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The ultimate guide to multi-location staff scheduling tools

Tijana Kargovska
June 30, 2025
Reviewed by: Teodor Jurukovski

You know that feeling when you’re juggling multiple locations, trying to coordinate staff, and unavoidably, shifts and schedules spiral out of control? Don’t worry – you’re not alone.

Trying to manage a med spa with a few branches or a chain of aesthetic clinics can quickly become a full-time job. 

The truth is, poor scheduling doesn’t just frustrate your team. It can directly influence: 

  • Client satisfaction
  • Potentially lead to lost revenue
  • Make your business feel more chaotic than it actually is.

The good news? There are better, smarter ways to manage it. With the right employee scheduling software and a few tweaks to your process, multi-location scheduling won’t feel like an episode of “Hell’s Kitchen”! 

Why multi-location staff scheduling gets so complicated so quickly

Are you thinking of opening a second med spa location? Juggling staff across locations can feel like a logistical nightmare. 

Very soon, spreadsheets start to get messy, and scrolling through texts and group chats to find the right information leads to confusion. 

Without a clear system, working on schedules becomes the worst task of the week. Managers get overwhelmed, and staff feel like they’re constantly being pulled in different directions. 

And in the worst-case scenario, clients might start to notice the cracks.

Common challenges multi-location clinics face:

multi location clinic challenges

Source: Pabau

Running a business is hard. Running a business in the healthcare industry is even harder. And well, running multiple locations in this line of work takes a lot of resilience and problem-solving.

When managing multiple locations, you usually have more people to schedule, often across different branches. That’s where things can get tricky. 

It’s easy to accidentally double-book someone or have overstaffing issues due to too many team members scheduled for the same shift, especially without real-time updates or automation. 

If your schedule isn’t clear and planned efficiently, staff might spend way too much time traveling between locations during busy work hours, which is 100% avoidable.

Things can quickly get confusing without one organized place where everyone can see who’s working where (and make changes if needed). 

It doesn’t help if each branch runs things a bit differently. Staff get used to one way of working, and it can be a pain to adjust when they move to another location.

How scheduling chaos impacts client experience

One thing that’s always true for any business: the customer is always right. 

Late appointments, rushed treatments, and unavailable practitioners due to staff scheduling issues are the perfect recipe for a bad client experience.

Clients notice these errors, which can shake their confidence in your clinic’s professionalism. Over time, this can lead to fewer rebookings and fewer word-of-mouth referrals, which is the best way to have a successful med spa.

On the internal business side, organizations using employee scheduling software reported a 23% reduction in overtime costs, directly improving labor cost management and overall revenue.

scheduling software statistic

Illustration: Pabau / Data source: Shiftboard

This means that scheduling software has a significant impact on your costs and revenue. 

What to look for in a multi-location scheduling solution

Finding scheduling solutions is easy, but finding a solution offering the right tools isn’t always the easiest task. 

Here’s a simple checklist to help you pick the right employee scheduling software for your multi-location med spa:

Centralized scheduling dashboard

Having one dashboard to see everyone’s schedule across all locations means less manual checking and fewer mistakes. You’ll always know who’s working where, and it’s easy to fill gaps or make changes without extra tasks and stress. This all-in-one, real-time visibility is the savior for clinic or med spa multi-location management.

Location-specific visibility and permissions

Team members should only see what’s relevant to them, so they’re not overwhelmed with information from other locations or things outside their job descriptions. 

Meanwhile, admins can monitor the bigger picture and resolve any bigger issues that might occur. Integrations with your HR or payroll systems can make this even smoother.

Automated reminders and communication

Built-in reminders via text, email, or app notifications help keep both staff and clients in the loop. This means fewer no-shows, less last-minute scrambling, and a smoother day for everyone.

In a study conducted in 2021, all patients who received the SMS liked the reminder, and 22.2% reported that they would not have attended their visit without it.  

sms reminders study feedback

Illustration: Pabau / Data: PLOS Global Public Health

In simple terms, no-shows dropped by 22.2% with a single SMS reminder – automation here is a huge win.

Mobile access for on-the-go teams

When your team can check schedules, request time off, clock in, or swap shifts from their phones, on the go, everything just runs better, and everyone has quick access to the changes. 

No more chasing people down or dealing with these all-too-familiar issues. A mobile app makes workforce management much more flexible and efficient.

Real-life scenarios where better scheduling saves the day

Being in this line of work for a while surely has put you in a couple of hard situations. Let’s go over a couple of examples we know you can relate to.

Example: The missed shift meltdown

Before: Imagine a practitioner who thought they were scheduled at Location A, only to find out at the last minute that they were actually needed at Location B. Panic, scrambling, and a stressed-out team.

After: With smart employee scheduling software, the practitioner gets clear, real-time information on their schedule, so there are no surprises and no missed shifts.

Example: The admin who never clocks out

Before: A manager staying late, manually fixing schedule conflicts, and juggling last-minute schedule changes. It’s exhausting and eats into personal time.

After: Automated scheduling software handles conflicts and updates, freeing the manager to focus on bigger priorities and enjoy a real work-life balance with a solid workflow. Automation and integrations here mean less manual work and more time for what matters.

These stories (everyday occurrences for many) show how the right tools can turn chaos into calm, making life easier for everyone.

How Pabau makes multi-location staff scheduling simple

Pabau takes the headache out of managing schedules across multiple locations. Instead of juggling spreadsheets and endless emails, you get one easy-to-use calendar that shows all your team’s shifts in one place. Filter by location, staff, or treatment room to find what you need fast. 

Source: Pabau

This all-in-one approach streamlines your workflow and optimizes your staffing.

Designed specifically for healthcare and aesthetics, Pabau respects your clinic’s unique needs with role-based access and HIPAA compliance. That means your team sees only what’s relevant, and your clients’ info stays safe.

With Pabau handling the scheduling chaos, your team can focus on what matters: delivering great care and making clients happy.

One calendar to rule them all

See every shift scheduling update, for every team member, at every location, in one easy-to-use dashboard, no more flipping between spreadsheets or guessing who’s where. Real-time updates and staff management tools help you optimize payroll costs and keep staffing on point.

Built for healthcare and aesthetics

Role-based access means your team only sees what they need, and your client data stays protected. With the right software, you can set up permissions and visibility for different practitioners, roles, or teams. 

Source: Pabau

Pabau is built for med spas, clinics, and private practices, so you know it fits your world with role-based permission settings that make it easy to assign the right access to each role, whether that’s your front-of-house team or a medical director.

More time for what matters

When scheduling and attendance tracking are easy, your team can focus on care and client experience, not paperwork or last-minute fixes.

3 quick wins to improve your scheduling today

  1. Take a good look at your current scheduling process. What parts are manual? Where do delays happen? Spotting these helps you know what to fix first and where automation or integrations could streamline things.
  2. Assign a scheduling “owner” at each location. Having one go-to person keeps things consistent and makes sure nothing slips through the cracks, especially in a multi-location setup.
  3. Set up a shared team calendar. Even a free tool can help everyone stay on the same page while you explore better employee scheduling software options. This will help you optimize employee availability and control labor costs right away.
multi location pabau

Source: Pabau

These simple steps can make a big difference; you’ll be able to find the perfect user-friendly scheduling and communication tools, which can impact your business needs and employee satisfaction.

Smarter scheduling, happier clients: How to move forward

Managing work schedules shouldn’t leave you feeling overwhelmed or stretched thin. You don’t need to overhaul everything at once; even small changes, like using a mobile app for clocking in or adding automation, can make a noticeable difference for your team and clients.

Curious how much smoother things could run? Look at Pabau’s pricing and see how the right employee scheduling software can streamline your day, optimize staffing, reduce labor costs, and give every client a great experience.