BigTime Software vs. HotSchedules

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
BigTime Software
Score 7.1 out of 10
N/A
BigTime IQ is time and expense tracking software from Chicago-based BigTime Software.
$20
User per Month
HotSchedules
Score 6.2 out of 10
N/A
HotSchedules is a cloud-based scheduling, labor and communication management software solution serving the restaurant and hospitality industry. According to the vendor, key benefits include: Build & Communicate Schedules The scheduling and labor management software reduces the time it takes managers to create and communicate schedules. All scheduling and employee information is stored in one central location, so managers have access to time-off requests,…N/A
Pricing
BigTime SoftwareHotSchedules
Editions & Modules
Essentials
$20
User per Month
Advanced
$35
User per Month
Premier
$45
User per Month
Projector
$60
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BigTime SoftwareHotSchedules
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BigTime SoftwareHotSchedules
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
BigTime SoftwareHotSchedules
Small Businesses
Atera
Atera
Score 8.9 out of 10
7shifts
7shifts
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Planview AdaptiveWork
Planview AdaptiveWork
Score 6.8 out of 10
Jolt
Jolt
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Planview AdaptiveWork
Planview AdaptiveWork
Score 6.8 out of 10

No answers on this topic

All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BigTime SoftwareHotSchedules
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(31 ratings)
1.0
(167 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.2
(3 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Usability
8.6
(2 ratings)
8.9
(12 ratings)
Availability
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(4 ratings)
8.9
(4 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BigTime SoftwareHotSchedules
Likelihood to Recommend
BigTime Software
I believe it is well suited for our industry! We are professional services consulting firm and we need this! However if there is a smaller company who does not need to track these items, then they should not use this big of a platform
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HotSchedules and Fourth
For small to medium-sized companies HotSchedules works great when business is very static. If you are simply using HotSchedules for a schedule writing tool, it is phenomenal. However, it does miss the mark as a labor control software. Needs more controls to keep managers aware of spending versus historical sales data.
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Pros
BigTime Software
  • I like the functionality of being able to make payments electronically and the amount of banks and payment methods that are available.
  • Another very useful feature of this tool is that the system allows to set a parameter to perform automatic invoices.
  • I also really like the amount of templates that this tool has. Since it allows us to make customizable reports to our clients.
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HotSchedules and Fourth
  • Communication is so simple on HotSchedules. Whether it is communicating a new schedule release, or a quick note about tonight's shift we as managers are able to easily communicate and know that it will reach our team through text notifications, or email notifications.
  • The Meal Break planning tool is very useful in being able to help our floor leaders clearly understand and plan for what breaks are needed throughout the shift. This allows them to come up with a strategic game plan quickly and spend more time with our guests.
  • Shift Swaps and Releases are so seamless. This is our favorite tool as it makes helping our team cover shifts extremely easy and painless. On the flip side it also makes staff who want more hours be able to find what is available in real time.
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Cons
BigTime Software
  • For some types of projects, we are unable to use BigTime's invoicing feature. It would be nice if we could further customize invoices to fit our needs. We still have to use Quickbooks to complete certain invoices.
  • Being able to create Purchase Orders in BigTime would be extremely useful to us. We currently use Quickbooks for this.
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HotSchedules and Fourth
  • Clocking In and out can be a little slow. It takes longer to clock in then our previous method. Before we just had a card you swiped and it would clock you in. Took 2 seconds. Now with the Hotschdules method we use it take 30 seconds or so. Not a huge issue but it can add up if you have one computer and a line of employees waiting to clock in.
  • Time Cards. It does not allow you to view someones current time until the "punch" has ended. If the manager would like to check what time the employee clocked in/out from lunch they have to wait until the employee has clocked out for the day before the record is generated. As a shift lead you may send and employee to lunch but forget to note what time you sent them. Awhile passes and you feel like they should be back by now, so you want to go in and see what time they left for lunch but it does not show you that punch record because the employee is still "clocked in" they are just on their "Meal Break"
  • The ability to customize the restrictions for Clocking in and out. You can set it up so that employees can only clock in from a specific location, however if you have a manager who is allowed to work from home they would not be able to clock in without being at the same location as set in the software. It would be nice to see it able to be customized per user.
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Likelihood to Renew
BigTime Software
Its been a huge help in saving time and making billing more efficient. Would like to see the product grow and be able to continue to use it.
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HotSchedules and Fourth
Ease of use, efficiently creating and posting staff schedules.
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Usability
BigTime Software
Staff adapted to the new timesheets immediately. The invoice platform is nice and tracking WIP is great! Color backgrounds still need work. The new vibrant mode is OK. still trying it out.
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HotSchedules and Fourth
6 Years of Experience provides me the insight on the upgrades and changes that HotSchedules has done to improve the experience of its users. There are so many features that we still have not started or used to the fullest, but we believe that we are currently getting a strong value out of the money that is paid for this product.
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Reliability and Availability
BigTime Software
BigTime is available 99% of the time. At times there are bugs, but most are resolved quickly
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HotSchedules and Fourth
No answers on this topic
Performance
BigTime Software
have not noticed a slow integration issue using QBO
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HotSchedules and Fourth
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
BigTime Software
The support is amazing! They are always available through the chat interface in the program. Each support person has fully answered my questions the first time. I have had a positive experience with each inquiry. It is very important to me that I am able to get instant access to help so that I can make the most of the software and all of its capabilities.
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HotSchedules and Fourth
On rare occasions a phone call has been required to find the solution to a problem, the HotSchedules response staff have been helpful, courteous, and genuinely seem to care for their clients and take pride in what they do. The consistent development and fine tuning of the platform, interface, and mobile environment shows that this is not a program full of people who rest on their laurels.
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Implementation Rating
BigTime Software
Monte and Tyler have been helpful with report assistance I called on recently
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HotSchedules and Fourth
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
BigTime Software
I liked the client management, but it didn't do time tracking, billing or syncing with quickbooks. It was too robust for my needs. I tried it for the client management and thought I might use it along with bigtime, but it was too cumbersome and would involve too much double entry. And it didn't track time or bill which are necessary functions
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HotSchedules and Fourth
I have not used any other Scheduling software for employees. As a campground manager in the summer season, we are using campground master for reservations. it is very similar in process to employee scheduling. the ability to the user of that program to set up their own parameters for time and reservations is something that would benefit the employee scheduling software.
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Scalability
BigTime Software
The product is useful for faster billing and efficient timesheet logs. I do like the report features however there are many options and can be overwhelming for the user. It is most helpful to set up reports speaking to an agent to ensure the right fields are set, etc.
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HotSchedules and Fourth
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
BigTime Software
  • Before BigTime, we were using Excel to track everything, creating invoices, and run reports. Getting on BigTime has saved us tons of time and effort which equates to dollars saved on labor.
  • From a legal standpoint, BigTime has allowed us to be organized and prepared in the event we would need to present financial details to anyone.
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HotSchedules and Fourth
  • Saving time on scheduling means our managers can focus more on guest experience, managing the floor and other areas that contribute to the success of our business.
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ScreenShots

BigTime Software Screenshots

Screenshot of BigTime Wallet provides clients with a personalized experience to pay on time from anywhere, in one click.Screenshot of A big-picture view into operational insights to make adjustments to how resources are managed.Screenshot of Real-time, actionable insights for professional services firms.Screenshot of The platform is designed to work within existing workflows and software stack, acting as a single source of truth for data.Screenshot of BigTime's invoicing engine supports dozens of industry-standard billing scenarios and enough options to satisfy exacting customer needs.

HotSchedules Screenshots

Screenshot of Time-Off, Availability, Employee Hours, Sales Volume are all available in the scheduler.Screenshot of Employees are able to swap and pick-up shifts from the HotSchedules Mobile App. All shift changes or requests require a manager's approval.Screenshot of Managers and employees can communicate with each other from the mobile and web apps - from anywhere and at anytime.Screenshot of Employees can submit a time-off, request - paid, or unpaid - and can request to work or request off right from the mobile app.Screenshot of Managers can view sales and labor data from their phone.