A Review of the Best Scheduling Software for Restaurants to Simplify Employee Management

In the competitive world of UK hospitality, managing a restaurant’s workforce efficiently is essential for maintaining smooth operations, delivering excellent customer service, and maximising profitability. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by using specialised scheduling software designed for the restaurant industry. With the right tool, restaurant managers can optimise employee shifts, reduce labour costs, and improve staff satisfaction. In this blog, we’ll review some of the best UK scheduling software options that can help streamline employee management in your restaurant.

Deputy

Overview: Deputy is a popular workforce management software used widely across the UK hospitality sector. It simplifies employee scheduling while providing valuable insights into labour costs and performance, making it a great tool for restaurants looking to streamline their operations.

Key Features:

• Easy Shift Scheduling: Deputy’s intuitive platform allows managers to create, share, and adjust schedules quickly, with the ability to track employee availability and preferences.
• Mobile Access: Employees can view their schedules, swap shifts, and request time off through the mobile app, making communication between staff and management seamless.
• Time and Attendance: Deputy automatically tracks clock-in and clock-out times, ensuring accurate payroll and reducing the risk of time theft.
• Labour Cost Management: With real-time insights into staffing costs, restaurant managers can ensure they stay within budget and avoid overscheduling.

Why It’s Great for Restaurants: Deputy is ideal for UK restaurants due to its ease of use, automation features, and comprehensive employee management tools. The ability to track labour costs and performance in real-time helps ensure your restaurant runs efficiently and profitably.

7shifts

Overview: 7shifts is a restaurant-focused scheduling software that simplifies shift management while enhancing team communication. It’s designed to address the unique challenges of the hospitality industry, making it one of the top choices for UK restaurant owners.

Key Features:

• Efficient Scheduling: With a drag-and-drop interface, 7shifts allows managers to easily create, adjust, and share schedules with their teams.
• Team Communication: Built-in messaging features enable direct communication between managers and staff, reducing miscommunications and scheduling conflicts.
• Labour Cost Forecasting: The software provides real-time labour cost tracking, helping you stay on budget while ensuring adequate staffing during peak times.
• Mobile Access: Employees can access their schedules, request shift swaps, and clock in/out using the 7shifts app.

Why It’s Great for Restaurants: 7shifts is tailored to the needs of restaurants, offering simple, flexible scheduling combined with powerful reporting features. Its user-friendly interface and focus on team communication make it a great choice for UK restaurants looking to improve efficiency.

HotSchedules

Overview: HotSchedules is a well-established scheduling platform, widely used in the UK hospitality industry. Known for its robust features, it helps restaurant managers streamline scheduling while providing deep insights into labour costs, staff performance, and operational efficiency.

Key Features:

• Advanced Scheduling Tools: Managers can create and edit schedules quickly using HotSchedules’ easy-to-use interface, which includes features like shift swapping and coverage alerts.
• Real-Time Labour Reporting: HotSchedules provides detailed reports on staffing costs, sales data, and performance metrics, allowing managers to make data-driven decisions.
• Mobile App: The mobile app allows employees to manage their shifts, communicate with managers, and access key schedule information on the go.
• Integration with Payroll Systems: HotSchedules integrates with popular payroll software, making it easier to calculate wages based on actual hours worked.

Why It’s Great for Restaurants: HotSchedules stands out for its deep integration with both scheduling and labour cost management. With features like real-time labour reporting and the ability to monitor staffing performance, it’s ideal for larger UK restaurants that need to optimise every aspect of workforce management.

RotaCloud

Overview: RotaCloud is a UK-based scheduling software that’s designed to simplify rota creation and improve communication between managers and employees. Its user-friendly features and flexibility make it an excellent choice for restaurants of all sizes.

Key Features:

• Drag-and-Drop Scheduling: RotaCloud allows managers to create rotas quickly and efficiently using its drag-and-drop functionality.
• Employee Availability: Managers can view and manage employee availability, making it easier to allocate shifts based on staff preferences and availability.
• Mobile Access: The RotaCloud app allows employees to view their schedules, swap shifts, and request time off directly from their smartphones.
• Labour Cost Tracking: RotaCloud offers an integrated labour cost tracker, helping restaurants stay on budget by monitoring staffing costs in real time.

Why It’s Great for Restaurants: RotaCloud’s focus on simplicity and ease of use makes it an ideal choice for smaller to medium-sized restaurants. Its flexible features allow for efficient scheduling while ensuring that staff are satisfied with their working hours.

Plum

Overview: Plum is a UK-based workforce management platform designed to simplify employee scheduling while improving operational efficiency. It is particularly suited for restaurants that want a tool that integrates smoothly with other business functions.

Key Features:

• Streamlined Scheduling: Plum’s scheduling tools allow restaurant managers to create rotas based on employee availability, skill sets, and preferences.
• Real-Time Notifications: Employees receive real-time notifications of schedule updates, ensuring they’re always informed of changes.
• Payroll Integration: Plum integrates with popular payroll systems, helping restaurant managers ensure that pay is accurate and timely.
• Reporting: The platform provides detailed reports on staff performance, hours worked, and labour costs, giving managers the data they need to optimise scheduling.

Why It’s Great for Restaurants: Plum offers a comprehensive solution for managing both scheduling and payroll, making it ideal for UK restaurants that want to streamline their operations. Its focus on employee communication and real-time updates ensures smooth shifts and happier staff.

Timesheets.com

Overview: Timesheets.com is an easy-to-use employee scheduling software that’s popular with UK restaurants looking to manage time tracking and schedules in one platform. While it is more basic than some other options, it’s a great choice for smaller establishments or those new to scheduling software.

Key Features:

• Simple Scheduling: Timesheets.com provides an easy-to-use interface for creating and managing employee schedules.
• Time Tracking: Employees can clock in and out with the app, making it easy to track hours worked and avoid time theft.
• Payroll Integration: Timesheets.com integrates with payroll systems to ensure accurate pay calculations based on actual working hours.
• Customisable Alerts: Managers can set up alerts to notify employees of upcoming shifts or changes.

Why It’s Great for Restaurants: Timesheets.com is ideal for smaller restaurants looking for a straightforward, no-fuss scheduling solution. Its simplicity and focus on time tracking make it an affordable and practical option for restaurants with basic scheduling needs.

Conclusion

Selecting the right scheduling software is key to optimising employee management in your restaurant. Whether you’re a small café or a large restaurant, there’s a range of UK-based scheduling software designed to meet your needs. From robust platforms like Deputy and HotSchedules to user-friendly options like RotaCloud and Timesheets.com, each tool offers unique features to improve scheduling efficiency, reduce labour costs, and enhance employee satisfaction. By choosing the right solution for your restaurant, you can streamline operations and focus on delivering an exceptional dining experience.