> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.usetapp.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Collect your team's shift preferences

> Open a month for staff preferences, review responses and correct desired hours or working days.

Collect the hours and days your team would like to work before planning a month. Saving preferences does not assign shifts or approve time off.

## Who can do this?

Owners and Managers can open and close collection periods and edit team members' preferences. Staff submit their own preferences while registration is open.

## Where to do it

In the web app, select the shop, open **Shifts** and choose **Preferences**. The **Shift preferences** panel has **Periods** and **Preferences** tabs. Mobile instructions are below.

## Open a month in the web app

1. Open **Periods**. **Plan** lists unopened months from this month through the next eleven. Use **View all** to expand a section.
2. Select **Open** for the intended month and confirm. Wait for the success message and check that registration is open.
3. Open **Preferences** to check the submitted count and each person's response.

Period totals can include responses from people no longer in the current staff list. Check each current team member under **Preferences** instead of relying on the total alone.

## Review or edit in the web app

1. Under **Preferences**, find the person and month. Scroll up for later months or down for earlier months; older entries load as you scroll.
2. Select their row. **Filled** means submitted; **Unfilled** means a response is missing.
3. Enter **Desired hours** as a whole number from 0 to 360. Check the displayed number after pasting: punctuation and minus signs are removed.
4. Select **Desired working days**. A weekday toggles all matching dates; **All** toggles the month. Use the calendar to adjust individual dates.
5. Check the dates, choose **Save preferences**, wait for success and reopen to verify. Closing before saving discards your edits.

Saving with no days selected records availability for the entire month. Do not clear the calendar to mean “cannot work.” Discuss the intended availability with the person first.

A manager's save fills a missing response on the person's behalf. **Filled** does not prove that they submitted it themselves.

## Close or reopen registration

In the web app, choose **Close** under **Periods** and confirm. Staff can no longer complete or submit responses for that month. Owners and Managers can still correct them.

Reopen registration for missing responses. Submitted responses remain read-only for staff, even after reopening; a manager must correct them. Closed past months have no **Open** button. Opening or closing registration does not create or publish a schedule.

## Platform notes

In the mobile app, open **Work** and select **View all** beside **Preferences**.

* Under **Periods**, tap the closed-lock button to open a month or the open-lock button to close it. These actions happen immediately, without confirmation. Check the month first and pull down to refresh after an error.
* Under **Preferences**, find the month and tap a person. Months run newest first; scroll down for more. Enter hours and days, then choose **Save preferences** for a missing response or **Save changes** for a submitted one. Wait for confirmation and reopen to check.
* Manager edits remain possible after registration closes. The same hours limit and empty-calendar behavior apply.

A missing mobile response may start with that person's latest earlier submitted hours and days. Dates follow weekday position: the first Monday becomes the new month's first Monday. A fifth occurrence is skipped if the month has only four. Review every date; these starting values are not a new submission.

## Market notes

This flow applies in Great Britain and Germany. Confirm the shop and calendar month before saving.

## Troubleshooting

* Use whole hours from 0 to 360; do not leave the field blank.
* If staff cannot edit, check the month and whether they already submitted. Reopening does not unlock submitted responses.
* After a save error, refresh and reopen the entry before retrying. Contact Tapp support if the saved state remains unclear.

## Related articles

* [Submit your shift preferences](/en/shift-management/submit-shift-preferences)
* [Create and staff a shift](/en/shift-management/create-and-staff-a-shift)
* [Request time off](/en/shift-management/request-time-off)