What does an overlap actually mean here?

It means the next team's shift starts before the previous one ends, a double-covered window rather than a gap, which some workflows use deliberately for a smoother handoff.

Does the planner check the last team handing back to the first?

Only if you explicitly enter that pair as one of the consecutive handoffs. The planner checks exactly the pairs you provide, in the order provided, and assumes nothing beyond that.

Follow-the-Sun Handoff Planner

Enter your regional teams' shifts in sequence (each in its own zone and date). See the gap or overlap at every handoff between consecutive teams.

Need total coverage regardless of handoff order? See Remote Team Working Window Planner.

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Worked example

A Tokyo shift running 9 to 6 local time, ending exactly when a New York shift running 4 to 1 local time begins, produces a clean handoff with zero gap between them, since both boundary instants land on the exact same moment once converted through their own zones to UTC. Shift the New York start time 30 minutes later instead, and a real 30-minute coverage gap opens up between the two shifts, a stretch of time neither team is actually covering. Shift it 30 minutes earlier instead, and the two shifts overlap by 30 minutes, a double-covered window that some teams use deliberately to give the incoming shift time to get briefed before the outgoing one leaves.

Common mistakes

Assuming the last team in the sequence automatically hands back to the first, closing the loop. Only the specific consecutive pairs you enter are actually checked, in the exact order entered.
Entering each team's shift in a different time zone convention than the others, which can make an otherwise real gap or overlap look wrong until every shift is converted consistently.

Limitations

Each team's shift is anchored to the specific dates you enter. This does not infer a recurring daily pattern automatically, so a genuinely repeating follow-the-sun rotation needs to be checked one day at a time or re-entered for each date.

Frequently asked questions

What does an overlap actually mean here?: It means the next team's shift starts before the previous one ends, a double-covered window rather than a gap, which some workflows use deliberately for a smoother handoff.
Does the planner check the last team handing back to the first?: Only if you explicitly enter that pair as one of the consecutive handoffs. The planner checks exactly the pairs you provide, in the order provided, and assumes nothing beyond that.