Best Employee Scheduling Software for Small Business in 2025

The app for admins and employees is so well done that they hardly needed any instruction. Scheduling can be tricky for a new user, but once it's set up, changes are simple, and deploying the schedule is a breeze. The connection to payroll was very straightforward and always correct once the hours were approved and downloaded into payroll. Employees knew exactly what was happening and could immediately get a correction in place prior to the payroll download if they made an error.

I was working for a manufacturing company. The warehouse workers were not tracking their time properly when I came on board. They needed a solid solution quickly. To solve this problem, I looked towards the payroll company. I was seeking an app that connected directly to my payroll, provided complete accuracy, and allowed employees to know exactly where they stood at any given time.

Homebase connected beautifully to Gusto, one of their partners. Homebase has a scheduling feature that is very easy to use, allowing easy distribution of new schedules, changes, updates, etc., to employees. I installed this system in a hotel, and the staff loved it. The manager was computer illiterate and struggled a lot with the scheduling feature.

Suggestion: Ensure your manager goes through the Homebase training if they are unfamiliar with timekeeping/scheduling systems. Their help is available most of the time via live chat, and both admins and employees can use it.

I used Homebase for two years. I stopped because of their growing pains, as too many issues popped up. However, when I used it for the hotel, those issues had been resolved.

When they were growing rapidly, getting help could take time. During this time, the transmission of hours into payroll wasn't always working properly, which made the software unacceptable for us. That has since been fixed, as it worked fine for the hotel I put onto the system. The scheduling portion can be cumbersome for a person who is a novice. Ensure users who are doing the scheduling receive training if they're new to timekeeping software.

It's very similar to other timekeeping applications I've experienced. I prefer Homebase over most due to its simplicity and how much the employees liked the app.

Initially, ensure this timekeeping system integrates with your payroll provider, which is the most important. Determine if your employees will use their own cell phones or if you want to have a login portal. The best system for me was biometric, but adding that piece can be expensive. Employees did not mind having the app on their phone; they actually loved the feeling of control Homebase gave them. If you're seeking software that will help with scheduling your team, this one does well.

From the time I used it, they had many growing pains, including internal staffing changes and getting them up to speed. That's been resolved as far as I can tell from the hotel. This is a really good application for employees and employers.

Homebase is very good for hourly scheduled employees in hotels, restaurants, and other service-oriented businesses.

I appreciate that the app has a clean interface and is easy to use, which our employees also seem to like.

Our organization has been using this tool for over 15 months to schedule per diem employees, who are hired as needed. Previously, there was a significant inefficiency in coordinating between management and gig workers, particularly in contacting workers promptly. This platform allows temp workers to schedule themselves at any time of day, effectively resolving the issue and streamlining the scheduling process for gig workers.

Currently, there’s nothing specific that I dislike about the tool.

While there are competitors like UKG and Q-Genda that offer similar services, this tool stands out for our particular needs.

Consider whether you employ many temporary workers and if your workforce is tech-savvy enough to utilize mobile technology effectively. These factors are crucial in determining the suitability of this tool for your organization.

To my understanding, the services provided by this tool have not undergone significant changes since their inception.

This tool is highly effective for small organizations that rely heavily on part-time or temporary workers.

Rippling is quite comprehensive and has more functionality than other HRIS I have used, such as the pulse/survey tool right within the platform. It also integrates with Slack, so notifications and reports can be sent there. I like the workflow options as well, which allow you to set things up to launch when certain conditions are met, e.g. send an onboarding survey a month after start date.

We are a relatively new company and did not have an HRIS in place. After looking at a few we opted for Rippling because of the functionality it offered as well as integrations and automations. We have been using it for about 9 months.

Rippling has been around for a few years but it feels like they are still working out some bugs. There are certain things that just don't work the way you'd expect. We have recently implemented their global payroll app for our Canadian employees and it doesn't do things like break out vacation time, etc. It has a reporting function but it's a bit hard to get exactly what you're looking for and the charts that it creates don't always display information in the most relevant way.

Rippling is quite user-friendly in terms of interface. It has more functionality than others I've used and they're doing a great job figuring out how to incorporate integrations to make it really useful.

It's very good for US employees but is missing a few features for global payroll at this time. Best to understand how all modules are priced so you know what's worth implementing and don't end up paying for functions you don't use.

Rippling has taken suggestions when we've found things that could be improved or added (TBD if those things are implemented). They have added some features in the last few months so definitely seem to be continuing to grow the platform.

HR teams, I think it would be good for organizations with over 50 employees

1. Employee Data Tracking & Cross-Syncing between TCP & ADP - In addition to hours worked transmitting to ADP, other employee data such as names and title changes were also automatically updated.
2. Audit Reporting – Being a government entity, we were subject to surprise audits by the Department of Health. The ability to pull real-time employee data to cross-check with their records made the process much easier and served as a central database for employee information.
3. Accountability Tracking – Prior to using TCP, we relied on employee self-reported hours. The reporting features helped managers gather accurate information about employee tardiness and absenteeism.

When the agency was smaller, we didn’t have many employees. We purchased it because it integrated well with our payroll software, which was ADP at the time. However, as the agency began to grow, the need for more sophisticated software became apparent. That's when we decided to purchase the software that integrated seamlessly with our existing payroll system.

Prior to this, we were using paper timesheets that needed to be signed by the supervisor, calculated by the office staff, and then entered manually into ADP. We utilized this program for approximately five years, and it proved to be incredibly helpful in automating some of the more transactional tasks related to payroll. This saved us time and reduced the risk of mistakes, allowing our office staff to focus more on other important tasks, thereby increasing overall productivity and efficiency within the agency.

1. Therapists who travel to/from clients’ homes vs. working in the office sometimes forget to track their time using the mobile app. Also, tracking other time such as travel time and compensation for travel can be difficult using this system.
2. Organizations without dedicated IT support may struggle with the implementation from an administrator level. The time and resources needed for training on how to configure the system can be a challenge, especially for smaller businesses.
3. Mobile App Limitations – The desktop version is more robust than the mobile app. With most of the staff traveling to/from therapy sites, most use the mobile app, which can sometimes be challenging from an end-user perspective.

TimeClock Plus (TCP) is an excellent choice for smaller organizations due to its exclusive focus on time management and attendance. It's less complex than ADP Workforce Now, and its significantly lower cost makes it an attractive option, particularly for startups. Most importantly, when we compared the man-hours needed for manual entry against the cost of TCP, TCP's superior value was evident.

1. Cost - Consider the investment of manual entry and potential errors in timekeeping vs. the cost of TCP.
2. Remote/Off-Site User Adoption - As mentioned previously, a solid change-management program is needed to ensure users (especially those clocking in on the mobile device) are recording time accurately and timely.
3. System Configuration – The time and training required to configure and maintain the system can be costly and does require the administrator to be somewhat tech-savvy.

The implementation of a mobile app version was incredibly helpful for off-site therapists working in clients’ homes. While not a critical element for timekeeping, being able to add additional employee details was helpful, especially during Department of Health audits.

Small to mid-sized non-profit/government organizations, businesses that operate both in-person and remotely, and service-based models. TCPs are helpful for these types of businesses because of the low cost, compliance, and regulatory tracking, and for businesses that operate in multiple locations, including virtual employees.

I appreciate that it has all of the functionality you would expect from a scheduling system for a very reasonable price. As an admin, I like that I can see who is out on leave, any pending time off requests, and who is running late all at a glance. It also has a few additional features that you would not expect that are nice, such as announcing birthdays and anniversaries.

We purchased Deputy in December 2020 and are still using it for our global hourly team members. We needed to be able to have a scheduling application that worked with different shifts and time zones. Additionally, we needed it to integrate with BambooHR, since BambooHR does not have its own native scheduling application. The integration we needed was one that would push approved work time and paid time off over to BambooHR to be included in the US payroll. Other considerations included needing to allow shift swapping and needing to have different time off types for different groups of employees.

I highly dislike the fact that they do not seem to prioritize maintaining their integration with BambooHR. We've put in multiple help tickets over the course of more than a year trying to get the sync issues resolved, and it always goes nowhere. The reason this is a big deal is that people's approved hours and time off requests and balances are not being pushed over to the HR/Payroll system. This creates confusion for employees and has even resulted in people not being paid correctly more than once. So we no longer even bother relying on the integration and just assume it won't work properly and enter everything manually. The poor customer support on this issue combined with the lack of resolution is why we are actively evaluating alternative solutions.

Deputy has more functionality and customization than a solution like WhenIWork, and it's more likely to comply with timekeeping requirements for employees than something like Toggl which is designed for contractors. Deputy does not allow you to manage occurrences and warnings based on your company's time and attendance policy like TeamSense.

Make sure you consider the type of workforce and what wage and hour laws apply to them, including recordkeeping requirements, overtime criteria, maximum workweek, etc. Confirm that the system you're going to purchase is capable of complying with the requirements. Make sure the system you purchase will play nice with your other tools and is not redundant. Solicit feedback and gain buy-in from key stakeholders like supervisors/managers, IT, and Accounting before selecting a system.

Honestly, it seems to function the same as it did 2+ years ago. And the customer service has not gotten any better.

It works best for small to mid-sized organizations with compatible payroll systems.

Shiftboard is highly customizable and allows us to have multiple qualifiers for employees to accept shifts, such as credentials or specific training requirements. The platform is easy to use and understand for our employees. The "Tradeboard" feature allows employees to swap shifts if they qualify and meet the requirements, offering flexibility when they need time off. The support team is highly responsive when issues occur, which is not frequent.

My organization contracted with Shiftboard for scheduling over eight years ago. We needed a solution for scheduling 350+ employees in the healthcare industry working in various locations that were staffed 24/7. Our payroll provider had timekeeping and scheduling capabilities, but they were very limited and didn't operate well with 24-hour scheduling. We needed something that employees would find easy to navigate and use daily. We also wanted our employees to have more than one option for how they clock in and out for each shift that would update in real-time.

From an administrative standpoint, the system can be challenging for schedulers to learn. The training modules offered could be expanded to make this easier. The visual calendar is a bit rudimentary.

I find Shiftboard superior to its competitors. Prior to contracting with Shiftboard, I researched 6-7 other timekeeping/scheduling systems, and none of them were as customizable. I appreciate the added benefits of company announcements and communication features, and the price is highly competitive and affordable.

When considering timekeeping/scheduling software, first identify the goals you need it to achieve. The larger and more complex your needs, the more customizable the software should be. Do your employees have the same basic schedule? Do they work at the same location frequently? If so, you may not need much customization. If you have many employees and multiple locations, your scheduling needs will be complex, and you'll want the ability to mold the software to fit your exact specifications.

Shiftboard is proactive about contacting and meeting with their customers regularly to identify any pain points. Shiftboard has undergone multiple upgrades over time, each beneficial to our company. This includes a company dashboard for announcements to all employees, the ability to contact employees individually or by location, and the Tradeboard feature. Their support team responds well to feedback and requests.

Any sized company with complex scheduling needs will find Shiftboard to be a great fit. It is especially useful for healthcare companies, which have hundreds of employees in multiple locations.

1. Easy to use: The software offers a friendly user interface.
2. Everything in one place: the software has all the features gathered on the front page that allows you to manage everything at once.
3. POS integration: 7shifts offers integration with POS and any other sales and finance-related software.

I advised the organization to use 7shifts after we reached more than 15 employees at the restaurant. At first, we were using an HR administration automation tool that our tech team was working on but since the working schedules and shifts in the restaurant were different from the hotel staff I had to come up with a solution. Because we were facing some internal communication issues and the restaurant manager was having a hard time keeping up with the attendance, 7shifts was a great tool that helped us manage the attendance ratio to simplify the internal communication between the staff, the check-in and check-out, and last but not least, tasks and logbook. We have been using it for 3 months now.

1. The mobile version doesn't support some features like notifications and leaves
2. You can't sort employees or shift based on dates or other criteria
3. The reports are hard to read and understand. You need to be a professional to do so.

I prefer that software that is simple but covers most of the important areas needed. The pricing is so much more reasonable than any other software that offers the same services. I would like to add that the software is easy to be implemented and to be customized for any business.

As a current user, I would say the most important criteria is the type of business you are running since the software is oriented toward the restaurant industry so when you are assigning shifts the job types you will find in the software are: server, host manager, waiter, etc. If you are not a restaurant, I would suggest using a more generalized app like QuickBooks time or When I Work.

Since I only started using it for 3 months, I don't have much information but with each update, the software became more and more user friendly and the one thing I could say that evolved is the customer support since they added a 24h line to help with any bug.

Yes, the application would be a great fit for any company that operates in the food, beverages, and restaurant industry. And also, it's good for an organization with a few staff members, since the software is free for any business with 10 or fewer employees. It will also fit businesses that hire people seasonally.

You can create custom reports to fit the needs of project and client costing. QuickBooks Time is user-friendly—our team has a wide range of technology users, and it is intuitive for everyone. It offers full customization in how you set up projects, customers, client bases, and groups to fit your billing and reporting needs.

Our organization first looked into QuickBooks Time because we needed a solution where we could house all of our project- and retainer-based time. We are a management consulting firm, and it's critical for serving our clients well that we accurately report and categorize our time.

We have clients on retainer, and we also have clients with whom we do only project-based work. It is crucial in these situations to have a system that links the time we spend working with a client and/or project, with the option of adding layers of categorization. Additionally, we needed a system that allowed us to take detailed notes.

QuickBooks Time can be set up in almost any configuration you need for this type of work. As an administrator, you can determine how it makes the most sense to set up your client categories and project-based work. You can do it differently or the same for every client or project. You may only work with internal clients, but this solution would work just as well for external clients.

QuickBooks Time allows for accurate time tracking—either to the minute clocking in and out or clocking durations of time. It has mobile accessibility for those who work in the field or remotely. One of my favorite features is the ability to integrate with payroll and accounting systems, which reduces the risk of inaccurate reporting.

Speaking of reporting, the ability to get customized reports on hours, project or client-specific data, and overtime is valuable. All these features help with job costing, invoicing, and productivity analysis. While we don't currently use this feature, the system also allows users to create and share employee schedules.

After one year of using the system, I have found it incredibly user-friendly and easy to navigate.

There are too many clicks involved when selecting categories and subcategories to align your working time. Sometimes, instead of a whole page changing when navigating, a box or separate page pops up. I would prefer a single screen for navigation. It would be helpful if employees received an alert when they forget to clock out at the end of their shift. As an administrator, I get an alert, but to my knowledge, employees do not.

QuickBooks Time is user-friendly and intuitive. In my opinion, it sits in the middle of the pack. There aren't any extraordinary features that set it apart, but there also aren't any major drawbacks.

You should have an idea of how you want to handle time costing before purchasing this type of tool. A clear understanding of how you will report on your time and use the data for reporting will help you identify the necessary features and where you can be flexible. Knowing how to break down internal and external clients is also essential, as is understanding how you want to tie time tracking to specific customers.

Yes, I feel they may be slightly behind in proactive innovation, but they're certainly not at the back of the pack.

QuickBooks Time is great for consulting firms and users who need to track time for specific projects or workflows.

• Calendly is easy to use and understand.
• It keeps you organized by preventing double bookings and overbooking.
• The tool's automation for scheduling and notifications saves time and effort.

The organization faced challenges with coaches and instructors accidentally scheduling meetings with multiple students at the same time, which caused confusion and inefficiency. To address this, they purchased Calendly to help instructors organize their schedules better, including company meetings.

Calendly simplifies the process of scheduling meetings by preventing double bookings and overbookings. It also sends automated notifications to remind participants about upcoming meetings.

I personally used Calendly for a year in a professional capacity and now continue to use it for personal scheduling as well.

• It can be challenging to find contacts on Calendly if you don’t already have their information.
• Making the process of connecting with others who use Calendly more intuitive would be an improvement.

Calendly stands out for its simplicity and efficiency in scheduling meetings. While tools like Google Calendar offer similar capabilities, they are often more complex and less focused on straightforward scheduling. I prefer Calendly for its ease of use and quick setup, which enhances time management.

Price is a crucial factor, especially for small businesses that need affordable solutions. Time management features should also be considered, as most users prefer tools that are quick and simple to operate. Automation capabilities are another key aspect since features like automated scheduling and notifications can significantly save time.

Calendly has continuously added integrations with other software, making it more versatile and improving time management. These integrations eliminate the need to manually input meeting details, streamlining the scheduling process further.

Calendly is well-suited for organizations of any size, as well as individuals who need to manage schedules efficiently.