Salons swap shifts all the time: someone who was meant to be off comes in to cover. Flowesce handles this without a special "shift swap" feature, because hours and time off are kept separate. Here is exactly what happens, and the one thing you may need to do.
How clock in and out works
Each staff member clocks themselves in and out from the dashboard. It is one button: Clock in when they are off, Clock out (with an optional break and a note) when they are on. Each finished shift becomes a time entry, and Payroll adds up worked hours from those entries: clock out time minus clock in time, minus any break. A shift that is still open, clocked in but not yet out, is not counted until it is closed.
A manager can also clock a staff member in or out for them, and can add or fix a time entry by hand from that person's staff page, for the times someone forgets.
Time off does not block a shift
A staff member's time off only blocks their booking calendar, so clients cannot book them during that window. It has nothing to do with clocking in. Someone marked off can still clock in and work, and those hours land on their timesheet like any other shift. There is no "you are off, so you cannot clock in" rule to get in the way.
The one step: move the commission
Here is the part that needs a decision. Hours follow whoever clocked in, but commission follows whoever the appointment is assigned to, not who actually performed it. So if the appointments were booked under the staff member who was meant to work, that person earns the service commission even though someone else covered.
If the person who covered should earn the commission, reassign those appointments to them. On the appointment, change the assigned staff member. It is the same reassignment Flowesce offers when time off clashes with existing bookings. The commission then follows to the new staff member automatically. If by agreement the original staff member keeps it, do nothing and leave the appointments as they are.
What this does not do
Flowesce does not track a leave balance or an approved-swap record, and worked hours are company-wide rather than split by branch. If you ever need formal rostering, leave balances, or shift approvals, that is a different kind of tool. For a small or growing salon, clocking in as normal and reassigning the appointment is all it takes to pay everyone correctly.
What's next
For roles, time off, and assigning staff to services, see add staff, assign their work, and set who can see what. To read a staff member's commission and record a payout, see pay staff commission and read the breakdown.