Homebase

Homebase is workforce software for hourly businesses, with tools spanning scheduling, timekeeping, payroll, hiring, and team administration. It is best suited to small shift-based employers that want to coordinate daily work in one system. Its free tier makes it accessible to a single small location, while broader capabilities and employee limits require paid plans or add-ons.

Overview

Homebase covers more than building schedules: its product also reaches hiring, onboarding, HR, compliance, payroll, and team communication. That range can reduce the need to piece together separate workflows for an hourly workforce, particularly in restaurants, retail, beauty and wellness, medical, and home services. The trade-off is a tiered, add-on-heavy offering: businesses should map the capabilities they need to the plan and extra charges before choosing.

Key features

• Scheduling and shift coordination: Availability collection, auto-scheduling, open-shift management, shift swaps, and time-off management cover both schedule creation and the changes that follow. This is useful for managers dealing with changing availability; the Basic tier limits a business to one location and 10 employees.
• Time clocks: Staff can clock in and out on mobile or tablet time clocks, with PIN, photo, and GPS or geofencing verification. Those checks give employers several ways to confirm a clock-in, while the choice of verification method can be matched to how employees work.
• Payroll: Approved hours feed into payroll, where Homebase says it calculates wages, overtime, tips, and taxes and handles tax filings. Payroll is an add-on rather than an included plan feature, so businesses should account for its separate cost.
• Hiring and workforce administration: Hiring, onboarding, HR, and compliance extend Homebase beyond shift management. Hiring Assistant is a separate add-on; onboarding and HR and compliance are included in All-in-One.
• Integrations and access controls: Connections include Square, Toast, Clover, Shopify, ADP, Gusto, and QuickBooks. Homebase also supports custom integrations through its API. Its security measures include encryption in transit and at rest, two-factor authentication, SSO, password-less login, and role-based access control; it says it runs annual penetration tests and monthly vulnerability scans. Its Trust Center lists SOC 2 Type 2, SOC 3, PCI DSS v4.0.0, CCPA, PIPEDA, and NIST CSF.

Pricing

Homebase is freemium, with a 14-day trial and paid plans from $30/mo. Basic is free for one location and up to 10 employees, and includes basic scheduling, basic time tracking, and POS integration; payroll is available as an add-on. It is a sensible starting point for a small single-site team, but not for a growing workforce or a business needing advanced scheduling.

Paid plans are billed per location and allow unlimited employees per location. Essentials costs $30 a month and adds advanced scheduling, advanced time tracking, and team communication; payroll remains an add-on. It fits businesses that have outgrown Basic but do not need the broader HR suite. All-in-One costs $120 a month and adds employee onboarding, labor cost management, HR, and compliance, with payroll still available separately. Plus costs $700 a month and adds an AI-powered Scheduling Assistant, PTO and time-off controls, departments, and permissions. The six-month-free payroll promotion is advertised with Plus.

Several capabilities carry separate charges. The Payroll add-on is $496 a month, with the first six months free; after that, a base fee plus a per-employee charge applies. Tip Manager is $25 a month and pulls tips from a POS, calculates the tip pool, and adds it to timesheets. Task Manager is $13 a month for creating task lists and tracking completion in the app or desktop. Hiring Assistant is $99 a month, with a first-month-free offer, for job posts, candidate finding, and interviews. Background checks cost $30 per check, while Job post boosts cost $50 per boost. These extras let employers add targeted tools, but multiple add-ons can materially raise the cost beyond the base plan.

The pricing page also advertises a six-month-free payroll offer with Plus; promotional terms matter when comparing ongoing costs. Homebase lists 24/7 AI chat support and a Help Center, with live chat and phone support appearing in plan comparisons.

Platforms

Homebase runs on Android, iOS, and the web. Mobile access is particularly relevant for hourly teams using phone-based time clocks, while the web option serves managers handling schedules and administration from a desktop.

Who it's for

Homebase is a strong fit for small hourly businesses that need scheduling, timekeeping, and shift coordination, with a path into payroll and broader workforce administration. Its stated audience includes restaurants, retail shops, beauty and wellness businesses, medical workplaces, and home services. Basic is best for a single location with no more than 10 employees; paid plans suit larger teams at a location or employers that need advanced scheduling or HR functions. Businesses that only need a basic schedule may find the paid tiers and optional modules more than they need, while multi-location teams should compare the per-location pricing carefully.

Pros and cons

• Pro: The free Basic plan supports one location and up to 10 employees, making it possible for a small team to begin with scheduling and time tracking without a subscription.
• Pro: Scheduling, time clocks, payroll, hiring, and HR capabilities can sit within one workforce platform, and integrations include common POS and payroll services such as Square, Toast, ADP, Gusto, and QuickBooks.
• Pro: Clock-in verification can use PIN, photo, GPS, or geofencing, giving employers options for checking attendance.
• Con: Basic is capped at 10 employees and one location; businesses that exceed either limit need a paid plan.
• Con: Payroll costs extra even on paid plans, and its listed add-on price is $496 a month before the later base-plus-per-employee charge.
• Con: Several useful functions, including tip pooling and task management, are separately priced add-ons, so the advertised base plan may not cover a team's full workflow.

Alternatives

For restaurant operators comparing labor tools, browse Restaurant Labor Management Software.

7shifts is worth considering for restaurant teams wanting a free plan with a higher stated employee cap: its Comp plan covers 15 employees at one location, compared with Homebase Basic's 10.

Deputy is an alternative for businesses willing to pay per user: its Lite plan is $5 a month per user and includes basic scheduling and timesheets. It has no free plan, but does offer a free trial.

Workforce.com suits readers comparing paid scheduling, HR, and payroll options, including an All-in-One plan with advanced implementation support and a separate Scheduling plan; both have custom pricing.

TimeForge may suit larger retail operations seeking enterprise-focused labor tools: its Enterprise Retail plan is for 50+ stores and includes a dedicated account representative, with custom pricing.

Restaurant365 Workforce Management is another paid workforce-management option for Android, iOS, and web.

HotSchedules is a paid scheduling and team-management alternative with a one-year offer; it has no free plan and offers a free trial.

Altametrics Workforce Scheduling is worth comparing for teams interested in employee scheduling and forecasting. Its Essential plan is advertised at $75 a month during a three-month 50% discount offer, with taxes excluded.

Sling offers a free plan for up to 30 users, with shift scheduling, time-off requests, available shifts, and private messaging. It is a strong alternative if a larger free-user cap and those core coordination tools are the priority.

Verdict

Choose Homebase if you run a small hourly business and want scheduling and timekeeping that can expand into payroll and HR as your operation grows. Its free single-location plan is the clearest reason to start here, while its modular pricing and paid payroll are the main reasons to compare alternatives before committing to a broader setup.