Workforce management software is an umbrella term for software programs that help a business manage staff scheduling with additional HR features. We looked at the most popular options and rising stars and decided to review Deputy, Ximble, and Planday. These companies covered the range for small businesses in terms of price and unique scheduling features.

Best Workforce Management Software for Small Businesses: Deputy

We recommend Deputy because it has the best features for the price, including the best scheduling platform with payroll estimates and weather forecasts, and a huge range of POS and payroll integrations.

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Workforce Management Software Comparison Table: Deputy vs. Ximble vs. Planday

	Deputy	Ximble	Planday
Pricing Learn More	$1/user per month for Starter $3/user per month for Premium $6/user per month for Enterprise	$1/user per month for Core $2/user per month for Advanced	$2/user per month for Starter $4/user per month for Plus $1/user per month extra for Punch Clock Features
Free Trial? Learn More	Yes- 30 days	Yes- 30 days	Yes- 30 days
Ease of Setup Learn More	Easy; no setup fee	Easy; no setup fee	Easy; unspecified setup fee
Features Unique to Each Company Learn More	Real-time payroll cost estimates as you design schedule Integrated weather forecasts (to predict foot traffic) Performance journal feature Invoicing capabilities	Syncs to Google, Facebook & Outlook calendars Ximblechat employee messaging system	HR document storage with e-signature software Punch clock includes company message system
Integrations Learn More	BambooHR Gusto ADP Paychex Quickbooks Xero Many more...	BambooHR Gusto Trax Payroll Quickbooks Online Xero More...	ADP and 2 more
Customer Support Learn More	24/7 chat and phone support	24/7 chat and phone support; 24-48 hour email response time	Phone, email, and live chat (1am until 4pm EST Mon-Fri)
	www.Deputy.com	www.Ximble.com	www.Planday.com

Best Workforce Management Software for Small Businesses: Deputy

Deputy was the easy choice for best workforce management software for small businesses. At a competitive price, Deputy has a ton of unique and practical features that help you save time and money when scheduling and managing your shifts.

To expand, Deputy’s premium edition is priced in-between Ximble and Planday. However, Deputy easily has the best and most unique features across all categories to justify the cost, including:

• Employee scheduling features- Deputy has an easy drag & drop system like the others, and it also comes with the ability to save templates, manages shift swapping amongst your employees, and can manage multiple locations.
• Scheduling & cost forecasting features- A built-in cost calculator in the top right corner that changes in real time as you build a schedule (Ximble and Planday require you to run a report); Deputy also has a weather-syncing forecasting system, so you can change your schedule if you think foot traffic will be light due to inclement weather.
• Time & attendance tracking features- Like Ximble and Planday, Deputy has self-service availability and time off tracking. However, Deputy goes the extra mile by offering mobile clock-in with geolocation to prevent time theft, and facial recognition for ipad/tablet clock-ins.
• HR features- Deputy also has performance feedback, training tracking, and other HR features in addition to integrating with all the major payroll providers. This places it ahead of Ximble and Planday, which have little-to-no HR features.

The downside to Deputy runs parallel to its upside— it integrates with over 35 partners (and many more using their API), including POS, payroll and accounting software. Because of that, it does take a bit longer to set up than Ximble and Planday.

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Best Workforce Management Software for your Budget: Ximble

Ximble’s Advanced platform is $1 cheaper per user per month than Deputy’s Premium plan, and $3 less than Planday Plus (with time-clock add-on), which makes it the most reasonably priced of the advanced systems. Ximble’s Advanced platform can do the job that a small business owner needs workforce management software to do. It can easily reduce your headaches from scheduling and tracking employees’ time worked (and time off), as well as run reports that help you schedule employees in the least expensive way.

While Deputy does outshine Ximble in its number of unique features available, Ximble still is a great option. Ximble does have a fingerprint log in system available, which is great if your employees clock in and out at your work site and can prevent time theft. It also has Ximblechat, which is similar to Deputy’s news feed, and lets you mass-message employees important information or remind them of an upcoming company event.

The downsides to Ximble is that, at nearly the same price point, it simply doesn’t have as many features as Deputy. It also has a less attractive interface (albeit, it is very simple, like Planday). One of the especially largest gaps between Ximble and Deputy are the HR features. Ximble basically has none, whereas Deputy has performance management functions, training tracking, and more.

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Best Workforce Management Software for Simplicity: Planday

Planday is our final workforce management system for this buyer’s guide and we recommend it for its simplicity. Planday is nearly exactly like Excel, which is what many business owners and general managers use to make their schedules before switching to workforce management software. Thus, Planday allows a smooth transition for those who want something they can adopt quickly. Planday gets the job done, although Deputy and Ximble can do quite a bit more for less money.

The biggest downside to Planday is also in its simplicity and price tag, which is $2/user/month more than Deputy in order to include the time clock feature. Planday has no bells & whistles like face recognition, and then it also charges an additional fee for clock in/clock out features, which seems essential to this software. This alone makes me wonder- why not just raise the price on Planday and include it? It also has very limited integrations, unlike Deputy and Ximble which integrate with many complementary systems.

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Workforce Management Software: What It Is & Who It’s Best For

Workforce management software is scheduling and HR software that is uniquely designed for businesses that use hourly shift workers. The basic premise is to take the headache out of shift swapping and schedule creation for business owners, while also lowering labor costs by providing payroll estimates as you plan your schedule. The software features scheduling elements, time and attendance tracking, forecasting and labor reports, and has HR elements to it like payroll integration and tracking vacation time.

Workforce management software is best for any business that uses employees, both part time and full time, who are W2 employees but who work in shifts, such as:

• Retail stores
• Restaurants, cafes, bars, and nightclubs
• Customer service or call centers
• Manufacturing operations
• A service business like a car wash or dry cleaner
• Home healthcare businesses like nurse services or care workers

Basically, if scheduling employees, tracking their availability, controlling labor costs, and sending mass messages to your workforce is a pain for you- read on, employee management software can solve all of that.

In-Depth Review: Deputy vs Ximble vs Planday

Pricing

The workforce management systems we reviewed charge a monthly fee depending on your number of employees. They also each have different editions, which vary in price based on features offered. However, we highly recommend purchasing the 2nd tier in order to get the most of the system for a reasonable price (‘Premium’ for Deputy, ‘Premium’ for Ximble, and the ‘Plus’ version of Planday).

While all 3 were affordable, Ximble and Deputy were slightly more affordable than Planday. They also include more features for the lower price.

# Employees/ System	Deputy	Ximble	Planday
Basic Price	$1/user per month for Starter $3/user per month for Premium $6/user per month for Enterprise	$1/user per month for Basic $2/user per month for Premium	$2/user per month for Starter $4/user per month for Plus*
For 32 employees	$32/month for Starter $96/month for Premium $192/month for Enterprise	$32/month for Basic $64/month for Premium	$64/month for Starter** $128/month for Plus**
For 56 employees	$56/month for Starter $168/month for Premium $336/month for Enterprise	$56/month for Basic; $112/month for Premium	$112/month for Starter** $225/month for Plus**
	www.Deputy.com	www.Ximble.com	www.Planday.com

*Not including set up fee; set up fee is unique to Planday
** Add $1/mo/user for Punch Clock features

Ease of Set Up

Similar to price, all 3 employee management software systems also had similar setup procedures. Each allows you to easily register for a free 30 day trial on their website, with no credit card required, and you are able to enter in your own company’s data right from the get-go, They all walk you through how to set up your company’s data straight from the software, and overall, they are all incredibly easy to set up and get going on.

The 3 companies also all provide welcome emails with tutorials, links to customer help articles, and a live demonstration if you’d like to schedule one. Deputy also goes above and beyond with a 4-day webinar set up series so that you can learn the system on your own in 4 days, 1 hour per day.

Another thing that made Deputy standout from Ximble and Planday is that you had the option to choose pre-loaded example data (6 different classic industries like restaurant, bar, etc…) or use your own. I thought this was useful in case you didn’t have data yet (like a new business owner about to open) or if you simply wanted to move more quickly through the process.

Deputy

Here is a screenshot of the Deputy dashboard once you are set up:

Ximble

Here is a screenshot of the Ximble dashboard once you are set up:

Planday

Here is a screenshot of the dashboard from Planday once you are set up:

Employee Scheduling Features

One of the biggest perks to having employee management software is the amount of time it can save on scheduling employees. Any business owner or manager who has to schedule employees for shifts knows the pain it can cause, from last minute substitutions to miscommunications in availability. Employee management software promises to solve all of that.

All 3 systems do a fantastic and easy job of employee scheduling; however, Deputy outshines them for it’s interface, which we will explain more below.

Deputy

Our recommended small business workforce management software Deputy has a number of scheduling features, which include:

• Drag & drop scheduling
• Ability to save templates/ copy shifts over
• Shift swapping
• Multiple locations option
• Automatically includes costs as you create the schedule in top right corner

As you can see below, Deputy automatically predicts what you will need for your schedule the following week and uses graphs above each day where you can mouse over and get labor costs in real time:

Ximble

Our recommended workforce management system for simplicity, Ximble has the following scheduling features:

• Very similar to Excel (which is a plus since many business owners use Excel for scheduling if they don’t have software)
• Autoscheduling
• Drag & drop scheduling
• Shift swapping
• The schedule syncs to Google Cal, Facebook, and/or Outlook calendar (which is a bonus over Deputy)

Here is a screenshot of the scheduling interface on Ximble, with the functionality on the left side from the drop down:

Planday

Planday’s employee scheduling very similar to Ximble and is very comparable to using Microsoft Excel, making it an easy transition for business owners who were using Excel before.

Like Ximble and Deputy, Planday has:

• Drag & drop scheduling;
• Ability to save templates;
• Shift swapping;
• Multiple locations option

You can see in the shot of Planday that you can easily add employees (on the left) and then, in the bottom right, the cost will change as you schedule people:

Scheduling & Cost Forecasting Abilities

In addition to the actual scheduling of employees, workforce management software is useful for predicting the cost of your workforce, and predicting if you are going to be over/under staffed, which is also a huge headache for shift-based companies.

All of our software systems provide labor cost reports and other automatic alerts (like overtime), however, Deputy shines through with some extra unique features over Ximble and Planday, such as real-time cost estimates and weather forecasts.

Deputy

Deputy really blows Ximble and Planday out of the water in this category. Not only does it give real time data in the upper right corner when you are making a schedule with labor costs, it also can create graphs that predict shift costs and wages versus historical sales, which would be really useful if you are a restaurant, bar, or other business that has seasonal traffic.

By far and away though, the coolest feature of this part of Deputy is that you can integrate the weather forecasts for your locations to predict foot traffic and change shifts accordingly! This is such a great feature for businesses like a rooftop beer garden or a gardening store with an outdoor greenhouse. Deputy then can actually help you and alert you if you need more or less people scheduled based on the weather!

Aside from that, Deputy has plenty of reporting capabilities. It can generate any report that Ximble and Planday can, and it provides very visual data in graph form.

Here is a screenshot of all the information you are given on the costs, sales, and traffic the moment you click on the “Schedules” tab:

Ximble

Ximble’s features for this category will certainly get the job done and come in a 2nd place position to Deputy. Ximble has graphs that predict shift costs and wages prior to schedule publication. Labor costs are easy to find and come up at the bottom of the dashboard right when you log in, so that you can see them constantly. However, I do like Deputy’s costs and graphs that come at the top of the screen- they were easier to find and read than Ximble’s.

When you click on Reports in Ximble, real-time reports come up including costs:

Planday

Planday’s reporting and analytics feature gives you insights into how your workforce is faring just like Ximble, but nothing above and beyond like Deputy. It provides detailed statistics on the number of hours worked per employee, absences, budget forecasts, payroll costs, salary percentages, and turnover (which are all the features that Deputy and Ximble also have). So, Planday gets the job done here, but not in any spectacular way.

When you click into Reports, you get a customizable menu in Planday to run a report of your liking immediately:

Time & Attendance Tracking

Another strong component of workforce management software is the ability to track time and attendance for you, so that you no longer have to deal with White-Out and penciling people in or out. All of our systems give the power of setting up availability and asking for time off in the employees’ hands (aka self managed leave) and have alerts for overtime costs.

Deputy shined through in this category thanks to its many clock in/clock out features, and Ximble came in a close second with its full ability to handle time & attendance tracking as well. Planday lags a bit behind since it charges an extra $1/user/month for clock in/clock out features, which we feel should simply be included with this software (why get it if you can’t do that?).

Deputy

This is another area where Deputy has many more unique features than Ximble and Planday. Deputy has the following features:

• Self managed leave & unavailability (meaning, your employees can do it themselves based on the parameters you set up in the system);
• Auto-alerts for overtime and hourly limits;
• Clock in/clock out via iPad, mobile app, web app, or text message;
• Geolocation or face recognition with clock in/out to prevent time theft

Here is a screenshot of the timesheets approval function in Deputy; you can see it includes a location for where the person was supposed to work:

Ximble

Ximble has comparable features to Deputy, but without the bells and whistles feature of geolocation or facial recognition clocking in and out. Ximble has:

• Self managed leave & unavailability;
• Auto-alerts for overtime;
• Ability to set limits for hours (from the owner’s side);
• Vacation and time off tracking

You can easily approve time off and other requests in Ximble, but it’s not completely intuitive on how to get there. You have to click into Requests, which is at the very bottom of your dashboard, and then you can see them:

Planday

Planday keeps it simple in its features in this category of time & attendance tracking. Planday has:

• Self managed leave & unavailability;
• Punch clock features for an additional $1/user/month
• The punch clock feature also includes a company message system

I didn’t understand why, unlike Deputy and Ximble, Planday charges for the clock in features, which you clearly will want if you are purchasing the system, especially since it includes the ability to mass-message employees. This makes Planday a little more like our time & attendance tracking systems and less of the workforce management systems we feature here (if you don’t buy the punch in feature).

Planday’s request system is also easy to manage, and has both swap and shift requests as options:

HR Features

One feature that makes workforce management software unique over just time & attendance software is its HR features. This is a broad term that includes things like payroll integration, performance feedback, and document management.

Deputy and Ximble both offer strong payroll integrations, while Planday which is still living in the Excel/CSV export world (versus integrations). Deputy also shines over Ximble and Planday for its additional HR features like performance feedback.

Additional Features

Another factor when choosing workforce management software is to make sure it has any unique features required for your business. For example, if you are a restaurant, having your POS system integrate with your workforce management software might be a non-negotiable and determine your decision.

Deputy and Ximble are neck-and-neck in this category and provide great unique features; Planday is close behind them but seems to lag a bit technically and also requires an additional cost for one of its features.

Customer Support

Employee management software is definitely geared towards the busy business owner, such as the restaurant owner. All 3 of our software systems we chose place a priority on efficient, courteous, and excellent customer service and have excellent reputations in their customer support.

Ximble actually has the most encompassing customer support of our 3 software systems, with Deputy being a close second. Planday is more limited in its service abilities.

All Workforce Management Software Options

While we can’t cover every software out there, we wanted to acknowledge some of the other players in the workforce management space:

Workforce Management Software	What It is Best For	Description
Deputy	Small Business	Deputy has the features at the right price point for small businesses needing workforce management software.
Ximble	Budget	Ximble is a great budget option with less features than Deputy, but still a great system.
Planday	Simplicity	Planday is for Excel junkies who simply need to quit scheduling spreadsheets and upgrade to an automatic system.
Resource Guru	Eliminating Spreadsheets	Similar to Planday, Resource Guru is meant to be a simple option to replace spreadsheets and get your business streamlined.
Shortlist	External Workforce Management	Shortlist is a great workforce management option for companies that have a lot of employees who work remotely.
Shiftboard	Industry-Specific Needs	Shiftboard has specialized products focused on healthcare, education, events, hospitality, civic services, contact centers and logistics.
Ascentis	Mid-Market Companies	Ascentis focused on the mid-market which is usually around 200-5,000 employees.
TimeAttend by Replicon	Enterprise Level Companies	Replicon focused on large companies of 500+ employees.

The Bottom Line

Workforce management software can be very useful for any size business that uses shift work and needs a strong, solid way to track schedules, labor costs, and more. It is certainly worth the 30 day free trial that all of our 3 softwares offer- you’ve got nothing to lose to try it!

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