The Best Restaurant Employee Scheduling Software in 2024

As restaurant operations become increasingly complex, the need for efficient employee scheduling has never been more critical. From managing shift swaps to ensuring labour law compliance, the right scheduling software can transform your restaurant’s daily workflow.

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In 2024, the landscape of restaurant employee scheduling tools has evolved, offering advanced features like mobile access, automated scheduling, and seamless integration with other key systems.

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In this article, we’ll explore the best restaurant employee scheduling software of 2024, designed to simplify your operations and keep your team running smoothly.

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Key Features to Look For in Scheduling Software

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Automation: Automation is one of the most significant benefits of modern scheduling software. Instead of manually creating and adjusting schedules, restaurant managers can rely on the system to automate these tasks based on employee availability, labour needs, and historical data.
Compliance: Ensuring compliance with labour laws is crucial for restaurants to avoid costly legal issues and penalties. Scheduling software with built-in compliance features helps managers adhere to labour laws concerning overtime, meal breaks, minimum wage, and more.
Integration: Integration is key to ensuring smooth operations across different facets of restaurant management. The ability to integrate your scheduling software with other essential systems like POS (Point of Sale), payroll, and HR platforms is critical.
Mobile Access: A scheduling app with mobile access ensures that employees can easily view their shifts, swap shifts, and get real-time notifications about changes. It also gives managers the flexibility to adjust schedules on the go, a feature that’s particularly useful for restaurants with unpredictable staffing needs.
Forecasting: Labour forecasting tools help restaurant managers predict future staffing needs based on historical data, upcoming events, or seasonal trends. By accurately forecasting staffing requirements, restaurants can avoid overstaffing during quiet periods or understaffing during busy shifts.
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Top Restaurant Scheduling Software in 2024

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Bizimply

Bizimply is a powerful and feature-rich workforce management tool designed for hospitality businesses. The platform simplifies and automates employee rotas, manages time and attendance, and optimises labour costs across multiple locations.

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With Bizimply, you can quickly build rotas with easy-to-use drag-and-drop functionality, which gives you a comprehensive view of upcoming shifts, budgets, attendance, and more. The platform lets you set personalised timesheet rules and add automated late or carry clock-in adjustments.

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Bizimply also digitises your paper processes, from opening checks to logging issues - you’ll guarantee effective task completion. The platform is trusted by thousands of UK and Irish businesses; proof of the platform's impact on boosting operations.

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In addition to the scheduling features, Bizimply has built-in HR features specifically designed for frontline staff. From leave management and document management to employee onboarding and training cards, the human resources features. The platform can also integrate with POS systems, CRM systems, KD systems, and more.

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All in all, the scheduling software saves you time, helps control labour costs, improves communication, and upholds compliance with labour laws and workforce rules.

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Bizimply’s key features

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Employee Scheduling: Easily create, edit, and optimise staff schedules with drag-and-drop functionality.
Time and Attendance Tracking: Accurately track employee hours and attendance through a clock-in/clock-out system.
Payroll Integration: Integrates with payroll systems to automate calculations and reduce errors.
HR Management: Centralise employee records, including contact details, contracts, and documents.
Holiday and Absence Management: Track employee holidays, sick leave, and other absences.
Labour Cost Management: Get real-time insights into labour costs and optimize staffing to reduce overspending.
Compliance Reporting: Generate reports for labour law compliance and health & safety checks.
Mobile App: Access employee schedules and attendance on the go with the Bizimply mobile app.
Employee Engagement: Allows employees to submit time-off requests and view schedules in real time.
Multi-location Management: Manage scheduling, HR, and payroll for multiple locations from a single dashboard.

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Rotaready

Rotaready offers award-winning rota software developed for leisure, retail and hospitality. The platform gives you the tools to schedule rotas, record attendance and approve timesheets for payroll. The workforce management tool is perfect for restaurants looking to boost day-to-day operations.

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With labour costs being one of the biggest challenges in the restaurant industry, Rotaready gives managers visibility into these costs as schedules are created, allowing for more informed decision-making and cost control, ultimately leading to higher profits overall.

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Rotaready’s focus on compliance is another powerful feature. Restaurants often face complex labour regulations surrounding working hours, overtime, and breaks, which can be difficult to track manually.

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Rotaready automates this process, keeping scheduling under labour laws and regulations, thereby minimising your risk of penalties and disgruntled employees. This not only reduces administrative burdens but also protects the restaurant from potential legal issues.

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Rotaready offers robust employee engagement features - with self-service options for easy shift swapping and communication tools for getting in contact with managers or colleagues. With this, your staff members are in more control of their lives and can achieve better balance.

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Overall, Rotaready is a great option for restaurants in need of impactful scheduling software in 2024.

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Rotaready’s key features

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Simplified Scheduling: Rotaready makes it easier to create optimised staff schedules that reduce overstaffing or understaffing, leading to better resource management.
Cost Control: With real-time insights into labour costs and forecasting, restaurants can monitor and reduce unnecessary expenditures.
Compliance: Maintain compliance with labour laws, reducing the risk of penalties related to working hours, breaks, and overtime.
Improved Employee Engagement: Access features for staff self-service, allowing employees to swap shifts and manage their availability, which enhances engagement and reduces scheduling conflicts.
Payroll Integration: By integrating with payroll systems, Rotaready automates the flow of time-tracking data into payroll, reducing admin tasks and errors.

Workforce

Workforce is a powerful workforce management software that helps businesses, including restaurants, efficiently manage their staff and operations. The platform focuses on improving scheduling, tracking time, and optimising labour resources to help you handle one of the industry's most complex and costly areas—staff management.

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With its intuitive scheduling tools, Workforce allows you to easily create and adjust employee rosters based on real-time demand, forecasted labour needs, and budget constraints.

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You get seamless time-tracking and attendance features, which automatically sync employee hours with the payroll system. As such, manual entry errors are reduced and payroll processes are streamlined, saving managers significant time.

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Restaurants can also monitor labour costs in real-time, with the power to adjust shifts or manage overtime, preventing excessive costs that eat into profitability. Workforce offers solutions that improve employee engagement and compliance with labour laws.

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Through the platform, employees can access their schedules, request time off, and even swap shifts with coworkers—all through a mobile-friendly interface. For restaurants, this improves staff satisfaction and reduces the likelihood of scheduling conflicts.

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Workforce guarantees compliance with local labour laws by tracking work hours, break times, and overtime, mitigating the risk of non-compliance and the potential for costly penalties.

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Workforce’s key features

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Simplified Scheduling: Quickly build and publish schedules with drag-and-drop functionality.
Forecast Needs: Accurately forecast scheduling needs without the guesswork with data covering foot traffic, weather, and historical sales.
Automation: Implement automation systems to guarantee schedule compliance and stay under city, state and federal laws.
Communication: Send instant messages between staff and managers to discuss work without slow emails. Instantly alert staff of emergencies or important announcements.
Task Management: Assign tasks to your work schedule and create recurring task checklists while staying on top of assignments at all times.
Food Safety: Assign checklists to guarantee food safety procedures are followed even when you’re not physically present.

Deputy

Deputy is a popular and robust scheduling and shift management platform developed to help hospitality businesses simplify employee scheduling, timesheets and HR.

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The workforce management software is designed to streamline staff scheduling, time tracking, task management, and communication, making it an ideal solution for restaurants. A key strength is its easy-to-use scheduling feature, which allows you to create, adjust, and distribute staff rosters in just a few clicks.

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You also get access to all the necessary data predictive analytics, helping you maintain optimal staffing levels in alignment with demand, reducing the likelihood of overstaffing during slow periods and preventing understaffing during busy times.

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The time and attendance tracking features in Deputy help restaurants keep employees’ hours accurately logged, with options for staff to clock in and out via mobile devices or kiosks. This data can then be directly integrated with payroll systems, reducing the potential for manual errors and saving significant time in payroll processing.

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Deputy also emphasises compliance and employee engagement. With deputy, schedules come with built-in compliance features to maintain adherence to labour laws, including regulations around overtime and break times, helping your restaurant avoid penalties and legal trouble.

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Additionally, Deputy offers a mobile app that provides employees with flexibility and control over their schedules. Your employees can instantly view their shifts, swap shifts with colleagues, or request time off through the app, leading to higher employee satisfaction and fewer scheduling conflicts.

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Deputy’s key features

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Smart Scheduling: Create optimised staff schedules based on real-time demand, labour budgets, and availability.
Time & Attendance Tracking: Employees can clock in and out using mobile devices, kiosks, or biometric recognition, with timesheets automatically synced to payroll.
Payroll Integration: Integrates seamlessly with payroll systems, reducing manual errors and simplifying payroll processing.
Real-Time Labor Cost Tracking: Monitor labour costs and forecast expenses to stay within budget.
Compliance Management: Upholds compliance with labour laws, including overtime, break times, and other regulations.
Employee Self-Service: Employees can view schedules, swap shifts, request time off, and communicate with managers via a mobile app.
Task Management: Assign tasks to staff, track progress, and ensure accountability.
Team Communication: Centralised messaging to communicate shift changes, announcements, and updates in real-time.
Mobile App: A user-friendly mobile app for both managers and employees to manage scheduling, tasks, and communication.
Performance Insights: Offers reporting and analytics on labour performance and staff productivity.

Operandio

Operandio is an operations and workforce management platform designed to help restaurants and other businesses streamline daily tasks, improve communication, and improve overall operational efficiency.

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Operandio offers features for restaurants that simplify the management of routine tasks, shift handovers, and team accountability. Digitising operational procedures allows your restaurant managers to create and assign daily tasks, monitor completion, and track performance. With that, nothing ever slips through the cracks during busy service hours.

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Among Operandio's key benefits for restaurants is its ability to centralise communication and task management. Your staff members can easily access their tasks, checklists, and important updates via mobile devices, which promotes accountability and keeps team members on the same page.

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This reduces the need for manual check-ins and verbal reminders, which can often be overlooked in a fast-paced restaurant environment.

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Operandio also offers real-time visibility into task completion and performance, allowing managers to quickly identify any issues or inefficiencies in daily operations. By providing detailed reports on task performance and team productivity, you can make data-driven decisions to improve workflows and optimise resource allocation.

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Additionally, the platform supports training and onboarding, giving you the power to create custom training modules and standard operating procedures that ensure consistency across the team.

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In summary, Operandio is a powerful tool for restaurants looking to improve daily operations by digitising task management and improving team communication.

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Operandio’s key features

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Task Management: Digitise daily tasks and checklists for staff to complete, ensuring consistency and accountability in operations.
Shift Handover: Streamline shift handovers with clear task documentation and status updates, ensuring nothing is missed during transitions.
Mobile Access: Staff can access tasks, updates, and checklists via their mobile devices, enhancing flexibility and ease of use.
Real-Time Task Monitoring: Managers can track task completion in real-time, ensuring operational efficiency and quick identification of any issues.
Performance Tracking: Detailed reporting and analytics on task completion and staff performance help identify areas for improvement.
Employee Communication: Centralized communication platform for team announcements, updates, and task-related discussions.
Customisable Procedures: Create custom standard operating procedures (SOPs) and training modules for consistent staff onboarding and operations.
Team Accountability: Boosts accountability with staff visibility into task ownership and deadlines, reducing errors and missed tasks.
Training and Onboarding: Streamlined onboarding with built-in training tools, ensuring new hires are quickly brought up to speed.

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S4 Labour

S4 Labour is a workforce management platform designed to help businesses, particularly restaurants, streamline labour scheduling, forecasting, and payroll processes. It offers a comprehensive solution for managing the complexities of staffing in a busy restaurant environment.

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S4 Labour gives you the tools to provide data-driven labour scheduling, ensuring that restaurants are staffed appropriately based on predicted customer demand. A key benefit of S4 Labour is its integration of labour forecasting tools that help your restaurant predict staffing needs by analysing historical data, sales forecasts, and other key metrics.

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This proactive approach to scheduling gives you the power to optimise labour costs while ensuring high service levels. Additionally, the platform provides real-time insights into labour performance, allowing you to track and adjust labour expenses as needed to stay within budget.

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This transparency fosters better team communication and reduces scheduling conflicts. Furthermore, the platform guarantees compliance with labour laws by automatically tracking hours worked, break times, and overtime, helping you avoid potential legal issues.

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S4 Labour is a powerful tool for restaurants looking to optimise labour costs, improve operational efficiency, and enhance employee satisfaction.

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Its data-driven scheduling and forecasting capabilities, combined with compliance features and an employee-friendly interface, make it a valuable resource for managing workforce operations in the hospitality industry.

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S4 Labour’s key features

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Data-Driven Scheduling: Create optimized staff schedules based on sales forecasts, historical data, and real-time demand, helping to reduce labour costs.
Labour Cost Control: Track labour costs in real-time, allowing managers to make adjustments to shifts and stay within budget.
Compliance Management: Ensure schedules comply with labor laws, including regulations on working hours, breaks, and overtime, minimising legal risks.
Payroll Integration: Seamlessly integrates with payroll systems to automate timesheet data, reducing administrative work and manual errors.
Time & Attendance Tracking: Accurately track employee hours and attendance, with clock-in and clock-out features that sync directly with scheduling and payroll.
Employee Self-Service: Staff can view schedules, swap shifts, request time off, and communicate with managers through an easy-to-use interface.
Forecasting Tools: Labor forecasting tools help predict staffing needs based on sales and other key metrics, ensuring optimal staffing levels.
Reporting and Analytics: Access detailed reports on labour costs, employee performance, and operational efficiency, helping managers make informed decisions.
Mobile Access: Manage schedules and communicate with staff through mobile devices, making it easier for both managers and employees to stay connected.

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Korero

Korero is a communication and workforce management platform designed to boost team collaboration and streamline operations, particularly in fast-paced industries like hospitality and restaurants.

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Korero focuses on simplifying communication between managers and staff, ensuring that all team members are aligned on tasks, schedules, and operational updates. For restaurants, this can be a critical advantage, as real-time communication can help prevent miscommunication and keep daily operations running smoothly.

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Korero's standout feature is its ability to centralise communication, allowing teams to send messages, share updates, and track task completion through a single platform. With Korero, restaurant staff can stay informed and engaged, improving efficiency during service hours and reducing the likelihood of operational errors.

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The platform also integrates task management tools that allow managers to assign tasks and monitor their progress in real-time. By having visibility into who is responsible for each task and its completion status, managers can ensure smoother operations and address issues as they arise.

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Korero’s focus on team engagement also helps to foster a stronger workplace culture, promoting accountability and collaboration within the team.

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Centralising communication and offering real-time task management gives your restaurant teams the power to stay organised and efficient, ultimately leading to a better customer experience and a more cohesive work environment.

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All in all, Korero is a valuable tool for restaurants aiming to improve communication and operational coordination.

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Korero’s key features

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Centralised Communication: Streamline team communication by providing a single platform for messages, updates, and announcements, reducing fragmented communication methods.
Task Management: Assign and monitor tasks in real-time, ensuring that all team members are aware of their responsibilities and stay accountable.
Mobile Access: Employees and managers can access communication, task updates, and schedules via mobile devices, ensuring everyone stays connected on the go.
Real-Time Updates: Send and receive real-time updates on shifts, task completion, and operational changes, reducing miscommunication in fast-paced environments.
Team Collaboration: Enhance team collaboration with tools that allow for easy exchange of information and status updates between staff members.
Employee Engagement: Foster better employee engagement by providing staff with an easy-to-use platform to stay informed about their shifts, tasks, and important updates.
Reporting and Analytics: Access performance reports that track task completion and team productivity, helping managers identify areas for improvement.
Shift Management: Simplify shift handovers by documenting completed and pending tasks, ensuring smooth transitions between shifts.
Customisable Workflows: Create custom workflows for specific tasks, ensuring consistent operational processes and improving efficiency.

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All Gravy

All Gravy is a shift management and scheduling platform that focuses specifically on helping manage Gen Z employees. All Gravy offers features for shift management, scheduling, HR processes, compliance, and more.

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The platform comes with robust preboarding and onboarding systems to set your staff members up for success from day one - ultimately reducing money spent on unproductive hours and improving the employee experience.

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All Gravy also has a centralised communication feature that allows you to instantly message employees, a powerful to improve team collaboration and avoid costly miscommunication instances. You can get real-time feedback from employees to get a clear picture of staff satisfaction and identify areas of improvement.

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Shift management tools help streamline the entire process, with options for automation, shift-swapping, overtime, and more. Additionally, clocking in and out is incredibly easy, and tracking attendance becomes an automated process.

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With All Gravy, you get all you need for improved scheduling and shift management systems that get the most out of your staff members. The data available lets you optimise your process in a way that boosts your overall operational efficiency.

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All Gravy’s key features

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Earned Wage Access (EWA): Employees can access a portion of their earned wages before payday, providing financial flexibility and reducing reliance on payday loans.
Financial Wellness Tools: Offers budgeting tools, savings features, and financial education resources to help employees manage their finances more effectively.
Time & Attendance Tracking: Allows employees to track their hours worked, with real-time visibility into their earnings, ensuring transparency and reducing payroll queries.
Payroll Integration: Seamlessly integrates with existing payroll systems, simplifying the process for employers and reducing payroll administration.
Employee Engagement: Enhances employee satisfaction by offering financial flexibility and transparency, leading to improved retention and productivity.
Mobile Access: Provides employees with access to their wages and financial tools through a user-friendly mobile app, making it convenient for staff to manage their finances on the go.
Customisable Payroll Cycles: Gives businesses the choice to offer flexible payroll cycles, allowing employees to receive wages more frequently without increasing administrative burden.
Real-Time Earnings Insights: Employees can view real-time earnings updates, allowing them to track their income as they work and plan their finances accordingly.
Improved Retention: By offering financial wellness tools and flexible access to wages, businesses can boost employee morale, reduce turnover, and attract top talent.

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Alkimii

Alkimii is a cloud-based workforce management platform designed to streamline operations for businesses, particularly those in the hospitality and service sectors. It offers a range of features that simplify key processes such as employee scheduling, payroll, time and attendance tracking, and HR management.

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By integrating these functions into a single platform, Alkimii helps businesses manage their workforce more efficiently while reducing administrative tasks and minimising errors.

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Alkimii’s core strength lies in its ability to provide real-time insights into labour costs and employee performance, giving your managers the tools to make informed decisions and optimise staffing levels. Its payroll integration ensures that time worked is accurately reflected in employee pay, reducing the chances of payroll errors and disputes.

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In addition to its scheduling and payroll features, Alkimii also offers HR management tools, including performance tracking, employee records, and compliance with labour regulations, which help businesses stay organised and legally compliant.

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Alkimii's mobile accessibility is another key feature, allowing employees to access their schedules, request time off, and communicate with managers via their smartphones. This enhances transparency and employee engagement, leading to a more satisfied workforce.

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With its comprehensive set of tools, Alkimii aims to improve productivity, control labour costs, and maintain smooth communication between managers and staff, making it a valuable asset for businesses in need of a robust workforce management solution.

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Alkimii’s key features

Employee Scheduling: Streamline shift planning and ensure optimal staffing levels with real-time data.
Payroll Integration: Automatically sync time and attendance data with payroll, reducing errors and admin work.
Time & Attendance Tracking: Track employee hours accurately, including clock-ins and clock-outs, via mobile or other devices.
HR Management: Manage employee records, performance tracking, and compliance with labour regulations.
Real-Time Labour Cost Insights: Monitor labor costs in real-time to make informed decisions and stay within budget.
Mobile Access: Employees can view schedules, request time off, and communicate with managers via a user-friendly mobile app.
Compliance Management: Ensure labour law compliance regarding working hours, breaks, and overtime.
Employee Performance Tracking: Track and monitor employee performance for better HR decision-making.

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Planday

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Planday is a workforce management and restaurant scheduling platform that simplifies shift management, communication, and labour cost control for restaurants.

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Its primary feature is an intuitive scheduling system that allows managers to easily create and adjust staff rosters based on real-time data and demand forecasts. This ensures that businesses are neither overstaffed during quiet times nor understaffed during peak periods.

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Planday also offers integrated time-tracking, allowing employees to clock in and out via mobile devices or kiosks. This data is directly synced with payroll systems, reducing administrative errors and saving time.

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Additionally, the platform provides labour cost tracking and insights, helping managers monitor and manage expenses in real time to stay within budget.

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Communication is another key aspect of Planday. The platform allows managers and employees to communicate efficiently through its app, ensuring that everyone stays updated on shifts, tasks, and any changes.

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Employees can view their schedules, swap shifts, and request time off through the mobile app, enhancing transparency and engagement.

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Overall, Planday provides a complete solution for workforce management, helping restaurants improve efficiency, reduce costs, and foster better communication between managers and staff.

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Planday’s key features

Intuitive Scheduling: Easily create and adjust staff schedules based on real-time data, labour budgets, and employee availability, ensuring optimal staffing levels during peak and off-peak hours.
Time & Attendance Tracking: Employees can clock in and out using mobile devices or kiosks, with attendance data automatically synced to payroll systems.
Payroll Integration: Seamlessly integrates with payroll software, reducing manual errors and streamlining payroll processing by syncing real-time attendance and hours worked.
Labour Cost Control: Provides real-time insights into labour costs, helping managers track expenses and stay within budget by adjusting staffing levels when necessary.
Employee Self-Service: Employees can view schedules, swap shifts, request time off, and communicate with managers through a mobile app, enhancing transparency and flexibility.
Team Communication: Centralised communication tool for managers to send messages, updates, and announcements, ensuring all staff are informed and aligned.
Compliance Management: Maintains compliance with labour laws and regulations, including working hours, breaks, and overtime, minimising the risk of non-compliance.
Mobile Access: Both managers and employees can manage schedules, time tracking, and communication on the go through Planday’s user-friendly mobile app.
Reporting & Analytics: Access detailed reports on labour performance, hours worked, and employee productivity, helping businesses make informed operational decisions.
Customisable Templates: Create custom shift templates to save time when scheduling regular or recurring shifts, ensuring consistency and reducing manual input

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right scheduling software for your restaurant is essential to keeping your staff organised, reducing labour costs, and improving overall efficiency.

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The best tools in 2024 offer cutting-edge features that cater to the fast-paced demands of the industry, ensuring you stay ahead of the competition.

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Whether you're focused on optimising shift management or improving employee satisfaction, the solutions highlighted here provide the technology you need to achieve your goals. Invest in the right software, and watch your restaurant's operations thrive.

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At Tech on Toast, we help you find the perfect hospitality tech solution for your business. Run through the best restaurant employee scheduling software options on our website or reach out for more information.