Stress‑test fragile vs robust payroll models to protect investor trust
When the Schedule and Payroll Disagree
Sarah just signed Harbor Market, a neighborhood grocery store with five departments. A single Friday overtime mistake cost the store $1,870 because the whiteboard schedule and the payroll workbook told two different stories. Today’s mission: stitch the roster, the visual schedule, and the cash math together so TechStart can protect every payday.
The bakery lead, Sierra, was booked for six morning shifts on paper but the payroll sheet only saw four. Two cashiers ended up double-scheduled on Saturday night, so both clocked in and the deli never had coverage. When payroll ran, three people crossed 40 hours and the business owner only found out when the bank balance dipped below rent money.
- Scheduling lived on the wall → payroll couldn’t see it.
- Employees changed availability mid-week → no record inside the spreadsheet.
- Manager spent four hours reconciling by hand → investors called it “avoidable chaos.”
- EmployeeRoster: IDs, roles, hourly rates, departments, availability windows.
- WeeklySchedule: A visual grid (Sun–Sat vs. shift blocks) that only pulls names from the roster.
- Hours & Gross: SUMIFS rolls the schedule into total hours and gross pay per employee.
When all three talk to each other, Sarah can answer a client’s favorite question: “What happens to payroll if I open a new Sunday shift?” before saying yes.
1. Why did Harbor Market’s payroll blow up even though every shift was ‘planned’?
2. Why is the Employee Roster the first sheet you build this week?
3. When does overtime become visible in the workbook you are about to build?
Discuss with a partner:
- Where have you seen a paper or screenshot schedule cause payroll confusion?
- What information must live in the roster so the schedule stays trustworthy?
- How will this new schedule feed the Payday Simulator you built in Lessons 01–04?