Free Nursing Schedule Template (Excel)
What's in the nursing schedule template
The workbook has two tabs. Schedule holds up to 150 shift rows: date, employee, role, shift type, hours worked, base rate and differential - pay per shift calculates automatically as hours times the combined rate.
Certifications holds up to 50 rows: employee, certification type, and expiry date. Status reads OK, EXPIRING SOON or EXPIRED based on today's date, so a lapsed BLS or ACLS card doesn't slip through unnoticed.
Role and certification type are dropdown lists, so the summary below each table can roll up shift counts per role (RN/LPN/CNA) and count expired or soon-to-expire credentials without any manual tallying.
Shift differential pay, calculated automatically
Most generic shift-schedule templates - including the well-known Vertex42 day/night grid - just mark who's working when, with no pay logic attached. This template goes one step further: enter a base hourly rate and a differential (for nights, weekends or holidays) per shift, and pay calculates itself.
Differential is a plain number you set per row, not a formula tied to shift type, so it fits whatever your facility actually pays - a $4/hr night differential, a $6/hr weekend rate, or a flat holiday bonus rate.
Certification and license expiry tracking
Keeping RN licenses, BLS, ACLS and PALS certifications current across a unit is normally a separate spreadsheet, or worse, a paper file. Here it's a second tab in the same workbook, color-flagged automatically.
The status column reads EXPIRED once the expiry date has passed, EXPIRING SOON inside a 30-day window, and OK otherwise - it compares your entered date to today's date, it doesn't verify license standing with any state board.
Who this template is for
Charge nurses, unit managers and small clinic administrators who need to build a role-differentiated shift schedule with real pay math and credential tracking, without a full scheduling software license.
It's built for a single unit or small facility scheduling shifts by hand - large hospital systems with complex union rules and auto-scheduling needs will likely outgrow a single spreadsheet.
How to use it
- On Schedule, enter each shift's date, employee, role, hours, base rate and differential - pay calculates automatically.
- On Certifications, enter each employee's certification and expiry date - status updates automatically.
- Check the summary rows below each table for total hours, total pay, shifts per role, and expired/expiring certifications.
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See the full versionFrequently asked questions
Does this calculate shift differential pay automatically?
Yes. Enter a base rate and a differential per shift, and pay calculates as hours worked times the combined rate - it doesn't guess the differential from the shift type.
Does it verify my license or certification status with a state board?
No. It compares the expiry date you enter to today's date and flags EXPIRED or EXPIRING SOON - it's a reminder tool, not a licensing-board lookup.
How many shifts and certifications can it hold?
Up to 150 shift rows on the Schedule sheet and up to 50 rows on the Certifications sheet.
Can I use this in Google Sheets?
Yes. Upload the downloaded file to Google Drive, open it, and choose File > Save as Google Sheets - the formulas keep working.
What's the usage license?
Personal use or use within one facility. It's not meant to be resold or redistributed as a template product.