Homebase overview
Homebase Description
Homebase is the ultimate solution for streamlining payroll management and optimizing team productivity. Trusted by over 100,000 local businesses, Homebase has revolutionized the management of hourly labor by providing an extensive toolkit to increase productivity and foster expansion.
The key component of Homebase is its user-friendly personnel scheduling tool, which enables management to quickly and easily design schedules that are tailored to the particular requirements of their company.
Homebase is more than just a scheduling tool. Businesses can accurately measure employee hours and monitor labor costs in real-time. Say goodbye to tedious manual timekeeping and hello to automated, error-free payroll processing.
It is suitable for a variety of industries, such as restaurants, retail, healthcare, and professional services. Homebase offers a customized solution to satisfy the unique needs of hourly teams. Additionally, with its user-friendly interface and robust features, Homebase is easy to implement and use, saving businesses time and resources.
Who uses Homebase?
By industry, Homebase reviewers are most commonly professionals in food & beverages (17%). The most frequent use case for Homebase cited by reviewers is employee scheduling (65% of reviewers).
What do users say about Homebase pricing?
Most reviewers indicate that Homebase offers good value for money, especially for small businesses, and they appreciate the free version and flexible pricing. However, some users report that essential features are locked behind higher-priced plans, making costs unexpectedly high.
Homebase Pricing
| Essentials | Plus | All-in-One | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price* | $24.95 per location | $59.95 per location | $99.95 per location |
| Add-ons | |||
| Payroll* | $39.00 plus $6.00 per employee paid | ||
| Tip Manager* | $25.00 per location | ||
| Background Checks | $30.00 each | ||
| Job Post Promotion | From $79.00 per post | ||
| *Prices are per month |
It’s not easy to find business software that’s both free and useful. Homebase’s Basic stands out in a very small crowd of products that meet a key need of many very small businesses without costing a dime. The free version supports as many as 20 employees at a single location, and its scheduling and employee management features are meager. Still, you get usable scheduling along with the ability to clock in and out on mobile phones, tablets and POS devices, as well as team messaging.
Most SMBs are better served by one of Homebase’s paid plans: Essentials, Plus or All-in-One. All three come with the features of Basic plus advanced scheduling and timekeeping that includes availability, time-off requests, location-based clocks, automated reminders and employee shift swapping.
Homebase’s paid packages also add payroll integrations and team communication. Plus and All-in-One come with recruiting and extensive employee management tools, but only the company’s high-end All-in-One plan has onboarding, compliance and access to Homebase’s certified HR advisors.
Businesses have the option of adding various add-ons to build a solution that’s best suited to their needs. In the future, Homebase will roll out a Task Manager add-on. However, it’s unclear when it will be available.
Homebase vs. Top Alternatives
| Homebase | Connecteam | 7shifts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | Free; $24.95 per month per location | Free; $35.00 per month (up to 30 users) | Free; $34.99 per month per location |
| Maximum Users With Free Plan | Unlimited users | Up to 10 users | Up to 30 users |
| Scheduling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Time Clock Included in Free Plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PTO Management | Paid plans only | Paid plans only | Paid plans only |
| Hiring Tools | Yes | No | Yes |
| Auto Clock Out | Yes | Yes | No |
| Recurring Shifts and Schedules | Yes | Yes | No |
| Payroll Add-On | $39.00 per month, plus $6.00 per employee per month | No | Yes |
| Learn More | On Homebase’s website | On Connecteam’s website | On 7shifts’s website |
Homebase vs. Connecteam
Connecteam sells three separate hubs designed to help businesses manage their operations, communications, and HR and employee development. By contrast, Homebase’s three paid plans focus on scheduling, which is a component of Connecteam’s Operations Hub, but Homebase also offers employee management and team communications, which are included with the Communications Hub and HR & Skills Hub sold by Connecteam.
The free Small Business plan from Connecteam supports up to 10 users and includes a single time clock and kiosk station for clocking in and out, as well as one schedule and employee task management. Homebase’s free Basic version can be used by as many as 20 employees at a single location and provides basic scheduling and team communication.
The Basic, Advanced and Expert hubs sold by Connecteam cost $35, $59 and $119 a month, respectively, for up to 30 workers. The charges for each additional employee are 50 cents, $1.50 and $3 a month, respectively. These prices match Homebase’s monthly fees for its Essentials, Plus and All-in-One packages of $24.95, $59.95 and $99.95 a month, respectively, per location, but Homebase doesn’t limit the number of employees.
Homebase vs. 7shifts
Specific scheduling, time tracking and payroll software for restaurants is available from 7shifts. Moreover, its free Comp plan is available to single-location restaurants with as many as 30 employees. It comes with basic scheduling and time clock, basic team communication and processing of time-off requests. The features in 7shifts’ free version compare roughly with Homebase’s free Basic plan.
The three paid packages from 7shifts are Entree, The Works and Gourmet. They’re priced at $34.99, $76.99 and $150 a month per location, respectively. Entree works with up to 30 employees, and The Works and Gourmet support an unlimited number of workers. Homebase’s Essentials, Plus and All-in-One cost slightly less than 7shifts’ Entrée, The Works and Gourmet, but they let businesses add tip management for $25 a month per location, while 7shifts charges $49.99 a month per location for its Tip Management add-on. Tip management is especially important to restaurant workers, who typically depend on tips for a large share of their salaries.
FAQs
- What are Homebase’s main strengths?
Homebase offers a flat-fee pricing model, pre-built payroll integrations, sales-driven scheduling, and robust HR tools like hiring and onboarding, making it ideal for small businesses. - What challenges might users face with Homebase?
Challenges include limited configurability, unintuitive scheduling rules, and basic time-tracking features that lack geo-fencing and GPS-based capabilities. - How much does Homebase cost?
Homebase is priced at $2-4 PEPM, making it one of the most affordable workforce management platforms available. - Is Homebase suitable for larger organizations?
Homebase is best suited for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Larger organizations or those with complex requirements may need a more scalable solution. - What type of businesses benefit most from Homebase?
Homebase is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses, particularly in industries like retail, restaurants, hospitality, and healthcare, that rely on hourly workers. Its features, including scheduling, time tracking, and team communication, are designed to streamline operations, making it a great fit for businesses managing shifts and multiple locations.
User comments
