Best Free Scheduling Software: 5 Great Options for Small Business

For small business owners, it can feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. Fortunately, free scheduling software can go a long way to streamlining time management!

One of the biggest challenges business owners face is employee scheduling. It can get messy and time-consuming without the right organizational tools. Luckily, scheduling apps have all the features you need—and some of them cost absolutely nothing.

With free scheduler software, you can automate schedule building and tracking, facilitate real-time schedule adjustments, review time-off requests, and approve shift trades. You can even automate shift reminders for your team—all in one place.

We’ve come up with five great free scheduling software to save the day—and save you time. We also talk about how scheduling software can let you “set and forget” more than just the weekly schedule and superpower your small business operations.

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What is employee scheduling software?

Employee scheduling software is a lifesaver for small businesses! Scheduling tools help hourly businesses improve team scheduling, time tracking, appointment setting, and team communication—from anywhere, at any time.

Updating shifts, appointments, and meetings in real time means you and your team can track working hours more easily. Scheduling software also helps manage basic scheduling data such as employee availability and time-off requests. 

Better still, it eliminates the arduous process of manual scheduling and the possibility of human error during payroll. Online scheduling software improves productivity by creating a more streamlined work environment, making for happier team members, managers, and customers. 

Don’t rely on disconnected time sheets and punch cards. When your schedule’s running smoothly, your small business runs smoothly, too.

The benefits of using scheduling software.

Scheduling software can schedule more than just your employees. It includes resource management tools to help to manage meeting rooms and equipment, too.

Eliminate confusion with a cloud-based app and put your schedule on cruise control. Real-time updating means you can track scheduling needs and availability efficiently—and so can your whole team.

Keep an up-to-date schedule right in your pocket.

Eliminate no-shows and keep your team members in the loop. With scheduling software, you can:

• Publish and update team schedules regularly so your team will be immediately notified by text, email, and in the app.
• Automatically remind employees of upcoming shifts.
• Add specific notes to shift entries to let your team members know about important instructions or reminders.
• Sync schedules with Google Calendar for seamless schedule management.

Create your ideal schedule in minutes.

Quit stressing about whether the right people are scheduled at the right time. Free scheduler apps can help you simplify the process by:

• Using templates and automatic scheduling to add the “forget it” to “set it”.
• Enlisting more advanced features such as auto-scheduling and shift duplication to track team members’ availability—say goodbye to scheduling conflicts!
• Creating schedules that match up with your labor targets and busiest time slots.
• Finding coverage at the last minute by easily posting open shifts and notifying available employees.

Make sure you always have coverage.

No more going back and forth between team members. Scheduling software lets you track availability, shift trades, and manage coverage for time-off requests without a second thought.

• Employees manage their time off and availability directly in the app.
• Add your team’s availability to the schedule automatically and don’t lose track of requests.
• Set date, time, and maximum limits to time-off requests.
• Employees can coordinate shift trades with each other in the app. No more boss buffer!
• Seamlessly manage schedules and appointments across multiple locations.

Track hours and make adjustments in real time.

Out for the day? No problem. Track and optimize labor costs, adjust schedules on the go, get alerts when employees are late or approaching overtime limits, and message employees for a coverage emergency from anywhere in the world. 

You can even integrate with video conferencing software for seamless remote team coordination. That’s the power of mobile, cloud-based scheduling.

Easy team communication.

In-app messaging tools make it super simple for team members to stay in contact with you and each other. Send critical updates and information, notify your team about shifts, and let your team message each other to coordinate shift trades.

• Tools like Picktime and Calendly can even help you schedule meetings and coordinate team activities.

Get the 5 best free scheduling software options.

You’ve got plenty of options when picking out the best scheduling software for your small business. These are the top five that we think include the most beneficial features.

1. Homebase – Best employee scheduling & time tracking software with GPS

Homebase is an employee management app designed for small service-based businesses in industries like retail, hospitality, education, and beauty. Our all-in-one tool helps you streamline employee scheduling and time tracking. It even includes features like team calendars, time clocks, automatic notifications, and budget forecasting.

The interface is easy to use, simple to onboard, and includes responsive customer support. It includes extensive integration capabilities to work in tandem with your other software systems and messaging tools. 

The Basic Plan is free—forever—for one location with up to 20 employees. Additional paid plans give you access to additional resource management features. For businesses processing over $250K per year, custom pricing plans even include a dedicated account manager.

2. Connecteam – Best free scheduling tool with customizable templates and unlimited checklists

Connecteam is an employee scheduling app that helps you instantly create and share employee schedules with your non-desk teams. Keep every shift running smoothly by building schedules with templates that duplicate or auto-schedule. 

With Connecteam, you can set regulatory limitations to help spot inconsistencies and get real-time insights from digital forms and checklists. Get started with time management, operations management, and employee onboarding with a 14-day free trial. A custom booking page can even help you streamline your client booking process.

3. Acuity Scheduling – Best for appointment-based shift scheduling or recurring appointments

Acuity Scheduling is a free app designed to manage client scheduling, secure payments, and workflow automation. It gives you access to tools meant to help you schedule and earn on your own terms.

This no-cost scheduling software lets you customize how and when clients can book with you, host virtual appointments, and block off personal time. Easily automate appointment bookings and let clients cancel or reschedule their own appointments. Plus, you can create custom intake forms to personalize the customer experience. 

Start a free trial—no credit card needed. Acuity Scheduling also offers a customizable online booking page that allows clients to book appointments 24/7.

4. Asana – Best free employee scheduler software for Kanban-style task scheduling

Asana is a work management platform that allows you to set company-wide goals, manage strategic planning, and get work done within a single platform. Increase efficiency across departments with tools to automate workflows, keep employees focused, and enable better real-time decisions.

As a Kanban-style task scheduler, Asana is a visual workflow software. Asana has a Personal Plan for individuals and small teams at no charge, along with other plan options with additional features.  Create a professional booking page with Asana to showcase your business’s services and availability.

5. TIMIFY – Best free resource tracking and scheduling software for small businesses

TIMIFY is an instant appointment-booking solution for your customers that includes an online calendar. Manage all your human and physical resources online and streamline team efficiency by allocating the resources needed for a service in advance with this hassle-free tool. .

Manage working and booking hours, plus create dependencies to auto-reserve essential resources for each booking. The Classic Plan with TIMIFY has online booking essentials for solo entrepreneurs at no cost, and additional paid plans you can try for free for a limited time. Additionally, TIMIFY offers free booking software that allows customers to self-schedule appointments 24/7.

Take a load off. Simplify employee scheduling for free.

Don’t rely on time-consuming, costly, and disorganized manual scheduling processes to make your business tick. Free scheduler software are some of the best ways to streamline scheduling, manage time clocks, and communicate better with your team. Your small business will thank you—and your team will, too. 

Put an end to scheduling chaos— let software like Homebase take a load off. Our all-in-one free scheduling app will help elevate your team’s performance, improve operations, and create a happier, more productive team.

Get started for free today.

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