The best employee scheduling software is easy to use and affordable with compliance solutions and an auto-scheduler to help automate the process. In addition to offering an intuitive schedule builder, it should have mobile apps to help managers save time while providing employees with self-service tools for requesting schedule swaps and viewing work shifts online.
In this article, we evaluated 10 providers to find the best employee scheduling software for small businesses and narrowed it down to a our top five.
- Homebase: Best (overall) for retail businesses and restaurants that need unlimited free employee shift scheduling.
- SocialSchedules (formerly OpenSimSim): Best for businesses in the hospitality industry that are strict with labor law compliance.
- 7shifts: Best for larger restaurant operations managing complex employee work shifts.
- Deputy: Best for multi-location companies that share employees across job sites.
- When I Work: Best for startups needing strong yet affordable scheduling tools.
How We Chose the Top 5 Employee Scheduling Software
We checked and compared several employee scheduling solutions that offer reasonably priced plans—some even have free tiers (we gave more consideration to these). We also looked for essential staff scheduling features such as auto-scheduling, labor forecasting, overtime and break management, reporting, ease of use, and customer support.
After an in-depth evaluation, we recommend Homebase as the best employee scheduling software for small businesses. In addition to free employee scheduling, it has time clocks, time sheets, team communication, hiring, onboarding, and labor compliance tools. It works great for businesses with hourly workers—particularly those in the restaurant, retail, healthcare, home and repair, and professional services industries.
To view our full evaluation criteria for best employee scheduling software, click through the tabs in the box below.
30% of Overall Score
We looked into the free options that most of the software in our list offered. Aside from transparent pricing, preference was given to providers who charge $5 or less per user monthly and allow you to purchase the scheduling system separately from the time and attendance tool. Homebase and SocialSchedules received high scores here given their transparent pricing, free tiers, and reasonably priced plans. Deputy, though it doesn’t have a free option, was also rated favorably for pricing since you can purchase its scheduling solution as a standalone product for a very low price.
25% of Overall Score
We gave high marks to software that supports auto-scheduling, labor forecasting, multi-location scheduling, shift swapping, and overtime, break, and paid time-off (PTO) planning. Extra points were also given to those with mobile apps and a self-service portal for checking schedules, clocking in/out, and communicating with the team. Many of the software in this list received perfect scores except for 7shifts and SocialSchedules mainly because these providers’ multi-location scheduling feature is available only in higher tiers.
25% of Overall Score
Having an employee scheduling platform that’s intuitive, easy to learn, and simple to set up is a must. We also considered solutions that offer live phone support, new user training, and video tutorials. Multiple third-party integrations are a plus, including having an offline option when wifi is down. While most of the software in this list are generally user-friendly with intuitive controls, what pulled the scores down for providers like When I Work and Deputy include the lack of live phone support and having a Time and Attendance module that costs extra (others offer this for free).
10% of Overall Score
Aside from having access to standard and pre-built reports, users should be able to customize reports. The only software that didn’t get a perfect score here is When I Work since its reports have limited customizability.
10% of Overall Score
We considered user reviews, including those of our competitors based on a 5-star scale; any option with an average of 4+ stars is ideal. Also, any software with 1,000+ reviews on any third-party site is preferred. All of the software we ranked scored well under popularity.
Homebase
PROS
- Free employee scheduling and time clock
- Robust scheduling features
- Caters to an unlimited number of employees
- Responsive customer support
CONS
- Free version supports only one location and administrator
- Has a bit of a learning curve
- Occasional integration issues and mobile app glitches
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 3.75 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Scheduling Software Functionality | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Popularity | 3.50 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Reporting | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Ease of Use | 4.69 | OUT OF | 5 |
Homebase is our top pick for small businesses, and part of that is because it has a free scheduling plan for those with one physical business location. It’s great for small retailers and restaurateurs specifically, because these industries are made up of many hourly workers who have changing schedules that need to be tracked. Given that overtime is also a huge compliance and expense concern if you have an hourly workforce, Homebase can help you manage this with its labor cost and overtime hour forecasting solutions.
Scoring 4.40 out of 5, Homebase’s schedule builder with automated scheduling tools can help you easily create work shifts for an unlimited number of employees. Note that it has a bit of a learning curve (mainly because of its many features) and its mobile apps can be glitchy at times. However, users find the schedule builder easy to navigate. Several others even commended its responsive support team.
Homebase lets you create and publish schedules from computers, tablets, and smartphones.
Aside from employee scheduling, Homebase has solid time tracking functionalities with an offline mode that captures clock-ins/outs even when wifi connection is down. It even topped our list of best time and attendance software for small businesses. If you want an in-depth look at all of its features, check out our Homebase review.
Homebase Pricing
- Basic plan: The Basic plan, which is free for businesses with one location, covers unlimited employees and provides you with essential tools for creating, managing, and publishing staff schedules online. It comes with automated time sheets, PTO requests, shift swaps, team messaging, third-party software integration, job postings, applicant tracking, onboarding, reports, and time clock apps for computers, POS systems, and Android/iOS devices. You also get 90-day cloud storage of historical time sheets and reports.
- Essentials tier: For $19.95 per location monthly, you get all of Basic’s features plus geofencing, auto-scheduling, late employee alerts, manager approvals, automated employee reminders, and a four-year cloud storage of historical time sheets and reports.
- Plus option: This plan costs $49.95 per location monthly and comes with additional tools for managing PTO policies and balances, budgets and labor cost forecasts, and advance labor cost.
- All-in-One package: At $99.95 per location monthly, you get premium features like API access, online onboarding, employee documents and an electronic signature tool, and expert advice from HR professionals.
- Add-On services: Unless you subscribe to its All-in-One package, you have to pay extra to access its “HR Pro” advisers and resources ($99 per month). You can also use Homebase to promote job postings on ZipRecruiter and Craigslist (fees start at $79 per post).
Homebase Standout Features
- Unlimited scheduling: Unlike the other software in this list, Homebase doesn’t charge per employee nor does its pricing options have schedule and staff limits. You can create as many work shifts as you want for as many employees as you have. Further, if you grow your workforce, you don’t need to worry about having to pay extra for additional user seats—provided your employees all work in the same business location.
- Feature-rich free tier: Homebase ranked the highest in our free employee scheduling software guide given its Basic plan that comes with a comprehensive set of free-to-use online tools. Aside from time tracking and scheduling, it includes hiring, job posting, onboarding, and team messaging solutions. Note the other software in this list don’t have hiring and onboarding tools.
- Robust labor and schedule reporting: Aside from its drag-and-drop online scheduler builder, shift swaps requests, auto-scheduler tool, automated alerts, and mobile apps (for iOS and Android devices), Homebase has a wide range of customizable reports that can help you gain insight into work shifts, labor expenses and percentages, attendance-related performance, and sales (if synced with a POS). This is unlike When I Work that lacks report customization and Deputy that offers robust labor cost reporting tools but as part of its highest tier.
- Compliance tools: With Homebase, you automatically get the standard breaks and overtime settings for the state where your business operates. The software also captures and stores schedule edit histories, including previously run time sheets and reports for either 90 days or four years (Deputy, 7shifts, and When I Work don’t offer long-term cloud storage for these). This makes it easy for you to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act and recordkeeping requirements.
SocialSchedules (formerly OpenSimSim)
PROS
- User-friendly with a simple and visually appealing interface
- Robust compliance tools
- Its free tier includes access to restaurant-specific candidate search tools
CONS
- The free plan covers only 10 scheduled workers and one department in one location
- Overtime reports included in paid plans; multi-location scheduling and dedicated customer support available in highest option
- Its mobile app is glitchy; desktop and mobile apps don’t always sync properly
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 3.75 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Scheduling Software Functionality | 4.75 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Popularity | 3.50 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Reporting | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Ease of Use | 4.19 | OUT OF | 5 |
SocialSchedules (formerly OpenSimSim) is an employee scheduling software with tools designed to reduce compliance risks for hospitality-based businesses with multiple departments and locations. Scoring 4.21 out of 5 stars, it allows you to create compliance rules that will guide your scheduling options and help you avoid penalties. It even sends notifications and mobile alerts for overtime and breaks that don’t comply with state and local labor laws.
Similar to Homebase, its free tier includes employee scheduling and candidate search tools. It also allows you to post open shifts and get time-off and shift replacement requests via its mobile app. While it can handle multi-location and unlimited employee scheduling, including overtime reporting, you have to subscribe to its paid plans to access the said functionalities.
SocialSchedules also doesn’t have phone support—you only get a dedicated support contact if you purchase its highest tier. Nonetheless, users rated its customer service favorably, wherein they commended its support team’s responsiveness and professionalism. Many others also like its intuitive interface and user-friendly tools.
This is what a weekly team schedule looks like in SocialSchedules.
SocialSchedules Pricing
- Basic plan: With its free Basic tier, you can create schedules for up to 10 employees who work in the same department and in one business location. Aside from basic scheduling and labor law compliance tools, it comes with PTO requests, shift availability, digital timecards, in-app messaging, and a time clock kiosk (through its iOS and Android apps for tablets). You also get cloud report storage for up to 28 days and an artificial intelligence (AI)-based candidate search solution.
- Starter tier: For $12.99 per location monthly, you can build schedules for unlimited employees who work in two departments in the same location. In addition to Basic’s tools, you get shift confirmations, daily and weekly overtime compliance settings, one-year cloud report storage, overtime reports, and the capabilities to view candidate profiles and block workdays from PTO requests.
- Premium option: Priced at $39.99 per location monthly, you are granted access to additional features like POS integrations, auto-break allocations, advanced reporting, and mobile time clock apps with GPS functionality. It also includes cloud storage for up to seven years, one free recruiting credit, and a five-department scheduling limit.
- Enterprise plan: This custom-priced plan comes with unlimited employees, departments, and locations. You get all of Premium’s features plus dedicated support, API access, custom reports, and up to three free recruiting credits.
- Add-ons: You have to pay $49.99 if you need additional recruiting credits. Note that you have to subscribe to a paid plan in order to purchase this add-on.
SocialSchedules Standout Features
- Smart shift management: Compared to the other software in this list, SocialSchedules lets your employees drop shifts (aside from requesting shift swaps) if they need to. However, your managers can lock important workdays to prevent schedules from being swapped and dropped.
- Strong labor laws compliance: SocialSchedules has more robust compliance features than most of the software in this list. It automatically allocates paid/unpaid breaks based on actual worked hours, applies the penalties for missed meal breaks, and stops the send-outs of schedules with compliance breaches. It also provides cloud storage for edit histories and reports for up to seven years. You can even add certification-related scheduling and time-tracking rules, enabling you to enforce work shifts that require employees with specific certifications.
- Multiple employee availability sets: Unlike other software included in this article, SocialSchedules allows your employees to create multiple availability sets that show when they are available and unavailable to work. Each set contains start and end dates and can be repeated on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
- Certification management: SocialSchedules is the only scheduling solution on our list that offers a certification management module. While available only in its higher tiers, this helps you track the training sessions that employees need to attend and the expiration dates of certification programs (if applicable).
- Restaurant-specific recruitment network: Unlike Homebase that lets you post open jobs to partner job sites, SocialSchedules has its own talent pool that consists primarily of restaurant staff. It uses AI to help you find and hire employees whose skills and availability match your staffing requirements.
7shifts
PROS
- Intuitive interface
- Has a machine learning auto-scheduler tool
- Offers robust reports and POS integration options
CONS
- The free plan covers scheduling for only 10 employees and one location; doesn’t include auto-scheduling, POS integrations, and customer support
- Lacks phone support; has live chat and email support but available only in paid plans
- Occasional mobile app glitches and integration issues
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 3.13 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Scheduling Software Functionality | 4.75 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Popularity | 4.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Reporting | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Ease of Use | 4.19 | OUT OF | 5 |
7shifts is a cloud-based scheduling software created specifically for restaurants. Scoring 4.07 out of 5 stars, we recommend it for restaurants with large operations in multiple locations and have complex scheduling needs. Aside from its easy-to-use drag-and-drop schedule builder and restaurant-friendly time tracking tools, 7shifts offers robust reporting that allows you to see how all of your business locations are performing in terms of sales and labor costs.
However, it doesn’t offer phone support and even if you upgrade to a paid tier, you only get email and live chat support. While it has an auto-scheduler and can integrate with a wide range of payroll and POS systems, you have to subscribe to its higher tiers in order to access these functionalities.
In terms of user feedback, many reviewers said that its user-friendly tools make scheduling and time tracking easy for them. Meanwhile, a few others complained about having occasionally experienced mobile app glitches, slow loading times, and integration issues.
7shifts has smart scheduling tools that can help you create labor-optimal schedules.
7shifts Pricing
- Comp plan: This free plan comes with basic scheduling and time tracking tools for one business location with up to 10 employees. Some of its features include PTO requests, staff availability, shift swaps, schedule notifications, basic reporting, team messaging, mobile apps (for iOS and Android devices), and a simple online time clock.
- Appetizer tier: For $19.99 per location monthly, this comes with an employee limit of 20 and all of the features included in Comp, plus POS integrations, customized employee health checks, and SMS notifications.
- Entrée option: Priced at $43.99 per location monthly, you can create schedules and track actual work hours of up 30 employees. Aside from Appetizer’s tools, you get schedule templates, mobile clock-ins/outs, basic compliance tools, advanced reporting, and events management to help keep staff and managers informed of restaurant events.
- The Works package: This option, which costs $76.99 per location monthly, lets you create and manage unlimited employee schedules across multiple restaurants. It has all of Entrée’s features plus advanced time clocks and compliance controls, geofencing and photo verifications while clocking in, payroll software integration, audit logs, shift feedback, and labor forecasting tools.
- Gourmet plan: This custom-priced tier comes with robust scheduling, time tracking, compliance, and reporting features. In addition to a machine-learning auto-scheduler, you are granted access to training support, best-in-class enterprise system security, and a dedicated account manager.
- Add-on services: You have to pay extra if you want account setup assistance ($150 one-time fee), sales data imported directly into 7shifts ($100 one-time fee), detailed task lists included in employee shifts ($12.99 per location monthly), and tracking of multiple restaurants’ sales, labor, and employee engagement performances ($6.99 per location monthly).
7shifts Standout Features
- Smart employee scheduling: Although included in 7shifts’s Gourmet tier, its machine-learning employee scheduling tool automatically creates work shifts based on your restaurant’s workforce demands, labor cost and sales forecasts, and overtime compliance requirements, including your employees’ skills, schedule availability, and approved PTOs. This is unlike Homebase, SocialSchedules, and When I Work whose auto-schedulers aren’t as robust.
- Restaurant-friendly tools: In addition to tip reporting, 7shifts has real-time labor reports and restaurant performance dashboards that provide a birds-eye view of your entire business operations (via the Enterprise Dashboard), including how all the restaurants are performing and which locations may need extra attention (through the Location Overview). Other solutions in this list either don’t have this type of reporting or the restaurant-specific reports aren’t as extensive.
- Efficient task management: While this feature is a paid add-on, it can help improve employee productivity since this lets you add work tasks that your staff need to do within a shift. You can create recurring and one-time tasks, set completion timelines, schedule when these will appear for applicable employees, and track who completed the tasks. Homebase and SocialSchedules only let you add reminders to shifts, while the rest of the software in this article provide limited task management controls.
- Robust POS integrations: Compared to Homebase and SocialSchedules (which have up to 10 partner POS systems), 7shifts integrates with more than 20 POS solutions like Aloha, Micros, Dinerware, Square POS, Revel, POSitouch, Squirrel Systems, and Heartland Restaurant POS.
- Compliance tools: Aside from audit logs, automated alerts, break and overtime settings, and early clock-in prevention, 7shifts can also help you to avoid assigning “clopen” shifts (Homebase, SocialSchedules, and When I Work don’t have this feature). This ensures that employees get ample rest between schedules instead of having them work a closing shift and then an opening shift immediately the following day.
Deputy
PROS
- Easy to use scheduling tools
- Affordable plans with separate packages for time tracking and employee scheduling
- Offers unlimited 24/7 customer support
CONS
- Doesn’t offer a free tier; monthly plans have a minimum spend requirement
- Issues on third-party integrations
- Occasional mobile app glitches
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 3.75 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Scheduling Software Functionality | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Popularity | 4.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Reporting | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Ease of Use | 2.81 | OUT OF | 5 |
Deputy is a great scheduling option for businesses with shared hourly and shift workers across multiple locations. Scoring 3.98 out of 5 stars, you can either manually create shifts that assign employees to different work sites and departments or use its AI-powered scheduler to build demand-based and labor-optimized work shifts. Further, if your employees raise swap shift requests online, the system automatically transfers their department and worksite data after the requests have been approved.
While it has efficient scheduling tools that are easy to learn and use, it doesn’t offer a free tier (unlike most of the software in this list) and its paid plans require a minimum monthly spend of $10 per invoice. You also have to deal with the occasional mobile app glitches, login errors, and integration issues. However, many users still find its system convenient to use with plans that are reasonably priced.
Its auto-scheduler predicts your staffing requirements based on sales data, labor percentages, staff availability, and demand trends.
Deputy Pricing
- Standalone packages: Compared to the other software we reviewed in this article, Deputy offers a Scheduling plan and a separate Time and Attendance option that each costs $2.50 per employee monthly. You are granted access to an online schedule builder with auto-scheduling and shift swapping functionalities with the former; the latter features time sheets, payroll integrations, and time clock apps (for iOS and Android). Both also come with PTO management, meal and rest break planning, POS integrations, unlimited 24/7 support, and a news feed. However, these two packages don’t have reporting tools.
- Paid plans with complete time tracking and scheduling solutions: Deputy has a Premium tier ($4.50 per employee monthly) and an Enterprise option (custom priced). Both plans have all of the features of the standalone scheduling option and time and attendance package, but with reporting capabilities. If you require additional tools like custom roles and permissions, advanced demand planning, and dedicated support, then you may want to consider its Enterprise tier.
- Flexible weekly option: Deputy’s “Flexi Weekly” plan has all the features of the Premium tier but with a lower price tag. Designed for businesses that change employees weekly, it costs $2 per employee, per week.
Note that Deputy’s Scheduling, Time and Attendance, and Premium tiers require a minimum monthly spend of $10 per invoice. If you would like to avoid this requirement, then consider its Flexi option or get an annual Premium plan (however, this subscription type isn’t available for the Scheduling and Time and Attendance packages).
Deputy Standout Features
- Affordable employee scheduling: For businesses that only need scheduling tools, Deputy offers an affordable and easy-to-use solution for creating, managing, and sharing employee work shifts through its mobile apps (for iOS and Android devices). You can simply drag-and-drop shifts or use its AI-powered scheduler to build demand-based work shifts with a single click.
- Labor compliance tools: Deputy has smart wage and hour compliance tools (although not as robust as SocialSchedules) designed to help keep you compliant with labor laws and protect your business from potential risks. Its features include meal and rest breaks settings, fair workweek rules, “clopen” schedule notifications, and compliance alerts.
- Flexible time tracking: In addition to scheduling solutions, you get time clock apps that allow you to track employee attendance and manage your workforce from any mobile device, including the Apple Watch. Its apps for tablets even support touchless clock-ins, enabling your employees to start and end their shifts through facial recognition and voice commands. The other software in this list don’t support voice command clock-ins/outs and time tracking through the Apple Watch.
When I Work
PROS
- Easy to set up; has an intuitive interface
- Affordably priced; offers a standalone scheduling and messaging plan
- GPS location-based scheduling
CONS
- Limited report customizability; lacks live phone support
- Overtime alerts, labor reports, POS/payroll integrations, and mobile clock-ins with GPS enforcement are included in the paid Time and Attendance add-on
- Software lags from time to time
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 3.13 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Scheduling Software Functionality | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Popularity | 4.50 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Reporting | 2.50 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Ease of Use | 3.31 | OUT OF | 5 |
When I Work is a solid employee scheduling solution for small startup companies. It provides shift planning and scheduling tools that can be accessed on multiple devices—desktops, laptops, and mobile iOS and Android smartphones—at a low cost. It even provides team messaging, task management, and online document solutions, including a paid time and attendance module that you can add to your plan. Overall, When I Work earned 3.72 out of 5 stars.
This software didn’t rank high on our list of best employee scheduling software primarily because it doesn’t have live phone support (support available through tickets and live chat only), report customizability (this feature is on Beta mode as of this writing), and a free plan. You also have to pay extra for some tools (like labor reports and overtime alerts) that are either free-to-use or included in the lowest tiers of most of the software in this list.
Nonetheless, users left positive feedback about its ease of use, affordability, and efficient scheduling tools. However, some reviewers noted that while it helps them to easily create work shifts for employees, the scheduling capabilities of When I Work’s mobile apps aren’t as full-featured compared to its desktop version.
With When I Work’s online schedule builder, you can easily assign shifts to employees given its drag-and-drop functionality.
If you want to learn more about its scheduling and time tracking features, check out our When I Work review.
When I Work Pricing
- Small Business plan: Ideal for companies with up to 100 employees, this plan costs $2 per employee monthly. It only has scheduling and messaging tools, but if you want to add time and attendance features to the plan, you have to pay an additional monthly fee of $2 per employee.
- Enterprise tier: This custom-priced option is designed for businesses with 100 to more than 10,000 employees. It has all of the features included in Small Business, plus implementation support and API access for custom integrations.
When I Work Standout Features
- Simple-to-use scheduling tools: Similar to Deputy, When I Work offers a standalone scheduling tool that’s intuitive and easy to use. With just a few simple clicks, you can create shifts, share work schedules with your team, track actual work hours, and message employees. However, unlike most of the software in this list, you have to pay extra if you want to access its time tracking functionalities.
- GPS-based employee scheduling: When I Work lets you add GPS details of job sites to shifts so employees know where they should report for work (Homebase doesn’t have this). Then, you can use its mobile time clock apps to monitor whether or not your staff with job site assignments clock in at the location you specified.
- Smart reporting: Unlike Deputy’s standalone scheduling solution, When I Work has a few automated reports that provide insight into your business and workforce. These include real-time labor distribution reports that allow managers to see how their planned labor budget compares to actual labor costs (including overtime).
For more general help with staff scheduling, our how to schedule employees guide contains useful tips.
Bottom Line
Consistent scheduling can help small businesses save time and money. You’ll need to consider your budget so that you know what you can afford, the structure of your business (is everyone working in the office or out in the field?), if you need to integrate it with other software, and how flexible you want scheduling to be.
We found that Homebase offers all of the features the average small business owner would need when creating their employees’ schedules. Compared to other providers, it’s easy to use, affordable, and robust—and it has a time clock product and other functionalities that you can add on later. Sign up for free today.
