What are shift requests?
When a volunteer chooses a shift on a schedule that requires approval, their signup appears as Requested. They’ve let you know they’d like to help, and you can review the request before confirming their place. If the schedule is set to approve signups automatically, volunteers are confirmed straight away instead.
Choose how signups are approved
Each schedule has its own approval setting, which applies to all its positions and shifts. Review and confirm manually is selected by default, so you can review requests before confirming volunteers.
If volunteers can sign up without a review, open the schedule’s Details page and select Approve automatically under Approvals, then save. Volunteers will be confirmed straight away, with no dashboard task for an admin to review.
Changing to Approve automatically only applies to new signups. Volunteers already in Requested stay there until you confirm them.
Let volunteers know how soon they can expect a response by adding your usual review timeframe to the hub’s FAQ page. Keep up with requests so they have time to plan. No one wants to sign up for a shift and be left wondering whether they’re expected.
Find new shift requests
When upcoming shifts need review, a task appears on the organization’s dashboard. Select it to open a filtered view of all requested shifts. You can also apply this filter in the schedule’s List view whenever you’d like to check for pending requests. Admin notification emails will let you know about new requests if those notifications are turned on in your user settings.
Review and confirm a volunteer
Click a shift to see who has requested a spot. Volunteers with Requested status appear in the order they signed up, which is helpful if you’re approving requests on a first-come basis. Select the status dropdown beside a volunteer’s name and choose Confirm. Their status changes to Confirmed, and they receive an email with their shift details if Confirmation Email is turned on for the schedule.
You can also change a volunteer’s shift status from the Schedule tab in their profile card. We recommend working within the schedule so you can see how many spots are available and who else has signed up. Review requests promptly so volunteers have time to plan for their shifts.
Timecounts waits about 10 minutes before sending shift confirmation emails so updates for the same volunteer can be grouped into one message. When reviewing requests, try to confirm each volunteer’s shifts together. Click their name in the schedule to open their profile card and see what else they’ve signed up for.
Bulk approve shift requests or change statuses
If several volunteers have requested the same shift, you can confirm them together. Open the shift and check how many spots are available. Select the checkboxes beside the volunteers’ names, then use the status dropdown at the top of the list and choose Confirm to approve the selected requests.
You can use the same dropdown to change several volunteers to another status, such as Waitlist or Cancel. This applies to the volunteers you’ve selected within that shift, so work through one shift at a time.
Choose another status when needed
Sometimes confirming a request isn’t the right next step. The same dropdown includes these options:
Waitlist: Moves the volunteer to the shift’s waitlist when that option is enabled.
Decline: Declines the request and prevents the volunteer from signing up for that same shift again.
Cancel: Changes the volunteer’s shift status to Cancelled.
No Show: Marks that the volunteer didn’t attend and leaves a record on their profile. After the shift ends, you can also mark a No Show in Track before crediting hours, without returning to the schedule.
Remove: Removes the volunteer from the shift without sending them a notification. Use this if you are testing and don't wish to keep a record or history.
Check the emails volunteers receive
When you change a volunteer’s shift status, Timecounts sends the appropriate email update if it’s turned on for the schedule. Remove is the exception and doesn’t send an email. The standard email includes the shift details volunteers need, so there’s no need to send a separate message unless you have something else to share. Check the Confirmation Email, Cancellation Email, and Declined Email options on the schedule’s Details page. These updates are separate from the Shifts Available announcement sent when you publish.
Confirmation and reminder emails are unlimited on all plans to help volunteers keep their commitments. On the Pro plan, you can add a custom message alongside the shift details. See Managing confirmation emails for Events and Schedules for how to set this up.
Need help with shift requests?
Why can’t I find a shift request? Someone on the team may have already approved it, or the volunteer may have withdrawn it. Requests for past shifts no longer appear on the dashboard. Open the shift to check its current signups, or use the requested shifts filter in the List view to find pending requests. If the schedule uses Approve automatically, signups are confirmed straight away and no dashboard task is created.
I switched to Approve automatically. Why are some volunteers still Requested? The setting only applies to new signups. Confirm anyone who requested a shift before the change.
Why didn’t I receive an admin notification email? Check that notifications for new shift requests are turned on in your user settings.
Why hasn’t a volunteer received an email update? Check that the relevant email is turned on in the schedule’s Details page and allow about 10 minutes for updates to be grouped and sent. Volunteers aren’t notified about status changes made after a shift has passed. For upcoming shifts, ask them to check their spam folder if the email hasn’t arrived.
Still need a hand? Send us the schedule link and let us know which volunteer or shift you’re checking.