The best restaurant employee scheduling software and restaurant scheduling apps make it easy to create consistent schedules, alert employees about their shifts and news, and swap shifts with other workers.
They also prepare payroll and sync with restaurant point-of-sale (POS) systems for accurate labor costing and forecasting. After evaluating 19 popular platforms, I chose the six best restaurant scheduling software apps according to pricing, features, user reviews, and more.
- Homebase: Best overall restaurant scheduling software
- 7shifts: Best for restaurants with multiple locations
- Sling: Best for food trucks and small restaurants
- Deputy: Best for seasonal restaurants with surge months
- SocialSchedules: Best for strong compliance tools
- When I Work: Best for catering and special events
Restaurant scheduling software & apps compared
| My score | Free plan | Starting monthly price | Auto-scheduling | |
 | 4.79/5 | For one location and up to 20 employees | $20/location for unlimited employees | ✓ |
| Visit Homebase | ||||
 | 4.69/5 | For one location and up to 20 employees | $29.99/location for up to 30 employees | Highest plan only |
| Visit 7shifts | ||||
 | 4.51/5 | For up to 30 employees | $1.70/user* | Highest plan only |
| Visit Sling | ||||
 | 4.33/5 | For shifts only; 31-day free trial | $4.50/user for scheduling only | Standalone scheduling tier and higher plans |
| Visit Deputy | ||||
 | 4.28/5 | For 10 users and one department per location | $12.99/location* | ✕ |
| Visit SocialSchedules | ||||
 | 4.24/5 | 14-day free trial | $2.50/user | ✓ |
| Visit When I Work | ||||
*Billed annually
Homebase: Best overall restaurant scheduling software & app
Pros
Cons
Who should use it
Sling is one of the cheapest restaurant employee scheduling services I reviewed, and it does not have a monthly minimum. Even though it’s used by Subway, KFC, and Taco Bell, I like it for small restaurants and food trucks because of the price point. The unavailability rules make it great for hiring minors and blocking out leave times. It has strong communication tools as well.
Why I like it
In my evaluation, it earned an overall score of 4.51 out of 5. It earned a perfect score on pricing, with inexpensive monthly plans even at the business level, and a perfect score for scheduling tools and reporting.
Like 7shifts, Sling offers drag-and-drop scheduling to help create employee schedules faster. It also allows you to create work schedule templates, employee shift swapping, notifications for updated schedules, and employee availability tools.
It lost points for lacking live phone support and an offline mode.
What users think
Users rated Sling favorably, citing instant shift updates, low cost, and a simple mobile app. They also liked repeating shifts, the easy-to-use style and format, and how easy it is for both managers and employees.
While Sling didn’t receive as many user reviews as most of the software on my list, it did generate good scores across multiple third-party review sites. Managers enjoyed the ease of use and said the free plan gave them everything they needed. Employees also thought it was easy and appreciated the reminders.
Complaints included that features were sometimes hard to locate, a lack of efficient customer support, and limited integrations.
- G2: 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 83 reviews
- Capterra: 4.6 out of 5 stars based on 191 reviews
- TrustRadius: 8.6 out of 10 stars
Basic: $0
- One location, up to 20 employees, scheduling, time clocks, messaging
Essentials: $20/month/location
- Free plan plus team communication, shift performance tracking, and remote tools
Plus: $48/month/location
- Essentials plan plus labor costing, time off limits, PTO tracking, permissions, hiring tools
All-in-One: $80/month/location
- Plus plan that also includes onboarding, employee documents, HR, and compliance
Add-ons
Payroll: $39/month + $6 per user/month
- Includes tax filings, employee onboarding, and unlimited payroll runs. This price is competitive with other dedicated payroll software, and there’s no worry about integration issues.
Tip manager: $25/month/location
- Automatically pulls tips from your POS, calculates the tip pool, and adds it to timesheets
Job post boosts: Starts at &79/post
- Available through top restaurant employment websites like ZipRecruiter
Background checks: $30 each
Task manager: $12/month/location
- Free version: Homebase has the most complete free plan on my list, with a schedule builder, shift trade capability, and templates. It allows employee messaging, end-of-shift feedback, and pay advances.
- Forecasting tools: While Deputy has strong labor forecasting tools, Homebase gives it a run for its money. With its Budget Forecasting Toolbar, you can view workforce and sales forecasts alongside weekly shifts. This allows you to create schedules that align with sales and labor targets.
- Scheduling: The paid plans include automated scheduling, plus rules for breaks and overtime already set for your state. You can add notes, set geofencing (a nice tool for caterers), and announce open shifts. Some applications, like 7shifts, let managers clock out for employees who forget, but Homebase (and Sling) can do it automatically.
- Restaurant features: The by-location pricing is great for restaurants with high and low seasons, such as those in tourist areas. Homebase integrates with some of the best restaurant POS systems, Restaurant365 for accounting, and BevSpot for beverage management. You can also assign multiple roles and wage rates, a handy tool if you have a waiter who sometimes bartends.
- Hiring tools: Homebase stands out for its job posting and applicant tracking tools, making it a solid choice for restaurants with a high employee turnover. You can post to job boards, manage referrals and walk-ins, set up screener questions, and schedule interviews. Once hired, it has onboarding tools.
- HR and payroll functions or integrations: You can access advisers, document storage, an employee handbook builder, and more. It also offers strong tools for compliance, such as tracking certifications, breaks, and overtime.
It even notifies you if labor laws in your state change — another way it sets itself above the competition. Homebase offers performance management tools, while the top plans include labor costing.
- Mobile app: Despite a slightly higher learning curve, Homebase gets high marks from users for the desktop and mobile versions. The iOS mobile app earned 4.8 out of 5 stars, and the Android app earned 4.3 out of 5 stars, high scores for this group.
- Ease of use: Customer service is live via chat or email, and there are help guides and video tutorials.
7shifts: Best restaurant employee scheduling software for multiple locations & franchises
Pros
Cons
Who should use it
7shifts is designed specifically for restaurants, with strong restaurant tools for tip pooling and tipping out, a highly rated mobile app, and integration with dozens of POS systems. It offers discounts to franchises and restaurants with multiple locations and is an extremely popular choice for restaurants with one location.
Why I like it
With a score of 4.69 out of 5 on my rubric, 7shifts is a close second to Homebase. It, too, had a perfect score for pricing and excellent scores in every other section. It offers a free plan for one location and up to 20 employees, plus it has excellent scheduling features. Staff can swap shifts, it integrates with popular payroll solutions, and it offers a time clock, tip management, and team engagement tools.
Its mobile app is among the highest-rated, helping you build schedules quickly on the go. Real-world users give the software high marks. However, it lost points primarily because many of the features I looked for were in the higher-priced plans.
What users think
Popular review sites show that users like 7shifts, with above-average scores. Users like the ability to create and manage teams across multiple locations, integrations with other platforms, and customizable alerts.
7shifts is one of the top user-rated scheduling software applications on my list. Employees and managers loved the interface, said it was easy to use, and said the support team was great. Complaints include occasional glitchiness in the app and the lack of an auto-save feature.
- G2: 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 114 reviews
- Capterra: 4.7 out of 5 stars based on 1,199 reviews
- TrustRadius: 9.3 out of 10 stars
Like Homebase, 7shifts charges per location, but it limits the number of employees in the Comp and Entree plans. The prices are higher than those of Homebase, but it offers an excellent set of tools for each and an option for add-ons.
Comp: $0
- Single location, up to 20 employees, scheduling, time off, time clock, team chat, hiring tools, employee engagement tracking, employee health checks, and live support for 60 days
Entrée: $29.99/location/month
- Comp plan plus unlimited scheduling templates, shift notes, labor budgeting. Break and tips tracking, wage-based roles, time card sync with POS, PTO requests, SMA notifications, read receipts, API access, and unlimited live support
The Works: $69.99/location/month
- Entrée plan plus unlimited employees, weather, stations and advanced budgeting, optimal labor tool, department-based budgeting, geofencing, advanced time clock and compliance tools, overtime/break/punch alerts, state-based compliance tools, payroll integration, manager log book, shift feedback, and labor expectation reporting
Gourmet: $135/location/month
- The Works plan plus operations overview, machine learning auto-scheduler, non-cloud POS integration, task management, operations overview reports, dedicated account management, and implementation services
It also offers a handy a la carte menu of extras (paid per month, per location) in case you want a plan with a specific tool (not available for the Comp plan).
Add-ons
Payroll: $39.99/month/location + $6 per employee paid
Tip management: $49.99/month/location
Manager log book: $14.99/month/location
Task management: $12.99/month/locationEmployee onboarding: $2.99/onboarding package sent
- Multilocation tools: Several of the software on my list let you manage multiple locations. But 7shifts stands out because it lets you work with its schedules together or individually. Connect all your locations and switch between them on mobile and desktop. With the Operations add-on, you can compare multiple locations’ sales, labor, and employee engagement data.
- Made for restaurants: Of all the scheduling software I considered, 7shifts alone was made specifically for restaurants. It integrates with about two dozen POS systems, most of which are focused on the restaurant industry, ExpandShare, a restaurant training solution, and HigherMe, a hiring app for restaurants and retailers. It also has a tip reporting feature, including a tip pooling function.
- Machine-learning auto-scheduling tools: While auto-scheduling is only available with the Gourmet Plan (while others, like Homebase, have it in cheaper plans), it’s machine-learning based. The time clock stands out for its ability to integrate with your POS and its ability to record clock-in and clock-out times offline. Only Homebase, SocialSchedules, and Deputy also have this capability.
- Text and in-app employee communications: Employees can trade shifts, request time off, and change availability all on the app, with manager approval and schedule updating. Announcements can be sent by text and email as well. Like with Deputy, you can upload videos for training and read receipts to know which employees saw the message.
- Highly rated mobile app: This iOS app earned 4.8 out of 5 stars, and the Android app earned 4.6 out of 5. However, as with other apps, updates result in glitches and complaints.
- Large number of HR, POS, and payroll integrations: 7shifts connects with over a dozen payroll systems like QuickBooks, Gusto, and ADP, flagging missed or late shifts to ensure payroll accuracy. It also integrates with over 25 POS solutions.
- Manager logbooks and surveys: The manager logbook, something only a few applications like SocialSchedules have, makes it easy to identify opportunities or problems and communicate between shifts.
One standout is the end-of-shift feedback survey, which makes sure you identify problems before they boil over. It recently added task reminders as well, something I didn’t see with other solutions.
- Ease of use: Support is mainly by ticket, but the support section lists a phone number. You will find video and illustrated how-to articles, plus templates and guides.
Sling: Best restaurant employee scheduling software for food trucks & small restaurants
Pros
Cons
Who should use it
Sling is one of the cheapest restaurant employee scheduling services I reviewed, and it does not have a monthly minimum. Even though it’s used by Subway, KFC, and Taco Bell, I like it for small restaurants and food trucks because of the price point. The unavailability rules make it great for hiring minors and blocking out leave times. It has strong communication tools as well.
Why I like it
In my evaluation, it earned an overall score of 4.51 out of 5. It earned a perfect score on pricing, with inexpensive monthly plans even at the business level, and a perfect score for scheduling tools and reporting.
Like 7shifts, Sling offers drag-and-drop scheduling to help create employee schedules faster. It also allows you to create work schedule templates, employee shift swapping, notifications for updated schedules, and employee availability tools.
It lost points for lacking live phone support and an offline mode.
What users think
Users rated Sling favorably, citing instant shift updates, low cost, and a simple mobile app. They also liked repeating shifts, the easy-to-use style and format, and how easy it is for both managers and employees.
While Sling didn’t receive as many user reviews as most of the software on my list, it did generate good scores across multiple third-party review sites. Managers enjoyed the ease of use and said the free plan gave them everything they needed. Employees also thought it was easy and appreciated the reminders.
Complaints included that features were sometimes hard to locate, a lack of efficient customer support, and limited integrations.
- G2: 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 83 reviews
- Capterra: 4.6 out of 5 stars based on 191 reviews
- TrustRadius: 8.6 out of 10 stars
Sling is the least expensive on my list in terms of per-person fees because it doesn’t have a by-location price. So if you have more than 13 people in one location, Homebase will be cheaper.
Free: $0
- Includes 30 users, plus shift templates, schedules, and alarms; shift availability; time off requests; news sharing; mobile (but not mobile clock-in); and unlimited everything
Premium: $1.70/user/month (billed annually)
- Free plan plus mobile time clock, timesheets, early clock-in prevention, shift swaps, unavailability tagging, group messaging, budgeting, labor cost management, clopening prevention, overtime tracking, and Google calendar sync
Business: $3.40/user/month (billed annually)
- Premium plan plus auto-assigning, kiosk time clock, reports, salary support, no-shows, late arrivals, task management, PTO management, labor/sales/payroll reports, and employee document storage
- Task creation and templates: Openings, closings, deep cleans, and inspection preps all work better when the staff knows exactly what to do. Sling offers a robust tasking function that lets you assign tasks to individuals or teams, create and save task templates for recurring duties, and provide manager feedback. Homebase, by contrast, lets you add notes to the schedule but doesn’t have task lists.
- Unavailability, auto-scheduling, and more: I especially like how Sling tracks unavailability and time off because you can use it for compliance as well — for example, create unavailability rules for minor workers.
The Business plan includes auto-scheduling based on availability and qualifications. The time clock lets you set limits on when early employees can clock in and, like Homebase, automatically clock them out at the end of the shift.
- Basic employee communications: In addition to task lists, Sling (like the others on my list) offers both messaging and an interactive news feed, so you can keep your employees updated on policies or events. Employees can use the app to request shift swaps and get shift and clock-in reminders.
- Handle multiple positions, compliances, and more: Sometimes, employees may hold more than one position — waiter and bartender, for example. Many apps will let you apply different wages, but Sling also alerts you if you try to schedule someone for a job when they are already working a different one.
In addition, you’ll find tools to help you stay compliant with labor laws for minors, monitor overtime, and set up tasks for common restaurant chores. - Integrations: It’s easy to tackle payroll by approving timesheets on desktop or mobile and exporting them to your payroll processor or as an XLS or CSV. Sling also offers budgeting and holiday pay rules. Sling connects to POS systems like Toast, Square, and Restaurant Manager, and it recently added Gusto Payroll.
- Mobile app: Like others on my list, Sling has a mobile app that allows you to schedule and approve on the go. Employees can also view their schedules and be informed of availability. Its iOS app earned 4.6 out of 5 stars, and its Android app earned 4.6 out of 5.
- Ease of use: There are video tutorials and illustrated how-to articles, but support is limited. Sling doesn’t currently support phone calls; however, you can open a chat inquiry and get a reply within a few hours or contact Sling by email.
Deputy: Best restaurant employee software app for seasonal restaurants
Pros
Cons
Who should use it
Deputy is great for caterers or restaurants with regular high and low seasons, because it lets you keep inactive employees in the system without paying full price. Others on my list let you archive inactive employees, but not keep them in newsfeeds or let them submit time-off requests.
Deputy is also suitable for restaurants and bars with delivery service and bartenders on staff, as it allows you to calculate accurate labor costs in each department and schedule available staff in minutes.
Why I like it
The platform, available in over 90 countries, has 24/7 support for each region. For its excellence in handling multiple locations and roles, it earned a 4.33 out of 5 in my evaluation.
I like Deputy because it helps you build schedules in minutes and share them instantly with your staff. It offers real-time data on wages and sales to keep costs low, and it uses AI to auto-schedule, helping you fill empty shifts automatically.
It took a hit in my evaluation primarily because its time and attendance tool costs extra, and it lacks live phone support. The forecasting tools, which I found impressive, are only in the Enterprise Plan. If this is a deal-breaker for you, consider Homebase.
What users think
Users praise Deputy for its ease of use and top-notch tools. They like its user-friendly interface and flexibility with real-time updates. Users also appreciate the time-tracking tools included in its scheduling plan.
They also highlighted the product’s usefulness in streamlining communication and enhancing team collaboration. Complaints include a sometimes glitchy mobile app and difficulty canceling and verifying PTO.
- G2: 4.6 out of 5 stars based on 487 reviews
- Capterra: 4.6 out of 5 stars based on 750 reviews
- TrustRadius: 8.4 out of 10 stars
Deputy offers a free 31-day trial and discounts for charities, nonprofits, and community organizations that meet its criteria, making it a good choice for soup kitchens, churches, and charity-run coffee houses.
Premium: $6/user/month
- Includes unlimited shifts per month, unlimited timesheets per month, employee scheduling, auto-scheduling, payroll integrations, POS integrations, PTO and leave management, a news feed, tasking, 24/7 email support, reporting, and more
Enterprise: Custom-priced
- Premium plan plus advanced demand planning and analytics, training, location procedures, custom implementation, dedicated enterprise support, and certification management
You can also purchase standalone products as needed.
Scheduling: $4.50/user/month
- Includes unlimited shifts per month, auto-scheduling, POS integrations. PTO and leave management, a news feed, tasking, 24/7 email support, and more
Time and Attendance: $4.50/user/month
- Includes unlimited timesheets, payroll integrations, POS integrations, PTO management, newsfeed tasking, and 24/7 email support
Flexi: $2.50/active employee/week, 50 cents/inactive employee/week
- Same features as Premium, but ideal if fewer than half of your employees are active at a time
- Flexi Plan: Designed for seasonal businesses or caterers, the Flexi Plan handles highly fluctuating staff. You put them on inactive status rather than archive or drop employees who are not working that week.
They can still receive communications (and training), submit leave requests, and update their profile. This way, when you need all hands on deck, your trained workers are a click away. No other scheduler on my list has this type of plan.
- Forecasting and rules-based scheduling: Deputy’s Enterprise Plan lets you predict staffing needs based on trends in sales, deliveries, appointments, reservations, and other customizable signals.
Create rules based on its analysis to ensure you have the minimum staffing, plus get alerted if you’re scheduling too many people. You can apply the forecasting tools when automatically creating a schedule; most software just gives you an analysis. - Complete scheduling tools in all plans: Deputy includes drag-and-drop shifts and compliance rules like break times, work hour restrictions for minors, time off, overtime, shift-swapping, and auto-scheduling in the basic plan.
Time and attendance includes geofencing, creates timesheets for you to approve, and syncs with your payroll software. Managers can also see who’s on shift, on break, and running late. - Mobile app: Deputy tied with When I Work for the best mobile employee scheduling app, with a 4.7 out of 5 from iOS and Android users. The praise was overall good and the complaints were few and varied.
- Clopening prevention and other restaurant features: Deputy has robust tools in all its plans. It alerts you if you accidentally schedule a “clopening,” where you schedule a closer to open the next day. It also does shift analysis so you can see if you’re overstaffed. Like 7shifts, it can record video announcements to post on the news feed and set up health screenings for employees.
- Compliance tools and integrations: Like SocialSchedules, Deputy helps businesses in Fair Work Week jurisdictions stay compliant by recording schedule amendments, calculating the required predictability pay, and capturing employee consents to change. With roughly 40 integrations, Deputy is one of the best for connecting to popular POS or payroll systems.
SocialSchedules: Best for strong compliance tools
Pros
Cons
When I Work: Best restaurant shift app for catering & special events
Pros
Cons
Who should use it
When I Work is a highly popular scheduling software with a terrific mobile app that has excellent tools for catering and special events businesses that may have fill-in workers.
It’s among the most reasonably priced if you only need powerful scheduling. Its Time & Attendance module includes on-demand pay via Clair Debit Mastercard, which makes it great for instantly paying restaurant employees.
Why I like it
When I Work earned a score of 4.24 out of 5. It lets you create custom reports, earning it a perfect score in reporting. However, it lost points for not having a free plan (although it does have a free trial), lacking live support, and charging extra for its time clock tool.
The platform allows you to manage your team, control labor costs, and reduce absenteeism. It offers time and attendance and a time clock solution to help keep track of your employees’ hours. Plus, it offers a wide range of reporting, from shift reports to time reports to attendance and labor cost reports.
Since When I Work doesn’t have a traditional free plan, if you are more budget-conscious, consider Deputy or Sling. Both offer free plans without as many limitations as others on my list.
What users think
When I Work users like how simple it is to add and remove employees, review timesheets, and organize schedules. They also claim it has a better interface than its competitors. Users appreciate the ability to set availability and request time off from the app.
Complaints include the inability to designate specific managers for notifications, the lack of smart forecasting, and repeating shifts that can appear clunky.
- G2: 4.4 out of 5 stars based on 319 reviews
- Capterra: 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 1,210 reviews
- TrustRadius: 8.9 out of 10 stars
Single location or schedule: $2.50/user/month
- Includes one-click auto-scheduling, unlimited schedule templates, time off and availability management, standard labor reporting, labor forecasting & budgeting, task management, schedule enforcement and geofencing, and payroll and POS integrations
Multiple locations and schedules: $4/user/month
- Everything in the single plan, plus unlimited locations, unlimited schedules, unlimited job sites, labor sharing between locations, custom reporting, custom role permissions, toggle between time zones, multiple shift coverage views, and global privacy configuration
- Forecasting and auto-scheduling in all plans: When I Work stands out in that its forecasting and auto-scheduling tools are on all plans, whereas others have them in higher-priced plans.
Further, it lets you manage multiple location schedules and has a labor-sharing tool that enables you to look at eligible and available employees from other schedules. The budgeting tool is right on the schedule, so you can be sure you don’t overstaff for the week.
- GPS shift tools: Like SocialSchedules, you can add GPS details to shifts so that employees know where to report. This capability makes it a good choice for catering or businesses where employees may work in several locations. The time clock has tracking to see when employees are at their location.
- Best mobile app: When I Work ties with Deputy for the highest-rated mobile app on my list, with 4.8 out of 5 stars from iOS users and 4.7 out of 5 stars from Android users.
- Read receipts, SMS, and in-app communications: One standout for When I Work is that managers can see who has looked at the schedule. It also stands out in that all plans include SMS text notifications. Most rely on in-app chat, which employees may or may not access regularly. You can create task lists for shifts to ensure all work gets done.
- On-Demand Pay by Clair: Employees get a Clair Debit Mastercard, which they can use to access their earnings instantly and set up spending and savings accounts. The Clair card includes fee-free cash withdrawals at qualifying ATMs. No other employee scheduling app has this, and it’s a great tool for part-time employees or fill-ins.
- Ease of use: When I Work is a cloud-based software that’s easy to set up and has a user-friendly interface. Although it doesn’t offer live phone support, you can fill out a ticket online or speak with customer service via live chat.
How to choose the best restaurant scheduling software
I recommend answering the following questions when you’re deciding on the best scheduling software for your restaurant.
- How many locations and employees do you have? Some schedulers charge by location, with up to 30 or more users per plan. Others charge by the user. As a result, one type may be cheaper. Also, look for minimum limits.
- What kind of restaurant do you run? For example, a restaurant with a bar may have scheduling needs different from those of a fast-food restaurant. One may need multiple schedules for specific areas, while the other should have stronger warnings to ensure minors are not overscheduled.
- What features do you need? Schedulers usually offer templates, shift swapping, and basic compliance tools. From there, they vary, with automations, HR tools (even hiring and onboarding), and communications.
- How important is a mobile app? If your employees will be checking schedules and making shift requests via mobile, then be sure to look at the ratings and reviews of the mobile apps. For this, I recommend free restaurant scheduling apps. Some providers charge extra for their mobile apps, which seems unfair to employees.
- Do you need time tracking? Most scheduling software includes time tracking, although some have it in higher plans. If you already have a time tracker, be sure it integrates with your schedule app for maximum efficiency.
- Do you want payroll? Some schedulers offer time cards for integration into payroll — some even offer payroll services. Several let your employees request PTO, which, when approved, is noted by the software, so you don’t schedule someone on their time off.
- What software do you need to integrate with? Scheduling software integrated with your time trackers, POS system, payroll, or HR tools can make your job easier and prevent mistakes from transferring data manually.
Once you know what you want, do your research. Articles like this can get you started, but check out websites and mobile apps, see a demo, or sign up for a free trial before deciding.
How I evaluated the best restaurant scheduling software & apps
I started my search by looking for scheduling software priced for a family restaurant but with tools that worked for multiple locations and complex needs. I required mobile apps, shift swapping, and time off planning, but also looked for integrations with the best restaurant POS systems and the ability to keep compliant with labor and health laws.
Based on my evaluation, Homebase tops the list with a total score of 4.79 out of 5. It has tools that restaurant managers need, such as employee scheduling, time clocks and sheets, team communication, hiring, onboarding, and labor compliance.
Pricing: 30% of overall score
I favored software with transparent pricing and starting plans at under $4 per user, per month (or $40 per location per month). I also looked for free plans and trials.
Scheduling software functionality: 25% of overall score
Here, I looked for the most important features, such as shift swapping, a mobile app with messaging, PTO management, and tools to make scheduling easier, like forecasting and rule-setting for compliance with state laws.
Popularity: 10% of overall score
As much time as I spend on research and testing, it cannot replace the experiences of real-world users. I looked at user scores on popular sites like Capterra, G2, and TrustRadius and considered the number of reviews. I also looked for complaints of glitchy mobile apps.
Reporting: 10% of overall score
Reports usually cover shift analysis, tardiness, and time-off requests, as well as preparing timesheets for payroll. The differentiator here was whether or not users could create unique custom reports.
Ease of use: 25% of overall score
An intuitive interface, a mobile app that’s easy for employees to learn, and training and online resources are vital to successful scheduling software. All the software on my list fit the bill, so I also considered integrations, particularly with restaurant POS systems.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
The last bite
The best shift scheduling solution makes it easy to create reliable schedules without overtime errors or compliance violations and empowers employees to find their own covers when needed.
Overall, I found Homebase to be the best scheduling software for restaurants. It’s easy to use for managers and employees and is full of features. With by-location pricing, it’s easy on the budget too. Try the free version, or jump right in with one of its paid plans.
