Homebase Reviews

Pros

I thoroughly enjoy the Homebase platform and its ease of use. Everything is color coordinated, which is my favorite part. I use this to schedule my employees for all my locations. My employees enjoy it too because they can request time off, trade shifts, and see when they are scheduled on their phone. I also love the stats where I can keep track of sales and labor - and it links up all my locations which is a plus!

Cons

There honestly isn't anything I dislike about the software. I use it mainly for scheduling, but it does so much more than that. I would maybe like to customize admin roles a little more for better security, but that isn't entirely necessary.

Pros

I really like the geo clock and functioning with employees using their mobile phones instead of store equipment

Cons

Cost and reporting could be more detailed to be more HR equipped

Alternatives Considered

Square Point of Sale

Reasons for Choosing Homebase

Easier to make schedule

Switched From

Hubworks Suite

Reasons for Switching to Homebase

Easier to use

Pros

How easy friendly to use, can communicate with staff and changes are not difficult.When I have had issue, the support is great and is done in a timely matter.

Cons

Not being able to print out a 2 week schedule that is easy to see on 1 page.

Pros

In 2018 everything was so great and at an incredible price, by my second year as a monthly subscriber I upgraded my plan, in spite of the problem integrating homebase timecards with my QuickBooks payroll, and had to manually enter the data personally. I loved being able to see the total hours per employee when creating a schedule, until one day it disappeared. Still undeterred, I loved the ability to access the app from any mobile device and desktop. Only androids & Desktops access the app easily and iphones or ipads come with headaches. I fell in love with the ease, simplicity and it's sexy platform look of this time tracking/management app, until one day everything changed and I lost my ability to view time cards all on one screen. Little issues were just an alert in the far upper right corner like a nudge. Now they scream in double size that takes up half the monitor, leaving only an inch or two to view time cards accompanied with a lot of scrolling. Nowadays I'm afraid to login and be greeted by a scowling dashboard with a list of issues nagging to be resolved. Issues caused by employees that can't log in or out and got tired of uninstalling and reinstalling the app as a temporary fix. I knew my relationship with homebase was reaching a bitter end when without so much as a "heads up" warning there would be an increase to my subscription (almost $20.00 more). When I said "Oh h#!! NO!" and lowered it to essentials...

Cons

I was denied the ability to manage my PTO mandated sick leave pay feature that never matched QuickBooks anyway, and the feature to assign different roles/rate of pay for different jobs among my existing employees. I now have a default pay rate/role homebase deems as "fitting". After a 5 year relationship with all the little things I loved, I can have back if I pay $20.00 more a month. Out of some "disturbed" sense I felt I owed to Homebase, I emailed support with an offer to pay a small increase but not at their ridiculous price with it's 15 features included that I would never use. If they can't find my request reasonable and let me pay only for what I use, I will fly into the arms of another app that gives me the basic features for free. The email was sent last week and long past the "24 hour" promise to respond. I never called out their promised "money back guarantee" after 5 years and the inability to integrate their application with my payroll system......Seriously? How much alimony is it worth? No, it's too late now. I'm divorcing homebase from my company forever.

Pros

This is a business tool that allows professionals to plan their strategic plans without problems, it has calendar systems and notifications for better efficiency, it is the type of tool that as a professional is quite necessary when working with large amounts of information constantly, It also allows monitoring and more functions that this tool presents

Cons

I have no problems or it has not stopped working for me since I understood the importance of this tool, it is generally the type of tool for professionals with heavy workloads or helping them reduce them and improve the environment in which they work

Pros

It’s nice to get a schedule that is easy to read, and easy to edit.

Cons

Nothing. It’s an easy product to get used to

Pros

We currently use the free option. It works great for us!

Cons

Due to only using the free option, some of our data is unable to be retrieved at a later date.

Pros

Love how easy it is to use and understand.

Cons

It doesn't track everywhere an employee goes while clocked in.

Pros

This software is fantastic! I can easily make schedules for my employees and it’s easy for them to receive them.

Cons

I wish the free version had a few more features but I’m very happy with what you do get.

Pros

It is an easy cloud based time tracking and scheduling for human resource personnel to handle timesheets and payroll. I like cos it is very easy to use.

Cons

There are not any cons for this human resource scheduling software.

Pros

I've used this for so long now it is hard to imagine what I'd do without it. We began using it as a simple time clock, and it has slowly become our go to for hiring, time tracking, time off, and employee messaging. If you have a mostly hourly workforce it is super simple to setup, and as your business grows it has helpful and intuitive tools to make your life easier. Their support in my experience can be a bit disorganized, but they always get the job done and are easy to work with.

Cons

Not as helpful for salaried employees as it is for hourly employees in my experience. The lower tiers lack some of the onboarding functionality and digital form filing I'd like it to have, but I think this may have been added recently.

Alternatives Considered

BambooHR

Reasons for Switching to Homebase

Homebase wins handily over BambooHR when it comes to hourly employees, and the value and ease of use it brings to busy workplaces.

Pros

First off......It is free for basic features. I love that it has an app for phone and tablet use. It is very intuitive and easy to learn. Staff can track their time and their salary. I could make a huge list here, but basically it is the software we needed, but now we can't live without it.

Cons

Some of the features are a little on the expensive side when purchasing plans, but mostly because of our exchange rate.

Alternatives Considered

7shifts, Deputy and BambooHR

Reasons for Choosing Homebase

Too much wasted time on scheduling and time tracking. We didn't know we could find a single software that had the complete solution.

Reasons for Switching to Homebase

We felt that Homebase was much more inclusive overall allowing us to complete almost anything payroll related within one app.

Pros

What I like most about Homebase is that it doesn't break the bank to put in a virtual timeclock system. It integrates with Quickbooks online and it is easy to use.

Cons

1. It does allow for a little customization, but not advanced enough for the way I run payroll.
2. It does not send separate regular hours and overtime hours to QBO.

Alternatives Considered

Timesheets.com

Reasons for Switching to Homebase

100% for the price difference. Timesheets is so overpriced. Thank you for providing your software for such a reasonable amount of money. It makes a huge difference during this pandemic.

Pros

I really value the integration with Square POS that allows me to use the analytical tools within Homebase. It's really helpful for me to be able to see my labor estimates and even the weather (coffee is largely dependent on weather). I value the real-time feedback on my labor costs as well. I also appreciate the flexibility of the timecard programming that allows the real world to happen and for callouts to not totally disrupt my timecards. We LOVE your integration with Gusto that makes my payroll incredibly easy. I came into this position expecting to drop your platform for hotschedules, but I've stuck with it because you integrate really well.

Cons

I am currently having problems with your Square POS integration and it's causing me to not enjoy the best parts of your program. Unfortunately your technical support is so backlogged that I get calls late at night when I can't access the program to make a fix.

Pros

It is nice to choose the apps that will work for your type of business. We are a sports bar, and it was perfect for us. It feels so good to not have a bunch of added items you dont use on your POS!!!

Cons

It seems to slow up at times, but it resolves quickly.
I don't like that we purchased a tablet and that will be outdated so it no longer is supported or provided updates. The tablet is convenient, easy to use and we use it for training new staff!

Alternatives Considered

Square Point of Sale and Toast POS

Reasons for Switching to Homebase

it was cost effective for what we wanted to do.

Pros

Most of our staff is young and are on their phones all the time anyways. This app made scheduling a breeze with requests to switch shifts and time off easy to fill and move around hours. Plus there was no more second guessing what time you were scheduled for or who is off. Also you have the ability to message staff through the app which has made interoffice communication much better!

Cons

The free version only allows 1 manager- I recommend upgrading and letting a manager from every department be able to manage their employees coverage. otherwise it gets a bit overwhelming for 1 manager. Occasionally the app will not let me in asking me to enter a verification code, that is a bit annoying.

Alternatives Considered

UKG Ready

Reasons for Switching to Homebase

the free trial is what worked well for us, that way we could try it our before we invested to much time into it

Pros

I love that there is an app connected to the schedule and other features! A huge plus is my team being able to put in their own time off, and request shift trades or covers through the app as well.

Cons

The scheduler can run slowly, and it would be nice to be able to organize job applicants a little better.

Pros

I get to schedule employees and they get to see it on their phones, check schedules, ask for time off, trade shifts, and get reminded to come to work an hour before their shift starts! I can change timecards on the back end if I need to, see how many hours I have scheduled, and estimate what payroll will be. It's easy to clock in and out in the app and Homebase keeps up with the times for pertinent questions to ask when they clock in.

Cons

Trying to shedule a shift from the app will make the schedule go off. You put in one time and then it changes it 2 hours for some reason, not a big deal, it usually schedule from my laptop anyway.

Alternatives Considered

7shifts

Reasons for Switching to Homebase

It had the features that I needed; multiple shifts per day and changing timecards for free!

Pros

Homebase is a must-have for me. I do the schedule, communicate with team members and prospective hires and it integrates with square for spot number analysis.

Cons

Team members have given me feedback that it's has been occasionally glitchy to sign in and rarely to clock in. Thankfully there is the web time clock option as an alternative when that happens. I am not sure if this has been resolved, b/c no one has complained of this in the last month at the time of this writing.

Alternatives Considered

Square Point of Sale

Reasons for Switching to Homebase

Homebase had all of the features I needed in one software and it's easy to implement. Also they are consistently adding new features.

Pros

It's VERY user friendly, makes scheduling extremely easy. Also makes tracking hours and Labor$ easy as well. I also like the option of group messaging which enable s managers to communicate and issues or changes efficiently.

Cons

When an employee fills in their "availability" on Homebase, I personally would do away with the option that says "preferred' and replace it with the word "available" The reason:
whenever I copy a schedule to the following week, I can easily accidently schedule employees on days the did not, or weren't able to work, because the system would allow me to schedule them outside their preference. The way I solved this issue was by telling my employees to put in the availability as "unavailable" that way, whenever I would schedule them on days, or hours, they weren't available to work, the system would only then alert me that they can't work those hours!!
With that being said, I don't understand why the "preferred" option is even there! :) I don't care what they prefer, I want to know when they can't work so I know what NOT to schedule them.
you're welcome :)
I have called in the past, twice, and explained my suggestion, but no one seemed to get what I'm talking about, maybe because they're software engineers and not business managers.

Pros

The scheduling feature and time clock were the two most important features in implementing this software. But since then, the Hiring feature has become so valuable. Honestly every feature they offer is superb and what a great value.

Cons

Honestly, I can't think of anything I don't like about it.

Pros

The reason that I started using g homebase was because it is linked to Square. However, even if I stopped using square I would still use homebase!

Cons

Some of the reports are difficult to configure and very time consuming to drill down to the data we need

Alternatives Considered

When I Work

Reasons for Choosing Homebase

Home base was linked to square

Switched From

Justworks

Reasons for Switching to Homebase

Again because HomeBase was linked to square

Pros

Homebase is easy to use, quick, and effective. There is practically no learning curve for new employees. Scheduling is a breeze, as is running reports for payroll. It gives me quick reporting to see my business performance, even when I'm not there I can see how the shops are performing. Clock-in features work great. Customer service and troubleshooting (not that you'll even need it) are seriously amazing. This team treats you like your problem is their main priority.

Cons

I wish the date selection feature still said the day of the week like it used to. It says July 10 2019, but it used to say Wednesday July 10 2019. I mean... that's all I can think of that I would change... and that's kind of a non-issue.

Pros

I think it is fairly simple to use and for all questions I have I generally get quick answers from support. The free HR support offered during the pandemic was very generous and we ended up signing up. In past reviews I have stated that I think your pricing should be based on a sliding scale depending on how many employees a business has. For someone like myself, who only has 2 hourly employees I don't need to use HR pro much and may not be able to justify $800+ for annual renewal for minimal assist and usage. I do like the onboarding paperwork feature that was added as well.

Cons

I don't like that when publishing a schedule, the default on my version is to update all employees. Unfortunately, we had to furlough employees and if I don't manually change it, it defaults to alert all on our team even though they don't have a schedule or employed by us currently.

Pros

The core feature we needed was employee time tracking, but we have started using this for team communication and posting new jobs and tracking applicants.

Cons

I wish I could easier audit when the manager edits clock ins and clock outs.

Alternatives Considered

Clover

Reasons for Switching to Homebase

Better price.