Hospitality and retail

External workforce in hospitality and retail: staffed when it gets busy

Pactos brings requirement, records and billing together in one system – even when the requirement only arises the day before.

Book a call See the modules

Companies that run their external workforce with Pactos

Vaillantunique PersonalserviceVolvoKNUTH WerkzeugmaschinenNoerpel GruppeHive TechnologiesManpowerSCS Supply Chain StaffingBürgerTalent Spring Expertum
Everyday reality

Five places where the rush and the people do not fit together

  1. A requirement within hours
  2. Turnover
  3. ID and registration
  4. Working time
  5. Invoice verification
Without Pactos

Staffing requirements often arise within a few hours

A banquet gets bigger, a trade fair fills the hotel or several staff drop out. Then cover is needed quickly, and the coordination often runs in parallel over the phone and WhatsApp.

With Pactos

One request, all providers

You report the requirement once and the request goes to the suitable agencies. Who has seen it, accepted or declined is visible immediately. Templates for role and shift save extra coordination.

Without Pactos

With high turnover, the induction starts over again and again

Someone inducted last week may already be working in another hotel this week. Who knows the place and has proved themselves is often known only to individuals.

With Pactos

Who has been here before is visible

Previous assignments and ratings are stored directly with the person and the provider. With the next request you see immediately who already knows the place.

Without Pactos

Registration and ID often have to be right the same day

In hospitality, employment has to be registered by the time work starts at the latest, and every person needs a valid ID. With short-notice assignments in particular there is little time for that.

With Pactos

Records before the shift, not after it

Documents and confirmations are stored directly with the person, including validity and a reminder. If something is missing you see it before the shift begins.

Without Pactos

Rest periods and records in shift work

A late finish, an early breakfast shift or split shifts quickly make rest periods and working time records hard to follow. In case of doubt the business has to be able to evidence what was actually worked.

With Pactos

Times digital and checkable

Hours are captured and approved digitally instead of being collected on slips of paper. That makes the times traceable and lets them be used directly for billing.

Without Pactos

Many premiums, laborious invoice verification

Nights, Sundays, public holidays, different rates per agency and role and split shifts quickly make invoices hard to follow. Reconciling every line individually with the roster costs time.

With Pactos

From the shift to the invoice in one process

Purchase order, approved times and invoice are reconciled with one another directly. Discrepancies come to light before payment, and costs can be analyzed by location and department.

Who works for you

Four occupational groups you look for, and one service you buy

In restaurants, hotels and retail, different external occupational groups work in the same business, but with different requirements. Contracts for work and services follow a different model. Pactos maps both in the same system.

Service, kitchen and housekeeping

ServiceKitchen assistanceDishwashingHousekeeping

This is usually where the largest and shortest-notice demand arises, for example at banquets, in season or during absences. Frequently several agencies work for one location at the same time.

What matters

Temporary staffing license, immediate registration and the duty to carry ID, instruction under the German Infection Protection Act, equal pay from the tenth month.

Trained specialists

ChefsChef de partieReceptionBar

These specialists are needed in day-to-day operation, especially when a position stays unfilled for longer.

What matters

Proof of qualification, working time records, protection of young workers for people under 18, instruction on site.

Sales, checkout and stockroom

SalesCheckoutShelf serviceStocktaking

In retail, short-notice peaks arise for example in the Christmas season, during stocktaking, refits or new store openings. Students and casual staff are frequently used for this, through several agencies.

What matters

Temporary staffing license, immediate registration and the duty to carry ID, protection of young workers for people under 18, safety instruction per store and working time records for short-term employment.

Management and project roles

Head chefSommelierRevenueProject management

Fewer people, but often particularly important for new openings, changes of concept or vacancies in management.

What matters

The distinction from false self-employment, contract and performance documentation, access rights.

Contracts for work and services

CleaningLaundryBanquet setupTechnical servicesSecurity

Here you are not buying a single shift but a clearly delimited service. The provider uses their own people for it and directs the work themselves.

What matters

The distinction from leasing, a separate chain of instruction, records for subcontractors too.

The modules that make the difference in hospitality and retail

Every module is part of the standard. These six are particularly relevant to day-to-day hotel and restaurant operation, and each one leads to the full description.

Requests and guided buying Report a requirement, distribute it to provider groups in stages, and track orders with their status. Shift planning Plan shifts per location, department and event and see gaps before the shift begins. Timesheets Capture and approve hours digitally: the basis for the invoice being right. Compliance check Retrieve and check clearance certificates and provider documents automatically. Billing and invoice verification Map surcharges, collective agreements and cost centers, check the invoice against order and record. Analytics Analyze volume, costs and provider performance per location and department, at the push of a button.
Reporting a staffing requirement in Pactos: role, quantity, shift model, site and distribution route in one form.
The view from the Pactos platform for the module highlighted at the time.
Records and deadlines

What has to be evidenced in hospitality and retail

These records are part of what decides whether someone may start a shift. Pactos keeps them directly with the person, the provider and the assignment, and gives a reminder in good time before they expire.

An overview for orientation, as of August 2026, not legal advice. Which records your operation needs in an individual case depends on collective agreement coverage, the activity and the site.

Four things that run differently after the rollout

Shifts get filled, not phoned around

One request reaches all suitable agencies at the same time. You see immediately who has responded and where an answer is still missing.

Deadlines are reported, not discovered

Equal pay, the maximum assignment period and expiring records are tracked in the system. The person responsible is informed in good time, before a deadline is reached.

Invoices that match the shift

Purchase order, timesheet and invoice are reconciled with one another directly. Discrepancies in hours, premiums or cost centers come to light before payment.

One picture across all facilities

Volume, costs and performance can be analyzed directly by location and department. Nobody has to collect lists from several locations first.

What customers achieve with Pactos

70 % less administrative work when requests and assignments run centrally through Pactos instead of through mailboxes and lists.
25 % less effort in candidate management thanks to CV scoring, duplicate checking and interview scheduling.
> 5.000 staffing providers in the network, for short-notice demand at sites where your regular vendor cannot deliver.
FAQ

Common questions from hospitality and retail

How short-notice can a shift still be filled?
That is decided by the market, not by the software. Pactos shortens the path: one request to all suitable agencies at the same time, visible responses and a pool of workers who already know the place.
We have many stores with their own peaks. Does that work?
Yes. Stores report their requirement themselves, with templates and approval stages per entity and cost center. The Christmas season, stocktaking and refits can be stored as recurring requirements instead of being described from scratch every year. The analysis stays comparable across all stores.
Can several locations work with their own agencies?
Yes. Providers, templates and approval routes can be set differently per facility and entity. The analysis still stays comparable across all facilities.
How does Pactos help with registration and the duty to carry ID?
It holds the personal records and confirmations complete and dated, so that before the shift it is visible what is missing. The registration itself is made by the employer, that is the agency; Pactos does not replace it.
What about casual staff under 18?
Separate limits apply to them under the German Youth Employment Protection Act. Pactos holds the age and the records with the person, so that the roster can take the limits into account. Compliance remains the business's own responsibility.
How do the hours from the business get into the system?
Times are captured and approved digitally instead of travelling on slips of paper. For locations with their own time management there are interfaces, among others to SAP, Infor, zvoove and TiMaS; the approved records are the basis for invoice verification and billing.
Does that apply to cleaning and laundry as well?
Yes. Work and services can be managed with their own records and their own performance documentation, including subcontractors' documents.

What hotels and restaurants work with at Pactos

Vendor Intelligence

The VMS for the external workforce: staffing requests, providers, assignments, times and billing.

Compliance Intelligence

Retrieve and check your providers' documents and certificates automatically.

Tender Intelligence

Run a tender and compare when a site needs new providers.

Workforce Intelligence

Ask questions about shifts, records and costs in natural language.

Keen to find out more about Pactos?

In a joint call we show you where time is lost today and what the process looks like with Pactos.

Book a call