Great rostering solution, but time tracking feature is restrictive

Verdict 7/10

RosterElf is a rostering and time tracking platform. It offers tools for creating and assigning schedules, managing leave, and tracking employee hours, labor costs, and more. 

The app primarily caters to Australian businesses but can also be used internationally. However, some of its features—for instance, employee tax document management—are limited to Australian laws. Additionally, it doesn’t comply with UK, EU, and US-based privacy laws like GDPR and HIPAA.  

Finally, while its pricing is generally affordable, RosterElf doesn’t offer a free plan, making it less suitable for small businesses or early-stage startups.

Key Features:

  • Rostering. Create and assign shifts to team members based on their availability. Plus, offer open shifts and shift swapping to ensure your jobs and projects are always covered. 
  • Time tracking and geofencing. Let employees clock in and out of shifts from their smartphones—and only when they’re within their work zones. 
  • Leave management. View and approve or deny employees’ leave requests from your dashboard. 
  • Payroll integrations. Sync your timesheets with Xero or export them to use with other payroll solutions.   
  • Sites, positions, and staff members: Add and manage staff members, roles, and job sites.
Pros
• Multiple payroll integrations
• User-friendly mobile app
• Reasonably priced 
• Impressive AI chatbot support
Cons
• No option to clock in/out from the web or desktop 
• Geofencing can’t be switched off
• Not GDPR or HIPAA-compliant
• No free plan

RosterElf Pricing

RosterElf has one of the most straightforward pricing plans I’ve seen. It offers just one plan, which includes all features. 

RosterElf plan
AUD $6/user/month + GST$0.05/SMS notification
Minimum $25 monthly spend
iOS & Android apps
Rostering
Time tracking mobile and tablet apps
GPS tracking 
Custom overtime and pay rules
Leave management
Staff, positions, and sites
Employee onboarding support
Exportable reports
Third-party integrations
Customer support by email, forms, and an AI chatbot

Though RosterElf uses Australia-based pricing, businesses worldwide can use the app. Unfortunately, the pricing plan doesn’t change based on your location, so you must determine how much the price costs in your local currency to assess it properly. 

For example, as of February 2025, the AUD $6/user/month translates to approximately $3.75/user/month in USD, which is either aligned with or cheaper than the other solutions I’ve reviewed. 

RosterElf also offers a 25% discount if you pay annually. The website suggests the company will customize plans for large businesses with over 250 users, but I’m unsure if this refers to discounts, additional features, or both. I’d hope large businesses get volume discounts, which many competitors offer on their enterprise plans. 

Here’s how RosterElf’s price stacks up against competitors—some which also offer universal pricing plans. 

Team sizeRosterElf
(Universal)
VeriClock
(Universal)
OnTheClock
(Universal)
Connecteam
(Advanced)
View pricingView pricingView pricingView pricing
10 Users$37.5/mo$60/mo$35/moFree for life—All features and dashboards
20 Users$75/mo$110/mo$69/mo$49/mo
30 Users$112.5/mo$160/mo$102/mo$49/mo
50 Users$187.5/mo$260/mo$170/mo$79/mo
Read our full VeriClock reviewRead our full OnTheClock reviewLearn more about Connecteam
*Billed annually, as of 2025

RosterElf offers a free 15-day trial, which I really appreciated. 

Unfortunately, I was disappointed at the lack of a free plan. Without this, RosterElf might not be the best solution for small businesses and early-stage startups with tight pockets. 

Verdict: 8/10

RosterElf Usability and Interface

Signing up for RosterElf’s free trial was straightforward. I input my name, email address, and mobile number and was immediately redirected to my new RosterElf account. I really appreciated how quick and easy this process was. 

Once in, I had mixed emotions about RosterElf’s interface and user experience. I wasn’t a fan of the overall look and feel—especially the overwhelmingly bright green color theme. Additionally, the design felt dated compared with more modern-looking platforms like Replicon

However, I appreciated RosterElf’s web layout and easy navigation. All key features—from roster and payroll to staff, positions, and sites—were listed in the top bar. This is also where I could find my calendar, settings, reporting, and dashboard tools.  

RosterElf's web interface is bright green and white in color and has all key features listed neatly in the top bar.
RosterElf’s web interface is bright green and white in color and has all key features listed neatly in the top bar.

Individual features were also easy to use and navigate. For instance, I tested the position feature to add a new role, and the process was very intuitive. 

However, RosterElf doesn’t currently offer any accessibility features—such as a screen reader, or dark mode—so it’s not the most inclusive solution for users with visual, motor, or other impairments. 

Verdict: 7/10

Mobile app

RosterElf has mobile apps on iOS and Android. I downloaded the iOS app easily from the app store and signed in using my email address and password. 

Despite being the same green color, the mobile interface was far more appealing and less overwhelming than the web portal. It has fewer features but provides all the essential tools users need. 

Menu ItemEmployeesAdmins
WebMobileWeb Mobile 
Core features
Rostering
Time tracking
GPS and geofencing
Photo verification
My calendar 
Manage availability
Request leave
Payroll integrations
Analysis features
Reports
Dashboard
Management features
Manage staff
Manage positions
Manage sites
Account management
Settings and customizations

The mobile app lets employees and admins track their time, see their schedules, and manage their shifts and leave. 

Disappointingly, there aren’t many management tools available for admins. While admins can see the company dashboard and manage staff members, they can’t manage accounts, sync with payroll systems, or view reports. 

That said, I was impressed that RosterElf’s mobile app works offline

The “No Internet Connection” warning on RosterElf's mobile app, which says the app will continue recording data offline for up to 24 hours.
The “No Internet Connection” warning on RosterElf’s mobile app, which says the app will continue recording data offline for up to 24 hours.

Verdict: 8/10

RosterElf Core Functionalities

Here are RosterElf’s key features and functionalities. 

Rostering

To create a shift, you simply click on the plus sign in the roster and fill in details including shift length, rest breaks, and the site and position it links to. Drag-and-drop tools let you move shifts around easily. 

You can also add notes and leave a shift open for anyone to claim. Plus, you can copy previous rosters, save them as templates for future use, and repeat shifts. I like this because it means I don’t have to create shifts from scratch every time. 

Before publishing, you can see the estimated labor cost for the shift to ensure you’re sticking to your budget. 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a way to edit a shift from the past. I could only edit/delete shifts for today and the future.

Admins can see the company’s weekly schedule in daily, weekly, or monthly calendar formats. I liked that I could customize the date range and view the roster by staff member, site, or position. 

What’s more—caution symbols are displayed on shifts that must be reviewed—for instance, for cases where someone has requested a swap, the employee isn’t available, or there are overtime issues. I appreciate how this prevents scheduling errors and conflicts. 

RosterElf's Rostering feature, which lets you view schedules in a calendar format by employee, site, or position.
RosterElf’s Rostering feature, which lets you view schedules in a calendar format by employee, site, or position.

Verdict: 9/10

My calendar and shift swaps

Employees get a different view of the roster. They see the “my calendar” feature, which shows them their own assigned shifts, open shifts, and approved or pending leave. This is also where employees can update their work availability, which helps you ensure you don’t assign shifts to team members who can’t work. 

Screenshot of RosterElf's "my calendar" view, which shows users confirmed or open shifts, shift swaps, and approved or pending leave.
Screenshot of RosterElf’s “my calendar” view, which shows users confirmed or open shifts, shift swaps, and approved or pending leave.

Users can also request shift swaps, which puts RosterElf a notch above competitors like ShiftCare. Admins or managers are immediately notified of swap requests via email and can see a shift swap request warning on the shift. 

But, they can approve or deny requests only through the dashboard feature instead of making the change easily within the shift itself. This process seems unnecessarily complex

I wish RosterElf had the option to let employees swap shifts without manager intervention—an option I’ve seen with apps like Connecteam. 

Verdict: 7/10

Time tracking

I thought RosterElf’s time tracking feature was restrictive. Users can clock in and out of their shifts only with the mobile or tablet apps—and not via their desktops or shared kiosks, like users can with apps like Jibble

I appreciate RosterElf’s geofencing capabilities, which prevent employees from clocking in/out unless they’re within 500 meters of their site address. 

However, there’s no way to switch off geofencing. Some companies—for instance, home cleaning services—have employees constantly on the move, so they’d be unable to clock in unless you create a new job site for each client’s home. 

Additionally, RosterElf lets you track time manually on the web app only, which is also complicated to set up. There’s no time tracking feature in the web portal, so you must head to the payroll feature—which wasn’t obvious—and add a new shift with information like hours spent and breaks. 

Also, although the app distinguishes between overtime, regular hours, and breaks, RosterElf doesn’t let you mark hours as billable or non-billable, which I think is a miss.  

RosterElf lets you track time manually using an "Add shift" button in the payroll feature.
RosterElf lets you track time manually using an “Add shift” button in the payroll feature.

That said, I like that I could switch time tracking on and off from settings and choose whether to allow employees to clock into unscheduled shifts

However, despite permitting unscheduled clock-ins from an admin account, I couldn’t clock into an unscheduled shift as an employee if that employee had already been assigned a shift that day. I imagine this would be problematic in situations where users need to cover last-minute additional shifts before or after their own shifts. 

Verdict: 5.5/10

Payroll and overtime templates

RosterElf doesn’t have a built-in payroll solution but lets you set wages and hourly rates, create custom pay rules, and integrate payroll reports with other payroll providers (more on this in integrations).

You can create customizable payroll templates, including different standard pay, overtime, and public holiday rates—and even rates that depend on the time of day or day of the week. 

While RosterElf’s default overtime rates are aligned with Australian labor laws, you can create your own pay rules for your location.

I wish I could add multipliers like I saw with TrakTik—for instance, x2 for overtime or x3 for holidays—instead of absolute rates for these different categories. This would’ve let me use the same pay template across employees, regardless of their base pay. 

RosterElf lets you create custom payroll templates with different pay rates for days of the week, time of the day, public holidays, and overtime.
RosterElf lets you create custom payroll templates with different pay rates for days of the week, time of the day, public holidays, and overtime.

Finally, the payroll feature also lets you adjust your pay frequency for reporting and scheduling. However, you can opt for weekly or fortnightly payroll only. I found it strange that it didn’t account for monthly payments. 

Verdict: 6.5/10

Leave management 

RosterElf’s leave management feature is basic but functional. Employees can request leave from their calendars by choosing dates, adding a leave type, and providing a written note. They can’t see their current leave balance before submitting their request, though—which users can do with apps like Connecteam. 

 RosterElf lets employees request leave from their calendars by inputting their dates, leave type, and reason.
RosterElf lets employees request leave from their calendars by inputting their dates, leave type, and reason.

Managers or admins can view and either approve or deny leave requests in their dashboards. I appreciate that employees are immediately notified by email when there’s an update on their request. 

That said, RosterElf’s leave management tool wasn’t as comprehensive as apps like Timetastic. For example, you can’t create custom leave types or see leave balances before making decisions. Further, employees can’t attach documents, such as medical reports, when requesting leave, and you can’t explain your reason for rejecting leave.  

Verdict: 6.5/10

Staff, sites, and positions

With RosterElf, adding and managing staff members is a breeze. Head to the staff feature and add new joiner details, including their personal and bank account information, site and position, the payroll template you want to use for them, their availability, and HR and tax data.

While the HR and tax information can be added under “documents,” I found it was specific to Australia and not customizable. This was disappointing, especially since the tax part of the documents feature is unusable for companies based in other countries.  

RosterElf's staff documents tool lets you collect tax information per Australian laws, but it can't be customized for other countries.
RosterElf’s staff documents tool lets you collect tax information per Australian laws, but it can’t be customized for other countries.

In addition to staff, RosterElf also lets you create as many sites and positions as you want within your company. This makes it easier to organize rosters and reports, update site addresses for geofences, and customize public holidays for different sites. Using both features was straightforward. 

My only complaint was the lack of 2-way feedback between features. For instance, while I could add staff members when creating new positions, I couldn’t create a new position for a staff member within the staff feature. 

Verdict: 7/10

Integrations

Despite RosterElf advertising integrations with Xero and MYOB accounting on its website, I could see direct integration with Xero only

That said, I could export payroll files that were compatible with MYOB, Sage, and WageEasy. 

RosterElf offers a direct payroll integration with Xero and exportable reports for MYOB, Sage, and WageEasy.
RosterElf offers a direct payroll integration with Xero and exportable reports for MYOB, Sage, and WageEasy.

While this isn’t ideal, it’s better than apps with no payroll integrations—like Timely and RescueTime

I would’ve liked to see more third-party integrations, such as with project management and communication platforms—especially since RosterElf isn’t an all-in-one work management solution. Without these, it’s less suitable for large businesses because it increases data silos and hampers scalability. 

Verdict: 4/10

RosterElf Security Features

RosterElf offers basic privacy and security measures. 

  • Encryption: All data—in transit and at rest—is encrypted to prevent unauthorized access. 
  • Secure cloud storage: Data is stored in secure cloud servers that are regularly backed up and protected against data breaches or loss. 
  • Regular audits: RosterElf conducts regular security audits to identify and address potential vulnerabilities. 
  • Custom roles and permissions: You can create different positions and provide custom permissions to ensure only authorized users can access and control your company’s data. 
  • Multi-factor authentication: This requires users to log in using their password and another form of authentication, such as a code sent to their phones or email addresses, a QR code, or an authenticator app. 
  • Detailed activity log: This shows you every action users and managers have taken so you can track information easily when needed. 
A page explaining that RosterElf’s custom permissions for staff members are based on whether they're employees, assistant managers, managers, or admins.
A page explaining that RosterElf’s custom permissions for staff members are based on whether they’re employees, assistant managers, managers, or admins.

Overall, I was satisfied with RosterElf’s security tools. But, non-Australian companies should consider its privacy features

RosterElf complies with Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act of 1988. But the app isn’t GDPR or HIPAA-compliant like Connecteam, making it less suitable to UK, EU, and US-based businesses. 

Verdict: 7/10 

RosterElf Reporting & Analytics

With RosterElf, you get a customizable dashboard and 4 types of reports.

The dashboard gives you a view of account statistics, pending leave requests, live clock-in statuses, average pay rates and labor costs for rosters, timesheets, employee birthdays and work anniversaries, and more. 

I like that you can customize the widgets depending on what’s important to you. 

Screenshot of RosterElf's dashboard widgets, which include statistics, leave requests, employee availability, labor cost, timesheets, and more.
Screenshot of RosterElf’s dashboard widgets, which include statistics, leave requests, employee availability, labor cost, timesheets, and more.

The reporting feature lets you view the reports below and export them in CSV and PDF formats. 

  • Complete shift report: Shows scheduled shifts, assignees, dates and times, clock-in and clock-out data, timesheets, and variances between scheduled and actual hours. The key thing missing for me is location data, which could help you double-check that employees were at their designated locations during work hours. 
  • Staff details report: Includes employees’ photos, personal details, employment type, ID, and employment status. I like how this serves as an employee database. 
  • Shift notes report: Gives you detailed insights into each shift, including who was assigned, dates, and any relevant notes. 
  • Approved leave report: Provides you with an overview of employee leave that’s been approved. 

While these reports are all useful, RosterElf doesn’t let you customize reports based on the information you need—for instance, you can’t create a cost analysis report with a breakdown of labor costs (including overtime costs) by site or position. 

Verdict: 6.5/10

RosterElf Customer Support

You can contact RosterElf in the following ways. 

Knowledge baseAnytime 
Email9:30 am-7:00 pm AEST
Request form 9:30 am-7:00 pm AEST
Live AI chatbotAnytime

Typically, I don’t like platforms that don’t provide either a phone or human chat agent option. However, I found RosterElf’s AI chatbot very helpful, especially compared with bots on apps like 7Shifts, which often require you to escalate your query to an agent. 

The bot answered my questions with precise step-by-step guidance, including screenshots. It also created a ticket for questions it was unable to answer, and I received a response within the hour. 

Screen recording of me asking the AI chatbot a question about requesting leave and getting detailed step-by-step guidance.
Screen recording of me asking the AI chatbot a question about requesting leave and getting detailed step-by-step guidance.

I wish the customer support hours weren’t limited to the Australian timezone. While this works for countries in Asia, it’s not ideal for US and Europe-based businesses. 

Verdict: 8/10

What Are RosterElf Review Ratings from Review Sites?

(As of February 2025)

Capterra: 4.8/5
G2: 4.8/5
Software Advice: 4.8/5
GetApp: 4.8/5
Google Play Store: 4.8/5
iOS App Store: 4.0/5
TrustRadius: N/A

RosterElf App Review

RosterElf is a rostering and time tracking software with features like a mobile time clock, shift scheduling, and leave management. 

I was impressed by the app’s rostering capabilities and customizable admin dashboard. I think its price point is best suited to small and medium-sized businesses, although I would’ve liked to see a free plan. 

Additionally, I thought the time tracking feature was restrictive and not a good fit for companies on the move. I also wish there were better leave management capabilities and more third-party integrations.

Connecteam: The Better RosterElf Alternative

Connecteam is the best RosterElf alternative for so many reasons. Its clean and modern design, full-featured mobile app, and powerful suite of features are game-changing for companies of any size. Let’s explore its key features. 

Smart scheduling

The Connecteam rostering app lets you create and assign shifts using easy drag-and-drop functionality. You can also copy previous shifts and schedules, use repeat shifts, or import schedules from Excel to save time. 

Another great feature? You can assign shifts based on employees’ location, preferences, and availability. I love that the 1-click auto-scheduler can do this for you. 

Connecteam also offers open shifts and shift swapping. But unlike RosterElf, Connecteam lets you enable shift swapping without your permission. I like how this eliminates unnecessary effort and bureaucracy and reduces the chances of vacant shifts. 

An illustration showing Connecteam’s scheduling interface

Time tracking and payroll 

Connecteam’s employee time clock lets users punch in and out of shifts in a single click from their smartphones, tablets, desktops, or shared kiosks. Both users and admins can also add time manually when needed. Moreover, there’s GPS tracking and geofencing to prevent time theft. Unlike RosterElf, Connecteam lets you turn these on and off as preferred.

Time entries are converted to digital timesheets that you can view, edit, and approve from your dashboard. You can sync these with multiple payroll providers like Gusto, Xero, Paychex, and more—a wider range than RosterElf. 

Time off and document management

With Connecteam’s time off management, workers can request leave, and you can view leave balances and approve or deny leave from your app. I like how you can create custom leave types and set rules

The team documents solution is less restrictive than RosterElf. You can upload documents of any type and even set expiration dates to stay compliant. 

Reasonable pricing and a free plan 

Connecteam offers many other tools, including task management, an in-app chat and newsfeed, surveys and polls, training, and more. It’s an all-in-one solution that starts at just $29/month for up to 30 users. The best part? Small businesses can use it completely free. 

Try Connecteam for free today.

FAQs

Does RosterElf offer a free trial?

Yes, RosterElf offers a free 15-day trial but no free plan. 

Is RosterElf HIPAA compliant?

RosterElf isn’t HIPAA or GDPR-compliant. 

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