9 Best Scheduling Software for 2022

[The Complete Guide]

Deyan Georgiev Image
Deyan Georgiev

Updated: October 13,2022

Techjury is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.

You don’t need to own a huge corporation to get scheduling software. Even small businesses with only a few employees can benefit from the time and cost savings that the scheduling solution offers.

But you want the best scheduling software, right?

You’ve come to the right place.

In this list, you will find:

  • The methodology used to make the list.
  • The top 9 software options on the market.
  • A buyer’s guide or what to look for when choosing a scheduling tool for your business.
  • Ten more scheduling software alternatives for particular use cases.

Now, let’s dive in!

Read More

Top 9 Scheduling Software for 2022

Best for: Any size company.
Deputy

1. Deputy

  • Excellent customer service
  • Simple user interface
  • Employees have lots of control
Visit Website Full review
Best for: Free scheduling software.
When I Work

2. When I Work

  • Modern, attractive interface
  • Open API support for point-of-sale (POS) systems
  • Employees can control scheduling
Visit Website Full review
Best for: Restaurant scheduling software.
Sling Schedule

3. Sling Schedule

  • Easy to manage shift changes
  • GPS tracking via app
  • Good communication tools
Visit Website Full review
Best for: Large businesses and enterprises.
Humanity

4. Humanity

  • Very good support
  • Automated scheduling tools
  • Good integrations
Visit Website Full review
Best for: Medical scheduling software platforms.
WhenToWork

5. WhenToWork

  • Automatic scheduling algorithm
  • Wide variety of schedule views
  • Works out cheap for large companies
Visit Website Full review
Best for: Department and retail stores.
Shyft

6. Shyft

  • Frequent updates
  • Excellent communication
  • Highly functional mobile apps
Visit Website Full review
Best for: Small firms, solopreneurs, and freelancers.
Findmyshift

7. Findmyshift

  • Simple, no training required
  • Powerful free version
  • Good customer service
Visit Website Full review
Best for: Large corporations.
Shiftboard

8. Shiftboard

  • Highly scalable
  • Affordable option for large businesses
  • Extensive compliance features
Visit Website Full review
Best for: Team scheduling software.
ZoomShift

9. ZoomShift

  • Integrated time clock
  • Excellent mobile apps
  • Value for money
Visit Website Full review
  • Deputy – Best for any size company

  • When I Work – Best for free scheduling software

  • Sling Schedule – Best for restaurant scheduling software

  • Humanity – Best for large businesses and enterprises

  • WhenToWork – Best for medical scheduling software platforms

  • Shyft – Best for department and retail stores

  • Findmyshift – Best for small firms, solopreneurs, and freelancers

  • Shiftboard – Best for large corporations

  • ZoomShift – Best for team scheduling software

How we Evaluated the Top 9 Scheduling Software

Ease of Use

I always check every software to see just how smoothly it runs and how intuitive the interface is. Any decent shift planning tools should include a free trial that users can test beforehand. I used it to evaluate the user interface and the software’s capabilities.

Shift Scheduling

First and foremost, it’s important to see if all the basics are available and work well. For example: creating shifts, adding staff, setting times, and ensuring things are easily accessible. These are the core aspects of any shift scheduling software.

Communication

The second most important function of scheduling software is staff communication. At the very least, managers need to be able to notify their staff of any shift changes. The best apps allow staff to communicate with each other in various ways.

Managing costs

I evaluate whether the software offers advanced features to manage costs. Such features include variable pay rates, real-time cost analysis, overtime restrictions, and time off procedures.

Time tracking

Look for software that includes timesheets and built-in clocking facilities to accurately track exactly how long the staff worked.

Reporting

Most scheduling software solutions will include some level of reporting, even if it is just to check staff performance at the end of the month. The best software includes cost reporting, staff performance, profit reports, and forecasting.

Advanced features

I always check to see if an app has any advanced features that are not found in another scheduling program. Some of these include added security options, compliance measures, onboarding procedures, etc.

Apps & Integrations

These days, all software should include mobile apps and at least some integrations with third-party HR, payroll, or project management software. A decent number of integrations greatly improve the value of a software solution.

Customer support

It's best if the provider offers 24/7 chat or telephone support, although I always ensure that they have email and business hours support at the very least. I then browse independent reviews to gauge how existing customers feel about the level of service.

Value for the price

Software varies in price, and the most expensive is not necessarily the best. I compare all the features, the quality of support and security to evaluate which software offers the best value for money.

Now let’s discuss software.

Detailed Reviews

Best for: Any size company.

1. Deputy

Excellent customer service

Simple user interface

Employees have lots of control

Deputy is a workforce scheduling and management platform that serves the hospitality, retail, healthcare agencies, and construction industries. It offers a particularly impressive range of features for software in this price range. The UI has a fun, and laid-back feel to it.

Deputy is trusted by 200,000 workplaces, including Amazon, Uber, Rapha, Nike, and NASA.

Interface & Ease of use

I found the user experience on Deputy to be a notch above others because of how quickly you can create, add, or edit things. As you will expect from a top scheduling solution, adding staff, changing schedules, and creating recurring shifts are all super quick and easy.

Shift scheduling

Scheduling seems to work well if you stick to the typical templates for normal business. I’m not sure how versatile this would be for more complex businesses with strange shifts or odd requirements as it isn’t that customizable.

Communication with employees

As with most top scheduling software, employees can communicate privately or in teams across multiple departments or sites. Users can attach PDFs, images and other files to messages and notifications are sent to all users via apps or email.

Managing labor and wage cost

Deputy has automatic time capturing and an online punch card to track employee costs, plus overtime calculations to ensure all payments are correct. With built-in budgeting and payroll management, it makes tracking costs and clearing pay easy.

Managing availability and time off

Deputy includes support for leave tracking, overtime, and forecasting to ensure shifts are sufficiently covered. Users can manage their sick leaves and vacation time directly from the scheduling app.

Reporting

Reporting in Deputy is involves attendance, work hours, wages, compliance, and sales histories. You can track performance over time and create records. However, it doesn’t feature some of the advanced forecasting functions of some similar apps.

Apps and Integrations

Deputy is a SaaS platform with apps for iOS and Android. Integrations include ADP, Gusto, Xero, Paycor, Sapling, and Bamboo, amongst others.

Advanced Features

  • Fast-track scheduling with just one click.
  • Smart compliance tools to manage breaks, contract hours, and wages.

Security

The online scheduling platform benefits from some impressive security supported by the AWS cloud. They include 2-Factor authentication, penetration testing, 256-bit SSL encryption, and employee database sharding. The website has not yet clarified its position regarding GDPR compliance.

Plans & Pricing

  • Scheduling ($2.50/user/month): designed purely for scheduling requirements.
  • Time & Attendance ($2.50/user/month): timesheet and payroll features.
  • Premium ($4/user/month): a combination of scheduling and time & attendance.
  • Enterprise (quote): custom integrations, dedicated support, SSO.

Customer Support

Online support is available 24/7 via a live representative, and phone support is available during business hours. Additionally, the website offers a comprehensive list of articles to answer any questions.

Verdict

The strong communication and automatic compliance procedures make Deputy a no-brainer choice for managers. It’s great for remote workers and projects that managers can’t always oversee consistently. The separation of “time & attendance” and “scheduling” packages is an interesting addition that may appeal to some businesses.

+ Show more
Best for: Free scheduling software.

2. When I Work

Modern, attractive interface

Open API support for point-of-sale (POS) systems

Employees can control scheduling

When I Work makes our top 10 scheduling software for its color-coded, easy to organize interface with a simple, at-a-glance view of all staff availability.

Color-coding is a pretty neat feature to have!

Schedules can be planned and structured for efficiency before being published and sent out to all employees.

When I Work is used by several big companies in the food service and hospitality sector, including  Dunkin Donuts, Taco Johns, Comfort Inn, and Ben & Jerry’s.

Interface & Ease of use

When I Work takes the complexity out of scheduling with its visually-appealing dashboard and simple management style. There are some occasional glitches though, which sometimes require re-doing a schedule. Hopefully, these will be fixed in future updates.

Shift scheduling

Add shifts in the dashboard and view schedules by day, week, or month before publishing and sending out completed schedules. Via this online scheduling software, the staff can receive notifications of shifts via the mobile app and make requests for shift changes or time off.

Communication with employees

Managers and employees can chat amongst themselves via the built-in chat function, which also has the option to email or send a text directly from the app. When a new schedule is published, all employees are automatically notified via the app and email.

Managing labor and wage cost

Timesheets can be easily set up and coordinated to work with the scheduler within a set pay period. In the Hire section, managers can hire new staff, manage minimum wage requirements, and plan applicant tracking.

Managing availability and time off

Managers can use the time clock to manage time & attendance. Some issues arise with this if the same employee works two different roles. In some cases, you have to create two user accounts for them.

Reporting

When I Work has some basic automated reporting, including Attendance Notices and Labor Breakdown. You can also export timesheets and shift data.

Apps and Integrations

When I Work works in any browser and has apps for iOS and Android. Integrations include Gusto, ADP Workforce Now, QuickBooks, and Square.

Advanced Features

  • Auto-assign scheduling: uses historical information to automatically dictate the best employee for a specific shift and time.
  • Applicant tracking software for an easier hiring process.

Security

When I Work made it to our best scheduling software reviews also because it benefits from 99.99% uptime and 24/7/365 monitoring of its servers, although they don’t offer an SLA. All card transactions are PCI-compliant, and they are GDPR-compliant.

Plans & Pricing

  • Free: Up to 75 users, simple scheduling and communication
  • Basic ($1.50/user/month): multiple locations, templates, job sites, overtime
  • Pro ($2.25/user/month): labor forecasting, shift bidding, team task lists
  • Enterprise (quote): full API access, SSO, custom integrations, labor insights

Add-ons: Time Clock & Attendance ($2/user/month).

Applicant Tracking: $20/month

Customer Support

Support is available 24/7 online through a chatbot and by telephone during business hours.

Verdict

When I Work provides one of the best free packages we’ve seen in business scheduling software. With up to 75 users, most small businesses will be able to do everything they need with the free version. This makes When I Work the perfect solution for single-site retail stores, restaurants, or similar businesses.

+ Show more
Best for: Restaurant scheduling software.

3. Sling Schedule

Easy for staff to negotiate shift changes

GPS tracking via app to control staff logins

Good notification and communication tools

Sling is one of the best staff scheduling software apps I tested. It has a clear and intuitive interface. It’s quick, easy to set up, and has clear functions. The best feature is the communication options. They help staff members keep in touch if they need to change shifts.

Sling is used by several corporate clients including Subway, Amazon and The UPS Store.

Sling Interface

The Sling interface is not particularly exciting. However, it’s well designed, and all the functions are easy to find. Unnecessary details are kept to a minimum, which takes the hassle out of making new schedules and assigning shifts.

Shift scheduling

Shifts are easy to create in Sling and recurrence can be applied with the click of a button. Schedules can be viewed by day, week, month or a custom setting. Separate windows are available to view a personal schedule system, unavailable shifts, and pending shifts.

Communication with employees

In the internal communication dashboard, employees can start private or group conversations and get in touch with their coworkers. There are also announcements and a newsfeed window where managers can post notices to all employees or a select group. Employees can be notified about any messages related to them via email and the Sling mobile app.

Managing labor and wage cost

Costs and employee hours are tracked via the Sling timesheets and can be exported for use in payroll processing. GPS geofencing is available to track location so employees can’t login too early via the mobile app. It can be set to automatically log out of their shifts.

Managing availability and time off

Shift swapping is available and schedules are transparent. The staff can easily communicate amongst each and discuss taking on any unwanted shifts. However, staff can’t swap shifts themselves and need to contact a manager in order to have any changes made to the schedule.

Reporting and Analytics

Sling includes a labor cost feature in which you can set employee wages and see exactly how much each shift is costing your business. With forecasting, you can look ahead at future costs and budget accordingly. You can also view labor costs as a percentage of sales. All costs can be easily exported to spreadsheets or sent directly to integrated payroll software like ADP.

Sling Integrations

Sling is a cloud-based scheduling solution available on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. It features several integrations like Shopify and Square. There are new ones coming soon, including ADP Payroll.

Sling Advanced Features

  • Geofencing: prevents employees from logging into shifts too early if they haven’t arrived on site yet.
  • Advanced communication features help all staff to keep in touch easily.

Database Security & Regulation Compliance

Sling is hosted on Amazon Web Services and benefits from the high security and strict regulatory procedures that this scheduling platform offers. All communication channels, employee IDs, passwords, and social security numbers are encrypted by secure hashing functions.

Sling is GDPR compliant and has an extensive privacy policy to ensure the safe storage of client data.

Plans & Pricing

All plans offer a 15-day free trial.

  • Free: all basic features, shift scheduling, time off, and mobile apps with unlimited employees, managers, and locations.
  • Premium ($2/user/month): additional features including geofencing, shift swaps, labor costs, private and group messaging, overtime, auto clock-out, and SMS notifications.
  • Business ($4/user/month): All premium features plus extras like reports, PTO tracking, salary support, sick callouts, and a dedicated account manager.

A credit card is required and service bundles are billed in advance on a monthly basis.

Customer Support

There is a chatbot window on the website and further customer support is offered by email and by phone during business hours. There is also a library of support documentation available.

Verdict

Sling is great for small retailers managing service-orientated businesses that have high staff turnover, like restaurants and cafes. The app for scheduling is easy for new recruits to pick up and start working immediately. The free version is limited but quite usable if you don’t need extra features. The paid versions provide good value for money.

+ Show more
Best for: Large businesses and enterprises.

4. Humanity

Very good support

Automated scheduling tools

Good integrations

Humanity is a workforce scheduling software platform aimed at midsized businesses and enterprises that wish to integrate with leading HCM software. It features automated scheduling, reporting, and in-depth forecasting with analytics.

Humanity is used by big corporations like Safeway, eBay, Microsoft, CNN, and Nike.

Interface & Ease of use

It takes only five minutes to get up and running on the Humanity web-based application.

It is very simple considering the wide range of features on offer. The interface consists of easily accessible menus for the main features: Dashboard, ShiftPlanning, Time Clock, Leave, Training, Staff, Payroll, and Reports.

Shift scheduling

Select the ShiftPlanning menu to quickly add employees to a shift schedule in Day, Week, 2 Weeks, and 4 Weeks view. The calendar is reminiscent of Google Calendar, giving it a familiar and comfortable feel.

Communication with employees

Humanity is not geared to supporting communication between staff. It is aimed purely as a way for managers to schedule and assign shifts, track time and calculate budgets. For this reason, communication is limited to private messages and notifications of shifts from managers.

Managing labor and wage cost

Users with Supervisor permissions can track timesheets, process staff wages and run payroll, which can be integrated with 3rd-party payroll software. Labor costs can be tracked in real-time to more easily assess budgetary requirements.

Managing availability and time off

Added features like a vacation, overtime, and expenses can all be managed and limited through the calendar scheduling software. Employees can also set their preferred schedules and update their attendance remotely from their phones.

Reporting

Humanity features comprehensive reporting features covering all aspects of business, including Budget, Shift exchanges, Timesheets, Hourly availability, Attendance, and Vacation statistics.

Apps and Integrations

Humanity is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that integrates with several platforms. Among them, you’ll find Workday, BambooHR, Square, Ceridian, and Namely. It also supports timesheet exports to ADP, QuickBooks, Paychex, and many other payroll platforms.

Advanced Features

  • Separate C-level executive solution.
  • Demand-based scheduling with optimized, data-driven staffing.

Security

As a first-class scheduling solution, Humanity is US/EU Safe Harbor compliant with digital privacy certification from TRUSTe. It uses TLS 1.2 with 256-bit encryption for all transfers and stores data in 24/7 monitored IBM Cloud storage facilities.

Plans & Pricing

  • Starter: ($3/user/month): scheduling, shift trade, time-off management, mobile, notifications.
  • Classic: ($4/user/month): real-time costs, compliance, reporting and analytics, geolocation, Clock-in, custom policies, secure messaging
  • Enterprise: (custom quote): HCM integration, API access, demand-based scheduling.

There is an $80/month minimum on all plans.

Customer Support

24/7/365 live chat support is available, along with business hours telephone support plus a wealth of online documentation and training videos.

Verdict

Humanity is a very well-priced enterprise scheduling solution for big businesses with multiple sites. It has received excellent ratings on many review websites for its good customer support and well-designed UI. It benefits from a wide range of integrations and complex reporting to support budget planning requirements.

+ Show more
Best for: Medical scheduling software platforms.

5. WhenToWork

Automatic scheduling algorithm

Wide variety of schedule views

Works out cheap for large companies

When To Work is a very simple, old-school shift-planning software. It is incredibly cheap if you have many users and pay annually (as little as 15¢ /user/month). The interface looks and operates like a typical timesheet and so would appeal to more traditional companies.

When To Work is used by many universities and medical services, including Ball State, University of Virginia, Santa Rosa College, Kwantlen, Iowa State, Webster University, Valley Medical, Clear Lake EMC, and Pickens County EMS.

Interface & Ease of use

In a nutshell, When To Work doesn’t have a modern design. However, it runs very smoothly and has all the basic features needed for scheduling shifts and managing staff.

Shift scheduling

At first glance, When To Work seems like a simple scheduling platform but it has a wide variety of different views, charts, and functions related to scheduling. There is a graphical, calendar, grid, position, and category chart views plus templates, statistics and sortable lists.

Communication with employees

The medical scheduling platform has a bulletin board for notices plus an urgent alert system and a range of notification options, including email and texting.

Managing labor and wage cost

Employee pay rates can be added by default rate, individual staff rates, or positions. Approximate costs are automatically calculated by hours and rounded.

Managing availability and time off

The dedicated time off section is viewable in weeks or months. It allows you to see pending time-off requests, add time-off, and block specific days. Staff can also trade shifts and pickup unassigned shifts in the Trade menu.

Reporting

Customized reports include detailed and summary reports by category, employee, position, daily sign-in, time off, and recent shifts. Standard reports include estimated payroll, employee status, account payment history, and various statistics, all exportable to Google Calendar.

Apps and Integrations

When to Work is a cloud-based scheduling platform with mobile apps for iOS and Andriod. The software comes with integrations for ADS Payroll, ADP, Ceridian, Paychex, Paycor, Kronos, QuickBooks, and many others.

Advanced Features

  • Powerful autofill: An automatic employee scheduling algorithm developed by math professors.
  • Extensive notification options for managers and employees.

Security

I was unable to find any detailed security information on this product.

But.

The company has run successfully for over 20 years and has a strict privacy policy.

Plans & Pricing

When To Work is priced by increments of users:

Users Monthly Annually
1-10 $15 $100
11-30 $30 $200
31-60 $49 $330
61-100 $72 $480

30-day free trial, no credit card required. No extra costs or hidden fees.

Customer Support

Support is available via email only but has good response times.

Verdict

When To Work is a very strange-looking piece of software in 2022 and makes one wonder why they haven’t upgraded the interface. However, it is highly functional and has clearly been trusted by loyal customers for decades.

It may not appeal to new startups with young staff. But for big traditional businesses who want function over form and excellent value for money, it’s perfect.

+ Show more
Best for: Department and retail stores.

6. Shyft

Frequent updates with new features

Excellent communication and shift swapping features

Highly functional mobile apps

Shyft is a very new scheduling software platform, founded in 2015 but has already won a Gold Honor at the 2018 Tech Impact Awards.

Shyft is typically used by clothing retailers like Walmart Canada, Athleta, Old Navy, GAP, and Banana Republic.

Interface & Ease of use

As one of the best-rated scheduling software, Shyft has a modern and user-friendly interface. Features include an interactive calendar, group messaging, broadcast shifts, and store announcements.

Shift scheduling

Shyft’s Predictable Scheduling allows voluntary schedule changes, shift trades, advance notices, and records.

Communication with employees

Shyft has a strong internal communication system that negates the need for email and text notifications. All shift swaps, negotiations, and approval can be made via its centralized solution.

Managing labor and wage cost

Shyft benefits from geofencing technology to ensure staff is onsite when clocking onto shifts.

Managing availability and time off

Managers can approve time off, swap shift and request shifts in the Enterprise dashboard. Employees can request shift changes through the app.

Reporting

The built-in analytics can be used to optimize human resources which Shyft claims have helped many companies reduce turnover. In terms of reporting, the dashboard provides the most crucial information you’ll need.

Apps and Integrations

Shyft is cloud-based with apps for Android and iOS. It integrates with Kronos, JDA, and Infor.

Advanced Features

Predictive scheduling saves time and money

Security

Shyft is a Cloud Security Alliance member and uses HTTPS encryption, SFTP data transfer security, and BSIMM8 software security framework. Shyft complies with Fair Workweek legislation.

Plans & Pricing

Shyft offers a free demo, and you’ll have to contact the sales team to get pricing.

Customer Support

There is email and live chat support 24/7 and telephone support during business hours.

Verdict

Shyft’s modern interface and predictive scheduling feature really make it stand out from the crowd. It has gained a lot of popularity amongst department stores in the short time it’s been around. However, without any pricing information, it makes it difficult to ascertain if this business scheduling software provides good value for money.

+ Show more
Best for: Small firms, solopreneurs, and freelancers.

7. Findmyshift

Simple, no training required

Powerful free version

Good customer service

Findmyshift is little more than an Excel spreadsheet with some added features, drop-down menus, and reports. However, it works very well as a simple scheduling tool and also has a few added reports and costing functions.

Findmyshift boasts half a million users worldwide although it lacks information on specific users.

Interface & Ease of use

Findmyshift is a cleverly simplified platform that requires no training. Even the least technical of staff will pick it up quickly!

Shift scheduling

According to Findmyshift, their schedule is actually based on Microsoft Excel in order to provide a feeling of familiarity. Information can be added manually, copied, or filled with commonly used times, roles, and extras from drop-down menus.

Communication with employees

The employee scheduling platform automatically notifies staff of all shifts and changes. It does so via email, texts, and push notifications to the app. Integrate with Slack to provide communication between staff.

Managing labor and wage cost

The actual hours that staff worked are stored in separate timesheets so as to not interfere with schedules. These can then be used for reporting and to calculate payroll.

Managing availability and time off

Time off is displayed by default directly on the Findmyshift schedule. Everyone can see the availability of all staff. However, managers can control what is seen by other staff by setting privacy controls.

Reporting

Findmyshift combines hours with the timesheet and pay rates to forecast labor costs in real-time. This way you can experiment with budgeting and add details like hourly and day rates, overtime, exceptions, ad-hoc rates, split shifts, and unpaid breaks.

Apps and Integrations

Findmyshift is a browser application with apps for Android and iOS. Integrations with Xero, Slack, Lightspeed, Vend, Square, Google, Amazon Alexa, Cake, Monday, Wagestream, and Bamboo HR are available.

Advanced Features

Volunteer-specific package: Findmyshift has a tailor-made package specifically designed for non-profit companies. It provides all the features of the professional package but with Payroll and at a reduced rate.

Security

GDPR compliant. SSL and TLS encryption between end-users and software. 2-Factor authentication is available. Intrusion detection, server monitoring, firewalls.

Plans & Pricing

  • Free: 5 users, drag and drop scheduling, notification, timesheets, reminders.
  • Business ($35/team): unlimited users, real-time reporting, payroll, templates, customization.
  • Volunteer ($26.25/team): business account minus payroll, for non-profit organizations.

Customer Support

Online chat and telephone support between 8 am and 8 pm, Monday to Friday. There are training and live webinars available online.

Verdict

Find My Shift is really just a simple calendar scheduling tool which is great if you’re a small team and just want to keep it simple. That said, it does have a surprising amount of features for a scheduling program that looks so basic, so you might be impressed. However, the free version only allows five users and for the cost of the paid version, you could probably find something more detailed.

+ Show more
Best for: Large corporations.

8. Shiftboard

Highly scalable

Affordable option for large businesses

Extensive compliance features

Shiftboard is the best online scheduling software for very large businesses and multi-site enterprise corporations that need a nationwide solution. For this reason, it is popular with logistics, healthcare, and manufacturing firms.

Shiftboard is used by large, multi-site corporations like Randstad, Swedish, Salesforce, United Airlines, and JW Marriott.

Interface & Ease of use

Shiftboard’s design is not the best. It has quite a complex user interface that could take new users quite a while to get used to it. Due to the number of features on offer, this is to be expected, and initial training will be required.

Shift scheduling

Due to the size and scope of businesses that Shiftboard is aimed at, it uses predictive scheduling to comply with state-wide laws and reduce workload for admins by 50%. This works well to accommodate multiple locations with non-standard scheduling.

Communication with employees

Another key feature of Shiftboard is its support of remote workers. The ability to communicate through mobile apps makes it perfect for companies with many external contractors and freelancers.

Managing labor and wage cost

Shiftboard provides accurate labor forecasting and optimizes savings by using intelligent shift assignments. This ensures the lowest cost and highest qualified employees are automatically selected for the most appropriate shifts.

Managing availability and time off

The automated shift tracking alerts managers ahead of time of upcoming time off and possible spikes in staff demand. This gives them the chance to strategically organize who is available and ensure shifts are always filled.

Reporting

Shiftboard features several reporting and analytics options to track time, costs, and employee performance. Data can be easily extracted to CSV files for use in 3-party software

Apps and Integrations

Shiftboard is cloud-based and has Android and iOS apps. It integrates with many 3rd party apps like ADP, Ceridian, Kronos, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, Paycor, Paychex, Sage, and Dropbox.

Advanced Features

  • Predictive Scheduling
  • Adaptable to multiple billing types like Net60

Security

Shiftboard uses 256-bit SSL encryption, data sharing, and account separation for security. It is GDPR compliant and benefits from AWS cloud infrastructure with 99.99% uptime. Paid accounts get Single Sign-on (SSO) with SAML2.

Plans & Pricing

  • Basic ($3/month): up to 20 teams, 1 profile, text/email alerts, newsboard, and basic reports.
  • Professional (quote): unlimited site branding, customization, shift trades, time-off, payroll.
  • Enterprise (quote): legal compliance, contracts, multi-site, onboarding, applicant tracking.

Minimum subscription and additional installation fees apply.

Customer Support

Shiftboard customers get 24/7 chat support from a live rep, business hour phone support, and online ticketing and email support. Keep in mind that customers do not rate the quality of support highly.

Verdict

Shiftboard looks like a good scheduling system for very large corporations with multiple sites and the need for complex compliance across different states. Although we can’t specify prices, customers have noted it as a cheap solution. It does have a high learning curve and may require additional training.

+ Show more
Best for: Team scheduling software.

9. ZoomShift

Integrated time clock

Excellent mobile apps

Value for money

ZoomShift is a good scheduling tool for small businesses in the hospitality, retail, and food service industry. It has received good reviews online. It has a very appealing, modern interface and well-designed mobile apps.

ZoomShift is used by a range of businesses, including Subway, Amazon, Holiday Inn, Walgreens, Fox, and Cornell University.

Interface & Ease of use

The modern, attractive interface will appeal to younger and tech-savvy users in SMBs like retail and hospitality.

Shift scheduling

Schedules can be organized ahead of time by managers before being published and sent out to staff. Templates make it quick and easy to repeat weeks and schedules can be copied. Users can punch in and out with the time clock.

Communication with employees

Get in touch with other staff members 24/7 via the Discussions panel. Notifications of shift publications and changes can be sent out to staff via the app, email, and text, so everyone knows what’s happening.

Managing labor and wage cost

On ZoomShift, you can block early clock-ins and unapproved overtime and fix mistakes afterward. This helps to keep costs in line with projections and ensure staff is accountable. All wage and resource costs can easily be exported to 3rd party payroll software.

Managing availability and time off

Open shifts can be broadcast via the app, where staff can accept and swap shifts amongst themselves, request time off, and view availability.

Reporting

Managers can compile and print basic reports related to wages, earnings, timesheets, and employee attendance.

Apps and Integrations

ZoomShift is cloud-based with apps for Android and iOS. It integrates with Xero, QuickBooks, Square, and Vend.

Advanced Features

  • Sub-account management: allows a tiered-management structure in enterprises.
  • White labeling: allows the personalized branding of the software.

Brand color is bringing 80% more recognition for the business. With this in mind, Zoomshift is allowing you to use your business colors and logo on the platform.

Security

I was unable to find any information regarding the security of this software.

Plans & Pricing

All plans include unlimited users, locations, and discussions and a 14-day free trial. Monthly payments are 20% higher.

  • Starter ($2/user/month): scheduling, timesheets, payroll, reminders, shift swaps.
  • Premium ($4/user/month): GPS clock, overtime, shift rules, activity log, schedule vs timesheet.
  • Enterprise (quote): priority support, white-labeling, API access, sub-account management.

Customer Support

Support includes online help guides and business hours chat support.

Verdict

ZoomShift is good for giving staff the chance to control a lot of their scheduling requirements and has some built-in fail-safes to ensure shifts don’t get missed or doubled-up. However, it lacks some important info on its website, like security procedures, and has very limited support. There is also no free version which is odd for scheduling software of this level as I would like to test it out before buying.

+ Show more

Buyer’s Guide – How to choose the right scheduling software for your business?

When buying a business scheduling software it is advisable to make sure it fits with your business needs and operations. Here is what you should keep in mind:

Which scheduling software is right for you?

There are some important things you need to consider when choosing the best tool for your business. These are some of them:

Company size

Some job schedule software aims to fit any business size. In most cases, it is best to choose software that is tailored to suit a certain company size. This is because the software for large corporations will have complicated features and will end up costing you more.

Company needs

Most software are usually made especially for specific company types. If you require scheduling software for recruiting, make sure you don’t choose something aimed at the food service industry. Each software works best in the right environment.

Ease of use and Mobile Accessibility

The complex solution is sometimes necessary for big businesses but takes time and money to implement. If you need something simple that works instantly on various platforms, make sure that you choose a package with an easy learning curve and mobile accessibility. In both cases, keep in mind the user experience is important. If the software is not intuitive and easy to use, your employees are not going to use it.

Reliable support

No matter how simple the scheduling software is, inevitably, problems will arise. Always check what support is provided and read independent reviews to ensure it comes with decent customer service.

Security

These days you can never be too safe on the internet. No matter your company’s size, your data is valuable to hackers. Choose a solution with 256-bit SSL encryption, monitored servers, and strict regulation and compliance procedures.

Integrations with business tools and systems

Integrating your scheduling platform with your existing HCM and payroll software will save you lots of time and money. However, not all software integrates with everything, so be sure to check that yours fits well with your platform of choice.

Why do you need scheduling software?

Here is a list of some of the benefits you can get from using a scheduling system If you are still not sure you actually need one.

Build schedules fast

Rather than hassling with paper printouts or spreadsheets, scheduling software automates many of the repetitive processes required to complete a shift schedule. Staff details, roles, and pay rates are all saved in the system and applied instantly, and changes can be made quickly and easily by staff and managers.

Reduce wage cost

Most scheduling software includes online updates, notifications, easily accessible information, and advanced forecasts. All these elements work together to help reduce the occurrence of missed shifts, duplications, and unnecessary time spent on administration tasks. Reports and analytics help to ensure that business is run to maximum efficiency and indicate to managers where money is being wasted.

Overtime management

Another problem that always crops up in scheduling management is overtime laws and payments. Traditionally, it has been difficult for some businesses to keep track of overtime, but with the leading scheduling software, everything is done in the app, and any disputes are easily resolved. Automated clock-ins and geofencing help to ensure everything is correct and above board.

Leave management

You would be surprised by how many emails are sent per day for all different reasons. Rather than hassle with tons of them back and forth, staff can instantly see who is on leave, and they can put in requests for leave via the mobile app. This ensures that no leave request overlaps with others and there is always staff available to fill shifts.

Clear view of workforce

Being able to see exactly who is doing what, when, and to what degree is paramount to ensuring your business runs smoothly. The solutions on our list are geared towards collating all operational data into one place and revealing staff performance and areas that need improvement. For large businesses, this ability to view the entire workforce in one place can spell the difference between success and failure.

Our Scheduling Solution Alternative Options

Here are some alternatives to the top 10 scheduling software:

Zoho Workerly

Zoho Workerly is good appointment scheduling software for temporary staffing agencies to keep track of their clients and temp workers. It includes time clock software, mobile apps, a self-service portal, and notifications. Timesheets, billing, and invoices can be generated, and there are interactive portal and communication channels for users. However, it is not ideal as a complete scheduling solution and really only works for temp agencies. Packages start from as little as $1/user/month and include a 14-day free trial.

HotSchedules

Hotschedules is a good scheduling solution for scheduling a busy environment with many staff. It has convenient options for blackout dates and requesting time off. There is also good support for communication between staff, assisting in keeping the schedule up to date. Unfortunately, all notifications go to all staff, meaning many go unread and are missed. Furthermore, the mobile app requires payment to download it, meaning most staff will not use it which renders the software a bit pointless.

Synchroteam

Synchroteam is the best construction scheduling software. It’s great for contractors, trades, and services like electricians and plumbing. It’s a bit more detailed than most apps, with a CRM portal, invoicing, maps, dispatch options, scheduling, and calendars. The mobile apps don’t allow admins to make changes and some users have reported glitches that require updates.

However, for a relatively new app, it has pretty good reviews overall. It has also won a few awards for its ease of use. Moreover, it offers a free version. The paid version is quite pricey at $22/per user/month.

Bookinglayer

Bookinglayer is a customer booking software and reservation app aimed specifically at the travel and tourism industry. It serves campsites, surf camps, yoga retreats, and similar leisure activity providers. The interface provides a calendar with multiple views that show all bookings, arrivals, departures, customer details, extra activities, etc.

The appointment scheduling app works on a commission basis of 1% to 1.4% per booking with a minimum of $100 to $400 monthly cost depending on the plan. It can automate email replies and process online payments.

Doodle

Doodle is a meeting scheduler and organizer based in Switzerland that does what it says on the box. The scheduling side has the standard calendar, employee, appointment scheduler, and shift functionalities with notifications, automations, and the addition of room booking. On the meeting side, we find a range of options for prep tools, voting, invitations, committee management, and several other tools. At $49.00/user/year, it’s not the cheapest software, but it’s one of the few we’ve reviewed that is focused on meetings.

Nowsta

Nowsta is an all-in-one workforce management platform with a scheduler, payroll, wages, reporting, analytics, timesheets, and more. It has a particular focus on organizations that need to send out staff to remote events, and assists by ensuring all information is available via the app. The map system can get a bit buggy, though, and sometimes send out the wrong GPS coordinates, meaning this always needs to be double-checked. On the other hand, the scheduling interface works well, and the customer service is excellent.

Schedule it

A powerful bit of UK-based software that is popular with big clients including Cisco, Shell, Siemens, and IBM. It’s more of a full production scheduling software platform with meeting, class, facility, and room features, plus skills tracking and employment lifecycle. While this could be useful to some companies, it pushes the price up a lot ($25/user/month), and this quite a niche type of program wouldn’t provide value for money to most businesses. On the bright side, it includes a wide range of training tools and support.

Snap Schedule

Snap Schedule is a very simple scheduling tool for small businesses. It has a decent interface. Unfortunately, it can get a bit crowded at times and has a bit of a harsh color scheme. Still, it is quite easy to use and has some attractive features like staff profiles with photos, nice reporting and analytics graphs and good apps for iOS and Android. Beyond the standard timesheet, attendance, and labor costs, it doesn’t offer much to make it stand out.

Ximble (Paycor)

Ximble is a powerful piece of labor-scheduling software from the popular payroll software provider Paycor. It aims to simplify the more complex areas of Paycor and provide a better service to smaller businesses. This results in a decent solution with several good features – timesheets, shift swaps, mobile tracking, time off, and facility scheduling. However, it falls short of our top 10 due to consistent issues with scheduling, updating, and automation.

T Sheets

T Sheets sells itself as a highly scalable scheduling platform that should appeal to freelancers and enterprise companies alike. However, it falls short of too many features to be considered an enterprise solution. Shifts don’t auto-log out, incorrect shifts can’t be fixed afterward, and many simple features like reporting are add-ons and cost extra. However, despite the odd pricing and glitches, customer support is very attentive and tries its best to respond to issues.

SHARE:

Deyan Georgiev

Deyan Georgiev

Deyan has been fascinated by technology his whole life. From the first Tetris game all the way to Falcon Heavy. Working for TechJury is like a dream come true, combining both his passions – writing and technology. In his free time (which is pretty scarce, thanks to his three kids), Deyan enjoys traveling and exploring new places. Always with a few chargers and a couple of gadgets in the backpack. He makes mean dizzying Island Paradise cocktails too.

Leave your comment

Your email address will not be published.