A new year means fresh momentum and bigger goals! Throughout January, we've been rolling out a wave of updates across both the app and web portal. These enhancements are designed to simplify everyday scheduling, speed up management tasks, and keep hospitality teams moving smoothly. Here's a look at some of the updates and developments.

We encourage our clients to suggest ideas for improvements by using the Feature Requests option which can be found underneath the question mark at the top of the Opsyte homepage. The Feature Requests page allows you to submit your ideas for improvement, as well as vote and comment on those left by other users. Please get involved and help us to decide what to develop next!

Click here to see our current Feature Requests!

Rota approvals are now available in the app! Under the three dots labelled "More" select the staff tab and then select rota approval. Users with the rota approval permission can review and approve rotas on the go directly from the Opsyte app. Departments can be filtered for faster approval, and clock in and clock out times are visible at a glance. Auto breaks are applied automatically, matching the behaviour in the web portal. Easy Peasy!

Another new addition is the rota download button added to the app. This button is only visible to users with the rota download permission and allows you to download the full week's rota you're currently viewing. The app automatically applies your company's weekending settings, making it easy to export the rota to Excel.

We've added a new Other Documents tab to the app, alongside the existing Incomplete and Complete Documents tabs. Any documents that don't fall into those categories will now appear here, making it easier to find everything in one place. Notifications will still be sent when a new document is created for you to sign, just like in the web portal but tapping the notification will now take you directly to the document that needs signing making it quicker and easier to take action.

Holiday approvals are now available in the app. Users with the appropriate permissions can accept, reject and create holiday requests directly from their mobile device. You can view the holiday calendar month by month or switch it to a list view that shows upcoming requests ordered by date, making it easier to manage time off on the go.

When creating a holiday on behalf of an employee in the app, the same request page used by staff when booking their own time off is now shown. The only difference is that you select the employee first, and their holiday balance is displayed before the request is created, making it easier to book time off accurately and with confidence.

Improvements have been made to the borrow staff feature. This can be accessed directly from the rota next to the draft button, or from the staff list where it appears highlighted in orange at the top of the page.

The feature works in the same way as Transfer Staff, with the added improvement that borrowed staff can now be assigned a permanent job role, making long-term borrowing simpler to manage. For a further look at how to use this feature check out the Opsyte help article here: https://help.opsyte.com/en/articles/13257722-borrow-staff

Chat admins can now add external users to existing chats. Previously, external users could start chats but could not be added to ongoing conversations, making it difficult to loop them in when needed. This update allows managers to easily include external users in relevant discussions, making sure everyone is kept in the loop and up to date.

When creating a rota with no existing shifts, users will now see a small notification window prompting them to either apply a rota template or continue with a blank rota. This helps surface the rota templating feature and provides a quick action to speed up the scheduling process.

Another new addition this month is the new National Insurance warning notification that helps flag missing NI numbers for staff. If an employee has not provided their National Insurance number, an orange exclamation mark will now appear next to their name in the staff list, as well as a warning at the top of the payroll page. This makes it easier to to identify missing information prompting users to complete their personal information and helps ensure payroll is processed accurately and on time.

We've overhauled appraisal documents to make sign off more flexible and transparent. Appraisals can now be signed by both employees and managers, allowing both parties to acknowledge receipt. Documents can still be configured as manager only if required, giving teams more control while improving clarity and record keeping around appraisals.

The late and absence reporting is now available group wide, rather than being limited to individual sites. This gives managers better visibility across the whole organisation, making it easier to spot trends, maintain consistency, and manage attendance more effectively across all locations. This is shown through the new column labelled site on the far right hand side of the report.