Stores

For . Shifts and clock-ins can't load until this is done. It takes about a minute.

• Renew the LifeLenz connection

  Version 4.4. A Renew now button on each store's settings page asks LifeLenz to extend the connection, the way LifeLenz's own web page does. When it works, ShiftTools can renew by itself so the connection no longer runs out.

• The LifeLenz connection is no longer stored

  Version 4.3. The LifeLenz token you hand over with Send to ShiftTools is now used live and held in memory only (a restart clears it), instead of being saved. A store can choose to keep an encrypted copy so the daily emails and kitchen screen keep working with nobody signed in (a store that already had a connection keeps it this way, and its old copies in the settings files are removed). Tokens are no longer shown in settings pages.

• Simpler navigation

  Version 4.2. Every page now has the same two bars. The top bar is the whole site (Stores, Tools, Go to, Help, you) and the bar under it is the store you are in, with Floorplan, Training, People, Tasks, Finance, Settings and the Kitchen screen. The floorplan has the same bars instead of its own menu, and Training and People are no longer repeated in the top bar. Managers can also read the accountant's store charges into the P&L log, and pick managers for Tasks from LifeLenz without needing accounts.

• Finance: sales and labour, and the P&L log

  Version 4.1. A new Finance section on each store's bar (for managers). Enter each day's projected and actual sales and labour £, and see how labour is tracking, with the month so far worked out for you. Supervisors get an All stores view to compare their stores for the month, for any day, and day by day, and to see whose figures are missing. You can read in the organisation's sales tracker workbook and download Excel. The P&L log keeps each account's invoices, accruals and budget by month, with last month's accruals carried forward and Food and Paper costed from stock.

• Tasks: a to-do list for managers

  Version 4.0. A new Tasks section (on each store's bar, for managers). Make departments and choose a lead for each, give out tasks (they go to the department's lead unless you name someone), and hand them over to another manager. Each manager has a week that shows their LifeLenz shifts, where you drag tasks onto days to plan them. A Team view shows everyone's week side by side, a Follow-up page shows what is done, due and overdue by department and by person, and repeating tasks such as the opening checks appear on the right days by themselves.

• Creating an account is clearer

  Version 3.4. The Create a manager account page now shows the three steps (fill in the form, an admin approves it, sign in), says that crew don't need an account to use the floorplan, explains each box, lets you show the password you typed, and keeps what you typed if there's a slip. After creating an account, a page says what happens next, and signing in before it's approved says it's waiting rather than suggesting something is wrong.

• Connecting LifeLenz is easier

  Version 3.3. The Send to ShiftTools button now saves the connection by itself when you click it on LifeLenz (for a store with one connection to save), checks it, and closes its own window. The settings page has an Open LifeLenz button, shows only the bookmark steps for your browser (including Mac and Safari), and says Connected as soon as it has worked. On this Stores page, every store now shows whether LifeLenz is connected, with a Reconnect button that opens step-by-step instructions for managers (and asks anyone else to sign in as a manager first).

• Adding notes can't time out

  Version 3.2. Opening a plan and adding notes to shifts now run in the background, each with a page that updates itself, so when LifeLenz is slow you no longer get a Bad Gateway error. HIG chat notes (and the new-starter ones) also look at a person's later shifts that week when their first shift is too early, and only go on a shift from the day the chat is due.

• New starters' e-learning

  Version 3.1. The Training page has a new section for people who started in the last 90 days. It reads each person's courses from the weekly report and shows SRI e-learning and workplace violence prevention (to be done on their first shift) and Creating Belonging and Allergen Awareness (from day 14 after they start, and by day 30). Plan notes puts whatever is outstanding on their next shift, as a "New starter e-learning" note that sits alongside the other notes. The day-14 courses only go on a shift that falls on or after day 14.

• One way around the site

  Version 3.0. Every store's pages now share a bar under the top menu: the store, then Floorplan, Training, People, Settings and Kitchen screen, so you don't have to come back here and choose again (managers of several stores can switch store from it). Press / on any page to go straight to any store or page. The home page is now called Stores, admin pages are together in one Admin menu, and the floorplan's top bar has a This store menu with the same places. Behind the scenes, the pages share one set of styles and layout pieces, and the code is split into smaller files with automatic tests.

• People page

  Version 2.9. A new People page (on the main menu, next to Training) turns the weekly Hiring & Turnover report into turnover, staffing, recruitment, new-starter on-boarding and leaver figures, kept week by week. It tracks each new starter's HIG chats (2, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24 weeks after they start, with weeks 6 and 8 not needed for adults), and can put an "Onboarding to finish" note (including the probation review, due within three months of starting) or a "HIG chat due" note on their next shift, like the training notes. Admins can upload both kinds of report together in one zip. If someone's name in LifeLenz is different from the report (a preferred name, say), you can match them by hand on the plan pages, and their LifeLenz name then shows on the Training and People pages. Every section on those two pages can now be collapsed by clicking its heading.

• Training marks and manager badges on the floorplan

  Version 2.8. Name tiles now show a CT badge for crew trainers (from the weekly training report) and any verifications overdue or due, an MGR badge after managers' names, and a yellow tile when a shift has a note. Verification marks only show with the store password and never print. The user guide has a search box. The floorplan's top bar is tidier and always fits on one row: Training now lives on the main site menu, and Edit layout is a cog next to Print and Screenshot. Two sliders on the floorplan, Badges and Training info, switch them off. Name tiles are tidier, with bigger names and times, a fixed place for break and training tags, and buttons that only show when you hover over a tile in the To place list.

• Training reports for every store at once

  Version 2.7. Admins can upload a zip of all the stores' MyTraining reports in one go, and each is filed under its own store. Training pages now show crew as first name and surname initial. Admin pages sit on the right of the top menu, and admins can delete suggestions that aren't relevant.

• User guide and tour

  Version 2.6. A full user guide (the ? button at the top right, with a PDF to share), and one-minute tours of the floorplan, store settings and training pages. For admins, the dashboard is now part of the Stores page.

• New dashboard and approval emails

  Version 2.5. Admins have a new Dashboard showing every store's LifeLenz connection, how many floorplans it has saved and who manages it, with problem stores first. New manager sign-ups are also emailed to the admin with a link to approve or reject them.

• Managers can look after several stores

  Version 2.4. Admins can now edit a user to choose which stores they manage, change their password or username, or switch off their access, from the Users page.

• Edit layout on the floorplan

  Version 2.3. Logged-in managers get an Edit layout button on the floorplan, so stations and slots can be changed without going to Store settings. The Add station list now shows every standard station, grouped by Breakfast and Lunch & Dinner, with ones already in use greyed out.

• Store passwords

  Version 2.2. Store managers can change their floorplan password in their store settings.

• Manager approval

  Version 2.1. New manager accounts are approved by an admin before they can sign in.

• New portal

  Version 2.0. One place for every store's floorplan, with links to the other tools.