Reference hub
A Rosterware toolkit for choosing scheduling software: buying paths, pricing models, demo scorecard, RFP questions, and glossary.
Decision rule
Buying paths
The best tool changes by context: small team, restaurant, field team, complex enterprise, or Canada/bilingual buying.
Prioritize simplicity, time clock, notifications, and setup speed.
Validate restaurant workflows before comparing per-user price.
Test the employee phone experience and manager visibility before signing.
Look for configurable rules, permissions, forecasting and replacement workflows.
Verify supported regions, bilingual documentation and payroll impacts.
Budget
Per-user, per-location, per-team and quote-based pricing can produce very different totals depending on seasonality, sites and modules.
Cost follows active employee count. Useful for stable teams, but seasonal hiring can change the total quickly.
Examples: Deputy, When I Work, Sling, ZoomShift, Buddy PunchCan be attractive when headcount per site grows. Still check location limits and paid modules.
Examples: HomebaseMore predictable for small teams when the tier includes enough members and managers.
Examples: FindmyshiftCommon for complex operations. Ask for scenario proof, not only a general demo.
Examples: Humanity, Shiftboard| Software | Model | Entry point | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rostermind | Plan-based pricing by included user capacity | Free is listed at CA$0/month for up to 3 users; Pro starts at CA$49/month for 25 users. | Official Rostermind pricing page |
| Deputy | Per user per month | Lite starts at US$5/user/month, Core at US$6.50/user/month, and Pro at US$9/user/month. | Official Deputy pricing page |
| When I Work | Per user per month | Essentials starts at US$2.50/user/month, Pro at US$5/user/month, and Premium at US$8/user/month. | Official When I Work pricing page |
| Homebase | Per location per month | Basic is US$0/location/month for one location up to 10 employees; paid plans start at US$30/location/month. | Official Homebase pricing page |
| 7shifts | Restaurant platform plans | Official Canada-rendered pricing shows Comp as free, Essentials from CAD $39.99/month/location, Pro from CAD $79.99/month/location, and Premium from CAD $134.99/month/location on the annual billing view. | Official 7shifts pricing page |
| Connecteam | Flat monthly hub pricing plus added users | Small Business is free for up to 10 users; Operations Basic starts at US$29/month annually for the first 30 users. | Official Connecteam pricing page |
| Sling | Per user per month | Free scheduling for up to 30 users; Premium starts at US$2/user/month monthly or US$1.70/user/month annually. | Official Sling pricing page |
| Humanity Schedule | Trial and quote-based sales flow | Public pricing is not listed; the official flow asks buyers to request a trial. | Official Humanity Schedule trial page |
| Planday | Per user per month, with regional price data | Official structured data lists Starter at $2.99/user/month and Plus at $4.49/user/month for US and CA visitors. | Official Planday pricing page |
| Shiftboard | Enterprise sales flow | Public plan prices are not listed on the official scheduling page; buyers are routed to a demo/sales conversation. | Official Shiftboard scheduling page |
| ZoomShift | Per active team member per month | Essentials is free up to 20 users; Starter is shown from US$2-US$2.50/active team member/month depending on billing toggle. | Official ZoomShift pricing page |
| Findmyshift | Per team per month | Free forever for up to 5 team members; Starter is US$27/team/month monthly or US$24/team/month annually. | Official Findmyshift pricing page |
| Buddy Punch | Per user per month plus base fee | Annual Starter is US$4.49/user/month plus a US$19 monthly base fee; monthly Starter is US$5.49/user/month plus the base fee. | Official Buddy Punch pricing page |
| Agendrix | Per user per month, with modular products | Essential scheduling is CA$3.25/user/month on monthly billing; Time & Attendance is a CA$2.25/user/month add-on. | Official Agendrix pricing page |
| Planifico | Per user per month; displayed currency is not identified on the public page | Classic is displayed at $2.49/user/month. The public page uses the $ symbol without identifying the currency. | Official Planifico website and pricing |
| Evolia | Per employee per month; displayed currency is not identified on the public page | Essentials is displayed at $3.50/employee/month. Business, Operations, and HR start at $4.50, $5.75, and $7.00 respectively, with a 20-employee minimum on those three plans. | Official Evolia pricing page |
Demo scorecard
Each vendor should prove these elements with a real scenario: critical shifts, absences, swaps, approvals, costs and payroll export.
| Criterion | What must be proven | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | The tool exposes schedule gaps, critical shifts and possible replacements. | 20 |
| Employee adoption | Employees can view, accept, swap and confirm shifts without friction. | 15 |
| Time and payroll | Hours, breaks, overtime and payroll exports match your operating reality. | 15 |
| Rules and compliance | Qualifications, rest rules, availability and regional rules are configurable. | 15 |
| Manager visibility | Managers see risk, changes and cost before the active week. | 15 |
| Integrations | Required payroll, POS, HRIS or BI systems are covered. | 10 |
| Support and migration | The vendor can prove import, training and post-launch support. | 10 |
Questions to copy
Scheduling
Time and payroll
Adoption
Migration
Glossary
A published shift with no assigned employee or available for pickup.
A shift exchange between employees, often approval-based.
The risk that a critical shift lacks confirmed staff.
Labor planning based on demand, sales, volume or seasonality.
Location control that limits where an employee can clock in.
The moment a schedule moves from draft to team-visible.