Whether you’re a manager or a startup business owner, it’s likely you have to schedule employees for various shifts. Even worse is the headache that comes with having to lose time reading through emails and assembling a schedule manually. Little tasks like figuring out your schedule will distract you from focusing on the more important aspects of running a company. Shift scheduling tools can help managers save time and put them on the fast track to success!
QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) – Best for time-tracking and accounting integration
QuickBooks Time’s Timesheet setup has a barebones structure where you can set up weekly timesheets and edit details for one day or event at a time.QuickBooks Time is a cloud-based SaaS time-tracking app that allows employees to clock in and out of their workspace from any device. The product helps companies to replace paper or any other form of tracking ledger with a complete electronic time data system. QuickBooks Time also simplifies payroll and invoicing. QuickBooks Time also tracks GPS points (even without internet) and syncs all the data to give you a real-time view of geofencing information.
The “who’s working” feature helps companies to see where their employees are currently located and what they are currently working on. The scheduling feature lets users drag-and-drop shifts,assign tasks, and send necessary alerts to managers if employees have not clocked in for a shift. There is also a feature for shift swapping that can be turned on and off in the payroll settings menu. The SaaS allows free unlimited phone, email, and chat support to all customers.
QuickBooks Time integrates with Expensify, Cext Prepare, Plooto, Knowify for Contractors, Aero Workflow, Fathom, Shopify, Stripe, PayPal, Jobber, Method:CRM, Housecall Pro, Veem, Checkflo,Syft Analytics, and dozens more third-party apps per their growing add-ons collection.
QuickBooks Time costs from $4.50/user/month and offers a 30-day free trial.
- freemium version
- From $3.50/user/month
Shiftbase – Best employee attendance tracking
Shiftbase lets you drag-and-drop shifts via its user-friendly interface.
If you’re tired of making spreadsheets again and again to manage your shifts, Shiftbase does it for you. Shiftbase is a next-generation time management app that orchestrates all aspects of an employee’s shift planning and scheduling without constant manual input from the user. This helps employees plan their day with ease and without facing any friction.
Shiftbase creates flexible schedules for a longer period. Schedules expected personnel costs and budgets. Schedules can also keep track of employee availability and absence, letting the scheduler include any additional requests. When the work schedule is complete, it can be shared via email or through the mobile app. You can view employee attendance and current wage costs. Support is available via chat and email.
Shiftbase integrates with Datafox, Easylon, Growzer, Wagestream, and dozens of other third-party apps. They also offer API documentation for further connection options.
Shiftbase costs from $3.50/user/month and offers a freemium version for 1 department and up to 75 employees.
- Free to use
ABC Roster – Best for employee and shift constraint management
Set schedule constraints for each shift and each employee including must-haves (min. # managers) and nice-to-haves (X doesn’t like to work with Y).
ABC Roster is a straightforward employee shift-scheduling software with a professional interface and eye-catching colors.
The product also automatically backs up your data that can be saved in the user’s computer. The automated planner can generate schedules based on your details that you can later tweak. You can also export schedules to Microsoft Excel, PDF, and HTML docs. ABC Roster lets you email the schedules to employees directly from the application. Support is available through on-site documentation.
ABC Roster doesn’t list any third-party integrations on their site at this time.
ABC Roster is free to use.
- 30 days free trial
- From $1.50/user/month
Zoho People – Best free employee shift scheduling software
Zoho People lists its various people management features in an organized way.
Zoho People is an all-in-one HR solution that automates and simplifies manual and repetitive HR tasks.You can consolidate attendance data from multiple sources and eliminate errors due to manual entries. The platform gives you the freedom to customize schedules, leave types, and create timesheets with ease.
You can create and customize shifts and add periodic shift rotations based on your company’s scheduling structure. There is also an option to add allowances. You can also do employee reviews and get 360-degree feedback to review performance. Other than that, you have tools to answer employee queries, automate HR tasks with automated mail alerts and intelligent workflow configuration
The product integrates with Zapier, QuickBooks, AdobeSign, and more. Support is by email and chat.
Zoho People costs from $1.50/user/month and offers a 30-day free trial.
- 14 days free trial
- From $5.50/user/month
Sage HR – Best shift scheduling for small businesses
SageHR lists all your employees via a simple and clean interface, giving you a real-time view of the work movement in your organization.
Sage HR performs common shift scheduling tasks with the additional benefit of recruitment solution support right within the app. . You can upload your employee database to your new online staff directory with a few clicks. The product has features like leave management, timesheets, employee tracking and submission, and management of company expenses from the mobile app. Support is available via chat and email.
Sage HR is a good fit for small businesses because of its affordability and its non-techie interface that can be easily operated by solopreneurs and startup founders.
Sage HR integrates with Slack, Zapier, and G Suite.
Pricing starts at $5.50/user/month and offers a 14-day free trial.
- Free demo
- From $415/month
inJixo – Best shift scheduling for call centers
inJixo automates the process of meetings by selecting the best possible meeting slots and scheduling the meetings for your team.
inJixo is a smart workflow management solution (WFM) that makes your call center better. The dashboard is user-friendly and easy to navigate. The product has features for real-time management, scheduling call center agents, forecasting call volume, and more. Support is via email, online chat, and step-by-step onboarding videos to assist you at your own pace.
You can do shift management on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, thus lending a lot of flexibility to your management style. You can do automatic forecasting of requirements for any given day based on the data from call handling platforms.
The product integrates with Freshdesk, Asterisk, and Zendesk.
inJixo costs from $415/month and offers a free demo.
- Offers customized pricing upon request.
ShiftBoard – Best shift scheduling for manufacturing industry
With Shiftboard, you can auto-fill shifts and do ad-hoc last minute shift changes with real-time lists of qualified workers.
Shiftboard’s employee scheduling software helps you solve business challenges like lowering labor costs, improving employee retention, and ensuring compliance. It is geared towards mission-critical industries like manufacturing, oil and gas, and healthcare. These types of industries will appreciate Shiftboard’s shift rotation features because of their round-the-clock schedules.
Shiftboard can automate current employee schedules based on availability and shift preferences. You can create, publish, and manage weekly employee work schedules with features like ABCD. Support is available via email and chat.
Shiftboard integrates with your existing payroll solutions, like Paychex, Salesforce, Kronos, and other apps.
Shiftboard offers customized pricing upon request.
- 7 days trial
- Offers customized pricing upon request
BambooHR – Best employee scheduling software for time-off management
Bamboo HR lets you calculate future time-off balances with its accrual calculator.
Bamboo HR is designed with small and medium-sized businesses in mind. Bamboo HR does it by providing an easy-to-use workspace scheduling experience for your small team, thus helping you focus on the core issues. The interface and design is simple to use and provides for easy onboarding for the employees. You can manage the entire schedule on the go. This is especially helpful for small businesses with remote teams.
The product lets you track employee hours, calculate payroll, and manage employee benefits. In terms of recruitment, the product has an applicant tracking system and a good time and attendance app. Support is available via email and chat.
The time-off balance feature comes as a highlight of the tool. If your employees want to take time-off in advance, they can use the accrual calculator built within Bamboo HR to see if they have enough time for vacations. One can also edit and correct their future time-off request dates.
Bamboo HR integrates with Slack, Zenefits, and GitHub.
Bamboo HR offers customized pricing upon request and has a free 7-day trial.
- 14 days free trial
- From $17.99/month/location
7Shifts – Best for the restaurant industry
The 7Shifts scheduler summarizes schedules, hours worked, and pay in one calendar interface.
7shifts is a time tracking tool apart from being a scheduling and labor compliance software for the restaurant industry. With 7shifts you can manage all of your employees’ schedules from one platform. You can also create shift templates, so you don’t have to start from scratch.
7shifts data can be synced and accessed across all devices, making it mobile-friendly for employees who are Android and iOS users. This allows them to be mobile and not be stuck to their office chair and still be up-to-date and productive.
7shifts integrates with Google Calendar, Slack, and Evernote.
7shifts is free to use for 1 location. Their paid plans cost from $17.99/month/location and come with a 14-day free trial.
- 14 days free trial
- From $2/user/month
When I Work – Best employee shift scheduling software with time tracking
WhenIWork has features like a scheduler, attendance tracker, hiring modules, and even a work chat option to create seamless communication between the employees and their managers.
WhenIWork is an employee scheduling software with an integrated time tracking tool for shift and task tracking. This allows you to manage your employees and track their hours without ever leaving the app. Your employees can manage their availability, submit time-off requests, and collaborate on shift trades.
For repetitive scheduling, WhenIWork lets you design shift templates or use easy copy-paste mechanisms to duplicate submitted information. The app makes it super easy to add and remove employees. It also facilitates fast communication with an in-app messaging system. If something about your schedule is amiss or needs to change, you will have feedback right away.
WhenIWork integrates with Acuity Scheduling, Calendly, TSheets, and more. Support is available via email and chat.
When I Work costs from $2/user/month and offers a 14-day free trial.
Homebase – Best overall employee scheduling software
Homebase is one of the best employee scheduling software out there.
More than 100,000 businesses trust Homebase for employee scheduling needs—and with good reason.
Their scheduling tool is dead simple to use. Build an employee schedule in just a few clicks with the drag-and-drop dashboard. Track labor costs with their automated cost calculator.
Set up alerts for when workers miss a clock-in or are close to hitting overtime. Your staff will get updates as well when schedules are released. They’ll also be alerted with reminders for their shifts.
In addition to the scheduling features, Homebase has a time clock feature and timesheets for payroll. Let your staff clock-in from any device, including your POS (point of sale) system.
Here’s a brief overview of the plans and pricing for Homebase employee scheduling:
Basic — Free
- Unlimited employees
- Online scheduling
- Time clocks, breaks, and overtime
- Prepare timesheets for payroll
- Employee availability preferences and time-off requests
- Team communication messenger
Essentials — $16 per month per location
- Advanced scheduling
- Auto scheduling
- Late employee alerts
- Availability approvals
- Personal notes with shifts
- Automated reminders to employees
- Employee performance tracking
Plus — $40 per month per location
- Sales forecasts and labor targets
- Overtime alerts
- GPS and photos
- Prevent early clock-ins
- Custom break and overtime settings
- Time-off restrictions
- PTO policies
Homebase is free for businesses with one location—which is fantastic.
All of the monthly rates assume you sign up for an annual contract. Homebase does offer month-to-month plans for 20% more.
The Homebase mobile app is another reason why this scheduling software ranks so high on our list. It’s free to use for you and your staff. So everyone can view and manage their schedules on the go.
CakeHR – Best full-service HR software with employee scheduling
CakeHR offers a wide array of great services along with their stellar employee scheduling tool.
In addition to employee scheduling, CakeHR has solutions for:
- Timesheets
- Performance
- Leave management
- Expenses
- Recruitment
Onboarding your employees and automating the HR process is simple. CakeHR provides tons of employee self-service tools and solutions.
That’s why we recommend them as a great full-service HR software along with employee scheduling. If you’re looking for more tools and features to help you address HR needs, CakeHR is where you should go.
Their employee scheduling tool is top notch. It’ll give you everything you need to add and adjust hours, approval timesheets, and monitor workload. They even furnish reports for you and the payroll department.
Some of the top employee scheduling features include:
- Interactive shift planning
- Single site and multi-location support
- Dedicated shift managers
- Employee availability management
- Mobile app access
- Pre-defined shift templates
- Daily, weekly, and monthly reports
Pricing for CakeHR is a bit different as well. Simply select the services you want, enter the number of active employees you have, and choose between monthly or yearly billing.
Each service comes with their Core HR and Leave Management services. This gives you their suite of HR tools such as custom reports, employee databases, onboarding and offboarding procedures, HR analytics, and time off tools.
Your custom rate based on these features will automatically appear on the screen. So you don’t need to wait for a CakeHR sales rep to get back to you with a quote.
To give you some perspective on the price point, shift scheduling for 20 employees would cost $170 per month with an annual contract. Adding timesheets would bring that rate to $80.
Humanity – Best for shift trading and filling openings in real-time
Humanity is one of the most popular employee scheduling platforms on the market today. It’s used by big companies like Microsoft, Kaiser Permanente, Nike, Yelp, Safeway, and Squarespace.
I’d recommend Humanity to businesses operating in industries with tight margins. This software gives you the capability to optimize your schedules in the most cost-effective way.
They help ensure local, state, and Federal compliance in terms of labor laws. Think things like break frequency, hours worked, and time between shifts.
Humanity has an auto-scheduling feature that will optimize shifts by applying variables related to seniority and employee preferences.
One standout feature of Humanity is the ability for employees to trade shifts. Assuming the trade falls within your predefined rules, these requests can be automatically approved with limited supervisor involvement.
The Humanity mobile app makes it easy for you and your staff to manage shift needs in real-time. Managers can post open shifts for pickup and quickly find replacements for any absences.
Humanity integrates with top HCM software like Namely, BambooHR, ADP, and Workday.
Pricing for Humanity is very straightforward. There are two plans at the following annual rates:
- Starter — $3 per month per user ($80 minimum)
- Classic — $4 per month per user ($80 minimum)
You can also sign up for Humanity on a month-to-month basis. Those rates are $3.50 and $5 per user, respectively. But the short-term plans are subject to a $100 monthly minimum.
The Starter package comes with everything you need to manage employee scheduling. But for an extra $1 per month, the Classic plan comes with advanced features like:
- Auto scheduling
- Real-time labor and budgeting
- Compliance
- Reporting and analytics
- Time and attendance
- Geolocation clock-ins and clock-outs
- Secure messaging
Overall, Humanity has everything you could need or ask for in an employee scheduling tool.
Conclusion
This is the ultimate list of the best employee shift scheduling software in 2021. It contains the 10 best employee scheduling software along with a few bonus employee scheduling apps.
One of the hardest tasks for HR managers is employee shift scheduling. It can be time-consuming and frustrating to plan out who should work when. As managers, we do need to keep our employees happy by rewarding them with breaks, healthcare leaves, and other benefits for being with the company. This helps foster a great company culture and a happier