Frequently Asked Questions

Time and attendance software records when employees start and finish work, then turns that data into rotas, absence records and payroll-ready hours. RotaOne does this in one app: staff rota planning, clocking in by device or mobile app, holiday and absence management, and payroll reports and exports.

RotaOne is time and attendance software from Thinking Software, founded in the UK in 1994 and supporting organisations worldwide. It helps you manage shifts and staff rotas, record employee time and attendance, and control holidays, absences and payroll, whether you’re a small hotel or a multinational manufacturing company.

Yes. RotaOne includes a mobile app alongside dedicated clocking devices for sites that prefer a fixed device, plus employee self service. Clockings feed straight into rotas, absence management and payroll reports, so there is no re-keying.

Yes. RotaOne integrates with systems across access control, payroll, HR, visitor management and Epos, including Sage 50, Xero Payroll, ADP, BambooHR, Paxton Net2 and Gallagher. If yours isn’t listed, our team is happy to discuss integration options.

RotaOne is used in manufacturing, hotels and hospitality, care homes, logistics and transportation, retail and construction. Thinking Software customers include Malmaison & Hotel du Vin, Somerset Care and Southbank Centre.

As one app at one price. Every RotaOne feature is included, from rota planning and clocking to absence, HR reporting and payroll exports, so there are no modules to buy and no higher tier to move to. The price depends on the size of your organisation, and we quote it for you after a demo.

RotaOne and Musterd work with Suprema fingerprint, facial recognition and RFID terminals, supplied by our supplies team and quoted alongside the software. Employees can also clock in from the mobile app, with no terminal at all.

Yes. Book a free, no-obligation live online demo with a product specialist, straight from our calendar.

Requirements are tasks you set for employees to complete in RotaOne: onboarding steps, documents to read or upload, forms to fill in, policies to acknowledge and electronic signatures to give. You create and assign them in the administration area, employees respond in the Self Service app, and you approve the responses.

Create the Requirement in the RotaOne administration area, assign it to the employees who need it and choose its settings. The first guide on this page shows each step. The administration area then tracks who has completed it and who has not.

In the RotaOne Self Service app. Employees open Requirements, see what has been assigned to them, complete anything outstanding and check the status of each one, including any that need further information. The second guide walks through it.

Open the submission in RotaOne, review the employee's response and approve or reject it. Internal company Requirements are completed from the same place, and a status view shows what is still outstanding. The third guide covers approvals.

A record completed with an employee when they come back from absence. RotaOne generates the form automatically when an absence meets the conditions you have set, so managers complete the required information every time and the record stays on the employee's profile.

When an employee's absence matches a Return to Work rule you have configured and assigned to them. The conditions that trigger a form are set in the rule, and the form is ready for the manager to complete on the employee's return. The fourth guide shows the set-up.

Yes. Supporting documents can be attached to the form and are kept with it against the employee's profile. A completed form can be downloaded, printed and reopened later if something needs adding.

Call our in-house support engineers on +44 (0) 1993 878 671 or email the support team, 8:30am to 5:30pm UK time, Monday to Friday. Every new customer also has a dedicated Implementation Manager, and we run training for your staff.

Musterd is a roll call and evacuation app for iOS and Android. During an evacuation it instantly shows who is unsafe with their last known location, visualises unsafe zones on interactive site maps, tracks fire marshals in real time and supports post-event reporting on every drill.

Musterd is quoted for your sites, buildings and muster points. If a small team only needs a simple roll call, the RotaOne Roll Call Report is included with RotaOne at no extra cost.

Martyn’s Law, the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, requires qualifying UK premises and events to have procedures in place for serious incidents. Musterd helps organisations demonstrate preparedness through real-time accountability, documented procedures and clear audit trails.

Martyn’s Law is the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, UK legislation aimed at improving public safety by requiring venues and events to have robust emergency plans: to plan, train and act in the event of a major incident.

Musterd provides the digital tools to account for everyone on site and coordinate your response in real time. Its real-time tracking, accountability features and detailed reporting help duty holders demonstrate that effective public protection procedures are in place.

Yes. Musterd is scalable from a single small venue to large, multi-building and multi-site organisations, each with its own muster points and teams.

Yes. Musterd works with most access control, HR and visitor management systems, and with RotaOne, so the people on the roll call are the people on site.

Most organisations are up and running within 7 to 10 working days, with a dedicated Implementation Manager to assist with configuration and handover.

Thinking Software was founded in 1994 by Steve Rothkopf, who wrote the company's first time and attendance system, ROTA, at his kitchen table and sold 30 systems within weeks. We have developed workforce management software ever since.

Thinking Software builds time and attendance and workforce management software. RotaOne plans staff rotas, records clocking in, manages absence and produces payroll-ready hours; Musterd runs real-time roll calls and evacuations on iOS and Android.

We are based at The Old Farm, Asthall Leigh, Witney, Oxfordshire, OX29 9PX, United Kingdom, in a complex of restored barns overlooking the Windrush valley in the Cotswolds. Our software is used by organisations worldwide.

Yes. RotaOne and Musterd are designed, built and supported by our own team of software engineers, so support, training and new features come from the people who write the software.

Organisations in manufacturing, hotels and hospitality, care homes, logistics and transportation, retail and construction, from single sites to multi-site estates, in the UK and worldwide.

Our systems are hosted on Microsoft Azure, and we hold Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001 certification. Thinking Software is also registered with the Information Commissioner's Office.

Thinking Software is the trading name of Restranaut Ltd, company number 02110245, registered in England and Wales. The business has been independently run since 1994.

Every new customer is assigned a dedicated Implementation Manager to assist with configuration and handover, and professional training is available. Support is on +44 (0) 1993 878 671 or support@thinking-software.com, 8:30am to 5:30pm UK time, Monday to Friday, with remote support via TeamViewer.

Call +44 (0) 1993 878 671, email sales@thinking-software.com or send the form on this page. Our team is available 8:30am to 5:30pm UK time, Monday to Friday, and we work with organisations worldwide.

Email support@thinking-software.com or call +44 (0) 1993 878 671, 8:30am to 5:30pm UK time, Monday to Friday. Remote support is available via TeamViewer, and every new customer is assigned a dedicated Implementation Manager for configuration and handover.

Pick a slot on the booking calendar on our homepage. A RotaOne specialist walks you through rota planning, clocking in, absence and payroll-ready hours in a live 60-minute session, and can show the Musterd roll call app in the same call.

Training goes to training@thinking-software.com, orders and questions about supplies to supplies@thinking-software.com, and comments on our service to feedback@thinking-software.com. Anything else can go to sales@thinking-software.com.

Yes. RotaOne and Musterd are used by organisations worldwide, and we answer calls and emails from any country during UK working hours. Email is usually the quickest way to reach us across time zones.

Every new customer is assigned a dedicated Implementation Manager to assist with configuration and handover. Additional training for your staff is available from our training team at reasonable rates.