Ever tried juggling a dozen employees’ schedules on a spreadsheet? You’ve got shift swaps, last-minute call-outs, overlapping vacations, and somehow, everyone expects the schedule to be perfect by Monday.
That’s where crew scheduling software steps in.
Instead of spending hours manually assigning people to jobs or shifts, it does the heavy lifting. The tool checks who’s available, qualified, and what the job needs before automatically building the most accurate schedule.
Here are the top 10 crew scheduling software that will make your life easier. 💁
10 Best Crew Scheduling Software
- What Should You Look for in Crew Scheduling Software?
- Crew Scheduling Software at a Glance
- The Best Crew Scheduling Software
- 1. ClickUp (Best for custom crew schedules with task and shift tracking)
- 2. Sling (Best for simple shift scheduling)
- 3. Connecteam (Best for mobile crew management)
- 4. Deputy (Best for automated shift scheduling)
- 5. When I Work (Best for easy shift and job tracking)
- 6. 7shifts (Best for restaurant staff task management)
- 7. Humanity (Best for complex enterprise scheduling)
- 8. BuildOps (Best for field service dispatching)
- 9. Buddy Punch (Best for basic employee time tracking)
- 10. Planday (Best for hourly workforce management)
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Should You Look for in Crew Scheduling Software?
Keeping shifts covered is one thing, but keeping it all organized without the usual chaos is another. The right crew scheduling software can make that possible, but only if it has the features you actually need.
Let’s break it down. ⚓
- Smart auto-scheduling that creates crew schedules based on availability, roles, and business rules
- Real-time conflict detection to flag double-bookings, overtime issues, or unqualified assignments before they become problems
- Reusable templates and recurring shifts that save time and make weekly or monthly planning a breeze
- Built-in compliance checks to help you follow local laws, union rules, and break requirements without constant monitoring
- Certification tracking so you’re never caught off guard by expired licenses or role-specific qualifications
- Overtime alerts that notify you when someone’s close to hitting their max hours, helping avoid burnout or legal trouble
Summarize this article for me pleaseCrew Scheduling Software at a Glance
Here’s a quick breakdown of key features in crew scheduling software and what they’re used for.
| Tool | Best for | Key Features | Pricing* |
| ClickUp | Any business or team looking for an all-in-one work management and scheduling tool | Flexible project and crew scheduling with task management, docs, goals, and communication | Free forever plan; Customizations for enterprises |
| Sling | Small to medium businesses | Simple shift scheduling, time tracking, and team communication | Free, Starts at $2 per month |
| Connecteam | Mobile and field teams | Mobile-first crew scheduling, time tracking, shift swaps, and compliance for distribution teams | Free, Starts at $35 per month per user |
| Deputy | Shift-based businesses | Automated employee scheduling, time tracking, and HR management for retail, hospitality, and healthcare | Starts at $4.50 per month |
| When I Work | Shift-based businesses | Easy scheduling, time tracking, and team messaging for restaurants, retail, and healthcare | Free, Starts at $3 per month per user |
| 7shifts | Restaurants and hospitality | Restaurant staff scheduling with labor forecasting, auto-scheduling, and compliance tools | Free, Starts at $31.99 per location |
| Humanity | Large organizations | AI-driven dynamic scheduling and compliance for enterprises with complex shift needs | Custom pricing |
| BuildOps | Field service and construction | Crew dispatch, job assignment, and progress tracking for service and construction | Custom pricing |
| Buddy Punch | Simple time tracking and scheduling | User-friendly shift scheduling and attendance tracking for remote or in-office teams | Starts at $5.49/month per user +$19 base fee per month |
| Planday | Hourly workers and shift teams | Workforce scheduling, time tracking, and labor cost control for hourly employees | Custom pricing |
How we review software at ClickUp
Our editorial team follows a transparent, research-backed, and vendor-neutral process, so you can trust that our recommendations are based on real product value.
Here’s a detailed rundown of how we review software at ClickUp.
Summarize this article for me pleaseThe Best Crew Scheduling Software
Finding the right crew scheduling software makes all the difference between smooth operations and last-minute project deliverables.
Here’s a roundup of the best options to help you optimize staffing, reduce conflicts, and keep every project moving forward. 🎯
1. ClickUp (Best for custom crew schedules with task and shift tracking)
ClickUp is the everything app for work that combines project management, documents, and team communication, all in one platform—accelerated by next-generation AI automation and search.
It gives operations managers, team leads, and schedulers everything they need to keep crews aligned, tasks moving, and shifts covered.
ClickUp Calendar
First up, we’ve got the ClickUp Calendar, your crew’s central command center for scheduling. This tool lets you organize everything in one spot, whether coordinating shift swaps across locations or locking down deadlines for a project team. You can switch between daily, weekly, or monthly layouts to get the right level of detail.
Drag-and-drop tasks to make last-minute changes and color-code events to understand what’s urgent, pending, or done at a glance.
Need to sync it with your team’s Google Calendar? No problem; the two-way sync ensures updates flow seamlessly between platforms. This visibility is a lifesaver for crews managing site visits, shift changes, and client meetings.
Plus, built-in reminders and the ability to join meetings right from the workspace keep communication tight and project schedules on track. Of course, scheduling is only part of the picture. Tracking how your team’s time is spent is just as important.
ClickUp Project Time Tracking
That’s where ClickUp Project Time Tracking comes in.
It doesn’t matter if your crews work from laptops, mobile devices, or even the free Chrome extension; they can start and stop timers on the fly. It’s perfect for field teams switching between tasks or job sites. You can log time manually, too, in case someone forgets to hit ‘start.’
Want to know how much time last week’s installation project took compared to the estimate? ClickUp’s customizable timesheet templates and visual dashboards help you get into the details, by day, week, project, or person.
Plus, the platform keeps things transparent (no sneaky monitoring here) while giving managers the reporting they need to fine-tune schedules and workloads.
ClickUp Brain
Want to take crew management to the next level? Enter ClickUp Brain.
This built-in AI powerhouse actively supports your crew scheduling efforts. Need to pull a quick status report across multiple job sites? Brain’s AI Project Manager can automate that.
Want to find a training document for new crew members without digging through folders? The AI Knowledge Manager fetches it instantly.
For instance, if you manage a construction crew across multiple sites, you can ask Brain to generate instant project updates in natural language. Ask: ‘Summarize all active crew tasks for Project Alpha, including pending approvals and blockers.’ It’ll pull up real-time info from tasks, comments, and docs, highlighting progress, delays, and next steps.
ClickUp Team Schedule Template
Don’t want to build a workflow from scratch every time? Try the ClickUp Team Schedule Template. 👇
Designed for operational clarity, the ClickUp Team Schedule Template is a dynamic tool for scheduling, tracking, and adjusting team workloads. Each task is clearly labeled with the client project and assigned team, making cross-team coordination seamless.
Plus, its visual organization and custom tagging system are excellent. You can instantly filter tasks by client, project, or role, while color-coded labels make it easy to see distribution at a glance.
⚙️ Bonus: An effective workforce ensures maximum productivity. To ensure you hit the mark, the ClickUp Employee Workload Template helps you gauge every team member’s capacity, create a clear overview of responsibilities and dependencies, and set expectations.
ClickUp best features
- Streamline repetitive tasks: Turn to ClickUp Automations to automatically update shift statuses, assign crew members, and send reminders without manual intervention
- Centralize crew documentation: Store onboarding materials, SOPs, and project guidelines, and collaborate in real time with ClickUp Docs
- Connect external tools: Pull in schedules, communications, and updates from apps like Zoom and Google Calendar with ClickUp Integrations
- Visualize and adjust schedules: Drag and drop tasks, color-code shifts, and sync events across teams for a crystal clear timeline with the ClickUp Calendar View
ClickUp limitations
- New users may face a steep learning curve due to the extensive features
ClickUp pricing
free forever
Best for personal use
Free Free
Key Features:
60MB Storage
Unlimited Tasks
Unlimited Free Plan Members
unlimited
Best for small teams
$7 $10
Everything in Free Forever plus:
Unlimited Storage
Unlimited Folders and Spaces
Unlimited Integrations
business
Best for mid-sized teams
$12 $19
Everything in Unlimited, plus:
Google SSO
Unlimited Teams
Unlimited Message History
enterprise
Best for many large teams
Get a custom demo and see how ClickUp aligns with your goals.
Everything in Business, plus:
White Labeling
Conditional Logic in Forms
Subtasks in Multiple Lists
* Prices when billed annually
The world's most complete work AI, starting at $9 per month
ClickUp Brain is a no Brainer. One AI to manage your work, at a fraction of the cost.
ClickUp ratings and reviews:
- G2: 4.7/5 (10,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (4,000+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about ClickUp?
This review really says it all:
📮 ClickUp Insight: Monday blues? Turns out Monday stands out as a weak link in weekly productivity (pun unintended), with 35% of workers identifying it as their least productive day. This slump can be attributed to the time and energy spent hunting for updates and weekly priorities on Monday mornings.
An everything app for work, like ClickUp, can help you here.
For instance, ClickUp Brain, ClickUp’s built-in AI assistant, can ‘catch you up’ on all critical updates and priorities in seconds. And, everything you need for work, including integrated apps, is searchable with ClickUp’s Connected Search. With ClickUp’s Knowledge Management, building a shared point of reference for your organization is easy! 💁
2. Sling (Best for simple shift scheduling)
Sling is a reliable scheduling tool, especially for fast-paced retail, hospitality, and healthcare industries. Its clean drag-and-drop interface makes setting up shifts easy. Plus, team members get their work schedules right on their phones, making it easy to plan, swap shifts, or put in time-off requests without endless back-and-forth.
Managers can create reusable schedule templates for recurring shifts, saving time on weekly planning. The platform also supports multiple work locations, enabling easy scheduling and communication across different sites.
Sling best features
- Track project labor costs in real time to prevent overspending and manage overtime
- Assign tasks directly to shifts to clarify responsibilities and ensure accountability
- Send automated reminders via SMS or app notifications to minimize late arrivals
- Store employee documents securely for easy access to certifications and compliance records
Sling limitations
- You can’t copy singular shifts and paste them somewhere else
- It sends notifications for chats that you aren’t involved in
Sling pricing
- Free
- Premium: $2/month per user
- Business: $4/month per user
Sling ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.5/5 (80+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (100+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about Sling?
A G2 reviewer summed it up like this:
🔍 Did You Know? The global employee scheduling software market will expand to $1.36 billion by 2033. It’ll grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.1% during the forecast period.
3. Connecteam (Best for mobile crew management)
Managing a deskless workforce leaves room for mistakes, missed updates, and inefficiencies. Connecteam is a workforce management platform for construction, field services, retail, and hospitality industries.
The tool makes it simple to assign specific tasks with detailed checklists, due dates, and file attachments, keeping everyone aligned whether on-site or on the move. To ensure proactive communication, it can roll out an internal chat, update feed, and instant surveys, so that important info reaches the right teams at the right time.
Connecteam best features
- Share engaging content, such as videos, images, PDFs, and announcements, to boost employee engagement
- Customize access permissions for users, roles, and groups to ensure the right people see the right information
- Enable employees to self-serve for common HR needs, such as leave management and accessing company policies
- Foster a positive culture with peer recognition and feedback features to celebrate achievements and milestones
Connecteam limitations
- Limited tools for creating courses, text, and quizzes
- The font cannot be customized
Connecteam pricing
- Free
- Basic: $35/month per user
- Advanced: $59/month per user
- Expert: $119/month per user
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Connecteam ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (2,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (2,000+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about Connecteam?
This is how one user described their experience:
💡 Pro Tip: The Pareto scheduling is a great method. Focus 80% of your scheduling on your most reliable team members to cover the core workload, and 20% on newer or flexible staff to fill the gaps. Minimizes risk and keeps quality high.
4. Deputy (Best for automated shift scheduling)
Deputy is a comprehensive workforce management platform with a built-in AI-powered auto-scheduling feature. It leverages demand forecasts, sales trends, seasonal fluctuations, and labor laws to generate optimized schedules automatically with a single click.
The tool accounts for employee availability, qualifications, and labor budgets to minimize administrative work and reduce unnecessary wage costs. Deputy allows you to build schedules from scratch, replicate previous work schedule templates, and adjust them to accommodate last-minute changes.
Deputy best features
- Reference approved leave and certifications to prevent scheduling conflicts
- Enable employees to clock in and out using mobile devices, web browsers, or biometric facial recognition
- Approve, edit, and export digital timesheets seamlessly to integrated payroll systems
- Communicate important announcements or updates with built-in newsfeed or messaging tools
Deputy limitations
- It’s challenging to create schedules without wiping out the previous version
- The ‘People’ tab doesn’t include managers and their bosses
Deputy pricing
- Scheduling: $4.50/month per user
- Time & Attendance: $4.50/month per user
- Premium: $6/month per user
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Deputy ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (400+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (700+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about Deputy?
See what this reviewer had to say:
💡 Pro Tip: Make your schedule easy to scan. For example, use blue for the front desk, red for techs, and green for managers. Visual clarity = fewer mix-ups.
5. When I Work (Best for easy shift and job tracking)
If you manage a shift-based team, When I Work makes scheduling less stressful. With handy schedule templates to build and adjust work plans, you can effortlessly control your employees’ schedules. Features like recurring shifts and auto-scheduling based on availability save a ton of time.
One of the best parts? Employees can self-manage their schedules. They can request time off, swap shifts, and update their availability directly in the app. Shift trades happen automatically through a digital board, cutting down on last-minute panic. The platform also makes communication super easy with built-in messaging.
When I Work best features
- Track time management and attendance with a digital clock accessible from any device
- Monitor attendance, tardiness, and absenteeism, generating detailed reports on labor costs and trends
- Receive automatic notifications for upcoming shifts, schedule changes, and other key events
- Integrate payroll seamlessly by syncing worked hours with providers like ADP, Gusto, and Paychex
When I Work limitations
- There is no copy/paste option for past and future week schedules
- The chat functionality is glitchy and slow
When I Work pricing
- Single Location or Schedule: $3/month per user
- Multiple Locations or Schedules: $5/month per user
When I Work ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (300+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (1,000+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about When I Work?
A quick snippet from a real user:
📖 Also Read: How to Implement a 2-2-3 Work Schedule
6. 7shifts (Best for restaurant staff task management)
7shifts is explicitly built for the restaurant world, making it a go-to platform for crew scheduling and labor management. It helps managers create schedules faster based on employee availability and staffing needs. Employees get a simple way to check their shifts, request time off, and stay connected with their team through the mobile app.
Plus, 7shifts works nicely with popular POS and payroll systems, helping restaurants reduce admin work. Its deep focus on the unique day-to-day needs of restaurant teams sets it apart from more general scheduling tools.
7shifts best features
- Enable employees to swap, offer, or request shifts with manager approval, automatically updating the schedule and notifying affected staff
- Track employee hours, breaks, and overtime accurately, with features like geofencing and facial recognition
- Monitor and control labor costs by setting labor targets based on projected sales
- Generate automated reports on scheduling, attendance, and labor metrics for easy monthly or on-demand analysis
7shifts limitations
- It’s challenging to navigate open shifts
- Users complain it’s glitchy for staff members sometimes, locking them out of the tool
7shifts pricing
- Comp: Free
- Entree: $31.99/month per location
- The works: $69.99/month per location
- Gourmet: Starting at $135/month per location
7shifts ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.5/5 (100+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (1,000+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about 7shifts?
Straight from a G2 review:
🤝 Friendly Reminder: Over-communication > under-communication. Always send shift updates or changes via app notifications, SMS, and email to avoid ‘I didn’t know’ drama.
7. Humanity (Best for complex enterprise scheduling)
Humanity is a solid employee scheduling system that helps you predict staffing needs, build compliant schedules, and cut labor costs. Employees can swap shifts, request time off, or update their availability straight from their phones.
The platform automates checks to keep businesses compliant with labor laws and union rules while offering built-in task management templates, time tracking, and leave management to keep everything in one place. You also get detailed reporting and insights to better understand workforce performance and labor costs.
Humanity best features
- Forecast staffing needs and optimize schedules using AI-powered forecasting based on KPIs like sales and customer volume
- Manage employee profiles with skills, availability, and leave requests to simplify shift assignment and scheduling
- Communicate with employees via automated email, SMS, push notifications, and in-app chat on desktop and mobile
Humanity limitations
- The export format needs to be adjusted after downloads
- It doesn’t tolerate time scheduling anomalies
Humanity pricing
- Custom pricing
Humanity ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.3/5 (1,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.3/5 (300+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about Humanity?
Here’s what one user had to say about Humanity:
💡 Pro Tip: Use the 3C rule for shift coverage. Before finalizing a schedule, ask yourself:
- Coverage: Do we have every shift filled?
- Compliance: Are we following labor laws, breaks, and overtime limits?
- Communication: Have we clearly communicated everything?
8. BuildOps (Best for field service dispatching)
BuildOps is a workforce scheduling software tailored for commercial contractors and field service businesses. It also provides customizable reporting and analytics, giving companies clear visibility into KPIs, labor costs, project progress, and service profitability.
One of BuildOps’ standout features is its native field technician app. Techs can access work orders, customer histories, equipment data, and job details right from their smartphones or tablets, even offline. They can also capture signatures, upload photos, document their work, and generate invoices on-site, helping speed up billing and reduce errors.
BuildOps best features
- Track technicians and jobs to gain visibility into field operations and optimize resource allocation
- Manage work orders, quotes, contracts, and daily logs from a unified dashboard
- Integrate with accounting systems like QuickBooks to simplify billing, invoicing, and financial tracking
BuildOps limitations
- You can’t send billing statements directly to customers from the platform
- Building customizable forms is challenging
BuildOps pricing
- Custom pricing
BuildOps ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.5/5 (30+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (100+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about BuildOps?
According to one reviewer:
💡 Pro Tip: Let employees label availability as:
- ✅ Green: Fully available
- 🟡 Yellow: Can work if needed
- 🔴 Red: Not available
Color coding and visual queues can be a great way to get an top-level views of your crew’s schedule. It can also help you make quick, confident scheduling decisions.
9. Buddy Punch (Best for basic employee time tracking)
Buddy Punch is a simple yet effective employee time tracking and scheduling solution, especially popular for small to mid-sized businesses. Its versatile clock-in options make it stand out. Employees can punch in and out through web browsers, mobile apps, or even a unique QR code system.
To add an extra layer of accountability, Buddy Punch also offers GPS tracking, IP address locking, and even photo capture on punch, so managers always know where and when team members are clocking in. Plus, automated alerts and notifications ensure that everyone stays updated in real time.
Buddy Punch best features
- Monitor real-time attendance, overtime alerts, and receive notifications when employees approach overtime limits
- Manage paid time off (PTO) with customizable accrual rules and self-service options for employees to request or enter vacation, sick, or personal time
- Assign job and department codes for detailed project and task tracking, allowing you to analyze labor costs by customer, job, or location
Buddy Punch limitations
- Excessive email notifications are a bit overwhelming
- The app does not provide reminders to log in or out at shift times
Buddy Punch pricing
- Starter: $5.49/month per user +$19 base fee per month
- Pro: $6.99/month per user +$19 base fee per month
- Enterprise: $11.99/month per user +$19 base fee per month
Buddy Punch ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.8/5 (200+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.8/5 (1,000+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about Buddy Punch?
A user shared this feedback:
📖 Also Read: How Does a 9/80 Work Schedule Work?
10. Planday (Best for hourly workforce management)
Planday is a modern solution designed to be as easy for employees to use as it is powerful for managers. It helps businesses align with labor laws and internal rules, automating things like contract management, rest break enforcement, and documentation tracking. This is especially useful for industries with strict labor regulations or union agreements.
Another standout feature is Planday’s focus on labor cost control. It offers real-time labor cost forecasting as you build schedules, helping businesses stay on budget. The platform integrates with many payroll, POS, and HR systems, such as ADP, Xero, QuickBooks, and more. Its open API also allows businesses to create custom connections.
Planday best features
- Enable staff to swap shifts, request time off, and manage their availability through a self-service portal
- Monitor real-time analytics and generate customized reports for better workforce insights and decision-making
- Store important documents securely and enable electronic signatures for contracts and onboarding
Planday limitations
- The mobile app has a long loading time
- It’s not very flexible, and issues are not solved easily due to poor customer service
Planday pricing
- Custom pricing
Planday ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.5/5 (80+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.3/ 5 (50+ reviews)
💡 Pro Tip: Use a rotating shift schedule for 24/7 operations. Create a repeatable pattern, like four days on and four days off, and rotate teams through different shifts weekly or biweekly.
📚 Also Read: Best Employee Rostering Software
Summarize this article for me pleaseSchedule Your Success With ClickUp
Choosing the right crew scheduling software can make all the difference in how efficiently your team manages schedules.
Whether managing a small team or overseeing large-scale operations, the right software can help streamline processes, increase job profitability, reduce errors, and improve overall productivity.
If you’re looking for a flexible, scalable option, ClickUp is the top contender.
With powerful key features for scheduling, integrations with HR, construction business software, and payroll systems, and the ability to track hours worked and manage tasks and resources, it’s built to adapt to your team’s needs, big or small.
Sign up to ClickUp for free today! ✅
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