As a restaurant owner or manager, you know how important it is to have reliable scheduling software to manage your workforce. For many, 7shifts has been a go-to tool for this purpose. However, there are several reasons why you may be considering switching to an alternative. Perhaps you find the pricing too high, or maybe you're looking for a more user-friendly scheduling software, or customization options. Whatever the case may be, you're not alone.
Many restaurateurs have faced similar challenges with 7shifts restaurant scheduling and are seeking a better solution. That's why we've compiled a list of the 8 best 7shifts alternatives for restaurants. Whether you're looking for something more affordable, easier to use, or more tailored to your specific needs, we've got you covered. So let's explore the options and find the best scheduling software for your restaurant.
1. Lineup.ai
Lineup.ai offers an auto-scheduling feature for restaurant management, serving as a great alternative to 7shifts. This feature utilizes AI and machine learning to automatically generate optimal shift schedules considering employee availability, preferences, and business demand.
Managers have the flexibility to approve or adjust the schedules. This software allows you to generate accurate labor forecasts, which you can then use to optimize your scheduling and staffing levels, assigning just the right number of employees to each shift.
Once schedules are set, employees are notified via email or SMS. The software is accessible via web and mobile apps, where employees can manage schedules, swap shifts, and request time off.
This tool aims to reduce the manual effort involved in creating schedules and helps ensure that the restaurant is adequately staffed at all times, optimizing both operational efficiency and labor costs.
Apart from restaurant employee scheduling, Lineup.ai's AI-powered forecasting functionality allows you to forecast sales with extreme accuracy while taking into account historical sales, weather and local event information, and more.
2. Homebase
Homebase is an effective employee scheduling and workforce management tool for small businesses.
Apart from creating a schedule from scratch, you can also use Homebase’s built-in schedule templates or take advantage of the auto-scheduling feature.
There’s also the option to create open shifts and allow employees to claim them.
Once you publish or update the schedule, your team gets notified instantly via the mobile app, email, and SMS.
The software includes a number of features designed to help businesses control labor costs, including the option to prevent staff members from clocking in early and the ability to clock out employees automatically.
Homebase allows you to review detailed labor cost reports and see a breakdown of your labor costs by department, role, and hour. There’s also the option to create labor cost forecasts and use those to help you build employee schedules.
Other useful features include shift reminders and instructions, as well as alerts for staff members that are late for a shift or are at risk of going into overtime.
Homebase also offers an applicant tracking system, includes time tracking and timesheets, and supports POS and payroll integration.
3. Sling
Sling is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that allows you to build employee schedules quickly using an intuitive drag-and-drop builder. You can also save schedules as templates to reuse in the future.
It will alert you about double-booked and overlapping shifts, as well as send notifications when employees are at risk of going into overtime.
You can use Sling to track labor costs by setting wages per employee or position and inputting a maximum labor budget.
The software can also be used to manage time off and shift swap requests. It’s available as a web, Android, and iOS app
4. When I Work
When I Work offers an auto-scheduling feature restaurants can use to streamline schedule creation. Employees add their availability using the When I Work app, and the software then determines the best staff members for a particular shift.
You can also create schedule templates to help you set up schedules more easily in the future.
Once a schedule is published, staff members get notified through the app immediately.
When I Work also includes leave management, labor cost reporting, and labor forecasting features.
5. Deputy
Deputy is a cloud-based employee scheduling software that offers solutions for small, medium, and enterprise businesses.
It can help you simplify the process of creating schedules and sharing them with your team.
If you update your schedule at any point, you can request an in-app confirmation from staff that they’ve seen the updated schedule.
Deputy offers an AI-powered auto-scheduling feature which also allows you to set custom rules to ensure compliance when it comes to minimum rest time and maximum weekly hours.
You can share empty shifts with employees and have them apply for shifts themselves. Deputy also simplifies team communication and makes it easier for team members to swap shifts.
The software supports setting limits on weekly work hours to avoid having employees go into overtime. Employees can use the app to see their leave balance and request time off, while restaurant managers can review, approve, or reject time-off requests using the app.
You can also set a labor budget and track labor costs in real-time.
6. Planday
Planday offers a scheduling solution that allows you to build staff schedules that take into account employee availability, time off, and labor cost targets.
There’s also the option to assign skills to employees and only allow employees with a particular skill to apply for a specific shift.
Staff members can see all their upcoming shifts in the app and also use the app to set their availability and request time off.
Restaurant owners and managers can monitor labor costs closely with Planday’s detailed reports.
7. ZoomShift
ZoomShift is a scheduling app that offers businesses an easy way to create and publish shift schedules.
Schedules created with ZoomShift can be shared with employees through email, SMS, and push notifications. Employees can use the app to set their availability, request time off, and apply for open shifts.
It supports shift reminders to help you reduce no-shows and make sure employees get to their shift on time.
The software also includes extensive time-off management features — you can use it to calculate PTO accrual automatically, as well as review, approve, or reject time-off requests.
8. Zira
Zira lets your team state their scheduling preferences, and then the software automatically generates a schedule that aligns with your staff’s preferences.
You can also set your own requirements for automatically generated schedules, such as cost, compliance, and custom rules.
Zira’s built-in automation library allows you to automate certain aspects of workforce management, including onboarding, employee recognition, and more.
Wrap up
Ready to replace 7shifts? Try out a few restaurant scheduling solutions from our list and see how they work for you and your team.
Boris Mustapic is a content marketer with a decade of experience in the digital marketing industry. He specializes in helping B2B SaaS companies drive growth through strategic, product-led content marketing.
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