Project Crew & Scheduling

The Crew tab on the project detail page is where you assign crew members to a booking, define their roles, schedule their working times, and configure their rates. NexusRMS also provides a dedicated Crew Scheduling tab for timeline-based planning and integrates GPS-verified time clock functionality so you always know exactly who worked where and when.

Crew assignment

The Crew tab displays a list of all crew members assigned to the project. To add a crew member, click the Add Crew button and fill in the following fields:

• Crew Member — Select a person from the autocomplete dropdown. The list includes both internal staff and connected freelancers from Nexus Nodes. Each entry shows the person’s name, role, and current availability.
• Job Role (job_role_id) — Assign a job role for this project (e.g., Sound Engineer, Lighting Technician, Stage Hand, Truck Driver). Job roles are configured in Configuration > Crew Settings and determine the default rates applied to the assignment.
• Quantity — The number of crew needed for this role, defaulting to 1. For example, you might need three Stage Hands for a build day. Each quantity slot can be filled by a named person or left as an unfilled position for later assignment.
• Role Description — An optional free-text description of specific duties for this assignment beyond what the job role defines.

Once added, each crew assignment appears as a row in the crew list showing the person’s name, job role, scheduled hours, rates, and total cost.

Time scheduling

Each crew assignment has its own time schedule defining when the person is expected to work:

• Start Time — When the crew member’s shift begins for this assignment
• End Time — When the crew member’s shift ends
• Multiple shifts — Add multiple time blocks per assignment via CrewSchedule entries to cover split shifts, multi-day events, or different time periods (e.g., build on Friday, show on Saturday, teardown on Sunday)
• Time period linking — Shifts can be linked to the project’s time periods (Build, Show, Teardown, etc.) so a crew member assigned to a specific period automatically inherits that period’s start and end times. You can adjust these times independently if needed.

Rate configuration

NexusRMS offers flexible rate options for crew assignments. Each assignment tracks two rate values:

Cost rate

The internal cost you pay the crew member (cost_rate). This is used for profit margin calculations and internal financial reporting. The cost rate is never shown on client-facing documents.

Price rate

The rate charged to the client for this crew member’s time (price_rate). This is the value that appears on quotes and invoices.

Both rates support the following calculation methods via the rate_type field:

• Hourly — Rate per hour multiplied by total scheduled hours
• Daily — Rate per day multiplied by the number of scheduled days
• Fixed — A fixed amount for the entire assignment regardless of duration

Default rates are pulled from the crew member’s profile and job role configuration. Toggle the override_rate flag to enter custom rates for this specific project without affecting master rates.

Markup settings

If you want to automatically calculate the client-facing price rate from the cost rate, use the markup setting on each assignment. The markup_type field supports three options:

• None — No automatic markup. Cost rate and price rate are set independently.
• Percentage — Add a percentage on top of the cost rate (e.g., a 30% markup on a £200/day cost rate produces a £260/day price rate)
• Fixed — Add a fixed amount on top of the cost rate (e.g., a £50 markup on a £200/day cost rate produces a £250/day price rate)

The markup amount is stored in the markup_amount field. When markup is applied, the price rate updates automatically whenever the cost rate changes, keeping your margins consistent.

Overtime and breaks

• Overtime Rate (overtime_rate) — An optional rate applied when crew work beyond their scheduled hours. Set per assignment.
• Break Duration (break_duration_minutes) — The total break time in minutes, deducted from the total hours calculation.

Total hours calculation

The total_hours for each crew assignment are calculated automatically from the scheduled shifts, minus any break duration. A summary row at the bottom of the crew list shows the combined total hours across all assignments, the total crew cost (internal), and the total crew price (client-facing). These figures feed directly into the project’s Financial tab.

Crew assignment statuses

Each crew assignment tracks its own status through three stages:

• Assigned — The crew member has been added to the project but has not yet confirmed their availability
• Confirmed — The crew member has confirmed they will attend, recorded with a confirmed_at timestamp
• Completed — The crew member has finished their assignment and their hours are ready for review

Travel tracking

Each crew assignment includes fields for travel:

• Travel Time (travel_time_minutes) — The estimated travel time to the venue in minutes
• Travel Compensation (travel_compensation) — A monetary amount to reimburse travel expenses for this assignment

GPS time clock integration

NexusRMS integrates GPS-verified time clock functionality with crew assignments. When crew members clock in and out using the NexusRMS mobile app, the system records:

• Checked-in timestamp (checked_in_at) — The exact time the crew member clocked in, with GPS location verified against the project venue or geofence
• Checked-out timestamp (checked_out_at) — The exact time the crew member clocked out
• Actual hours worked — Compared against scheduled hours to identify early arrivals, late starts, and overtime

If the project has geofencing enabled (requires_geofence), the GPS location at clock-in is checked against the configured geofence_radius_meters around the project venue. Clock-in attempts from outside the geofence are flagged for review.

Call time generation

NexusRMS generates crew call times from the CrewSchedule entries for each assignment. Call times include the crew member’s name, job role, shift start time, venue address, and any special instructions from the project’s internal notes. Call sheets can be exported as PDF or sent directly to crew members via email or push notification.

Freelancer compliance checking

When assigning freelancers from Nexus Nodes, NexusRMS automatically checks their compliance status before allowing the assignment. If a freelancer’s public liability insurance or required certifications have expired, the system blocks the assignment and displays a compliance warning. This ensures you never book crew who are not properly covered.

Conflict detection

NexusRMS checks for double-bookings when assigning crew. If a crew member is already assigned to another project during the same time window, a conflict warning is displayed showing the clashing project name, dates, and role. You can choose to proceed with the double-booking or select a different crew member.

Crew Scheduling tab

In addition to the crew section on the Crew tab, the project detail page includes a dedicated Crew Scheduling tab. This tab provides a visual timeline and planner view that is particularly useful for complex projects with many crew members and overlapping shifts.

The Crew Scheduling tab features:

• Timeline view — A horizontal timeline showing all crew assignments as bars plotted against time. Overlapping assignments are stacked vertically so you can see the full crew deployment at a glance.
• Drag-and-drop rescheduling — Drag shift bars to adjust start and end times directly on the timeline without opening an edit dialog.
• Conflict highlighting — Double-booked shifts are highlighted in red with a warning tooltip showing the conflicting project details.
• Unassigned position markers — Unfilled crew positions appear as dashed outlines on the timeline, making it easy to see where gaps remain in the schedule.

Tips

• Fill positions early, name later — When planning a project, set the required quantity for each job role first. You can assign specific crew members closer to the event date once availability is confirmed.
• Use the Crew Scheduling tab for complex events — For multi-day projects with many crew, the timeline view is far easier to manage than the list-based Crew tab.
• Set markup at the role level — Configure default markups on job roles in Configuration > Crew Settings so they are applied automatically to every new assignment, saving time and ensuring consistent margins.
• Review GPS clock data after each project — Comparing scheduled versus actual hours helps you quote more accurately in future and ensures fair compensation for your crew.
• Check freelancer compliance before confirming — The compliance check runs automatically, but reviewing it early in the planning stage avoids last-minute crew changes if a freelancer’s documents have lapsed.

Next steps

You now have a solid understanding of the core project workflows in NexusRMS. Explore the remaining project tabs — Transport, Additional Costs, Financial, Sub-Projects, Documents, and more — to take full advantage of the platform’s project management capabilities.