To replace a rostering and payroll app for a shift-based team, decide first whether you need local pay-rule handling built in. If you do, look at the rostering and payroll suites. If you only need rosters and a time clock, general scheduling tools and simple rota planners give you a much wider choice.
RosterElf's own homepage leads with Australian award rates and Xero or MYOB payroll, and that tells you the first thing to settle before you look anywhere else. The ten options below, in no particular order, range from full workforce suites to a simple rota you can run in a browser.
Ten rostering options compared
| Tool | Kind of tool | Built for |
|---|---|---|
| Buddy Punch | Time clock with scheduling | Hourly staff spread across more than one site |
| Connecteam | Frontline team app | Scheduling, time tracking, chat and HR in one app |
| Deputy | Scheduling, HR and payroll | Scheduling with AI labour forecasting and payroll |
| Findmyshift | Simple staff rotas | Very small teams wanting a browser-based rota |
| Humanforce | Workforce management suite | Rostering through to payroll, HR and benefits |
| Nowsta | Hourly workforce platform | Hourly and contingent staff from sourcing to payroll |
| ShiftForce (ShiftNote) | Restaurant logbook and rota | Restaurants and hotels needing a manager logbook too |
| Sling | Free shift scheduling | Shift planning plus staff messaging for small teams |
| Tanda | Payroll, rostering and HR | Hourly businesses that need award interpretation |
| Zoomshift | Work schedule maker | Quick online schedules with a time clock |
Do you need local pay rules handled for you?
This is the question that changes the whole shortlist. If your staff's pay depends on Australian awards, penalty rates or similar rules, you'll want software that interprets those rules and passes clean timesheets to payroll. Of the tools here, Tanda is the one whose own page leads with award interpretation.
Pay rules are a legal matter, and requirements vary by industry and by award. Software can apply the rules you set up, but it's still worth checking your obligations with the Fair Work Ombudsman or your own adviser before you rely on any tool's settings.
If you don't need any of that, and you just want rosters people can see on their phone plus a reliable time clock, the field widens a lot, and almost everything below is open to you.
Three fits for shift-based teams
Rostering, HR and payroll suites. Humanforce covers rostering, time and attendance, payroll, HR, talent and benefits, and pitches itself at organisations where every shift shapes service and care. Deputy adds AI labour forecasting to scheduling, HR and payroll. Nowsta is built for hourly and contingent staff, from sourcing them through to paying them.
General scheduling and time clocks. Buddy Punch focuses on time tracking for staff who work in more than one place. Connecteam brings scheduling, time tracking, chat and HR into one frontline app. Zoomshift is a work schedule maker with a time clock for hourly staff. Sling pairs shift scheduling with team messaging and states a free plan.
Simple rota planners. Findmyshift runs in a browser with drag and drop shift planning, which is often enough for a very small team that just needs everyone to know when they're on.
A renamed restaurant tool
One name may confuse you. ShiftNote now trades as ShiftForce, so older reviews and forum threads may use the old name. It's a manager logbook and scheduling app for restaurants and hotels, which makes it narrower than the others, but useful if shift handovers matter as much as the rota itself.
All ten, A to Z
Buddy Punch
Best for: Employers with hourly staff working in more than one place who want time and location tracking alongside scheduling, time-off and payroll tools.
Connecteam
Best for: Frontline teams tired of scattered tools who want scheduling, time tracking, communication and HR in one simple app, as the vendor pitches it.
Deputy
Best for: Businesses wanting employee scheduling, HR, payroll and AI labour forecasting in one place, built to put the right people on at the right time.
Findmyshift
Best for: Very small teams who want drag and drop rota planning in a browser with nothing to install; the vendor states a free-forever tier.
Humanforce
Best for: Organisations where shifts shape service and care, wanting rostering, time and attendance, payroll, HR, talent and benefits on one platform.
Nowsta
Best for: Employers mixing hourly and contingent staff who want to source, schedule, manage and pay that workforce from a single interface, per the vendor.
ShiftForce (ShiftNote)
Best for: Restaurant and hotel managers who want a shared manager logbook alongside employee scheduling, from the tool formerly called ShiftNote.
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Sling
Best for: Small teams who want shift scheduling and planning with staff communication built in; the vendor states a free plan.
Tanda
Best for: Businesses hiring hourly employees who need rostering, HR and payroll with award interpretation, so pay matches the time worked, in the vendor's words.
Zoomshift
Best for: Managers of hourly employees who want to build online work schedules quickly and run the time clock from the same place.
My advice for owners and rota managers
Test a real fortnight of shifts before you switch, and make sure it includes a public holiday. That's where pay rules, swaps and last-minute cover all collide, and it's where weaker tools show their gaps. A quiet week in the middle of the month won't tell you much.
If your payroll runs through Xero or MYOB, ask each vendor to show the export or connection working with your own data, not a demo file. If you're a team of a handful of people, don't buy a suite you'll never grow into; a simple rota planner may be all you need. For more choices, see my employee scheduling software guide and the list of 7shifts alternatives.
Before you move your roster
- Export your staff list, availability and pay settings so nothing has to be retyped from memory.
- Run the old and new systems side by side for one pay cycle and compare the timesheets.
- Tell staff which app to download, and the date the old one stops.
- Keep a copy of past timesheets in case you need them later.
Do you make rostering or employee scheduling software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
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Frequently asked questions
What's rostering software?
It lets you build shift rosters, share them with staff, handle swaps and leave, and usually record when people clock on and off. Some tools also turn those hours into timesheets for payroll.
Do I need award interpretation?
If your staff's pay depends on Australian awards or similar rules, software that applies those rules saves a lot of manual checking. Requirements vary, so confirm your obligations with the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Can a free scheduling tool work for a small business?
For a small team that only needs rosters and shift messages, often yes. Check what's included on any free plan, and whether timesheets and payroll exports need an upgrade.
Is ShiftNote the same as ShiftForce?
Yes. The vendor's own page says ShiftNote is now ShiftForce, so you'll see both names in older reviews.
How do I test a rostering app fairly?
Roster a real fortnight, including a public holiday and a few shift swaps. Then compare the timesheets and pay output against what you'd have worked out by hand.
Should I move payroll and rostering at the same time?
Not if you can help it. Move rostering first, check timesheets for a cycle, then move payroll, so a problem in one doesn't hide inside the other.
