How can scheduling software help cut overtime?
It shows real-time hours, alerts managers before overtime hits, helps build schedules around demand, and makes it easier to fill gaps with the right person instead of extending shifts.
How to Cut Overtime in Restaurants
Why Overtime Happens
When restaurant owners say they want to "cut overtime," they usually mean one thing- stop paying extra labor costs that don't actually improve the guest experience. Overtime often shows up as small, repeated problems - staying 20 minutes late to finish cleaning, coming in early to get ahead, or extending a shift because no one else can cover. Over time, those minutes turn into real money.
Cutting overtime does not mean cutting labor so deeply that service suffers. If you cut too aggressively, your best people get burned out, your team rushes, mistakes increase, and guests notice. The goal is to reduce avoidable overtime - hours that happen because of poor planning, messy handoffs, unclear rules, or scheduling gaps.
It also helps to remember that overtime is not always "bad." Sometimes it's the right call - like when you have an unexpected rush, a call-out during a peak period, or a critical manager task that can't wait. But even then, overtime should be a choice, not a surprise that happens every week.
A simple way to think about it is this - cutting overtime means building a restaurant operation where the shift can start on time, run smoothly, and end cleanly - without needing people to constantly stay late to catch up.
Start With a Quick Overtime Check
Before you try to fix overtime, you need to know why it's happening. Most restaurants don't have an overtime "problem" across the whole business - they have a few repeat patterns that keep showing up. A quick overtime check helps you find those patterns so you can solve the real issue instead of guessing.
Start by pulling the last 4-8 weeks of timecards and payroll reports. Look for overtime hours by employee and by week. Then take it one step further and ask - When is the overtime happening? Break it down by day of week (Friday, Saturday, Sunday are common), daypart (open, lunch, dinner, close), and role (line cook, dishwasher, closing manager, server, etc.). This alone usually makes the causes obvious.
Next, sort overtime into simple buckets -
1. Coverage overtime - someone stays late because the next shift is short-staffed
2. Closing overtime - the restaurant closes later than expected, or the closing tasks take too long
3. Prep overtime - prep runs behind, or the kitchen runs out mid-shift and has to catch up
4. Call-out overtime - someone is out sick and you fill the gap by extending a shift
5. Control overtime - early clock-ins, long breaks, or "just a few more minutes" that adds up
Finally, write down your top overtime drivers. This can be as simple as - the top 5 employees with overtime, the top 3 shifts where it happens, and the most common reason. The goal isn't to blame anyone. It's to find the repeat situations that create overtime so you can prevent them with better scheduling, clearer rules, and smoother operations.
Fix the Schedule First
If you want to cut overtime, the schedule is usually the biggest lever you can pull. Most overtime isn't caused by one huge mistake - it's caused by a schedule that doesn't match real business patterns. When staffing is too light during busy hours, people stay late to catch up. When staffing is too heavy early in the day, labor gets "spent" before the rush and managers feel forced to extend shifts later.
Start by scheduling around your busy hours, not a "default" weekly template. Look at sales by hour and ask- when do we actually need the most hands on deck? Then build coverage around those peaks. Even a simple change - adding one extra person during the true rush and trimming slow time - can reduce end-of-shift overtime because the team isn't constantly behind.
Next, use short shifts on purpose. Instead of extending an 8-hour shift into overtime, add a 3-4 hour "rush shift" that covers the spike and then ends. These small shifts are one of the cleanest ways to reduce overtime because they fill gaps without pushing anyone over their weekly hours.
Also watch stacked long shifts. Overtime often happens when the same reliable people are scheduled heavy every week, especially across doubles or back-to-back closes and opens. If someone is already near their limit, one call-out or one busy night can push them into overtime fast. Spread hours more evenly when possible, and build a small bench of trained backups.
Finally, plan the close like it matters - because it does. If the schedule assumes the close will finish in 30 minutes but it actually takes 60, overtime will happen no matter how hard the manager tries. Schedule realistic closing coverage, stagger who stays late, and avoid the habit of keeping too many people "just in case." A schedule that matches reality is the foundation for cutting overtime.
Set Clear Rules for Time Punches
Even with a better schedule, overtime can still creep in if time punches are loose. Many restaurants lose overtime control in tiny ways that feel harmless in the moment - someone clocks in 10 minutes early, stays 15 minutes late, or takes a longer break than planned and then needs extra time to finish. When this happens across multiple employees and multiple days, it adds up fast.
Start with one simple rule - early clock-ins should be the exception, not the default. If someone needs to come in early, it should be approved by a manager and tied to a real need (prep behind, an early delivery, an unexpected call-out). Otherwise, early clock-ins become a habit, and overtime becomes "normal."
Next, pay attention to shift extensions. The phrase "Can you stay a little longer?" is one of the biggest overtime drivers in restaurants - because it rarely stays a little. Set a clear standard for when a manager can extend a shift, and when they should use another option instead (call in a short shift, reassign tasks, or cut non-urgent work). The goal is to avoid extending hours when the real issue is poor planning or inefficient workflow.
It also helps to set overtime warning points. Many operators watch weekly totals like 30, 35, or 38 hours (or whatever makes sense for your business). When someone hits that point, the manager should already be thinking - "If we extend this person again, we'll pay overtime." This creates a habit of making decisions earlier - before overtime is unavoidable.
Finally, consistency matters. If one manager enforces time punch rules and another manager doesn't, overtime will keep happening. Agree on the rules, write them down, and coach managers to follow the same approach every shift. Cutting overtime requires control, and time punches are where control starts.
Tighten Up the Closing Process
If overtime keeps showing up at night, the close is usually the reason. Not because your team is "slow," but because closing work isn't planned, started early enough, or assigned clearly.
The 3 closing problems that create overtime
1) The close starts too late - Most teams wait until the last table leaves to begin. That turns every close into a scramble.
2) No one owns the work - When the plan is "everyone help," tasks get missed and the manager stays late to finish.
3) Cuts happen too slowly - If you don't cut at the right time, you either pay people to stand around - or you keep the wrong people too long and still struggle.
Use this structure every night -
Step 1. Set a cut plan before dinner rush ends
Decide who gets cut first, second, and third based on sales and the reservations/online order outlook.
Step 2. Start "pre-close" during slower minutes
Pick tasks that don't hurt service -
- restock sauces, paper, and to-go supplies
- wipe unused stations and sweep high-traffic areas
- break down one section at a time (not all at once)
- push dishes steadily instead of saving them for the end
Step 3. Assign closing lists by role
- FOH list. Side work, cash-out steps, dining room reset
- BOH list. Line breakdown, labeling, trash, equipment wipe-down
- Dish list. Final push order + shut-down routine
- Manager list. Counts, deposits, final checks, walkthrough
Track close finish time every night (even in a notebook). If you see the same nights running late, you'll find the pattern fast - staffing, volume, or one task that always drags. Fix that one thing, and overtime drops without stressing the team.
Reduce Stay Late Problems in the Kitchen
Kitchen overtime usually doesn't happen because one shift went a little long. It happens because the BOH gets behind, and the only way to catch up is to stay late. The most common triggers are predictable - prep wasn't enough, the line ran out of key items during the rush, dishes backed up, or the station setup wasn't ready when the tickets hit. When the kitchen spends the whole shift reacting, the close becomes a second shift.
Start by identifying your top "stay late" reasons. Ask one simple question - What keeps us in the building after the last ticket? In many restaurants, it's not cooking - it's cleanup, dish, and resetting the kitchen for tomorrow. If your dish pit is overwhelmed, everyone else gets stuck waiting. If your trash and breakdown routine is unclear, the last 30 minutes turn into chaos.
Next, tighten your prep lists and par levels. If your pars are too low, the team runs out mid-shift and has to do emergency prep, which steals time from service and pushes tasks later. If your prep list is too vague, items get missed and the line scrambles. Build a daily prep list that answers- what must be ready by open, what must be ready by dinner, and who owns each item.
Then, build a habit of a mid-shift check. About 60-90 minutes before close (or after the main rush), check three things - 1) What you're running low on, 2) What cleaning tasks can start now, and 3) Whether dish is caught up. This prevents the we discovered the problem at the end scenario.
Finally, cross-train for your biggest bottleneck. If dish is always the limiter, train one or two team members to jump in for 20 minutes during peak volume. If fryer or prep is the choke point, train a backup who can step in without slowing the line. The goal is simple- prevent kitchen problems from piling up so the team can finish the shift on time, not in overtime.
Use Flexible Staffing
Most restaurant overtime happens when a shift gets busy, something breaks, or someone calls outand the only solution is to keep the same people longer. Flexible staffing gives you more options, so you can cover real needs without pushing hours into overtime.
1) Build a small flex bench (your backup coverage plan)
Pick 2-4 employees (across FOH and BOH) who can step into more than one role. This does not mean everyone needs to do everything. It means you have a few reliable people who can cover the most common gaps - like dish, prep help, expo support, runner, or host. When the rush hits, you can move people around instead of extending shifts.
2) Use short "rush shifts" instead of long extensions
Short shifts are one of the cleanest ways to cut overtime because they cover spikes without pushing weekly totals over the edge.
Examples -
- Add a 4-8pm line support shift for the dinner push
- Add a 6-10pm dish support shift on your busiest nights
- Add a 2-5pm FOH reset shift to set the team up for dinner
These shifts are easier to fill and cheaper than overtime hours.
3) Separate skilled work from support work
A common overtime trap is having higher-paid or key staff doing tasks that could be handled by a support role.
Examples -
- Line cooks doing all restocking and cleaning late night
- Servers staying late to reset the entire dining room
- Managers doing basic side work instead of managing the close
When you split tasks clearly, you protect your skilled roles and shorten the close. If the same person always closes, always covers call-outs, or always stays late, they will hit overtime more often. Build rotation into your schedule so the overtime burden is shared. This helps morale and reduces the habit of leaning on one or two people to save every shift.
How Scheduling Software Helps Cut Overtime
Cutting overtime gets much easier when you can see hours building in real time and make changes before someone crosses the line. That's where scheduling software can make a real difference - because it helps you prevent overtime instead of reacting to it after payroll runs.
1) Real-time hour tracking - Instead of waiting until the end of the week, scheduling tools show each employee's total hours as you build and adjust the schedule. That means you can spot risk early - like an employee trending toward overtime because they picked up shifts, stayed late, or covered a call-out.
2) Overtime alerts and manager visibility - Good scheduling systems can send alerts when someone is approaching an overtime threshold. This helps managers make a decision before it's too late - swap coverage, shorten a shift, add a small rush shift, or move tasks to a different role.
3) Smarter scheduling based on demand - When schedules are built around real business patterns, overtime drops. Scheduling software can help you plan around forecasted sales, busy hours, and staffing targets so you're not constantly short during peaks and overstaffed during slow periods (both lead to overtime in different ways).
4) Cleaner shift coverage - When a gap appears, many managers extend whoever is already there. Scheduling tools make it easier to find the right person to fill the shift - based on availability, skills, and current hours - so you don't accidentally push someone into overtime.
5) Better reporting to fix the root cause - Overtime reports help you see repeat patterns - which days run hot, which roles are consistently over, and whether overtime is tied to closing, call-outs, prep, or time punch habits. That makes it easier to fix the real operational issue instead of guessing.
Cut Overtime with Altametrics
If you want a simpler way to control overtime without hurting service, Altametrics can help you schedule with more visibility and less guesswork. With tools designed for restaurant labor management - like hour tracking, alerts, and scheduling controls - you can spot overtime risk early, tighten coverage, and keep labor costs predictable.
Want to see how it would work for your locations? Learn more by clicking "Book a Demo" below.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common overtime drivers in restaurants?
Late closes, call-outs, understaffed rush periods, BOH bottlenecks (prep/dish), and weak time punch rules (early clock-ins and "a few extra minutes" staying late).
How do I reduce BOH overtime specifically?
Lock in prep lists and par levels, run a mid-shift check, fix dish bottlenecks, and cross-train support so the kitchen doesn't fall behind and "catch up" after close.
How do I stop overtime caused by closing?
Use a cut plan, start pre-close tasks earlier, assign role-based closing checklists, and track close finish times so you can fix repeat slow nights.
How do I cut overtime without hurting service?
Don't cut hours across the board. Instead, shift labor to the right hours (rush coverage), use short shifts, tighten the close, and cross-train so the team can handle spikes without staying late.
