# Scheduling settings

The organization-wide scheduling settings admins control — the schedule week, overtime, pay periods, approvals and time off — and where each location's own settings live.

For: Admins · On: Web · [Help Center](https://www.mays.app/help) › [Scheduling](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling) · Last updated October 12, 2026 · Mays Team

**Scheduling → Settings** holds your organization-wide rules: the schedule week, overtime, pay periods, which requests need a manager, and time off. Each location has its own settings too.

Only admins can change these. Managers who open the page see a link to each of their locations and the note *The org-wide settings here are managed by an organization admin.*

## Save your changes

Change the settings in **Workweek & overtime**, **Pay periods**, **Auto-break**, **AI agent** and **Approvals**, then click **Save settings** (*Scheduling settings saved.*). The **Gusto employee IDs** and **Time off & PTO accrual** sections below it save on their own.

![Scheduling Settings: links to the North and South locations; Workweek & overtime with Schedule week starts on Mon, Overtime warnings enabled ticked, Weekly OT threshold 40, OT multiplier 1.5, Daily OT threshold 8, Daily OT multiplier 1.5, Double time after 12, Double-time multiplier 2, 7th consecutive day unticked with its explanation, and the note that where Labor law compliance's overtime law is on, a location pays the more protective of these settings and the overtime law at its address; AI agent with Autonomy; and Approvals with its four checkboxes — the three Require manager approval ones, and Managers can approve their own requests, unticked, with the note When off, a manager's own time-off or availability request waits for another manager or an admin — Advance notice for time off 0 and Allow comments on time-off requests](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__scheduling-settings__01-scheduling-settings.cc7ee9272e.png)

## Workweek & overtime

| Setting | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Schedule week starts on** | The first day of the schedule grid and of availability — Monday unless you change it. A location that picks its own day keeps it. Payroll weeks follow the pay period instead. |
| **Overtime warnings enabled** | Shows who is heading into overtime on the schedule (the **OT warnings** card). Untick it if you don't want those warnings — overtime **pay** is always calculated from the thresholds below, whether warnings are on or off. |
| **Weekly OT threshold (hours)** | Hours in a payroll week before overtime starts: 40 unless you change it — leave the box blank for the default of 40. Also the most hours the auto-scheduler gives anyone in a week. More than 0 and up to 168; parts of an hour are fine, up to two decimals (37.5 for 37½ hours). |
| **OT multiplier** | The overtime pay rate for weekly overtime, 1.5 unless you change it. Between 1 and 5. |
| **Daily OT threshold (hours, optional — e.g. CA = 8)** | Hours in one day before daily overtime starts. Leave it blank for no daily overtime. Up to 24, and parts of an hour are fine (7.5). |
| **Daily OT multiplier** | The pay rate for daily overtime, 1.5 unless you change it. Between 1 and 5. |
| **Double time after (hours a day, optional — e.g. CA = 12)** | Hours in one day before double time starts. Leave it blank for no double time. Up to 24, and more than the daily OT threshold when there is one. |
| **Double-time multiplier** | The pay rate for double time, 2 unless you change it. Between 1 and 5. |
| **7th consecutive day** | When someone works all 7 days of a payroll week, the 7th day's first 8 hours pay at the daily OT multiplier and the rest at the double-time multiplier (California's rule). |

- **The boxes show exactly what's saved.** A threshold of 7.5 hours shows as 7.5 and stays 7.5 when you save other settings on the page.
- **0 isn't accepted** in any threshold. The box shows *Must be more than 0 hours. Leave it blank for the default of 40.* (or, for daily overtime and double time, *…blank to turn daily overtime off.* / *…blank to turn double time off.*) and **Save settings** stays greyed out until you fix it. Double time must start after daily overtime: the box shows *Must be more than the daily OT threshold (8 hours).*
- **Each location pays these settings.** Where Labor law compliance's **Overtime law** is on, a location pays the more protective of these settings and the overtime law at its address: the lower threshold and the higher multiplier. Its **Labor & compliance** card shows its law with the official source and can set rules of its own — see [Labor & compliance](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/labor-compliance).

## Pay periods

| Setting | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Pay frequency** | **Weekly**, **Every 2 weeks** (the default), **Twice a month (1st–15th and 16th–end)** or **Monthly**. |
| **A period starts on** | The first day of any pay period. Its weekday becomes your payroll week (shown as *Payroll week: Monday → Sunday*) — the week overtime is counted in. For monthly periods, the day of the month they start. |
| **Overtime workweek starts on** | Twice a month only: periods always run the 1st–15th and the 16th–end, so pick the day your 7-day overtime week starts (Monday unless you change it). |
| **Starting from** | Shown once you change the schedule: the day the change should apply from. Blank means today. |

**Upcoming pay periods (as saved)** shows the next three, with **Current** on this one. Pay periods drive the Time Clock page, overtime and the payroll exports — see [Timesheets and pay periods](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/timesheets-and-pay-periods).

**Changing the schedule never moves a period that already happened.** The new schedule starts with the first pay period that begins on or after **Starting from**; a period already under way finishes on the current schedule. Before you save, **After saving** shows the last period on the current schedule and the next ones on the new schedule, and says when the new schedule starts (*The new schedule starts Wed, Oct 7, 2026. Periods before that keep their dates.*). If the new periods don't line up with that day, one shorter **Transition period** fills the gap, so no day is left out or paid twice. Periods before the change, and any period that was ever closed or reopened, keep their dates and totals. A location with its own pay period isn't affected — see [Timesheets and pay periods](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/timesheets-and-pay-periods#a-location-with-its-own-pay-period).

![The Pay periods settings changed from Weekly to Every 2 weeks with a period starting Oct 19 and Starting from left blank (today): The new schedule starts Wed, Oct 7, 2026, and After saving lists Sep 30 – Oct 6 as the last on the current schedule, Oct 7 – Oct 18 as the current Transition period, then Oct 19 – Nov 1, Nov 2 – Nov 15 and Nov 16 – Nov 29](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__scheduling-settings__02-pay-period-change.c269fedcbe.png)

Mays won't start a new schedule on a day in the past when hours were already recorded after it: *Hours are already recorded … so a new pay schedule can't start that early — pay periods that already have hours keep their dates.* Pick today or a later day.

## Approvals

| Setting | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Require manager approval for availability changes** | On by default. Turn it off and staff availability takes effect as soon as it's sent. See [Reviewing staff availability](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/manage-availability). |
| **Require manager approval for time-off requests** | Has no effect today — time off always waits for a manager. |
| **Require manager approval for shift trades / Up-for-Grabs** | Has no effect today — claims and trades always wait for a manager. |
| **Managers can approve their own requests** | Off unless you turn it on. Off, a manager's own time-off or availability request shows **Waiting for another manager** and waits for another manager of their location or an admin. On, managers approve or decline their own like anyone else's — on the web, in the app and through a connected AI app — and the request's note records it (*Self-approved by a manager.*). Admins can always approve their own, whichever way this is set. See [Requesting and approving time off](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/time-off-requests) and [Reviewing staff availability](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/manage-availability). |
| **Advance notice for time off (days, 0 = off)** | How many days ahead staff must ask, counted from today's date at their location. It doesn't apply to sick or safe time (a category with **This is paid sick / safe leave** ticked under **Time off & PTO accrual**, which is on by default for one called Sick or Safe), which people can ask for on the same day. Time off a manager adds isn't limited. |
| **Allow comments on time-off requests** | Untick to remove the note field from the time-off form in the app. |

## Settings that don't do anything yet

- **Auto-break — Auto-deduct an unpaid break on long shifts** (with **Break length (min)** and **Applies after (worked min)**) is saved but no break is deducted. Put breaks on shifts, and see [Labor & compliance](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/labor-compliance) for break rules.
- **AI agent — Autonomy** has no effect. How much the scheduling assistant does on its own is set per location — see [Auto-schedule with AI](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/auto-scheduler).

## Time off and Gusto

- **Time off & PTO accrual** — time-off categories, how each earns paid hours, and everyone's balances. See [PTO policies and balances](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/pto-policies-and-balances).
- **Gusto employee IDs** — see [Exporting payroll (CSV and Gusto)](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/payroll-export-and-gusto).

## Each location's settings

Click a location's name at the top of the page (or go to **Locations & Users → Locations** → the location → **Scheduling**). Those settings save as soon as you change them, and managers can change them for their own locations:

| Card | See |
| --- | --- |
| **Scheduling source**, **Schedule week start** | [Setting up scheduling](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/set-up-scheduling) |
| **Pay periods** (this location uses its own pay period — admins only) | [Timesheets and pay periods](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/timesheets-and-pay-periods#a-location-with-its-own-pay-period) |
| **Temporary availability** | [Reviewing staff availability](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/manage-availability) |
| **Auto-scheduler** | [Auto-schedule with AI](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/auto-scheduler) |
| **Labor & compliance** | [Labor & compliance](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/labor-compliance) |
| **Time clock**, **Auto punch-out** | [Grace periods, rounding and auto-approval](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/time-clock-rules) |
| **Punch verification** | [Punch verification and geofencing](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/punch-verification-and-geofence) |
| **NFC punch tags** | [Clocking in with NFC tags](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/nfc-tag-clock-in) |
| **Shift confirmations** | [Shift confirmations](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/shift-confirmations) |
| **Event reminders** | [Schedule events and birthdays](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/schedule-events-and-birthdays) |
| **Tip pool** | [Tip pooling](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/tip-pooling) |

## Good to know

- Overtime changes also change closed pay periods the next time you open or export them, so export and keep your files before changing them. Pay period changes don't: closed periods keep their dates.
- Scheduling is part of the **Pro** plan. These settings are on the web only.

## Related articles

- Scheduling: [Setting up scheduling](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/set-up-scheduling) — Get a location ready to schedule in Mays — choose Mays or 7shifts as its schedule, set the day its week starts, and pick who appears on the schedule.
- Time clock: [Timesheets and pay periods](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/timesheets-and-pay-periods) — Review every punch in a pay period on the Time Clock page — fix, add or delete punches, approve them, check warnings and hours, then close the period for payroll.
- Time clock: [Exporting payroll (CSV and Gusto)](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/payroll-export-and-gusto) — Download a pay period's hours as a Standard CSV or a Gusto timesheet, and add your Gusto employee IDs so the Gusto file imports cleanly.
- Scheduling: [PTO policies and balances](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/pto-policies-and-balances) — Set how each time-off category earns paid hours — per hour worked, per period or once a year — and track, adjust and spend each person's PTO balance.
- Scheduling: [Reviewing staff availability](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/manage-availability) — Review and approve your team's availability requests, see everyone's week at a glance, enter availability for someone, and set up the reasons staff pick when they can't work.
- Scheduling: [Requesting and approving time off](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/time-off-requests) — Ask for days off in the app, pick a category like Vacation or Sick, and follow your request. Managers approve or decline on the web or in the app.
- Scheduling: [Auto-schedule with AI](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/auto-scheduler) — Let Mays build a week's draft schedule from last week — working around time off, availability, notes and weekly hours — then fine-tune it by chatting with the assistant.
- Time clock: [Grace periods, rounding and auto-approval](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/time-clock-rules) — Set a location's grace period, rounding, auto-approval, early clock-in and no-shift rules, and have forgotten punches closed automatically at a set time.
- Scheduling: [Shift confirmations](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/shift-confirmations) — Staff confirm each published shift in the Mays app, managers see who has confirmed, and anyone who hasn't gets a reminder when the shift is close.
- Scheduling: [Schedule events and birthdays](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/schedule-events-and-birthdays) — Mark catering orders, inspections and other one-off days on the schedule, with a morning reminder for that day's staff. Birthdays show on the schedule too.

## Still need help?

Send us a support request and a real person on the Mays team will get back to you.

[Contact support](https://www.mays.app/contact?topic=support) · [Call +1 (561) 286-3939](tel:+15612863939)

Canonical: https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/scheduling-settings