Do you know how to choose a scheduling software for your small business? Using the right employee scheduling software should help you cover all your needs and be easy to use. It can help your businesses operate more efficiently by allowing managers to administer and track their workers’ time.
Managers can create and maintain employee schedules, assign workers to jobs, and track everything in real time. Good scheduling practices increase engagement, satisfaction, and retention.
When looking at different apps or software, it’s important to look for one that meets all your small business needs. Here are some features to consider:
What Should I Look for in an Employee Scheduling Software?
What benefits are important to you when you are looking for the best scheduling software? Make a list of problems you have had or that you would like to avoid. For example, do you need one that notifies employees when you make changes to their schedules? You probably want one that can save you time and money. If you are spending too much time scheduling your employees’ time, you aren’t spending it on your business.
You also want your scheduling software to:
Be Easy to Use
It is frustrating using a new software that isn’t easy to use. You want one that you and your employees can learn and use quickly. However, if it is too simple, you may not get all the features you want. Find one that offers all the features you want and is manageable.
Give Value
As a small business owner, your budget may be small. Therefore, you are looking at the cost of the product and the value it gives you. There are many low-cost options online, but again, it is important to list the features that you need against your budget.
Need an Affordable Mobile Scheduling App for Your Employees?
Meet Your Company Needs
What employee scheduling software would help you run your small business easier? For example, you may want one that will assign job codes to your employees if they have to go to different locations or work on different projects. Additionally, you may want a GPS function so you can see if your team is onsite. Your software should solve issues like scheduling changes, employee no-shows, overtime challenges, and budgetary concerns.
Offer Support
It is important to find a scheduling software for your small business that offers good support if you should have an issue. If your software isn’t working or you can’t determine the issue, can you contact the company for help? Will they respond quickly? When researching or testing, ask how their support works. You want to know that you have support if the software goes down so that it can be fixed quickly.
Employee Scheduling Software Features
There are several important features that can help you run your small business effectively. One example is ezClocker which has many features that help small businesses.
Determine if these are features that are important to you:
Solving Scheduling Problems
Do you have a problem with over-scheduling or under-scheduling your employees for jobs? Paper scheduling can cause many inefficiencies. Your employees may not write down their hours correctly or they may show up on the wrong job site. A good software should solve your scheduling issues.
Great for Working on Different Job Sites or Projects
If your team works at different job sites, a good scheduling software will help your employees know what site they need to be on and when. For example, Sandro DeSouza uses ezClocker for his construction business. He says that when he publishes the schedules, the employees get a notification on their phones. He said that one great feature is that when you put in the address of the job, the employees receive a link on the app, and it opens up maps. The app lets his workers know where they are going, how to get there, and what time they need to be there.
A good scheduling software should also include where you can enter notes for a job. You can enter in the materials needed or lists that need to be completed for that job.
GPS function
If your employees are working remotely, the GPS function on ezClocker will show their location once they clock in and out. No more guessing if your team has arrived on the job site. Now you can just look on your phone and see if they arrived on time at the correct location.
Increases Return on Investment (ROI) and Productivity
When investing in a scheduling software you want to know that you will get what you paid for. You want one that will help you bill clients for the work that has been done. If you have the correct hours, you can bill your clients correctly.
Also, you can schedule employees based on the job and budget. It removes the chance of error. Furthermore, when you are accurately able to see how much time is spent on different jobs, you can improve your business pricing, efficiency, productivity, and ROI.
Clock In/Out Anywhere
A great employee scheduling software may offer many other features. For example, employees can clock in/out from anywhere using their PC or mobile device. You will know exactly how much time each employee spent at the job location. No more trusting time that has been written down by your employees.
Managing Time Off
When using paper scheduling, managing time off for your team can be complicated. With ezClocker, managing time off becomes easier when you know who is where and what you need to do in case of absences. You will also know if your staff is working overtime, part-time, or not meeting their work requirements.
When a member of your staff requests off, you should be able to approve it with a good scheduling software. It also keeps a digital record of your employee requests.
Increase Efficiency and Scheduling Conflicts
Some apps may be complicated when using the scheduling feature. David Alvizo of Daniel’s Tile says that ezClocker made it easy. He was facing scheduling challenges because jobs would be changed at the last minute. Before, he had to call each one when there was a scheduling issue. Now he can change everything in less than a minute and his employees see it in the morning.
Having a great scheduling software like ezClocker has helped his and his worker’s efficiency and helped manage scheduling conflicts.
Helps Manage Labor Costs
ezClocker is affordable and also provides good reports where you can audit time entries to make decisions on your labor costs. Once you know your budget, you can make decisions easily to ensure you are not going over your desired budget.
Compliance
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) states that in most cases it allows changing employee schedules for anyone over 16 years of age without prior consent. However, many local governments have passed laws for minimum wage, overtime, breaks, predictive scheduling, and rest time, etc.
Predictive scheduling is giving out employee schedules ahead of their required work shift and penalizing on-call scheduling. It also includes no schedule changes without advanced notice. If employers do not follow their local laws, high penalties may occur such as fines and additional pay. A good scheduling software will help you stay compliant. You can track your employee’s hours and report any overtime when running payroll.
Why Choose ezClocker for Your Scheduling Software?
As mentioned above, ezClocker will improve many scheduling and time-keeping functions for your small business. It will keep your staff updated on any scheduling changes. They can easily request time off, and you can ensure you are compliant with any laws. It is a great automated form of communication. If you need to tell your staff of any tools they need for the job, you can write it in the app. It’s easily accessible with mobile phones and computers.
Because your staff can see schedule changes in real-time, there is also less risk of them missing their shift or going to the wrong location. A great scheduling software can help streamline your scheduling processes.
Regardless of which software you choose, ensure it is able to meet you and your staff’s needs. If you are spending too much time creating schedules manually, that isn’t efficient. You have to manage holidays, vacations, time off, overtime, budgets, and projects. How can you do all of that effectivity when you use a manual process?
