As businesses continue to navigate the post-pandemic landscape, efficient scheduling and team management are more important than ever. One tool that has gained popularity among restaurant and hospitality businesses is Schedulefly. In this Schedulefly review for 2023, we will take a closer look at this scheduling software and explore its alternatives, pricing, and features.
According to recent research, efficient employee scheduling can result in significant benefits for businesses, including improved productivity, reduced labor costs, and increased employee satisfaction. In fact, a study by the National Restaurant Association found that effective scheduling can reduce labor costs by up to 3%, which can translate to substantial savings over time.
Schedulefly is one option for businesses looking to streamline their scheduling processes. However, it’s important to evaluate all options to find the best fit for your business. In this review, we will compare Schedulefly to other scheduling software options, explore its pricing plans, and highlight its features to help you make an informed decision about whether it’s the right tool for your business.
What Is Schedulefly?
Schedulefly is a fully-featured online restaurant employee scheduling software. It is designed to ensure efficient communication within workplaces and facilitate the smooth running of your restaurant business.
Schedulefly, a web-based employee scheduling solution is specifically developed to serve restaurants of any magnitude. It is accessible to users on mobile or PCs and provides end-to-end solutions for reporting/analytics, schedule distribution, messaging, and employee management in one place.
It also focuses on better management/employee relationships and conformity with local labor laws. Schedulefly comes with some excellent features including scheduling, messaging, forecasting, information storage, job posting, and more.
Who Are the Schedulefly Users?
Schedulefly has been delivering the service to over 7000 restaurants throughout the USA and Canada, and it has witnessed exceptional growth since the time of its inception in 2007. As such, Schedulefly strives to be the most preferred brand, trusted for delivering effective business management solutions and long-term success to independent restaurants.
Schedulefly is considered apt for small or medium-sized restaurants. However, the inbuilt multi-unit dashboard of Schedulefly makes it suitable for even enterprise-sized restaurants. With the app dashboard managers can stay up-to-date regarding employee schedules across all their restaurants. Schedulefly customization facilitates managers to design a scheduling mechanism to suit their restaurant sizes.
How Does Schedulefly Work?
This online restaurant management software solution has many excellent features that allow restaurant managers to develop, edit, and store schedules as a template and convey all updates to restaurant employees. The intelligent and clutter-free dashboard of Schedulefly allows easy navigation and it displays sections, including Home, Schedule, Time-Off, Shifts Trades, Employees, and Docs/Photos. This provides a clear perspective of the available resources on any given day to manage tasks conveniently.
Managers can communicate regarding shift changes, online trades, and more to their staff by just sending emails or messages to them. All the necessary files and documents can be uploaded by managers to the Schedulefly database and can be shared with staff whenever required.
Schedulefly also enables managers to track scheduled hours and labor costs. The solution facilitates users to organize their staff, as all past and present contact information is listed in the database. Schedulefly allows executives to record requests for time off, which can be approved or declined by managers according to their convenience.
Schedulefly Features
Schedulefly online restaurant scheduling software offers the following features:
1. Centralized cloud-based platform
The accessible platform of Schedulefly enables you to share day-to-day schedules with your employees through the web or as a text message. The Schedulefly platform is capable of continuously updating itself, so that users automatically get crucial information, such as shift changes or other similar notifications.
2. Clear overview of expenses
Schedulefly regularly displays up-to-date accounts of labor costs to help you get a clear-cut picture of labor costs, measured as a percentage of your general sales forecast.
3. Clear database of present and past employees
Schedulefly’s employee database is a helpful feature that provides a quick reference for employees.
4. Store and share files with your employees
The Schedulefly platform is regularly backed up, which makes it easier for you to share important documents with your employees without ever being concerned about losing them.
5. Improve day-to-day communications
The Fly Notes feature of Schedulefly makes everyday communication within the organization easier. Fly Notes allows users to share every event, activity, or item.
6. Streamlines the hiring process
Schedulefly notifies you when people forward their job applications to your restaurant. This feature also allows you to manage fresh applications and resumes.
Schedulefly Pricing
Depending on how many employees will use the software, a single subscription package is offered by Schedulefly that ranges between $30 to $60 per month. The software includes unique features such as an employee database, shift scheduling, vacation/leave tracking, and more.
| Number of Employees | Monthly Price |
| 19 or Less | $30 |
| 20 to 39 | $40 |
| 40 to 59 | $50 |
| 60 to 79 | $60 |
Note: If you have more than 80 staff then you have to call the Schedulefly office at 1-800-610-6734 to get a quote.
Popular Schedulefly Alternatives
Sometimes, finding a trusted restaurant management software that suits your business requirements as well as matches your budget can pose a real challenge for you. Schedulefly is undoubtedly a reliable tool with many great features, however, it may not fit according to your company’s standards.
If you are looking for a suitable Schedulefly alternative, you need to consider not only operating capabilities but also several factors including available plans, supported devices, quality of client support, and integration options.
Top 15 Best Schedulefly Alternatives
1. When I Work
When I Work is a great Schedulefly alternative in 2023 because it offers a range of user-friendly and affordable scheduling tools that can help businesses streamline their scheduling processes. With features like shift scheduling, shift swapping, time tracking, and communication tools, When I Work makes it easy for managers to create and manage schedules while giving employees more control over their work schedules.
Automated scheduling, shift scheduling, employee database, vacation/leave tracking, and time tracking, are some of the noteworthy functions that this software is capable to perform. It can be integrated with popular platforms like ADP Payroll, QuickBooks, and Gusto.
Additionally, When I Work’s mobile app allows employees to access their schedules and make changes on the go, making it a convenient solution for modern workplaces.
When I Work pricing:
| When I Work Plans | When I Work Pricing |
| Free | $0 per user |
| Basic | $1.50 per user |
| Pro | $2.25 per user |
| Enterprise | Schedule a demo to get a quote |
Moreover, these plans have an upper limit of 75 user allocations. You can opt to cancel your subscription whenever you want, but there is no provision of refunds or credits to users for unused months of service or refunds on upgrades/downgrades. Also, in the case of an open account credit balance or refunds for inactive periods are not allowed.
2. Homebase
Homebase employee management software like Schedulefly and it is very efficient in reducing some of the major challenges that are encountered by businesses in the case of employee scheduling. A wide range of industries including hospitality, retail, health, beauty, and more can benefit from Homebase.
It comprises some remarkable features such as a time clock, timesheets, employee hiring, team communication, and more. Some of the regular Homebase integrations include Facebook, Clover POS, Google, Craigslist, PayAnywhere, ZipRecruiter, and more.
Homebase pricing:
| Homebase Plans | Homebase Pricing |
| Basic | Free |
| Essentials | $19.95/month |
| Plus | $49.95/month |
| Enterprise | Talk to their sales team to get a quote |
3. Deputy
Another Schedulefly alternative, Deputy helps businesses in better employee management through its embedded staff management tool that can perform tasks like automated scheduling, task management, time clock, attendance tracking, and more. Deputy’s popular integration include Square, QuickBooks, BambooHR, ADP, Paychex, and more.
Deputy pricing:
Four subscription plans given on Deputy’s website are Scheduling ($2.50/user/month), Time and Attendance ($2.50/user/month), Premium ($4.50/user/month), and Enterprise (custom priced). A flexible Weekly Plan is also offered for businesses running temporary projects such as events, catered functions, conferences, festivals, and more.
4. Humanity
Just like Schedulefly, Humanity provides excellent tools to organizations looking to improve their employee management processes. It is laden with several useful features including automated scheduling, leave management, time and attendance tracking, payroll system integration, and more.
Industries such as food and beverage, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, education, medical, and more can benefit from using Humanity. Humanity’s popular integration include Square, QuickBooks, BambooHR, ADP, Paychex, and more.
Humanity pricing:
Starter ($3.5/user/month), Classic ($4/user/month), and Enterprise (custom priced) are the three subscription plans offered by Humanity. However, minimum spending amounting to $60/month is required for the Starter and Classic plans.
5. Ximble
Ximble is a top-rated Schedulefly alternative that provides extensive labor management tools to companies for meeting their entire staff management needs. Automated scheduling, time tracking, calendar management, advanced reporting, vacation/leave monitoring, and more are some of the noteworthy features of Ximble.
It also comes with a free mobile scheduling app that helps to send out push notifications to continuously update employees about their work schedules. Ximble’s popular integrations are BambooHR, Xero, Lightspeed, Gusto, and QuickBooks.
Ximble Pricing:
Core ($15 base fee + $3/user/month), Advanced ($15 base fee + $5/user/month), and Enterprise (custom priced) are the three kinds of subscription packages offered by Ximble for its embedded scheduling and time tracking tool. Users are allowed a full refund once they chose to cancel their subscription within the initial 30 days.
6. HotSchedules
HotSchedules is a cloud-based employee management software developed by Fourth to facilitate restaurants and hotel businesses in the effective management of staff. Some of its features include inventory management, employee engagement, and analytics.
You can easily customize HotSchedule’s dashboards according to your unique business needs. HotSchedules has integrations with Focus POS, Kronos, OnePOS, Aloha POS, Schoox LMS, and more.
HotSchedule Pricing:
HotSchedule’s pricing detail isn’t covered on its website. However, some third-party websites do mention that their fees start at $40 per month for a single location and are applicable for up to ten users. You may request HotSchedules for a custom quote.
7. WhenToWork
WhenToWork is one of the best trusted Schedulefly alternatives for companies that are interested in improving their employee scheduling system. It is highly recommended for businesses that are small to medium-sized.
Moreover, it offers third-party integration, a mobile app, report customization, automated scheduling, automated email and text notifications, and more. WhenToWork’s popular integration includes QuickBooks and ADP Payroll.
WhenToWork Pricing:
Depending on your employee count, a single subscription plan that ranges between $15/month (1-10 employees) to $108/month (151-200 employees) is offered by WhenToWork. Users are allowed to cancel their account whenever they want to, but they won’t get any refunds or credits against unused months of service or refunds on upgrades/downgrades.
Also, users won’t get credit balances or refunds against unused months with an open account. Credit card information is not necessary to gain access to WhenToWork’s 30-day free trial.
8. ScheduleAnywhere
ScheduleAnywhere is the best employee scheduling platform for small businesses. It incorporates features such as automated scheduling, email and text notifications, shift and time-off management, and more. There is no specific hardware or software requirement, and users can gain access to ScheduleAnywhere with any internet browser.
Also, ScheduleAnywhere regularly updates itself to automatically include new features. ScheduleAnywhere comes with an open API system, which allows users to connect it to almost any third-party system or software.
ScheduleAnywhere Pricing:
You get to choose from a monthly basic plan starting at $25 (1-10 employees) to $50 (26-50 employees) when it comes to ScheduleAnywhere pricing. In addition, discounts are offered to organizations with 26-50 employees if they opt for an annual subscription.
9. 7Shifts
7Shifts is an excellent Schedulefly competitor that is well-designed for the restaurant industry to handle employee scheduling. It offers several practical features including automated scheduling, shift scheduling, calendar management, time tracking, and more. The list of 7Shifts’ popular integration includes Square, Clover, Toast POS, Breadcrumb POS, TouchBistro, Dinerware, and more.
7Shifts Pricing:
7Shifts subscription plans consist of Entrée ($43.99/month), The Works ($76.99/month), and Gourmet ($149.99/month). Users can customize their plans as per their needs at an additional cost. You can select options such as Location Overview ($5/location/month) and Sales Data Import ($100, one-time fee). In addition, you can also buy the Account Setup onboarding plan, for an extra one-time fee of $150.
10. CalendarWiz
CalendarWiz simplifies employee management processes with an embedded team calendar tool that features staff scheduling, announcements, multi-user editing, and more. CalendarWiz facilitates users to communicate schedule modifications and other necessary details through online calendar reminders and notifications. This software is fit for different types of small or large businesses in industries like education, non-profit organizations, religious groups, government agencies, and more.
CalendarWiz Pricing:
You can opt for your desired subscription from the four pricing packages mentioned on CalendarWiz. These packages range between $9(up to 10 users) to $45(up to 100 users) per month. Discounted rates are offered against annual subscriptions.
11. Planday
Designed mainly for shift-based businesses, Planday offers web-based solutions to companies for efficient employee scheduling operations. The Schedulefly alternative allows seamless communication between managers and employees on virtually all devices, swap shifts, glimpse work schedules, and more. Planday’s popular integrations include ADP Payroll, Lightspeed Retail, QuickBooks, Microsoft Dynamics, Hide Integration, and more.
Planday Pricing:
Planday presents two paid subscription alternatives, including Starter ($2/user/month) and Plus ($4/user/month). Special rates are offered to companies with users above 200. You can sign up for a 30-day free trial of Planday software without having to divulge your credit card details.
12. Shiftboard
Shiftboard is well-known for its integrated employee scheduling function which helps enhance workforce management in companies. Additional features of Shiftboard include appointment management, calendar management, automated scheduling, shift scheduling, employee database, vacation/leave tracking, and more.
It caters to a wide range of industries, including events management, hospitality, healthcare, education, call centers, logistics, consumer services, and more. Shiftboard’s popular integrations include ADP Payroll, Bullhorn, Sage, Kronos, Oracle, Dropbox, and more.
Shiftboard Pricing:
Three subscription plans, found on the Shiftboard website include Basic ($3/user/month), Professional ($6/user/month), and Enterprise (customized pricing). The website does not reveal any info about a free trial.
13. TrackSmart Scheduling
TrackSmart Scheduling is a reputed Schedulefly replacement for businesses that require efficient systems to handle time and attendance and employee scheduling. It is suitable for application in a variety of industries including retail, food and beverage, health care, corporate, and more. It is a feature-rich tool that allows automated scheduling, time tracking, shift scheduling, and more.
Moreover, TrackSmart Scheduling’s ‘Auto Schedule’ is a unique tool because it helps users to create and store recurring job schedules for regular use. TrackSmart Scheduling’s popular integration are Google, Flamory Bitium, and Active Directory.
TrackSmart Pricing:
Four subscription plans mentioned on TrackSmart Scheduling’s website comprise Basic ($24/month), Plus ($49/month), Premium ($69/month), and Enterprise ($99/month). Users can also choose from TrackSmart Scheduling’s Annual subscription plans.
14. OpenSimSim
OpenSimSim is a trusted Schedulefly alternative that is well-suited for businesses, including restaurants, hospitality, and retail. It allows the planning of weekly schedules, granting of day-off requests, assigning of shifts, and more to its users. Users are offered a mobile app for kiosks and employee scheduling. OpenSimSim’s popular integration include Square, Heartland POS, Clover, and Heartland Payroll.
OpenSimSim Pricing:
According to OpenSimSim pricing information, you are offered two subscription alternatives, including Free ($0) and Premium ($2.99 per scheduled worker, per month).
15. TimeForge
TimeForge is a web-based Schedulefly alternative for the hospitality industry to meet employee scheduling and other management needs of businesses. It constitutes features such as employee scheduling, applicant tracking, time punches, payroll processing, and more.
No hardware or software is needed for using TimeForge. TimeForge’s popular integrations include SurePayroll, ADP, Heartland QuickBooks, Paychex, Payment Systems, and more.
TimeForge Pricing:
Four categories of paid subscription offers published on the TimeForge website include Scheduling ($1/user/month), Human Resources ($1/user/month), Attendance ($1.95/user/month), and Max ($3.45/user/month). Users are simply required to choose a monthly subscription without having to sign any contract for using the services. All plans are inclusive of a 10-day free trial and all software upgrades are part of the pricing.
Schedulefly FAQs
How does Schedulefly help simplify staff scheduling tasks?
Schedulefly helps you to communicate staff schedules over the web, email, and/or SMS. It also enables users to propose online changes to previously allocated shifts. The software sends an updated calendar and other important notifications such as company announcements, birthdays, and more to employees every morning.
What popular platform integration is provided by Schedulefly?
Schedulefly’s popular integrations are Facebook, Namely, and Devoxx France.
Is there a system download/install requirement for using Schedulefly?
No, Schedulefly doesn’t require you to download or install any system because it’s purely a web-based platform. Users just need to open their web browsers to gain access to Schedulefly applications.
Conclusion
Restaurant employee scheduling software can save managers and owners from enduring many of the hassles of using manual and spreadsheets scheduling methods. Restaurant management software has a tremendous impact on your restaurant operation and greatly boosts your business profitability.
Therefore, you need to look for scheduling software based on the size, type of clients, staff, and any specific area you cater to in your business. However, choosing the right restaurant scheduling software that meets your unique requirements can be a bit overwhelming.
