CHRONOMANCER
The core engine

Shift bidding software that flips rostering the right way round

Instead of assigning shifts top-down, you publish the work available for a period and staff bid for the named positions they want. You allocate the bidders, backed by a ranked standby pool — the decision stays yours, the choosing starts with them.

Draft
Bidding
Allocating
Scheduled
Live
Completed
Built in Auckland, New Zealand
Running live weekend rosters today
Proven at a leading NZ haunted attraction
3-layer work hierarchy, configured per venue

Publish named work, not vague shifts

A period is a configurable window — for a weekend-anchored venue, that's the coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Inside it, you open specific nights, choose which areas are live, and set the named positions within each, each with its own fixed capacity. Staff never bid on a generic 'evening shift' — they bid on the exact named work, on the exact night.

3-layer hierarchy — labels configured per venue, never hardcoded
Named positions carry a fixed capacity as master data
Skills and functions gate which positions a person can even see
Demand for a night is just the sum of the capacities you open
SATURDAY NIGHTFILLED 0/14
DEMAND 14 · RESERVE 3FILLING…
BIDS CLOSE IN41:12:0934/41 RESPONDED

One link, no app, no password

Every person gets a fresh signed link for the period, sent by SMS and email. They open it, see the nights and positions on offer, and bid for what they want within the min/max you've set per night. There's nothing to install and nothing to remember — the link is the login, and it rotates each period so an old one can't be replayed.

A unique token per contact per period, expiring at bid close
Every click logged — device, browser, and a fingerprint check
A new device on a known token flags for admin review
Reminders go automatically to whoever hasn't responded yet

Allocate by priority and reliability, hold a standby pool

When bidding closes, one board shows every bid against every open position. You place bidders — sorted by priority tier and reliability score — and whatever's left over doesn't vanish, it becomes a ranked standby pool for that position. Confirmations for both the allocated and the standby go out automatically once you're done.

Bidders sorted by priority tier, then reliability score
A ranked reserve pool behind every position, not just a waitlist
Standby gets notified too, so they know where they stand
Moves after allocation are audited and re-notify whoever's affected
Draft
Bidding
Allocating
Scheduled
Live
Completed
3 layers
CONFIGURABLE WORK HIERARCHY, ONE ENGINE
1 link
NO APP OR PASSWORD FOR STAFF, EVER
2-way
SMS AND EMAIL, BOTH DIRECTIONS
Ranked
STANDBY POOL BEHIND EVERY POSITION
The same bidding engine, configured per venue.

Questions about bid-based rostering

Do staff need to install an app or create a login?

No. Each person gets a unique signed link by SMS and email for the current period. Opening the link is the authentication — there's no password to set or forget.

Can we still control who actually gets the shift?

Yes. Bidding tells you who wants what — it never auto-allocates. You review every bid on one board and place people yourself, sorted by priority tier and reliability score.

What happens to bidders who don't get placed?

They move into a ranked standby pool for that position and get notified of their reserve status. If a placed person later drops out, the standby pool is exactly who dropout recovery draws from.

Can the terminology match how our venue talks about its own work?

Yes. The 3-layer hierarchy, its labels, and the field names on screen are all configured per venue — the underlying engine is generic, only the vocabulary changes.

Is there a minimum or maximum number of shifts someone can bid for?

Yes — you set a configurable minimum and maximum number of positions a person can bid for per night, so bidding stays realistic for your roster size.

See bidding run for your next period

Tell us about your venue and your crew — we'll walk through how bidding and allocation would work for you.