Blog
Tips, guides, and best practices to optimize your scheduling and time tracking in retail.
Working Time Management in Retail: The Complete 2026 Guide
Scheduling, time tracking, hour bank, overtime, breaks and leave: the complete guide to managing your team's working time without errors or disputes.
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Break Time at Work: What Labor Law Really Says
20 minutes after 6 hours of work, lunch break, paid or unpaid breaks: a clear rundown of legal break time, and how to build it cleanly into your schedules.
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Free Scheduling Software for Small Business: What to Really Look At
Does free scheduling software really exist? Yes, but not everything is equal. The criteria to check before choosing for your small retail business.
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Hour Bank: How It Works and How to Calculate It Without Errors
The hour bank tracks the gap between hours owed and hours worked. Kept well, it simplifies everything. Kept poorly, it creates disputes. The clear how-to.
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Overtime 2026: Calculation, Premiums and Thresholds Explained
Beyond 35h, overtime is paid at a premium of 25% then 50%. Thresholds, rates, annual quota and compensatory rest: the clear calculation to get it right.
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Staff Scheduling on Excel or Software: The Honest Comparison
Excel is free and familiar, but it calculates neither the hours nor the legal alerts. When to stay on the spreadsheet, when to switch to software: the honest match-up.
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Paid Leave and Absences in Retail: The Simple Method
Paid leave, sickness, time off, public holidays: managed well, they distort neither the schedule nor the hours. The method to track everything in one place, without oversights.
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Mobile Time Tracking: Let Your Staff Clock In From Their Phone
No more badge clock, no more paper sheet: the employee clocks in with a single tap from their phone. How it works, what it changes, and how to avoid abuse.
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Retail Collective Agreement: What to Check
On top of labor law, your collective agreement sets its own rules on breaks, Sundays and premiums. The points to check to stay compliant.
Read article→Store Team Scheduling: 7 Best Practices to Avoid Gaps
Understaffing at peak times, overstaffing in the morning, a schedule rebuilt every week: 7 concrete habits for a store schedule that holds up.
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How to reduce scheduling time by 80%
Retail managers spend an average of 5 hours per week on Excel schedules. Discover how drag & drop, templates and auto-génération change the game.
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In-store time tracking: why iPad replaces the badge machine
Traditional badge machines are expensive and don't prevent fraud. Discover why à simple iPad with random photos and GPS is more reliable and 10x cheaper.
Read article→How much does scheduling software really cost? 2026 comparison
Combo at 4.62 euros per employee, Factorial at 8 dollars, Skello at 5 euros... Discover why Squadra Planning offers everything at 29 euros per month, unlimited.
Read article→5 mistakes that hurt time management in retail
No break tracking, manual overtime, no digital trail... The 5 most common mistakes and how to avoid them.
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Meal vouchers: automate calculation with Payfit
Calculating meal vouchers according to French labor law is tedious. Discover how to automate this procèss and integrate it directly with Payfit.
Read article→Schedule templates: generate à month of shifts in 1 click
Define your weekly template once and generate entire months of schedules automátically. Before/after: the time savings are spectacular.
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French labor law compliance: 7 rules your schedules must follow
11-hour rest, 35-hour week, Sunday work, overtime... The 7 legal obligations your schedule must respect.
Read article→From paper to digital time tracking: 48-hour migration guide
Switch from paper to digital in 48 hours. CSV import, iPad kiosk setup, team training: the step-by-step guide.
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Multi-site: manage 20 stores with à single tool
Store-scoped managers, centralized admin, per-site reporting: how to manage à store chain without losing control.
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Time clock fraud: how to detect and prevent it
Buddy punching, remote clock-ins, inflated hours... The most common fraud techniques and tools to counter them.
Read article→Leaving Combo in 2026: complete 7-step migration guide
Paying €500/month or more for Combo and looking to switch? Practical guide to migrate in under 48 hours without losing data or schedules.
Read article→Real pricing of retail scheduling software in 2026: Combo, Skello, Factorial, Squadra
How much do the main retail scheduling tools really cost in 2026? Compared at 5, 50 and 200 employees with public prices and hidden tiers.
Read article→French HCR agreement: automating restaurant scheduling and time tracking in 2026
The French Hotels-Cafes-Restaurants collective agreement (IDCC 1979) imposes specific rules for overtime, breaks, splits and meal allowance. How to automate everything.
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Bakery scheduling 2026: coordinating night production and shop sales teams
An artisan bakery combines a production workshop starting at 3am and a shop open from 6:30am to 7:30pm. How to schedule both teams without errors.
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Top 15 alternatives to Combo, Skello and Factorial in 2026 (with prices)
Looking for a new scheduling tool? Here are the 15 main players in the European market compared on price, features and target customer.
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