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There are so many different online employee scheduling software solutions that making a shortlist of the best can be tricky. You want to automate the creation and distribution of employee shifts, track availability and time-off requests, and facilitate easy adjustments to schedules as needed—and now are looking for the right tool for your team. In this post, I share from my personal experience as an HR expert using many different online employee scheduling tools with teams of all sizes, and share my picks of the best online employee scheduling software overall.

What Is Employee Scheduling Software?

Online employee scheduling software is a digital tool that helps businesses manage and organize employee work schedules over the internet. It allows for the creation, distribution, and modification of shift plans, tracks employee availability and time-off requests, and often includes features for communication and notifications.

Online employee scheduling tools streamline the scheduling process, reduce manual errors, and offer real-time updates, making it easier for managers to optimize staffing and for employees to stay informed about their work schedules. Its online nature ensures accessibility from various devices, enhancing flexibility and efficiency in workforce management.

Overviews Of The 10 Best Online Employee Scheduling Software

Next is a brief run-through of each online employee scheduling software that made it into my top 10 list. For my 10 favorites, I’ve explained what it does best and included a screenshot of each to showcase their features in action. Plus, there are 20 additional options below if you’d like even more possibilities to consider.

Best for deskless workers that needs shift information accessible

  • 14-day free trial + free plan available
  • From $29/month for 30 users (paid annually)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.3/5

Need more than just staff scheduling software? Connecteam is a complete work management platform managers from all types of industries use to handle their daily operations, scheduling, internal communications, and employee training.

Their time tracking capabilities extend to geofencing which ensures your team is in the right place and won’t clock out when away from the designated work site. Digital forms, checklists, and push notifications or reminders are bonus points that make it a good choice for “deskless” workers.

Integrations include Paychex, Xero, Gusto, QuickBooks Payroll (online + desktop), Zapier, Google Calendar, API access, and others.

Best if you need a complete online HR platform

  • Free plan available (unlimited employees)
  • From $20/month (payroll add-on is $6/user/month + $39/month)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.2/5

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.

Its simplicity and vast array of functionalities have brought numerous distinctions such as “Top Rated Time Clock Software” by The Blueprint and a 5-star rating on QuickBooks Apps.

Homebase has a free plan you can use with an unlimited number of employees but fewer advanced features. This replaces a free trial.

Best for shift management

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request

TimeClock Plus is a cloud-based time and attendance software that helps you manage your employees' schedules, track their hours, and even handle leave and absence management.

The tool provides a comprehensive and user-friendly platform that efficiently manages and tracks employee hours, schedules, and time-off requests. The software allows employees to easily access their schedules, view upcoming shifts, and request time-off or shift swaps.

Additionally, the software can handle complex scheduling requests such as coverage assurance, qualification requirements for shifts, and CBA compliance. And if you need a quick start, you can access templates that support a wide range of pre-configured rotations, including 24/48, 48/96, Panama rotation, and California rotation.

Integrations include over a hundred payroll solutions like ADP, BAI, Ascentis, Accra, Casamba, Cayenne, Ceridian, and Epicure. Also Quickbooks, Paychex, or even payroll modules from ERP systems like SAP, Sage, and NetSuite.

Best for scheduling employees at agencies

  • 30-day free trial available
  • From $3/user/month
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Rating: 4.7/5

Resource Guru is a comprehensive employee management software with time, project, and resource management features. It's well suited to the needs of agencies, and can help you schedule team members more effectively.

The software's resource management features include an employee directory with information like skills, location, and availability. You can use this information to assign projects and tasks, set up custom schedules for each of your team members, and track progress. The software can also produce forecasts for employee capacities to help you plan ahead.

In addition to managing human resources, you can also manage equipment with the software. This creates an overview of all internal resources, and how they're being used across projects. Everything is managed in a single calendar, helping create a high-level picture of how work will get done, by who, when, and with what tools.

Plans start from $3 per user per month and a 30-day free trial is available.

Best for field service or construction business

  • 14-day free trial
  • From $7/user/month + $16/month base fee
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Rating: 4.7/5

ClockShark is an online 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 online 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 $7/user/month plus a $16/month base fee. They also offer a 14-day free trial.

Best for employee shift scheduling and time tracking

  • 14-day free trial
  • From $2.50/user/month
Visit Website
Rating: 4.3/5

When I Work 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, When I Work 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.

When I Work 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.

Best for highly regulated industries where you need to comply with diverse safety standards and labor laws

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request

Need a highly-compliant tool to keep problems at bay? Shiftboard comes with two separate products: ScheduleFlex (used in distribution, staffing agencies, call centers) and the high-compliance SchedulePro (used for oil and gas, manufacturing, petrochemical industries). Both versions allow for general labor law compliance, employee self-service, and time tracking.

ScheduleFlex is better suited for organizations that require constant schedule changes. Flexible team schedule creation, shift blocking and credential verification, or labor demand forecasting help with maintaining day-to-day compliance.

Meanwhile, SchedulePro provides complex compliance with labor laws and safety standards along with labor demand forecasting, exception tracking, and other features to help you manage diverse risks.

The cost for both the ScheduleFlex and SchedulePro plans is custom as you’ll need to request a demo beforehand to see if one of them is right for your organization. Note that additional implementation fees apply in all cases.

Best for easy shift scheduling

  • From $3.50/user/month

Shiftbase is a straightforward online tool used in industries where shift management is a priority like production, transportation, or retail. Its mix of employee scheduling, time tracking, and human resources management (HCM) allows managers to plan and monitor workflows from anywhere.

Their physical punch clock boxes let staff members mark the start and end of their shifts directly on the work site. Alternatively, time tracking can be done online via the mobile app or web browser. An ISO 27001:2017 certification ensures personal data is secured and up to par with global standards.

Shiftbase paid plans start at €2.75/active employee/month and you can test the tool with a free 14-day trial.

Best for healthcare providers

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request

Schedule360 users commonly refer to the software as a cost-effective solution where payment is required only for the staff members who use it. The personalized cost of the tool also implies the seller will configure the app to suit your staffing and business needs.

Features like rules-based self-scheduling, license and credential tracking, or shift dispatching come in handy for markets such as nursing, disaster relief, or pharmacies.

No free trial or public pricing is available. Visit Schedule360's website to request custom pricing or a free demo.

Best custom workflows for team scheduling

  • 14-day free trial + free plan available
  • From $8/user/month (billed annually, min 3 seats)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.7/5

monday.com is an online employee scheduling software that allows managers to build custom workflows for their team. The tool includes dozens of integrations, widgets, third-party apps, and editable columns.

monday.com includes a time tracker for users to keep track of time spent on tasks. Users can also add the tracker to the team’s high-level overview so managers can see how much time employees spend on each individual task. Managers can also assign individual or multiple team members to tasks.

The tool has a workload widget, which enables managers to pull data from tasks and view individual team member capacity and overall workload. Users can also create custom dashboards that update automatically, so managers can track overall team performance and efficiency.

monday.com costs from $8/user/month. A 14-day free trial is also available.

10 Best Online Employee Scheduling Software: Comparison Chart

This comparison chart summarizes basic details about each of my top 10 online employee scheduling software selections. You can view pricing details and the availability of free trials side-by-side to help you find the best option for your budget and scheduling needs.

Tools Price
Connecteam From $29/month for 30 users (paid annually)
Homebase From $20/month (payroll add-on is $6/user/month + $39/month)
TimeClock Plus Pricing upon request
Resource Guru From $3/user/month
ClockShark From $7/user/month + $16/month base fee
When I Work From $2.50/user/month
Shiftboard Pricing upon request
Shiftbase From $3.50/user/month
Schedule360 Pricing upon request
monday.com From $8/user/month (billed annually, min 3 seats)
Preview Image - 
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	Compare Software Specs Side by Side</h2>

Compare Software Specs Side by Side

Use our comparison chart to review and evaluate software specs side-by-side.

Compare Software

Other Online Employee Scheduling Platform Options

Here are more apps that didn’t make the top list of best online employee scheduling software but are worth checking out:

  1. Buddy Punch

    Best online time clock with scheduling

  2. BambooHR

    Best for managing employees throughout the whole life cycle

  3. 7shifts

    Best for restaurants

  4. Factorial

    Best for creating timesheets to integrate with payroll

  5. Sage HR

    Best for small and medium businesses

  6. Wrike

    Best for companies looking resource scheduling with powerful project management features

  7. Hub Planner

    Best for resource allocation and availability mapping

  8. eResource Scheduler

    Best for managing schedules, timesheets, and financials

  9. Justworks

    Best for managing a distributed workforce

  10. Aladtec

    Best for rescue and law enforcement organizations 

  11. Skedulo

    Best for remote teams

  12. Planday

    Best for revenue forecasting

  13. WhenToWork

    Best for a one-click smart scheduling process

  14. TimeForge

    Best POS integration option

  15. Aplano

    Best for German speakers

  16. OrbitalShift

    Best if you’re looking for a tool to work on all devices

  17. ZoomShift

    Best for hourly workers

  18. Snap Schedule

    Best for maintaining compliance for multi-site teams

  19. ePro Scheduler Plus

    Best for private EMS agencies

  20. SubItUp

    Best for social scheduling

Selection Criteria For Online Employee Scheduling Software

Are you curious how I created this list of the best online employee scheduling apps? I'm happy to explain my methodology. I started out by creating a long list of options based on recent market data. Next, I dug into the details and functionality of each scheduling system using the criteria below as my guiding framework.

Here’s a summary of the evaluation criteria I used for my assessment, which you can use for your own decision-making process too: 

Core Functionalities

Each time I create a new top 10 list software, I always determine the core features it should cover first, to make sure nothing critical is missing. For online employee scheduling software, here are the basic features each system had to cover in order to move from my long list to my shortlist:

  • Digital tools to make the scheduling process easier, including scheduling templates you can re-use from week to week
  • Employee profiles that organize key information (such as their availability, roles, hourly rates, and vacation requests, etc.) to make scheduling easier and avoid scheduling conflicts
  • Built-in analytics and reporting tools that you can use to export your scheduling data in a variety of formats, including Excel, so you can share it with other stakeholders or import the data into other systems

Key Features

With the criteria above already satisfied, this is the list of key features I assessed in detail when making my final selections for the best online employee scheduling software list:

  • Core employee scheduling features: This, obviously, includes the ability to allocate employee schedules, as well as more advanced features like sending shift reminders and advanced shift planning tools.
  • Automated scheduling: Systems with auto-scheduling functionalities can save you time by scheduling and adjusting work distribution based on predefined rules or patterns.
  • Shift management tools: These tools help you communicate with your staff about required or open shifts, and also allow employees to swap shifts with one another.
  • Leave management tools: This includes the ability to track your employee's vacation days (PTO) as well as sick days, to avoid possible scheduling conflicts or gaps.
  • Payroll management: This includes tools that help you pay your employees on time directly from your employee scheduling solution.
  • Time tracking: Many systems allow employees to punch in and out online without requiring any paperwork, while managers maintain an overall look at their timesheets.
  • Mobile accessibility: For a better user experience for your employees, the best scheduling solutions offer complementary scheduling apps for Android and iOS devices so your staff can stay in the loop on their mobile devices.
  • Reporting and analytics: The ability to create smart and clear reports to keep track of your team’s performance and reduce no-shows.

Other Assessment Criteria

  • User Interface (UI): Attractive UI is particularly helpful when you’re looking to implement a new tool quickly. An intuitive interface makes it easier for your employees to use the tool without requiring extra training. For a non-boring experience, opt for a bright and clean design.
  • Usability: Reduce labor costs by looking for sellers that offer timely tech support and training even prior to making the purchase. A comprehensive help center complete with tutorials or a community to answer your inquiries in real-time is an added plus. Without these, you’d have to spend extra time and resources on training instead of using that time to do your work.
  • Software Integrations: How easy is it for you to integrate the new tool with your current apps? Employee scheduling software is likely just one of the solutions you need to run your business. Choose platforms that seamlessly integrate with apps you’re already using, such as HRMS, thanks to pre-built integrations or add-ons. Another option is to request a specific integration and see if the seller’s dev team can prioritize this and allow customization.
  • Value for Price: Pick two or three apps from this list to compare their pricing. You want the cost to be appropriate for the capabilities you get, but most software providers will offer a variety of paid plans to satisfy different types of scheduling needs. Keep in mind that unclear pricing or a lack of transparency are huge red flags.

Why Choose Employee Scheduling Software?

The complexity of these apps makes for a lengthy list of benefits you can get from a single HR hub. Here’s a few of them:

  • Lowered labor costs and unexpected expenses
  • Less time spent on scheduling and rescheduling
  • No shift delays or overlaps
  • More clarity regarding employee availability and shift exchanges
  • Improved employee satisfaction and retention rates
  • Direct payroll based on clear work hours stats
  • Full labor law compliance
  • Real-time view of your team’s activity and work risks

Most tools also provide flexible pricing levels so any kind of business can gain from them. You can access many free employee scheduling software alternatives with limited core features or for smaller teams.

Other Scheduling Software Reviews

There are other types of scheduling software out there which may be a better fit, depending on your scheduling needs. Here are some links to other scheduling and workforce management tools to save you hours of sleuthing:

What Do You Think About These Online Employee Scheduling Tools?

Is there any similar app or workforce management software you’re already using? Looking for employee scheduling software specifically for Small Businesses?

Are you looking to switch to a new online employee management software for the extra features, or taking the leap and implementing an ERP Software?? Let me know in the comments! Don’t forget to bookmark this list if you haven’t decided on a new tool yet.

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By Kim Behnke

Kim Behnke is an HR Tool Expert & Writer for People Managing People. She draws on her 9 years of human resources experience and her keen eye for systematic processes to support her analyses of the top HR tools on the market. She is passionate about maximizing efficiencies and streamlining workflows to ensure internal systems run smoothly. Kim's HR experience includes recruitment, onboarding, performance management, training and development, policy development and enforcement, and HR analytics. She also has degrees in psychology, writing, publishing, and technical communication, and recently completed a Certified Digital HR Specialist program through the Academy to Innovate HR. When away from her desk, she can usually be found outside tending to her ever-expanding garden.