS/email.

A single person can be in both lists if they both schedule and log in. See Employees vs. profiles for the underlying model.

How do I delete my Timely account entirely?

Email support@trytimely.com — we'll handle it. We don't have a self-serve delete because account-level data has cascading effects (Stripe, integrations, calendar feeds) that need to be unwound carefully. Typical turnaround: same business day.

What about GDPR / data export?

Email the same address. We can produce a JSON export of all your data (employees, schedules, requests, etc.) within 30 days, per GDPR. Most exports come back same-week.