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

# Staffing Rules

> Automatically determine how many staff and resources are assigned to an event based on guest count and service duration

## How Staffing Rules Work

Staffing rules tell Flashquotes how many staff members and resources (carts, booths, machines, stations) a given event requires. When a customer submits an inquiry, Flashquotes uses these rules to calculate staffing automatically — no manual math per quote.

Rules are configured per service. A Mobile Bar service can have completely different staffing logic than a Photo Booth service.

<Tip>
  Staffing counts directly affect pricing when you use hourly-per-staff or per-resource pricing components. Getting staffing rules right means your quotes price themselves accurately.
</Tip>

## The 4 Staffing Rule Modes

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion icon="gauge" title="Hourly Capacity">
    The simplest mode. You set a throughput rate and the system calculates everything else.

    **Configure:**

    * **Max items per hour per staff** — how much one staff member can handle per hour (e.g., 50 drinks/hr per bartender)
    * **Staff per resource** — how many staff members each resource requires (e.g., 1 bartender per bar cart)
    * **Min/max staff** (optional) — hard limits on staff count regardless of demand

    **How the calculation works:**

    1. Hourly demand = guest count ÷ service hours
    2. Staff needed = hourly demand ÷ items per hour per staff
    3. Resources = staff needed ÷ staff per resource

    **Example**: 100 guests, 4-hour event, 50 drinks/hr/bartender, 1 bartender per cart

    * Hourly demand = 100 ÷ 4 = 25 drinks/hr
    * Staff = 25 ÷ 50 = 1 bartender (rounds up)
    * Resources = 1 cart

    Best for: bar service, espresso carts, food trucks — anything where you can define a per-hour throughput rate.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="users" title="Guest Count">
    Define brackets by guest count. Each bracket specifies exact staff and resource counts.

    **Configure:**

    * Guest count ranges (e.g., 1–50, 51–100, 101–200)
    * Staff and resource count for each range

    **Example**:

    | Guests | Staff | Carts |
    | ------ | ----- | ----- |
    | 1–75   | 1     | 1     |
    | 76–150 | 2     | 2     |
    | 151+   | 3     | 3     |

    Best for: services where staffing scales with headcount but duration doesn't matter much — photo booths, caricature artists, dessert stations.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="clock" title="Duration">
    Define brackets by service duration. Each bracket specifies exact staff and resource counts.

    **Configure:**

    * Duration ranges (e.g., 1–2 hrs, 3–4 hrs, 5+ hrs)
    * Staff and resource count for each range

    **Example**:

    | Duration | Staff | Machines |
    | -------- | ----- | -------- |
    | 1–2 hrs  | 1     | 1        |
    | 3–4 hrs  | 2     | 1        |
    | 5+ hrs   | 2     | 2        |

    Best for: services where longer events need more coverage but guest count is less relevant — entertainment acts, setup-heavy productions.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="table" title="Guest × Duration Matrix">
    The most precise option. A 2D grid where each cell combines a guest count range and a duration range to produce specific staff and resource counts.

    **Configure:**

    * Guest count ranges (columns)
    * Duration ranges (rows)
    * Staff and resource count for every combination

    **Example**:

    |         | 1–50 guests     | 51–100 guests    | 101+ guests      |
    | ------- | --------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- |
    | 1–2 hrs | 1 staff, 1 cart | 2 staff, 1 cart  | 3 staff, 2 carts |
    | 3–4 hrs | 1 staff, 1 cart | 2 staff, 2 carts | 3 staff, 2 carts |
    | 5+ hrs  | 2 staff, 1 cart | 3 staff, 2 carts | 4 staff, 3 carts |

    Best for: businesses where both attendance and duration meaningfully affect staffing — full-service bar, coffee catering, multi-station setups.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Setting Up Staffing Rules

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to your service">
    Go to **Services & items** and select the service you want to configure.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open Staffing Rules">
    Click the **Staffing Rules** tab on the service detail page.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose a mode">
    Select the staffing rule mode that fits your business logic. If you're not sure, start with **Hourly Capacity** — it requires the least configuration.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter your rules">
    Fill in your rates, ranges, or matrix values based on the mode you chose.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Test before saving">
    Use the **Test Panel** to simulate different guest counts and durations. Adjust until the output matches what you'd actually book.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Testing Your Rules

After configuring a mode, use the built-in **Test Panel** to preview calculated staffing before saving.

* Drag the **guest count** and **duration** sliders to simulate different inquiries
* The panel shows exactly how many staff and resources Flashquotes would assign
* Test edge cases — your minimum guest count, maximum duration, and a mid-range event

This is the fastest way to catch misconfigured brackets or an off-by-one in your ranges.

## Copying Rules from Another Service

If you have multiple services with similar staffing logic, you don't have to start from scratch.

Use **Copy from Service** to pull the staffing configuration from an existing service into the current one. You can then adjust from there rather than building ranges manually.

## Tips

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Start simple" icon="sliders">
    Use Hourly Capacity first. Only move to a matrix if your business genuinely needs both dimensions.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Set min/max staff guards" icon="shield">
    Even in Hourly Capacity mode, set a minimum staff of 1 to prevent the calculator from rounding down to zero on small events.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cover your edge cases" icon="triangle-alert">
    Make sure your guest count or duration ranges cover all possible inquiry values — leave no gaps between brackets.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Re-test after pricing changes" icon="flask">
    If you update hourly rates or per-resource pricing, re-test staffing rules to confirm quotes still calculate as expected.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Next Steps

* [Configure service pricing](/services/pricing)
* [Add upsells with add-ons](/services/add-ons)
* [Structure your services effectively](/services/structuring-services)