The Six Best Online HR, Payroll, and Employee Scheduling Tools

Revised January 28, 2021
Revised May 20, 2020
Revised January 16, 2019

Marketing technology initiatives are often supported by systems and applications used in other functional groups. For example, staffing and training are critical elements in getting the most out of investments in marketing technology—which makes tools for recruiting, staffing, training, and scheduling vital to marketing success (even if HR is actually the group using these tools).

Here are half a dozen of the best online tools for managing HR, payroll, employee scheduling, and team coordination.

1) When I Work
Google Review Count: 170

Still using Excel spreadsheets to schedule your hourly employees? WhenIWork helps shops, bars, restaurants, colleges, non-profits, and other types of businesses make scheduling, communication, and collaboration easier for managers and teams. Scheduling and time tracking can be managed using mobile devices, and the system integrates with accounting and payroll apps.

Sample review: “If you need employees to work from multiple locations, we recommend When I Work. It has the best features for remote work locations, and includes a highly intuitive mobile app that makes it easy to coordinate employees on the go.” — FitSmallBusiness

Pricing: $9 to $99 per month based on number of employees; enterprise pricing by quote

Showcase reviews: FitSmallBusiness, Marketing Insider Group

2) Zenefits
Google Review Count: 137

An “all in one” HR tool for small businesses, combining payroll, employee records management, benefits, compliance, and time tracking.

Sample review: “Business administration software should do two things: it should make it easy for HR administrators to choose and customize plans, and it should make it even simpler for employees to register for those benefits…On top of that, leading all-in-one BA and HR platforms such as the Editors’ Choice winner in this category Zenefits also add the ability to manage payroll and retirement benefits such as a 401k, plus additional perks for startups such as a stock option module.” — PC Magazine

Pricing: apps are priced separately, most either free or $5 per employee per month, some with additional charges

Showcase reviews: PC Magazine, Marketing Insider Group

3) Gusto
Google Review Count: 136

Integrated system for managing payroll, health benefits, HR, employee records, and 401(k) plans.

Sample review: “These top back-office tools will help you grow your startup…(Gusto meets) all your payroll, compliance, and benefits needs.” — Marketing Insider Group

Pricing: $39 per month plus $6 per month per employee

Showcase reviews: Marketing Insider Group

4) BambooHR
Google Review Count: 135

Another all-in-one HR package including a centralized employee database, reporting, benefits, time-off management, training, applicant tracking, and performance management.

Sample review: “If you’ve tried to find HR software for your growing business, you’ve likely come across BambooHR. After all, they’re one of the best HR vendors for small businesses.” — TechnologyAdvice

Pricing: contact vendor

Showcase reviews: Marketing Insider Group, TechnologyAdvice

5) Jazz
Google Review Count: 114

Online recruiting software with capabilities for job posting and job board syndication, applicant tracking, interview and assessment management, offer letters, e-sgnatures, and reporting.

Sample review: “Jazz is both an ATS and performance-management tool in a single piece of recruiting software. We like that it’s not like traditional recruiting solutions. In addition to providing functions for job postings, application forms and candidate tracking, Jazz lets you find better hires by evaluating candidates based on their performance potential, and then rewarding current staff based on how they perform.” — Business News Daily

Pricing: $89 to $399 per month

Showcase reviews: Business News Daily, Marketing Insider Group

6) WhichDateWorks
Google Review Count: 110

A simple, free team planning app. Create an event, select participants, and determine when everyone involved is available. Great for meeting planning and collaboration. Can also be used to help arrange personal events (e.g. dinner parties).

Sample review: “Productivity boosters: Planning a meeting or event? Quickly find a date/time that works for everyone.” — Wrike

Pricing: free

Showcase reviews: Wrike

More Tools

Saba
Google Review Count: 187

Cloud-based talent management software to improve management of employee training (social/informal/structured learning), performance (evaluation and coaching), engagement and collaboration, succession planning, workforce planning, recruiting and onboarding, and compensation. The software include predictive analytics to assist with decisions about internal recruiting, promotions, succession planning, and compensation plans.

Pricing: contact vendor

ezClocker
Google Review Count: 1o7

A timeclock app that enables employees to clock in/out from anywhere, enter notes, and view their schedule anytime from their mobile device. GPS tracking lets you verify that location-based employees are actually clocked in at the work site. As the employer you can use it to export timesheets, create schedules, or adjust employee time punches. You can audit all time entry changes.

Pricing: $8/$20/$40 per month

Branch Messenger
Google Review Count: 90

Branch Messenger is a special-purpose group chat tool—think Slack but specifically designed for shift workers.  It’s ideal for employees at individual locations of retail and restaurant chains, as well as workers at call centers, distribution centers, or customer service centers. Though primarily used to help employees and managers manage work schedules and shift swaps, it’s also useful for communicating any work-related information, such as displays, events, and time-sensitive updates for hourly staff.

Pricing: free for employees and store/location managers; enterprise pricing by quote

VIVAHR
Google Review Count: 85

An applicant tracking system (ATS) that makes your team recruitment marketing experts. VIVAHR enables you to automatically post your open positions to free job posting sites, then track and manage each candidate. It integrates with popular HR tools like BambooHR (see above) using Zapier.

Pricing: free; $59 per month; enterprise pricing by quote

ClockShark
Google Review Count: 80

ClockShark offers a simple way to track, schedule, and manage crew time. It’s especially useful for construction firms, field service, and franchises. It automates time tracking; manage paid time off (PTO) policies; and integrates with QuickBooks, ADP RUN, ADP WorkForce Now, Xero, Sage, and Zapier.

Pricing: $5/month/user + $25/month base fee, or $8/month/user + $45/month base fee

ZoomShift
Google Review Count: 70

Create employee work schedules using a drag-and drop builder, and copy / modify previous schedules to save time. Share schedules via text, push alerts, and email. Automatically remind team members before their shift starts. Invite your team to set their availability preferences, request time off, and pick up open shifts.

Pricing: $2 or $/month/user; contact vendor for enterprise pricing

Ximble
Google Review Count: 69

Create daily, weekly, or monthly employee schedules; manage PTO and time-off requests; track time by enabling employees to clock in via an app or browser; and export timesheets to any payroll system. Optimize staff scheduling using advanced forecasting tools, and enable staff collaboration through team chat.

Pricing: $1/month/user; $2/month.use + $15/month base fee, or contact vendor for enterprise pricing

Structural
Google Review Count: N/A

Because “work” is now an activity rather than a place, companies of all sizes today tend to be far flung. People may work from the main office, but may also work from offices in other cities, co-working spaces, airports, coffee shops, home, or elsewhere. That can make getting to know co-workers and forming bonds more difficult. Structural solves that problem with technology that serves as a “company search engine” for specific internal talent, enables employees to connect with and get to know co-workers better, form more effective teams, onboard new employees more quickly, break down HR technology silos, and turn employees into brand advocates.

Pricing: contact vendor

Showcase Reviews

Business News Daily
FitSmallBusiness
PC Magazine
Marketing Insider Group
TechnologyAdvice
Wrike

This was the 16th post in the Best Online Business Tools series.

#1: Best Online Business Tools Series Kicks Off Today

#2: The 12 Best Competitive Intelligence and Benchmarking Tools

#3: The Nine Best Facebook Marketing Tools

#4: The 14 Best Content Planning and Research Tools

#5: The 23 Best Content Ideation Tools

#6: The 24 Best Online Writing Tools and Apps

#7: The Six Best Google+ Marketing Tools

#8: The Four Best Online Education Tools For Business Pros

#9: The 14 Best Marketing Automation Tools

#10: The 17 Best Keyword Research Tools for SEO and SEM

#11: The Seven Best File Sharing Tools

#12: The Five Best Infographic Creation Tools and Services

#13: The 28 Best Influencer Marketing Tools

#14: The Five Best Pinterest and Instagram Marketing Tools

#15: The 24 Best Visual Content Creation Tools

#16: The Six Best Online HR, Payroll, and Employee Scheduling Tools