10 Best Online Employee Scheduling Apps in 2023

The 10 Best Employee Scheduling Apps of 2023

1. Connecteam — Best all-in-one employee scheduling app

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   Start for free

   Connecteam’s all-in-one employee scheduling app provides all the tools you need to create and manage team schedules with complete ease and efficiency, even while on the go. Connecteam also offers top-notch customer support, an intuitive user experience, and a highly customizable platform that can be adapted to suit your unique business needs.

   Let’s take a look at how Connecteam can help your business simplify the scheduling process:

   Intuitive drag-and-drop shift scheduler 

   Connecteam offers an intuitive drag-and-drop scheduling tool so you can create shifts and simply drag employees’ names to them. With the shift scheduler, you can automatically assign shifts based on employee qualifications, preferences, and availability.

   You can also take advantage of scheduling templates to make the process even faster. Use Connecteam’s premade scheduling templates or customize your own however you need. You can also create and automatically assign recurring shifts. 

   Additionally, Connecteam has automatic shift conflict alerts that let you know immediately of any scheduling errors. This helps you reduce labor costs by avoiding double scheduling, assigning the wrong employee to a shift, or assigning an employee who’s scheduled for PTO.

   

   GPS time clock and geofencing tools for better oversight

   Connecteam’s GPS-enabled time clock lets employees clock in and out directly from their mobile phones from wherever they’re working. Its GPS location tracking feature captures your employees’ location when they clock in, and you can use Connecteam’s real-time location tracking feature to see where your workers are while they’re on the clock. That way, you can be sure no one is getting paid for work when they aren’t actually working. 

   In addition, geofencing functions let you draw digital borders around job sites to restrict clocking in and out from that particular are. You’ll receive a notification if a team member strays outside the work area and send employees reminders to be inside the geofence when clocking in and out.

   But rest assured: Connecteam never records employees’ locations when they’re clocked out.

   

   Shift swapping for seamless coverage

   Connecteam allows your employees to trade shifts easily. With just a click of a button, they can request shift swaps directly from the Connecteam app, and you can approve or deny them.

   Once you approve a shift swap, this employee scheduling app will automatically update the schedule and send push notifications to anyone whose hours or days have changed. 

   Add tasks, forms, checklists, and descriptions to shifts

   One of the best things about Connecteam is it allows you to ensure all your employees have all the information they need to do their jobs properly. Include shift-specific tasks, forms, checklists, and descriptions that employees see as soon as they clock in for their shifts.

   That way, employees understand exactly what’s expected of them you can check in with their progress throughout their workdays.

   In-app chat to communicate with your team 

   Even if you aren’t physically in the same place as your team, remain connected and available with Connecteam’s smart in-app chat. 

   You and your staff can quickly and easily ask and answer questions, chat about schedules, tasks, and projects, and even share files and snap photos to share. 

   💡 Pro tip:

   Take advantage of Connecteam’s Smart Groups feature, which allows you to create customized groups of employees. That way, you can address entire groups at once whenever you need.

   Easily manage employee breaks and overtime

   Connecteam automatically alerts employees when they need to take a break. You can also set the app to automatically notify you when an employee approaches overtime. 

   This helps you manage overtime pay, reduced the amount you spend on payroll, and helps ensure compliance with labor laws. 

   Request or approve PTO with a single click

   Connecteam’s built-in PTO management tools allow you to view PTO allowance and leave requests right from within the app. You can see your team’s time off, ensure you’re properly staffed when employees are away, and keep track of how much you’re spending on PTO.

   Your team can easily request time off through the mobile app, too. Once you approve a request, Connecteam will automatically input PTO into your employee’s schedule.

   These features help ensure you remain compliant with labor laws and promote a healthy work-life balance for your team.

   

   Integrations with popular payroll solutions

   Connecteam’s employee scheduling app directly integrates with Gusto and QuickBooks Online for seamless payroll.  Additionally, Connecteam offers tools to automatically create employee timesheets. Your employees’ hours are automatically recorded on their timesheets, eliminating the need to manually add up hours and enter them into payroll software.

   Simplified payroll process

   Connceteam creates employee timesheets for you which you can then automatically export to Excel or payroll software, like Quickbooks and Gusto. This reduces any manual data entry and ensures you have all employee hours documented for your records. 

   Detailed reports, smart notifications, document storage, and so much more!

   With Connecteam, you can generate detailed, customizable reports on everything from payroll spending and training completion rates to time spent on projects and employee attendance.

   Additionally, Connecteam has powerful HR tools to manage employee recognition, training and learning, employee milestones, and documents. You can also keep track of your employees’ training records, licensing expiration dates, qualifications, and interview documents. 

   Teams of up to 10 people can get Connecteam’s employee scheduling software free for life, and the platform’s paid plan starts at just $29/month for up to 30 users.

   I had people that we would just schedule for work and hope and pray that they show up. And now, we have an average of a 90-95% attendance rate.

   Cristen Gros
   VP of Special Projects

   Connecteam also offers a free for life plan – Try Connecteam here!

   Key Features

   • GPS-enabled time clock and geofencing

   • Drag-and-drop shift scheduler

   • Complete PTO management

   • Automated timesheets and shift reminders

   • Shift-specific tasks, forms, and checklists

   • In-app chat feature

   Pros

   • Add tasks, forms, checklists, and more to shifts

   • Integrates with popular payroll solutions

   • Automatic shift scheduling tools

   • One-click shift swapping

   Cons

   • More integrations in development

   Pricing

   Free-for-life plan availablePremium plans start at $29/month for 30 users

   No credit card required!

   Start Scheduling Now
2. 

   mHelpDesk — Good for appointment scheduling

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   mHelpDesk is very similar to Google Calendar and Outlook, but was designed especially for field service businesses. A few core capabilities of this employee scheduling app include: quickly see everyone’s availability, easily schedule field workers and technicians, automated assignment notifications, view shift and customer details, and eliminate over and understaffing with helpful alerts. mHelpDesk also integrates with Google Calendar, Home Advisor, and QuickBooks.

   Learn more about mHelpDesk

   Key Features

   • Clear and easy-to-view employee availability
   • Several integrations
   • Automated features
   • Appointment scheduling

   Pros

   • User friendly
   • Responsive customer service
   • Simplified billing and invoicing

   Cons

   • Slow loading times
   • Some integrations don’t work very well
   • Cannot remove old users

   Pricing

   Contact vendor for price Trial: No Free Plan: No

3. 

   Shiftboard — Good for calendar management

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   When it comes to scheduling hourly workers, Shiftboard can be a great option and highly benefit your business. Features like automated scheduling, schedule distribution, shift swapping, push notifications, two-way texting, and mobile clock in and out can all be done in this employee scheduling app. Shiftboard also integrates with numerous softwares such as Oracle, Dropbox, ADP, Paycor, and more.

   Learn more about Shiftboard

   Key Features

   • Automated scheduling
   • Budgeting and budget forecasting
   • Calendar management
   • Applicant and candidate management

   Pros

   • Good variety of features and tools
   • Good for managing complex employee schedules

   Cons

   • No training material or tutorials
   • Some users complain the software looks old and outdated

   Pricing

   Contact vendor for price Trial: No Free Plan: No

4. 

   QuickBooks Time — Good for businesses already using QuickBooks for payroll

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android
   • Windows
   • Mac

   

   QuickBooks Time has similar features as most employee scheduling apps on the market. Schedule by shift or by job, use drag & drop capabilities, send notifications about shift changes, and easily copy the previous week’s schedue. Receive alerts about overtime or missed shifts so you can reduce labor expenses. This app also has a cool “Who’s Working” feature, so you can immediately see who is available immediately for urgent jobs.

   Learn more about QuickBooks Time

   Key Features

   • Accounting integrations
   • Simple employee scheduling
   • Budget tracking and forecasting
   • Asset management and tracking

   Pros

   • Easy to use
   • Good variety of features

   Cons

   • Difficult onboarding process
   • Can get expensive for large teams

   Pricing

   Starts at $20/month + $10/user/month Trial: Yes — 30-day Free Plan: No

5. 

   Homebase — Good for premade scheduling templates

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   With Homebase, it’s easy to drag & drop team schedules, make changes from your mobile phone, easily copy last week’s schedule, or use automatic scheduling. The app takes into account team availability and roles, and lets you know if you accidentally schedule someone for the wrong role.

   Employees can update their availability or request shift trades, which is then sent to management for approval. Additionally, Homebase can total hours and overtime and subtract break times. Homebase integrates sales data from Clover, Toast, Square, and more.

   Learn more about Homebase

   Key Features

   • Schedule templates
   • Automated scheduling
   • Overtime alerts
   • Availability tracking

   Pros

   • Easy to use
   • Easy to track employee hours

   Cons

   • Less expensive plans lack important features
   • Requires some training before use

   Pricing

   Starts at $20/location/month Trial: Yes — 14-day Free Plan: Yes — For a single location & up to 20 employees

6. 

   Deputy — Good for more tech savvy businesses

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   When using Deputy, you really need to be tech-savvy and Deputy knows it. The folks at Deputy truly customizes their employee scheduler app for your unique business needs. They request all of your scheduling information before you begin using the app and customize the interface to meet your business needs.

   Some of their scheduling features include auto-scheduling with lunch and rest breaks. You can create, copy, or publish schedules, shift swapping, and shift replacements. Also, Deputy integrates the software with POS and HR systems like Gusto, Xero, QuickBooks, Lightspeed, and more.

   Learn more about Deputy

   Key Features

   • Automated scheduling
   • Alerts and notifications
   • Employee database
   • Drag & Drop features

   Pros

   • Good time management feature
   • Several integrations

   Cons

   • Some bugs and technical issues with breaks
   • There are more features and functionalities on the iOS app as opposed to Android

   Pricing

   Starts at $3.5/user/month, for Scheduling or Time & Attendance Trial: Yes — 31-day Free Plan: No

7. 

   Sling — Good for managing your labor cost

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   Sling makes it easy to create employee schedules, manage time off, availability, and shift swapping. Schedule overtime, reduce absenteeism and late arrivals, and you can also receive notifications of overlapping shifts or double-booking. The integrated time clock also makes it easy for employees to clock in and out from their smartphones.

   Sling also comes with tools to help you stay within your labor budget. Set weekly and monthly labor budgets and Sling will let you know if you’ve exceeded them with automated alerts. This helps you avoid overspending on employee labor and scheduling the right number of employees.

   Learn more about Sling

   Key Features

   • Employee directory
   • Payroll reporting and management
   • Alerts and notifications on overtime or double-booking
   • Reporting and analytics

   Pros

   • Labor budget tools
   • Filter fields to view specific schedules

   Cons

   • Not great for large teams
   • Medoicre user experience

   Pricing

   Starts at $1.70/user/month Trial: Yes Free Plan: Yes

8. HotSchedules by Fourth

   HotSchedules by Fourth — Good for complete visibility into scheduling changes

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   If you’re looking for a simple interface that makes employee scheduling easier to manage, Fourth is a great option. Employees can request to swap, release, or pick up shifts right from their mobile phone. As a manager, you have total visibility over all scheduling changes and can approve or deny them from the app. 

   You can also use Fourth to help you make better, data-driven decisions. The app provides labor and sales data to keep you informed of scheduling data so you can maximize employee hours productivity.

   Learn more about HotSchedules by Fourth

   Key Features

   • Automated scheduling
   • Budgeting management and forecasting
   • Employee management
   • Employee database

   Pros

   • Easy scheduling feature
   • Easy to use

   Cons

   • Poor scheduling templates
   • Frequent software updates

   Pricing

   Contact vendor for price Trial: No Free Plan: No

9. 

   Jolt — Good for easy shift swapping

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   Organize shifts hassle-free with Jolt. One thing we love about this work schedule app is its incredibly simple user interface and color coded schedules. Managers can create schedules using the simple drag and drop scheduler, create templates for easy reusability, and access schedules for all of your stores in one place.
   
   You can also maximize your profits with Jolt’s labor cost forecast tools. The app tracks employee overtime and breaks, displays sales revenue, labor cost, net income, and labor percentage to help you work smarter.

   Learn more about Jolt

   Key Features

   • FDA compliance
   • Employee scheduling
   • Desktop and mobile access
   • Time clock management

   Pros

   • Easy to use
   • Good customer support

   Cons

   • Setting availability is hard to do
   • Not able to request PTO or vacation days
   • The app interface is not as good as the desktop

   Pricing

   Contact vendor for price Trial: No Free Plan: No

10. 

    Skedulo — Good for filling last-minute shifts

    Available on

    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android
    • Windows
    • Mac

    

    Skedulo is intended to increase productivity and streamline day-to-day operations. This scheduling app for employees makes it easy to organize and oversee your entire workforce on a single platform in one view — regardless of whether they operate from the office, out in the field, or both. Quickly align your entire workforce on tasks, projects, and requirements and adapt schedules as needed.

    If an employee calls out last minute, Skedulo comes with a feature they refer to as Work Offers. Use this tool to see who else is willing or available to work and reach out to them instantly to see if they’ll pick up the shift. An employee can claim or decline the shift with the push of a button.

    Learn more about Skedulo

    Key Features

    • Dispatch tools
    • Automated scheduling
    • HIPAA compliant
    • Skeulo MasterMind tool for automating schedules

    Pros

    • Very easy to set up and use
    • Simple for employees to clock in and out

    Cons

    • Pricey option
    • Requires manual refreshing

    Pricing

    Contact vendor for price Trial: No Free Plan: No