Gastrora Clear hours for your restaurant.

Guide for restaurant owners & managers

Time tracking in the monthly cycle

This guide takes you through the whole month — from the shift plan and your employees' time recording to the signed-off time record under the L-GAV.

Durationapprox. 6 min read

Steps6 phases

Last updatedJune 2026

Overview

The month at a glance

Six phases that repeat every month. Time recording and sign-off run automatically via WhatsApp.

PlanCreate and publish the shift plan.

RecordEmployees report their hours via WhatsApp.

CorrectAdjust entries in the monthly sheet.

ReviewCheck balances in the monthly statement.

SendSend the monthly close with the sign-off link.

Sign offEmployees confirm with a legally binding signature.

Phase 1 Owner

Create the shift plan

At the start of the week, you decide who works when. Using shift templates, the plan is ready in a few minutes — and Gastrora checks live whether it is L-GAV compliant.

Open Shift plan and choose the calendar week at the top.

Drag a shift template (e.g. «Evening service») onto the day of the employee you want. Rest days and absences are dragged the same way.

Keep an eye on the L-GAV check. When it shows «L-GAV compliant», the plan is ready.

Click Publish. Every employee automatically receives their plan via WhatsApp.

Shift plan week view with shift templates — Shift plan, week 24: drag and drop templates onto the employee's day. «Copy last week» (menu «Actions») copies the previous week's plan.

L-GAV check and hours per week before publishing — Live check: planned hours against hours per week, plus the L-GAV check — both should be green before you publish.

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Tip«Copy last week» in the «Actions» menu copies the plan from the previous week — usually you only need to fine-tune it.

🎉

Adding eventsWedding, company dinner, concert? In the weekly schedule, click «+ Event» in the day header below the date (on smaller screens just «+») and enter a title (e.g. «Wedding 80 guests»), time from–to, expected guests and a note. Everything except the title is optional.The event appears as a badge in the day header, in the schedule PDF, on the schedule link, in the overview under «Events this week» and, when you publish, in the WhatsApp schedule message (block «Events this week»). Click the badge to edit or delete it. Events are included in every package.

Phase 2 Employees

Record hours via WhatsApp

Your employees record their working hours directly via WhatsApp — no app or time clock needed. Gastrora sends reminders automatically and calculates the hours. This is what a working day looks like:

Gastroraonline

⏰ Hi Besar, reminder: your shift starts today at 10:00. See you soon!07:45

🕐 Hi Besar, please don't forget to record your hours for today (10:00–14:00). Just reply with e.g. «Start 10:00 End 14:00» or «Start 10:00 End 14:00 and 17:00 End 22:00».Gastrora · Clear hours for your business14:30

Start 10:00 End 14:00 and 17:00 End 22:0017:25 ✓✓

✅ Shift recorded 10:00–14:00 + 17:00–22:00 (9h net, interruption 3h).17:26

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TipYour employees don't need to memorise anything — a short message like «Start 11:00 End 14:00 and 17:00 End 22:00» is enough. Gastrora understands the format and confirms the recorded times immediately.

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CautionIf there is no reply, Gastrora sends another reminder. If nothing arrives by the next morning, the day is automatically booked as a rest day — you then correct missing hours in phase 3. If you want the working hours from the shift plan to be adopted automatically instead, you can set this up in the settings under «Time tracking» («Adopt planned hours»).

Phase 3 Owner

Corrections during the month

Sometimes someone forgets to clock in or records a break incorrectly. You correct such entries as you go in the employee's monthly sheet under Time tracking → Monthly statement, so that everything is right at the end of the month.

Open Time tracking → Monthly statement and choose «Open details» for the employee in the «…» menu.

In the «Days» table, click the row of the day in question (or the pencil icon).

Adjust Block 1, Block 2, the break or the absence, enter the reason and save.

Monthly sheet with the table of days for editing — Monthly sheet: clicking a day's row opens the editor. Break compliance (ArG Art. 15 / L-GAV Art. 17) is checked continuously.

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CautionEvery correction is logged. Always enter a reason — that is your safeguard in the event of an inspection.

Phase 4 Owner

Month-end close: review the hours

At the end of the month, you check the collected hours and balances of all employees in the Monthly statement before sending the report.

Open Time tracking → Monthly statement and choose the month.

For each employee, check Flexitime, rest days, public holidays and the vacation balance.

Check break compliance (ArG Art. 15 / L-GAV Art. 17).

Clear up any items marked in red before you close the month.

Monthly statement with balances per employee — Monthly statement June 2026: flexitime, rest days, public holidays and vacation per employee — ready for sign-off and payroll. Check balances marked in red before sending.

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L-GAV noteGastrora checks the key break and rest-period rules under the ArG and L-GAV and flags anything unusual. The L-GAV, the ArG and the individual employment contract remain authoritative — the professional assessment is up to you.

Phase 5 Owner

Send the monthly close

Once the hours are correct, you send the monthly close. Every employee receives a WhatsApp message with their balance and a personal sign-off link.

Only close the month once all days have been recorded — usually at the start of the following month.

In the monthly statement, click «Send» in the «Send monthly close …:» card. The balances are automatically recalculated beforehand.

Every employee receives the WhatsApp message with their balance and sign-off link. The statement is also available as a PDF in GastroSuisse format for printing and signing.

Gastroraonline

⏰ Hi Besar Rexhepaj, your monthly close is waiting for your sign-off.https://gastrora.ch/sign/8SiGLlkeogBQvtFvqEG7ruCommunication per Art. 15 Ziff. 5 L-GAV.Gastrora · Clear hours for your business12:00

Time record in GastroSuisse format — Via the link, the employee opens their time record in GastroSuisse format (Art. 21 L-GAV / Art. 46 ArG) — phone number and wage are hidden here for demonstration purposes.

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CautionOnly send after the month has closed. If you send too early, the balances are incomplete — your employees would sign off incorrect figures. You can settle individual employees who leave at any time via the Final settlement.

Phase 6 Employees

Employees sign off their hours

Via the sign-off link, the employee confirms their time record with one click. The signature is legally binding — a legal requirement, done in seconds via WhatsApp.

✓

Thank you — your monthly close is signed.The signature is legally binding under Art. 21 L-GAV.

Signed digitally on 10.05.2026, 12:28 · via WhatsApp magic link

Status in Gastrora: ✓Signed

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L-GAV noteThe employee signs off their time record every month under Art. 21 Ziff. 2+3 L-GAV. Objections must be raised within 14 days, otherwise the record is deemed accepted. Without a monthly countersignature and balance communication, overtime is paid at 125% under Art. 15 Ziff. 6 L-GAV.