Case Studies
How Oh Henry’s Coffee Replaced Scattered Tools with One Platform That Actually Works
Oh Henry’s Coffee is a coffee roasting company with six store locations and a commissary kitchen serving in-house food production and catering.
Industry
Food & Beverage
Location
Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Products used
Scheduling
Time Clock & Timesheets
Team Chat
Updates & Announcements
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“We were using Homebase and it did have some capabilities, but not like this. The payroll process has been made so much better, and the chats really work well with keeping people notified and updated. Overall, Connecteam has just been a really positive experience and something we’re very glad we found.”
Key Results
- One platform, six locations – scheduling, payroll, and communication running together for the first time
- Payroll without the manual fixes – time data flows directly to Gusto, no reconciliation needed
- Full visibility, from anywhere – schedules, clock-ins, and late arrivals tracked in real time”
The Challenge: Managing Six Locations Without a System That Could Keep Up
Running a multi-location coffee business with catering operations on the side is a lot to coordinate. With a mix of full-time staff, location managers, and a central payroll function, the team needed a way to stay connected and keep operations running cleanly across every site.
- Homebase handled some basics but did not integrate cleanly with Gusto, creating manual reconciliation work every pay period
- Team communication ran through a mix of emails and text messages, with no centralized log or confirmation that staff had received updates
- Managers scheduled their own locations with no unified view, making it hard to see the full picture across all six stores
“We just wanted something that would let us interact in a better way with teammates. Homebase had some capabilities, but not like this.”
How Oh Henry’s Coffee Uses Connecteam to Run a Tighter Operation
The team rolled out Connecteam across all six locations to bring scheduling, time tracking, payroll, and communication into one place. The goal was simple: less friction between the field and the office, and fewer tools to manage.
- Each store has a Connecteam kiosk for clocking in, with time data flowing directly to Gusto for payroll processing
- Location managers build and manage their own schedules in the app, while Reba has full visibility across all sites from her phone
- Team chats, group channels per location, and company-wide announcements replaced the mix of texts and emails
“Having it on my phone, I can look at the schedules at any given point of the day, know who’s there, who’s not – and get the notifications when teammates are late clocking in, knowing immediately.”
Results That Affect Oh Henry’s Coffee’s Bottom Line
Payroll Processing That No Longer Requires Manual Work
- Time data from all locations syncs directly with Gusto each pay period, eliminating the reconciliation steps that were required with Homebase
- The payroll manager pulls hours online, reviews for discrepancies, and processes without having to manually correct data
- Staff can flag issues through the chat function, keeping payroll questions centralized and documented
Communication That Reaches Everyone, Every Time
- All team communication, shift updates, policy announcements, and internal chats run through Connecteam
- Group chats are organized by location, giving each team its own channel while keeping leadership in the loop
- The Updates feature allows company-wide announcements with confirmation that each team member has read the message
“The chats really work well with keeping people notified and updated. Our goal is to use the updates feature so everyone is on the same page.”
Before vs. After Connecteam
| Aspect | Before Connecteam | After Connecteam |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduling | Managed separately per location with no unified view | Managers build and publish shifts in the app |
| Time Tracking | Staff clocked in via Homebase; payroll sync was unreliable | Kiosk-based clock-in at each location; time data syncs seamlessly with Gusto |
| Communication | Emails and text messages with no audit trail | All team chats, group channels, and announcements in one platform |
| Policy Updates | Ad hoc delivery with no confirmation of receipt | Formal announcements sent through Updates; read receipts confirm who received and read each message |
| Training & Onboarding | No centralized resource for new hires or skill refreshers | Courses and training videos planned in-app, accessible on demand for all staff |
| Payroll Processing | Required manual reconciliation; did not sync cleanly with Gusto | Time data transfers directly to Gusto each pay period with no manual correction needed |
Why Connecteam Was the Right Move
Oh Henry’s Coffee needed a platform that could serve a multi-location business without requiring a separate tool for every function. Homebase covered part of the need, but the gap in Gusto integration created ongoing manual work. Connecteam closed that gap and added communication tools and employee recognition features that Homebase could not match.