Best Employee Scheduling Software for Small Business in 2025

• I like the software pricing of the tool, it is cheap to use for business purposes and hence does not affect the ROI of the company.
• I like the chat feature which you can use to broadcast your messages amongst the team at no extra cost.
• Event notifications make sure that our users never miss our internal meetings and events

Connecteam is faster and easier to use, which has helped us solve the problem of team management, team collaborations, and group work, it is helping us to share documents, and work plans with the team remotely, and, also we use it as decision-making tool where we use the chat feature of the software to chat with our team remotely to make important decision makings to our tool. I have used the solution for three years and eight months as an administrator of the software

The software has a lot of video tutorials that play automatically hence creating inconvenience, one should only play the video when needed and with his or her consent.It does not have a calendar integration which makes it hard for one to integrate a calendar within the software to track personal events and business events to prevent event conflicts, the text editor in the tool is too slow when you are creating event descriptions, it is impossible to add the ALT text on images that you add in the tool.

They have kept the pricing relatively lower to help even smaller businesses use the solution, and they have a responsive customer support team through the live chat

Good for HR, team leaders, and marketing teams

I really love the time-clock app, which makes time recording more efficient and reduces time theft. I love that Homebase is highly expandable—we started with just the rota and expanded to include the time clock, timesheets, and payroll. I think it is well-priced, and you get a lot of value for your money.

We were using an Excel-based rota to manage staff hours, but as staff numbers increased, it became cumbersome. The rota had macros that were proving unreliable on different platforms. We wanted an online system to manage our rotas. The key benefits Homebase provided were a lot of automation, including staff shift-swapping. I have used Homebase on and off for about five years.

The geolocation on the time clock can be glitchy at times. It's only suitable for US employees, as you can only pay in dollars, and customer service is US-centric. The mobile app seems to be somewhat limited on iOS.

I think Homebase offers more expandability compared to its competitors. It is also reasonably priced in comparison. The pricing model suited us better than others because we have just a few locations with quite a few staff, and Homebase's pricing is driven by the number of locations rather than the number of employees.

Since it's primarily a scheduling tool, it needs to have a high-quality rota with plenty of automation and shift-swapping as a minimum. Rotas, timesheets, and payroll are closely linked workflows, so it's best to look for software that includes all three areas of functionality to maximize efficiency.

Homebase has gradually expanded its service offerings, allowing users to treat it as a one-stop shop for HR functionality. While this can be more expensive than using separate tools, the convenience of available add-ons is beneficial for those who want an all-in-one HR solution.

Homebase is ideal for US-based organizations with a tech-savvy workforce.

1. User-friendly interface in both the app and the web-based platform
2. Easy to manage a high-volume of team members
3. Solved our problems of needing a centralized scheduling system for multiple locations and a reliable time-keeping app

I utilized when-i-work while employed with JAG Physical Therapy. I have 8 months' experience utilizing the system. It was purchased to be a schedule management system to schedule, track time and attendance, and communicate with our hourly employees. The pain points leading to purchase included a need for an all-access central scheduling system that can accommodate multiple site locations. The key benefits included the ability to keep track of time off, employee availability, and manage shift swaps with a few clicks.

1. The chat feature is clunky. We chose to utilized WhatsApp instead for security purposes
2. Difficulty with integration into ADP payroll system
3. Various aspects of the clock in/clock out logistics, with GPS tracking. This led to extra work when people forgot to clock in or out and had to manually enter

I preferred When-I-Work's App vs Deputy, however preferred the web-based interface of Deputy. It was easier to find settings for changes, easier to copy and duplicate shifts in a series with customization.

1. Cost - When-I-Work is an affordable choice for what you get
2. Other systems in your workplace - check for the ability to integrate
3. Comparison of chat features vs other options - have to find what works best for you. Would be better if when-i-work was encrypted.

It became more user-friendly over the 8 months I utilized the app. The customer service team was helpful in solving challenges that arose.

Any multi-location entity

Regarding Rippling, I appreciated its all-in-one capabilities. Another aspect I appreciated was their continuous development of new features. It also provides excellent compliance and management tools. The system's integration with other HR and IT tools is helpful for centralized management.

I assisted with implementing Rippling at the company where it was utilized and had signed on prior to my joining. Initially, they integrated it for approximately 3-6 months, followed by another 9 months, and continue to use it. Their objective was to streamline processes related to onboarding, HR, Carta, and IT solutions. My role involved configuring workflows, email reminders, setting up the Applicant Tracking System (ATS), and implementing Carta. Despite using it effectively for six months at Replit, they aimed for a more efficient onboarding experience but ultimately did not utilize Rippling as extensively as anticipated.

It was quite complex, requiring significant learning effort. The system was not as intuitive as expected, and even the representatives lacked comprehensive knowledge to ensure seamless integration. Rippling demanded considerable time for proficiency, and its compatibility with other systems was limited. Not all data was easily downloadable. If their team responded faster, it would improve the platform. Some workflows were clunky, and many features required explanation over calls, extending the time needed for implementation.

Rippling remains a strong choice for HRIS due to its comprehensive all-in-one functionality. Having multiple HR personnel benefits from its consolidated system, although updating information on one page may necessitate adjustments across other workflows, requiring careful attention. It also has the potential to add benefits and payroll, which are good options if required.

Factors to consider include the investment in financial resources, time from HR representatives, and overall resources dedicated to the software's success. It is crucial to have someone overseeing the broader strategic view and a team to manage the system comprehensively, including regular audits. Consider the level of customization and integration needed and ensure the tool aligns with your company's scale and complexity.

I believe their services are improving, but they need to respond more quickly and avoid giving basic customer service answers. They should show more curiosity about their customers' needs. Building features faster would also be beneficial.

Rippling is a good fit for medium to large enterprises.

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.

I can tell you that there are several things that I really like about the software. Here are a few of the main pros:

1. Ease of use: 7shifts is very intuitive and easy to use, even for someone who is not tech-savvy. The interface is clean and simple, and the features are well-organized and easy to access.

2. Flexibility: 7shifts is highly customizable, which has been great for us as we have a large and varied workforce. We can set up our scheduling rules and preferences, and the system automatically generates optimal schedules based on our needs.

3. Communication: 7shifts has greatly improved our communication with our team. We can easily send messages and announcements to our employees through the app, and they can quickly and easily request time off or shift swaps. This has helped to reduce conflicts and improve morale among our team.

Overall, I have found 7shifts to be a great solution for managing our scheduling and time-tracking processes. The ease of use, flexibility, and communication features has been particularly helpful, and I would highly recommend it to other organizations.

Our organization purchased 7shifts in order to streamline our scheduling and time tracking processes. Prior to using 7shifts, we were using a combination of spreadsheets and paper schedules, which was time-consuming and often led to errors or conflicts. We were looking for a tool that would allow us to easily create and manage schedules, track employee hours, and communicate with our team.

One of the key benefits of using 7shifts has been the ability to quickly and easily create schedules, even for a large and varied workforce. We can customize our scheduling rules and preferences, and the system automatically generates optimal schedules based on our needs. We can also easily communicate with employees through the app, and they can quickly and easily request time off or shift swaps.

Another benefit has been the time tracking feature, which has helped us to track employee hours and ensure compliance with labor laws accurately. We can easily view and export timesheets, which has streamlined our payroll processes.

Overall, we have been using 7shifts for about a month, which has been a game changer for our organization. It has saved us time, reduced errors and conflicts, and improved communication with our team.

There are a few things that I think could be improved about the software. Here are a few cons:

1. Glitches: Like any software, 7shifts occasionally has glitches or bugs. While these are usually resolved quickly, they can be disruptive to our operations when they occur.

2. No GPS tracking: 7shifts does not offer GPS tracking, which can be a downside for organizations with mobile or remote employees who need to track time and location.

3. Mobile app limitations: While the mobile app is useful for checking schedules and communicating with employee’s on-the-go, it can be a bit clunky and slow at times. It would be great to see some improvements in this area.

Overall, while there are a few things that I think could be improved about 7shifts, I still find it to be a great solution for managing our scheduling and time-tracking processes. The pros outweigh the cons for us, and we have been very satisfied with the value we have received from using the software.

• In my experience, one thing that sets 7shifts apart from its competitors is its focus on the restaurant industry. While other scheduling and time-tracking software options are more general-purpose, 7shifts is specifically designed to meet the needs of restaurants, with features like shift swapping, time off requests, and menu item tracking.
• Additionally, I have found that 7shifts has a more user-friendly interface than some of its competitors, which makes it easier to train new employees on how to use the software. The scheduling process is also very intuitive and easy to use, which has helped us to save time and reduce scheduling errors.
• In terms of similar tools that I have used, I have found that 7shifts compares favorably to other scheduling and time-tracking software options. While there are certainly other good options out there, we have found that 7shifts meets our needs well and provides good value for the cost.
• Overall, while there are certainly other scheduling and time-tracking software options available, I believe that 7shifts is a strong choice for organizations in the restaurant industry. Its focus on this industry and its user-friendly interface set it apart from some of its competitors, and we have been very satisfied with our experience using the software.

When buying a tool, it's important to consider several key criteria to ensure that you get the best value for your money. One important factor is the tool's quality and durability, which can affect its lifespan and how well it performs. Another important factor is its functionality and features, which should align with your needs and intended use. It's also important to consider the price and your budget, as well as any additional costs such as maintenance or replacement parts. Lastly, you should also look at reviews and feedback from other users to get a sense of the tool's performance and reliability.

As we have just started using the tool, I cannot provide much information on this.

7shifts is a great tool for businesses in the food and hospitality industry, such as restaurants, cafes, and bars. It's designed to help managers and employees streamline their scheduling processes, track labor costs, and manage time-off requests, which are all important aspects of managing a successful restaurant or hospitality operation. Additionally, 7shifts has several features that are tailored to the unique needs of these types of businesses, such as shift swapping, automatic scheduling, and integrations with popular POS systems. Overall, if you're running a food or hospitality business and need a reliable tool to help manage your scheduling and labor costs, 7shifts is definitely worth considering.

The ability to set up different projects for clients allows us to track specific types of work employees are doing for each client and invoice accordingly. Integration with other QuickBooks products allows for easy invoicing. Reporting features give managers real-time data about employee time and productivity.

We purchased QuickBooks Time because we were already using QuickBooks for accounting and needed a system for time tracking as our team grew. I have used this system for three years and currently still use it. Prior to QuickBooks, we had a timekeeping system that frequently had errors and glitches, so this transition helped to solve that pain point and allowed us to work within a single, integrated product for time reporting and accounting.

The project design is limited in its ability to be customized, so we have had to adjust our business to fit within the confines of the system. The leave time features do not provide the robust view and data that employees expect to have at their fingertips, which generates questions and unnecessary extra work. The paid leave settings are fairly simplistic and don't allow us to automate accruals based on our company policies, so manual accruals must be set and adjusted annually on an individual basis.

In terms of timekeeping, QuickBooks is on par with competitors in that it is fairly simple and intuitive for employees to log in and clock in and out. QuickBooks does offer some advantageous features in terms of project tracking, but its customization limits put it behind competitors and really make it suited for only specific types of organizations or work. In terms of approvals, customizable workflows, different access and view levels, etc., QuickBooks is also limited and falls behind competitors. The leave tracking, in particular, is far behind what I've seen in any other time tracking system I've used.

Strongly consider the larger picture for how the data in the system will be used beyond individual time entries. Consider downstream needs such as invoicing, reporting, and payroll to determine if the limitations in the system will meet all of your needs.

In the years I've used this system, I have seen no meaningful changes. I have been encouraged to submit feedback for consideration for system updates but have not seen any updates that have affected me or my team.

QuickBooks Time is suited for an organization that has very defined, distinguished projects. For example, possibly a company with various separate construction sites and projects. QuickBooks Time is also likely suited for a small-scale organization of limited complexity.

It is super easy to use. It has an intuitive interface. It integrates seamlessly with different platforms. Its quality-pricing ratio is fantastic.

As a freelancing recruiter, scheduling interviews with candidates for different clients proved to be a challenging task in itself. Luckily, Calendly has proven to be one of the most trusted tools in my career. The ability to schedule unlimited types of events and have it check all my calendars for availability was a game changer. I am reassured daily that my calendar is in order and with no overbookings. A must-have for this day and age.

The only thing I would like to improve would be the ability to create events across multiple calendars.

I have used Google native booking app and Teams native app, and they both feel sluggish and counterintuitive. Calendly is elegant, fast, and efficient.

This platform is very dynamic and a great tool for anyone who needs a front office to take care of their scheduling. It tailors to anyone's needs. Whether a small consulting business or a busy staffing agency, Calendly offers a free account or a few different paid subscriptions. But the free account has the same basic functionality and solves the same issue as the paid accounts.

For any organization. From a 1-person gig to a multinational platform, Calendly is a good fit all around.Calendly has evolved continuously to make it's interphase better and faster. It has added new integrations and new features.

For any organization. From a 1-person gig to a multinational platform, Calendly is a good fit all around.