The dispensary must never stand empty, and neither must anything else
Advice, compounding, goods-in, picking, deliveries and on-call duty all run at once. The day plan shows in 15-minute steps who is assigned where.
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- A 15-minute rhythm for the dispensary
- Compounding tied to the pharmacist qualification
- Deliveries and on-call duty are in the plan too
In shortPharmacies have to record all working time, emergency service included (section 3(2) no. 1 ArbSchG, Federal Labour Court, 13 September 2022). On top of that, compounding is tied to a pharmacist's qualification. In the Professional plan, MetronHR plans the dispensary, compounding, delivery and emergency service in 15-minute slots and ties compounding in the plan to the matching qualification.
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What sits above time tracking in a pharmacy
Service readiness is the point where pharmacies differ from any other retailer: it is not opening hours but a public-law duty, and the authority assigns emergency duty.
- Typical size
- 5 to 12 employees
- Price for 10 people
- 50 euros on Team, 100 euros on Professional
- Matching template
- Shift roster as Excel, free of charge
- Night premium
- Night is 11 pm to 6 am, section 2 (4) ArbZG
Continuous service readiness under section 23 ApBetrO
Pharmacies are in principle obliged to maintain continuous service readiness. The competent authority exempts some pharmacies from this and assigns them to emergency duty in rotation, mainly at night, on Sundays and on public holidays.
For staff planning that means emergency duty comes from outside and is not negotiable. It falls at night, on Sundays and on public holidays, which is exactly where premiums, rest periods and the ban on Sunday work meet.
Night work is regulated, not merely paid
Night time is the period from 11 pm to 6 am. Night workers are entitled to occupational health examinations and, unless a collective agreement provides otherwise, to compensation in the form of days off or a premium.
For those entitlements to be quantifiable at all, the hours must be shown separately for night, Sunday and public holiday work. MetronHR determines them and shows them in the monthly overview; calculating the premium amounts themselves belongs to payroll.
Compounding and dispensing depend on the qualification
Not every task in the dispensary may be taken on by every person. Compounding, testing and dispensing prescription medicines are tied to the pharmaceutical qualification.
For planning this is the same case as in a practice: an activity is not staffed with just anyone. MetronHR ties activities to qualifications, so the plan shows whether the dispensary can be staffed throughout opening hours.
When the authority may grant an exemption, section 23 (1) ApBetrO
| Period | Exemption possible |
|---|---|
| Monday to Saturday, midnight to 8 am | yes, fully or in part |
| Monday to Friday, 6:30 pm to midnight | yes, fully or in part |
| remaining times | no, service readiness remains |
| Night, Sunday, public holiday | assigned in rotation by the authority |
Section 23 of the Pharmacy Operating Regulations, retrieved on 4 September 2026. During exemption periods it is sufficient for service readiness that a person authorised to deputise is in the immediate vicinity and reachable at all times.
Monday to Saturday, midnight to 8 am
- Exemption possible
- yes, fully or in part
Monday to Friday, 6:30 pm to midnight
- Exemption possible
- yes, fully or in part
remaining times
- Exemption possible
- no, service readiness remains
Night, Sunday, public holiday
- Exemption possible
- assigned in rotation by the authority
Section 23 of the Pharmacy Operating Regulations, retrieved on 4 September 2026. During exemption periods it is sufficient for service readiness that a person authorised to deputise is in the immediate vicinity and reachable at all times.
Further reading: Section 23 of the Pharmacy Operating Regulations (service readiness) · Section 2 (4) and section 6 of the Working Time Act (night and shift work) · Sections 9 and 10 of the Working Time Act (Sunday and public holiday rest)
As at: September 2026. This is not legal advice; for a specific case in your business it is better to ask someone with a licence to practise.
Four jobs, one team, one counter
Whoever is at the counter is not in the stockroom. Whoever is compounding is not advising. A weekly table of attendance times says nothing about any of it.
- Problem
Goods-in collides with the rush
The delivery arrives, and at the same moment there is a queue at the counter. Both were planned for the same person.
- Problem
Compounding needs quiet and a qualification
Preparing a medicine on the side between two consultations is not a good idea. As a named block of time it still appears nowhere.
- Problem
On-call duty and deliveries fall out of the arithmetic
Both are duties that take time. Whether they show up in the hours at the month end depends on somebody's memory.
The pharmacy day as a sheet plan
The pharmacy template brings the groups pharmacist, dispensing assistant, pharmacy technician, apprentices and delivery, plus eleven activities from the dispensary and advice through compounding and preparation, prescription checking, goods-in, picking and deliveries to on-call duty. Grid interval 15 minutes.
Every duty has a name and a timeDeliveries and on-call duty are blocks in the plan too, so they count towards the time planned.
This is how the planning runs
Take the template, fill the day, publish.
Take the pharmacy template
Qualification groups, eleven activities with colours and short codes, the 15-minute rhythm and a staffing rule for the dispensary are set up already. The activity compounding and preparation is tied to the pharmacist group.
Changeable down to every single activity
Template for the pharmacy Ready for the industry
The groups, time grid and rules of a practice are already there. You only change what differs for you.
Activities with short codes
Every activity has a short code for the plan and is marked billable or internal.
Template for the practiceGroups, activities, grid, rulesGroupsDoctors, medical assistants, trainees, reception, labGrid30 minutes, 08:00 to 19:30RulesDoctors require a medical assistant, reception at least 1Consultation hoursCON · Doctors, medical assistantsbillableBlood testsBT · Medical assistantsbillableReceptionREC · ReceptioninternalFill the day in quarter-hour steps
Drag out a period, pick the activity. For days that recur you carry a day pattern over, the delivery day for example, with goods-in in the morning and picking in the afternoon.
The delivery day does not get planned afresh every week
An activity block in the 15-minute grid Day in activitiesAylin Demir · ThursdayThat day9:00hBillable6:00hConsultation hoursbillable4:45hDocumentation1:30hMaintenancebillable1:15hHandover0:45hBreak0:45hPublish and pin it up
The plan goes to the back office as a PDF and to the team's app. For the week there is a compact sheet that fits all seven days on one page.
One state for the dispensary, the lab and the delivery round
Published day plan Day plan for Friday, 6 NovemberPublished on Thursday, 17:020810121416
Dr. LindnerSPRSPRSPR
Sophie B.ANMANMTEL
Lena H.BELABDOKReminder sent to all three the evening before.
What the pharmacy gets out of it
Planning, hours and records come together in one system.
- On-call duty
On-call duty as its own type in the plan
Night and on-call duty stand apart from dispensary time.
Standby duty and on-call duty are separate configurations with their own assignment and notification. A call-out from standby is recorded as an event of its own and not as an ordinary entry.
- Planning
A grid of 15 minutes
The rhythm matches the switching between the counter and the back office.
Six grid steps from 5 to 60 minutes are available.
- Team
A staffing rule for the dispensary
The template keeps a pharmacist in the dispensary throughout opening hours.
As the template's default, adjustable at any time.
- Team
Compounding only with the qualification
Preparation is tied to the pharmacist group.
A deviation appears as an open point when you publish.
- Time
On-call duty as a planned block
On-call hours are in the plan rather than on a calendar on the wall.
They count towards the time planned and into the hours comparison.
- Apps
Record the delivery round on the move
Driving time is recorded on the phone instead of estimated later.
An app for iOS and Android, with a timer and later entry.
- Reports
A report per activity
How much staff time goes into picking, and how much into advice?
The export names the date, the person, the activity and the duration on every row.
- Documents
Records in the personnel file
References, contracts and training certificates filed in one place.
Deadlines speak up before they run out.
- Security
The Working Hours Act checked along
Rest periods after a night duty are checked while you plan.
GDPR compliant, hosted in Germany.
Four roles, one plan
The owner, the pharmacists, the dispensing assistants and accounting each see what they need.
- Pharmacy manager
The dispensary staffed throughout
- Between a delivery, compounding and lunch, gaps open up at the counter.
- The staffing rule marks the windows where somebody is missing.
- Pharmacists
Compounding time is planned time
- Preparation happens in between and shows up as effort nowhere.
- The block is in the plan, with a time, a person and a qualification requirement.
- Dispensing and pharmacy assistants
Your own day is known in advance
- Whether tomorrow means the stockroom, advice or the delivery round is settled in the morning.
- Your own blocks in the app, a reminder the evening before, hand over if you need to.
- Accounting
On-call hours without having to ask
- Hours that attract a premium have to be collected from calendars.
- The export delivers the date, the person, the activity and the duration on every row.
Data protection in a pharmacy
Personnel data stays in Germany and in tight hands.
- Data centres in Germany, operated in line with the GDPR
- Who sees other people's hours is decided by the role
- Reasons for an absence stay hidden without the permission
- Every change to the plan is fully logged
The day plan in detail
How activities, staffing rules, the hours arithmetic, printing and export work together.
Related
Where to go from here, and what waits for you there.
Frequent questions from pharmacies
What to settle before you start.
Question not answered here? Every step is explained in the help centre.
Send us a messageDoes the dispensary rule satisfy the Pharmacy Operating Regulations?
The rule "at least 1 pharmacist during opening hours" is a sensible default in the template, not a legal statement. Whether and in what form the Pharmacy Operating Regulations require a pharmacist to be present is for the pharmacy to judge. MetronHR maps what you set and checks it across the day.
Can we plan the on-call duty as well?
Yes, on-call duty is an activity of its own in the template. The block is in the plan with a person and a time and therefore counts towards the time planned. For the rest period after a night duty, MetronHR checks the requirements of the Working Hours Act while you plan.
Why a 15-minute grid?
Because a pharmacy alternates in short stretches, when a dispensing assistant leaves the counter briefly for a delivery, for example. You can set 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 60 minutes.
Can the delivery round be reported separately?
Yes. Deliveries are an activity of their own, and the Excel export contains one row per block with the date, the person, the activity and the duration. The driving times can be summed from that.
Is there an interface to our stock system?
No. MetronHR plans people and records working time; it does not connect to stock or till systems. The reports are available as Excel and CSV exports.
What does duty planning cost?
It is part of the Professional plan at 10 € per user per month, cancellable monthly. There is no activation fee and no minimum number of users.
We use MEP24. Is it worth switching?
MetronHR covers duty planning with a day plan in 15-minute steps, staffing rules and qualification requirements, and on top of that the personnel file and onboarding workflows in the same system. On price, MEP24 works in packages with an activation fee and an annual contract, while MetronHR is per user and cancellable monthly. The comparison below sets the two side by side, point by point.
Planning with MEP24 today?
Features, prices and terms side by side, point by point and with a cut-off date.
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