Surge Pricing
Surge Pricing lets managers add a bonus to hard-to-fill shifts. The surge badge creates visible urgency in the employee feed, getting uncovered shifts claimed up to 3× faster.
How It Works
When a shift is hard to fill — unpopular hours, last-minute coverage, holiday slots — a manager can attach a surge bonus. Employees see the bonus prominently displayed on the shift card. Because the bonus is first-come, first-served, it creates competitive urgency: employees check the feed more frequently and claim surge shifts faster.
Setting a Surge Bonus
- Open the Manager Dashboard and navigate to Shifts.
- Tap the shift you want to incentivize — it must be unclaimed.
- Tap Add Surge Bonus.
- Enter the bonus amount (e.g., $12). This is added on top of the employee's base pay rate.
- Tap Apply. The shift immediately reappears in all eligible employees' feeds with a surge badge.
Broadcast Behavior
When a surge bonus is applied, a push notification is sent to all employees in the cluster who are eligible for that shift (based on skills, availability, and location). The notification includes the bonus amount, so employees can act immediately without opening the app.
In a cluster of 47 employees, a Sunday 6am shift with a $12 surge bonus is typically claimed within 8 minutes. The same shift without surge takes an average of 4+ hours to fill via manual manager outreach.
Editing or Removing a Surge Bonus
You can edit or remove a surge bonus on any unclaimed shift at any time.
- Tap the shift → Edit Surge Bonus → change the amount → Save.
- To remove: tap Remove Bonus. The shift returns to its standard listing.
Once a shift is claimed, the bonus is locked in. You cannot reduce or remove the bonus after an employee has accepted the shift.
Surge Pay in Pay Records
The bonus amount is recorded separately from base pay in the employee's pay record for that shift. In the Payroll view, surge bonuses appear as a line item so managers can track total incentive spend by pay period. The Analytics dashboard also shows surge cost per location over time.
Plan Requirement
Surge Pricing is a Cluster Pro feature. It is not available on the Single Store plan because the surge broadcast mechanism is tied to the multi-location cluster architecture — all eligible employees across all cluster locations are notified simultaneously.
To upgrade from Single Store to Cluster Pro ($99/location/month), go to Settings → Subscription in the manager app.
A surge bonus does not bypass skill requirements or availability constraints. Only employees who are eligible for the shift (correct skills, not already scheduled, available during those hours) will see it in their feed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Surge Pricing in ShiftFlex?
Surge Pricing lets managers add a bonus pay amount to hard-to-fill shifts. The bonus appears as a badge on the shift card in the employee feed, creating urgency. Surge shifts are claimed approximately 3× faster than standard shifts.
How much extra pay can I offer?
Managers set a fixed bonus amount per shift — for example, $12 on top of the base pay rate. ShiftFlex does not enforce a minimum or maximum. The amount is fully at the manager's discretion.
Is Surge Pricing only on Cluster Pro?
Yes. Surge Pricing requires the Cluster Pro plan ($99/location/month) because the surge broadcast goes to all locations in the cluster simultaneously. Single Store plan users can upgrade in the manager app under Settings → Subscription.
Can I remove a surge bonus after posting?
Yes, on any unclaimed shift. Once a shift is claimed by an employee, the bonus is locked in and cannot be reduced or removed — it will be recorded in that employee's pay record for the period.
How fast are surge shifts filled?
In a cluster of 47 employees, a Sunday 6am shift with a $12 bonus is typically claimed within 8 minutes. Standard shifts without surge take 4+ hours on average via manual outreach.