10 Best Employee Scheduling Software For Small Business (2023)

Small businesses often have limited resources; efficient software helps them make the most of their existing resources by streamlining scheduling and task management processes. Wrike is an employee scheduling and task management software that helps small businesses create and manage employee schedules, assign tasks to employees or entire teams, and plan future projects precisely and efficiently. It allows users to set up notifications to be alerted when tasks are complete, or due dates are approaching. Wrike's dashboard offers a visual representation that makes tracking progress easy and ensures tasks are completed on time. The platform provides integrated communication tools so managers can communicate with employees directly within the app without using multiple services or platforms. This makes it easier for managers to provide clear instructions regarding shifts and any changes that may arise in real time. Additionally, employees can check their shift details directly from the app or via email notifications whenever they need to update their availability or schedule changes.

Wrike's employee scheduling feature allows managers to schedule shifts quickly and easily while providing visibility into each team member's availability. Managers can access reports on current employees' hours worked and projected hours for upcoming weeks or months. This makes it easy to plan and ensure everyone has the necessary coverage when needed. Employees benefit from having access to real-time data about their tasks which allows them to quickly identify areas where additional assistance is needed or deadlines may need to be adjusted. Wrike's analytics feature provides insight into how long specific tasks take to complete and which team members perform differently than others. This visibility into performance helps supervisors make informed decisions about utilizing their staff's skillsets to optimize productivity and efficiency across all business departments.

monday.com’s flexible Work OS system makes it easy for users to organize and track any process through their customized data dashboards. Their system comes with 200+ templates, including a weekly work schedule template, that can be adapted to your business needs. All of their data dashboards can also be visualized in a variety of formats with just one click, including a calendar view or Gantt chart format.

Monday.com is a straightforward and low-cost way to streamline your scheduling process. You can even include automation to notify your staff as soon as a new schedule is posted. Another helpful feature is the ability to share the schedule in “read-only” mode, so you can ensure no alterations are made. You can also search schedules for unique details or employee names, add customized labels, or break schedules down into as many groups and subgroups as you need.

To further enhance your planning processes, monday integrates with a wide range of other communication and productivity tools including Excel, Google Calendar, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Zapier, and others.

Pricing for monday.com starts at $8 user/month. They also offer a 14-day free trial, as well as a free forever plan with limited features for a maximum of two users.

Buddy Punch is a web-based time clock and scheduling software. Their simple, user-friendly, and intuitive app interface empowers your employees instead of forcing them to learn a new, complex workflow just to punch in/out of work. Your employees can view their current time card, request time off, submit a claim to correct a punch-in error, or even submit their time card for approval—all without ever leaving the app.

Buddy Punch’s key features work to keep your team accountable and honest. Through GPS tracking, you can stay on top of your staff’s location whenever they clock in/out of work. Some additional features include facial recognition and photos on punch, which run a biometric scan of your employees’ faces to verify who is attempting to punch in/out. The interface has been built to ensure easy navigation and ease of use, with drag-and-drop schedule creation and the ability to create repeating/recurring shifts.

Buddy Punch integrates with QuickBooks, ADP, Gusto, Paychex, Paylocity, PayPlus, SurePayroll, and Workday. With a paid Zapier account, you’ll have access to thousands of other apps and tools.

Buddy Punch costs from $3.49/user/month plus a $19/month base fee for their Standard time and attendance package. For enterprise organizations with over 200 employees, you can request a free quote. They also offer a 14-day free trial too.

ClockShark is an employee scheduling software with timesheets and time tracking for field services and construction businesses. Employees can clock in and clock out from their smartphones and all job costing data is recorded within the app so you can access it for simple payroll and invoice processing. You have multiple options for employees to access ClockShark: by web browser, mobile app, or even a ClockShark 'kiosk' using a tablet device. You can leverage facial recognition tools and individual PINs to ensure the utmost security no matter how you choose to access the software. 

Crew management is simple with ClockShark's work scheduling calendar. You can create and assign shifts, color-code entries, and drag-and-drop items to make changes quickly. Notifications will prompt affected parties in real-time if their shift is altered in any way (canceled, shortened, swapped, etc.). ClockShark also has GPS and geofencing capabilities baked in so you can see where and when people are checking in.

Overall, ClockShark is a must-have employee scheduling software for field service or construction businesses to streamline their timesheet-to-payroll workflows.

ClockShark integrates with QuickBooks, Sage 100 Contractor, Xero, ADP, Paychex, and other apps.

ClockShark costs from $20/month base fee + $3/user/month and comes with a 14-day free trial.

Calendly is a free scheduling software for small businesses that helps you manage your staff schedule. The software is both mobile (iOS and Android) and browser-based, meaning you can book appointments anywhere you have access to the internet. With Calendly, you can create a calendar and share it with clients. You can customize your availability to any time-of-day or day-of-the-week (or remove available slots to show that you are a busy person!).

Overall, Calendly is simple to use and implement with no feature bloating. With the free version, you can schedule unlimited one-on-one appointments. The pro plan comes with additional features like appointment reminders. Customer support for the pro plan is available via email.

Calendly integrates with Gmail, Zoom, Slack, Salesforce, Microsoft Teams, HubSpot, Paypal, Intercom, Stripe, GoToMeeting, Google Analytics, Mailchimp, Active Campaign, Drip, ClickSend SMS, Twilio, and dozens of other apps. You can also integrate with hundreds more tools using a paid plan through Zapier.

Calendly is free to use for 1 calendar. Paid plans cost from $8/month and come with a 14-day free trial.

Zoho People is a cloud-based scheduling solution. It includes time tracking and project management tools. It’s easy to use with customizable dashboards and drag-and-drop functionality. It automates and simplifies all the tedious and repetitive HR tasks that can bog down a small business owner. The product allows you to streamline the hiring process from a single location.

You can collect and consolidate attendance data from multiple sources and cut down mistakes due to manual entries. You have the ability to fully customize schedules, conduct leave management by leave types, and create timesheets with ease. There is also a feature for employee queries that can be used to better integrate employees with the project at hand. The product has automated mail alerts and intelligent workflow configuration built-in. The product integrates with AdobeSign, Zapier, QuickBooks, and more. Support is by email and chat. There is also an extensive knowledge base available.

Zoho People costs from $1.25/user/month and comes with a 30-day free trial.

Hubstaff is a time tracker that allows you to see how many hours your employees are working. It also lets you keep a track of how much of your time is spent on various projects. All this data is analyzed through reports on Hubstaff’s dashboard. This product is best suited for small business owners with its pocket-friendly pricing.

Hubstaff also includes screenshots and activity levels. It tracks employees’ time spent on projects, tasks, and meetings, thus letting managers see where time lags are happening in real-time. Hubstaff integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, and payroll software like ADP and Gusto. Support is available via email, chat, and a quick start guide.

Pricing starts at $7 per month for their basic plan and comes with a 14-day free trial.

The Homebase team scheduling software is mainly used by small businesses such as small stores, beauty salons or fitness facilities, and other service providers. The platform provides an exhaustive set of features that let you run your HR tasks from start to finish, including hiring and onboarding, scheduling, time tracking, team communication, and more.

Homebase allows you to create work rosters easily from schedule templates, and then make changes on the fly as required. You can build smart work schedules and forecast your labor costs.

Employees can always get their up-to-date work schedule using the free mobile apps, or they can get the information via text or email. Homebase’s scheduler automatically calculates overtime, subtracts breaks, and alerts you to schedule conflicts.

You can also integrate your sales data and forecasts, so you can build your schedule around your labor targets.

Homebase has a free plan you can use with an unlimited number of employees but fewer advanced features. This replaces a free trial. Their paid plans start at $20/month/location.

Skedulo is a cloud-based software with modules for scheduling and dispatching, shift management, communication including virtual meetings, and reporting. Their smart optimization engine can automate schedule building by comparing shift requirements to employee availability, required skill sets or job qualifications, and even travel time.

Skedulo lets you add recurring or unique events in a simple calendar interface. The calendar also gives you the ability to view by project, client, or project type. You can also set up an alarm for a specific time. Skedulo integrates with Quickbooks, Xero, and other major accounting providers. It also integrates with Google Drive and DropBox. Support is available via email and chat.

Skedulo offers customized pricing upon request.

When I Work is a software that helps small business owners stay on top of their schedule. It has a wide variety of features, such as a calendar to track your appointments and a task list for managing your to-dos. There is a press-to-start time clock integrated that allows you to manage your team members and track their hours. The employees can easily collaborate on shift trades, manage their availability, and also submit time-off requests. The dashboard is simple and tailor-made for quick actions. You can also customize the dashboard according to your needs.

When I Work has an option for easy bulk upload of the company directory for quick onboarding. You can send messages to employees with reminders and updates. When I Work works out of the box with Calendly, Acuity Scheduling, TSheets, and more. Support is available via email and chat. There is also an extensive knowledge base with training videos and templates to support the onboarding journey.

Paid plans start at $2 per user with an option for a 14-day free trial.