Did you know that the average person spends up to 28% of their time at work dealing with scheduling conflicts? It can be hard to manage your employees’ schedules, but it becomes a little bit easier with the right planning software.
Scheduling is often one of the most challenging jobs that managers have to deal with.
There are so many things that need to be considered when scheduling workers — how much time off they’ve had in past weeks, who has requested time off or days off in advance, and whether they’re reliable enough to show up on their scheduled day.
To help you decide which is the perfect employee scheduling software for your business, here are the top 6 planning software you can use at your convenience:
1. Homebase
Homebase is an excellent option for businesses of all sizes. It has features like employee scheduling, shift planning, real-time location tracking, and more. Plus, it’s quite easy to use with its convenient mobile app that you can access on your phone or tablet.
The platform provides a simple drag and drop interface and an intuitive calendar system, making it an excellent option for those who have never used scheduling software before.
One of the best features of Homebase is that you can customize your shift patterns in just a few minutes. You’ll be able to easily create schedules and ensure all employees are happy, which means higher productivity levels for you and your business.
Homebase, which was founded in 2015, is a comprehensive solution for small business owners, with various updates made since 2020. Its free plan includes all you need to get started scheduling shifts, while paid subscriptions are reasonable and feature-rich. Homebase leads our list for best overall employee planning software with the addition of safety screenings to its mobile app.
The basic free plan provides time clocks, time and attendance monitoring, employee mobile apps, and the option to schedule for more than 10 days. You can also track breaks and overtime for compliance purposes, as well as receive daily labor reports.
A paid plan allows you to pay monthly or yearly. However, if you pay for the subscription annually, you will save 30%.
2. Shiftboard – Planning Software
Shiftboard is another excellent software for your employee scheduling and shift-planning needs. It’s a full-featured workforce management solution that allows managers and employees alike to access the system from any device, anywhere in the world.
It comes with an easy reporting tool so you can get information about your business almost instantly. You also have control over creating schedules easier than ever before, which means less stressful days on your part at work too.
Founded in 2008, Shiftboard is an industry leader that helps healthcare teams to deliver exceptional patient care and manage coverage. Its medicinal features propel it to the top of our best for healthcare list.
Shiftboard has tools specifically designed for nursing and healthcare teams. The ScheduleFlex planning software allows for customizable operations, whereas the SchedulePro plans include comprehensive compliance tracking features. Features of healthcare scheduling include:
- Customized information about certifications and competencies for team members
- Day-of-shift coverage instruments
- Staff communication in real time via text, alerts, and notifications
- Simple float pool administration for numerous sites
- Employee self-service access and tools that are robust
- Nurses’ schedulable hours can be limited.
- View expected overtime charges easily.
Shiftboard provides unique quotations for all packages and offers either ScheduleFlex or SchedulePro plans. You have the option of using ScheduleFlex software to:
- Business: With this plan, you may schedule employees based on seniority, monitor daily and weekly overtime thresholds, adhere to necessary rest intervals, use intelligent auto-scheduling, and send SMS text messages.
- Enterprise features applicant tracking services, training and credential tracking, and compliance notifications. Pricing is available upon application.
3. SageHR
SageHR is an intuitive shift planning software for all types of businesses. It specializes in employee scheduling and shift planning but also offers other features like benefits management, time-off requests, performance reviews, and more.
Due to the software’s consideration of employees’ time off requests, employees are more satisfied with their schedules, resulting in improved employee engagement.
One of the best things about SageHR is how easily you can integrate it into your current business workflow without much effort on your part, so you don’t have to worry about struggling to learn the system either.
4. ShiftForce – Planning Software
ShiftForce is another fantastic option for businesses of all sizes. It’s a comprehensive workforce management solution that offers features like employee scheduling, time-off requests, shift planning, and more.
ShiftNote also helps employees see how many hours they need to work in a particular week or month, allowing them to accurately calculate exactly how much they should be compensated for their work done. This information can also help in the creation of invoices for each employee.
It’s an excellent option for those who need to manage part-time and temporary workers because it offers an easy way of adding them into your business schedule with ease. You can also add multiple locations, so you have more control over the whole process as well.
In addition, you can set up your business’ workflows precisely the way you want them, so there won’t be any need for anyone else to feel unhappy because they don’t know what their job entails anymore.
5. Humanity
Humanity is a powerful and easy-to-use workforce management solution. With its intuitive interface, managers can create schedules quickly without any stress or hassle, resulting in more time to manage the business and other more pressing matters.
You’ll have complete control over creating even the most complex schedule that you need to do at work with ease, so there won’t be any more late shifts due to incorrect information either. Hence, generating pay stubs for your employees would be less complicated since you would not need to consider their late shifts in your computations.
6. Deputy – Planning Software
Deputy features an extensive range of tools that managers can use with ease to create schedules and plan shifts. It gives you complete control over creating schedule templates, so it doesn’t matter if your shift patterns constantly change.
You’ll be able to get up and running quickly without any learning curve at all. Plus, there’s no need for expensive hardware upgrades either since this software works on phones, tablets, and desktops alike.
Deputy enables business owners schedule flexibility when using Windows, with drag-and-drop capability and a 31-day free trial.
Pros
- Unlimited Support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by phone or online chat.
- 31-day risk-free trial
- App for mobile devices
Cons
- A monthly minimum of $10 is required.
- Lower-tier programs do not provide annual payment savings.
Deputy History
Deputy was founded in 2008 and is constantly improving its solutions to meet the needs of a wide range of employers. The comprehensive planning software works well on Windows computers and includes mobile apps for easy employee usage, making it our choice for best for Windows.
The organization does not accept annual payments for its Scheduling or Time & Attendance services, but it does accept them for the Premium plan. All versions include:
- Dashboard for administration
- Company posts and document sharing in a newsfeed
- For simple logins, use single sign-on.
- Paid time off (PTO) and leave administration
Regardless of the number of users, you must spend at least $10 each month on the services. Most business owners choose the Premium edition to acquire all of the necessary payroll and scheduling capabilities. Among the backup plans are:
Scheduling costs $2.50 per user each month and includes food and rest break planning, employee and auto-scheduling choices, and tasking.
Time and Attendance costs $2.50 per user each month and includes timesheets, payroll integration, tasking, and food and rest break planning.
Premium: $4.50 per user each month, or $4 if billed annually, includes all of the features found in the Scheduling and Time & Attendance plans, as well as sophisticated reporting capabilities.
Enterprise: Contact Deputy for a tailored price that includes dedicated support for businesses with more than 250 employees.
Final Thoughts: Planning Softwares
Time is an essential part of a business. Planning the proper schedule is key to ensuring that all employees are happy and healthy, resulting in better productivity overall. Planning software allows managers to create schedules quickly and easily without any stress or hassle involved.
If you’re having trouble deciding on a workforce management solution, consider these top options for your business instead. You’ll be surprised at how much easier scheduling will become once you get to use one of them.
