By the end of this guide, you will have:
- Installed the app from the monday.com Marketplace
- Added the Resource Scheduler as a Board View on your first board
- Mapped your board columns (People, Timeline, Numbers) so the plugin can read your data
- Configured board settings like item level, color schema, and per-person distribution
- Set up a holiday calendar so non-working days are excluded from capacity
- Created a capacity scheme defining work hours per day for your team
- Started scheduling with drag-and-drop on the Gantt-like calendar
Optional extras: Steps 8–10 cover Time Tracking, Timesheets, and Leave Management — set these up when you're ready.
Prerequisites
Before installing the Flexible Resource Planning plugin, make sure you have the following:
- A monday.com account on a supported plan (Standard, Pro, or Enterprise for Work Management, CRM, Dev, or Service products). The free tier has limitations on app installations and API usage that may prevent full functionality.
- Admin or board admin permissions to install apps and configure views
- Boards with a People column (for assignees), a Timeline column (for start/end dates), and a Numbers column (for estimated hours)
Step 1: Install the App
Install the Flexible Resource Planning app from the monday.com marketplace:
Open the monday.com Marketplace
Go to the monday.com Marketplace from your workspace. Click your profile avatar in the bottom-left corner, then select Apps or Marketplace. You can also access it from the Apps option in the left sidebar navigation.
Search for "Flexible Resource Planning"
Use the search bar in the marketplace to find the app. It will appear under the Resource Management or Project Management category.
Click Install and authorize the app
Click the Install button and grant the requested OAuth permissions. The app needs access to read and write board data, items, and user information.
The app is now available across your workspace
Once installed, the app is available as a Board View and Workspace View across all boards in your workspace.
Step 2: Add to a Board
You can access the Resource Planning scheduler in two ways: as a Board View on a single board, or from the Workspace View which lets you work across multiple boards at once.
Option A: Board View (single board)
Open any board
Navigate to a board you want to plan resources for (e.g., your project board).
Click the "+" icon on the views tab bar
At the top of the board, next to your existing views (Main Table, Kanban, etc.), click the + button to add a new view.
Search for "Resource Planning"
In the apps section of the view picker, search for "Resource Planning" or "Flexible Resource Planning".
Click to add the Board View
Select the app to add it as a new view tab on your board. The Resource Scheduler will load and prompt you to configure field mappings.
Option B: Workspace View (multiple boards)
Open the Workspace View
Navigate to the Flexible Resource Planning app from your workspace's left navigation. The Workspace View opens with access to all app modules.
Add boards to the scheduler
Use the board picker in the toolbar to add one or more boards. The Workspace View scheduler combines items from all selected boards into a single view.
Configure field mappings for each board
Each board you add needs its columns mapped. You can do this per board, or configure all boards centrally from Settings > Boards (see the Tip below).
Step 3: Configure Field Mapping
The Field Mapping Wizard launches automatically the first time you open the Resource Planning view on a board. It maps plugin concepts to your monday.com columns so the scheduler knows where to read and write data.
Map the following fields:
| Plugin Field | What to Map | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Hours | A Numbers column representing estimated hours | "Estimate" |
| Assignees | The People column | "Person" |
| Timeline | The Timeline column | "Timeline" |
| Status (optional) | The Status column | "Status" |
| Color (optional) | A Color Picker column | — |
Select the matching column for each field
For each plugin field, use the dropdown to select the corresponding monday.com column from your board. The dropdowns only show compatible column types.
Review the detected columns
The dropdowns show all compatible columns from the board. Verify that each mapping points to the correct column.
Click Save
When all required fields (Scheduled Hours, Assignees, Timeline) are mapped, click Save to complete the wizard.
Change mappings later if needed
You can always revisit and update field mappings later from Board Settings within the Resource Planning view.
Step 4: Configure Board Settings
After field mapping is complete, fine-tune the board-level settings to match your team's workflow:
- Item Level — Choose Main items, Sub-items, or Both. This controls whether the scheduler displays top-level items, nested sub-items, or both together.
- Color Schema — Select Status, Group, or Color Picker mode to determine how task cards are colored on the scheduler.
- Per-Person Distribution — When enabled, task hours are divided equally among assignees. For example, a 10h task with 2 assignees means each person gets 5h. Disable if each assignee should get the full hours.
Step 5: Set Up Holiday Calendar
Holiday calendars ensure the scheduler accounts for non-working days when calculating capacity and workload.
Navigate to Holiday Calendars
Open the Workspace View, then go to Settings > Holiday Calendars.
Create a calendar
Click "+ New Calendar" and give it a name (e.g., "US Federal Holidays"). Select a country to pre-populate the calendar with official public holidays for that country.
Review and customize
Review the holidays and customize if needed. You can add company-specific days off, remove holidays that don't apply, or adjust dates.
Assign users or set as default
Assign specific team members to the calendar, or mark it as the default schema so it applies to all users automatically. Users not assigned to a specific calendar will inherit the default. Their capacity is automatically reduced on holiday dates.
Step 6: Configure Capacity Schemes
Capacity schemes define how many hours each team member is available to work per day and which days of the week they work.
Go to Work Capacity Schemes
Navigate to Settings > Work Capacity Schemes in the Workspace View.
Review the Default Scheme
The Default Scheme (8 hours/day, Monday through Friday) is pre-configured and works for most full-time teams. You can use it as-is or customize it.
Create custom schemes (optional)
Create custom schemes for part-time workers, contractors, or teams with alternate schedules (e.g., 6h/day, 4-day work weeks).
Assign users to schemes
Assign each user to their appropriate scheme. Users default to the Default Scheme unless explicitly assigned to a custom one.
Step 7: Start Scheduling
With field mappings, holidays, and capacity configured, you are ready to start planning. Open the Resource Scheduler view on your board and begin:
- View your board items on the Gantt-like scheduler — tasks appear as colored bars positioned by timeline dates and assignee.
- Drag tasks between dates and assignees — move items horizontally to reschedule or vertically to reassign. Changes sync to monday.com in real time.
- Toggle the workload overlay to see capacity utilization — colored bars above each user's row indicate whether they are under-allocated, at capacity, or overloaded.
- Use the Item Box by clicking the + Plan Item button in the toolbar to find and schedule unplanned items that exist on the board but have no timeline set.
Steps 8–10 are optional and can be configured at any time. The core scheduling and workload features work without them. Set these up when your team is ready to track time, approve timesheets, or manage leave.
Step 8: Time Tracking
Start logging actual work hours against your monday.com items:
Open the Workspace View
Navigate to the Flexible Resource Planning app from your workspace's left navigation.
Navigate to "Time Tracking"
Click "Time Tracking" in the app sidebar to open the time tracking module.
Click "+ Worklog" to log your first worklog
Click the "+ Worklog" button in the toolbar to open the worklog creation form.
Select an item, date, hours, and description
Search for a monday.com item (type 2+ characters), pick the date the work was performed, enter the number of hours, and optionally add a description.
Step 9: Set Up Timesheets (Optional)
If your team requires timesheet approval workflows, an App Admin needs to configure approval rules before team members can submit timesheets:
Configure Timesheet Permission Rules (App Admin)
Go to Settings > Timesheet Permissions > Approvers tab and set up permission rules that define who approves timesheets for each team or user. Without these rules, team members cannot submit timesheets. See Permissions & Access › Timesheet Permissions for a full explanation of the approver resolution chain and rule types.
Navigate to Timesheets
Team members open the Timesheets section in the Workspace View sidebar. This is separate from the Time Tracking module.
Select a period and submit
Select the weekly period to submit (starting on Monday by default), review the included worklogs, and click Submit for Approval. Add an optional note for the approver.
Approvers review from Pending Approvals
Approvers see pending timesheets in their Pending Approvals view within the Workspace View. They can approve, reject (with a comment), or request changes.
Step 10: Configure Leave (Optional)
Set up leave management so team members can request time off and managers can approve it, with leave days automatically reflected in capacity calculations:
Go to Leave Configuration
Navigate to Settings > Leave Configuration in the Workspace View.
Set default allocation days per year
Configure the default number of leave days each team member receives per year. This can be overridden per user if needed.
Configure leave types
Use the default leave types (Vacation, Sick Leave, Personal Day, Unpaid Leave) or customize them to match your organization's policies.
Users can now request leave
Team members can request leave from Leave > My Leaves in the Workspace View. Requests are routed to the configured approver. See Permissions & Access › Leave Approval for how approvers are assigned and what actions they can perform.
Troubleshooting Common Setup Issues
You need to add it as a Board View first. Go to your board, click the + button next to the views tabs at the top, search for "Flexible Resource Planning" in the Apps section, and click to add it. See Step 2 for detailed instructions.
Your board needs at least a People column, a Timeline column, and a Numbers column. Add these columns to your board first, then reopen the wizard from Board Settings. See Step 3 for the full list of required and optional column types.
Make sure your tasks have values in the mapped Numbers column (scheduled hours). If the Numbers column is empty, there are no hours to calculate workload from. Also verify that the column mapped as "Scheduled Hours" in Step 3 is the correct one.
Check that: (a) you have created a holiday calendar in Settings > Holiday Calendars, (b) you have assigned team members to the calendar, and (c) the Holidays toggle is turned On in the scheduler toolbar. See Step 5 for setup details.
Only account Admins and designated App Admins can access App Settings. Ask your account Admin to grant you App Admin access, or contact them to make the configuration changes on your behalf.
What's Next?
You are all set up. Explore the full capabilities of each module to get the most out of Flexible Resource Planning:
- Resource Scheduler — Deep dive into the Gantt-like calendar, drag-and-drop, task creation, and keyboard shortcuts.
- Workload Management — Learn about capacity indicators, overallocation alerts, and workload balancing across your team.
- Reports — Explore table reports and heatmaps for team analytics, utilization tracking, and data-driven planning.
- Use Cases — See real-world scenarios and best practices for agencies, product teams, and service organizations.