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HotSchedules vs. PHENICIA vs. ScheduleFly

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    HotSchedules

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AHotSchedules 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,…

    $2

    per month per employee

    PHENICIA

    N/AN/AN/AN/A

    ScheduleFly

    Score10 out of 10
    N/AScheduleFly is an employee scheduling solution built for restaurants.N/A
    Pricing
    HotSchedulesPHENICIAScheduleFly
    Editions & Modules
    Essentials
    $2
    per month per employee
    Plus
    $4
    per month per employee
    Quote-Based
    Quote-based pricing
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    HotSchedulesPHENICIAScheduleFly
    Free Trial
    YesNoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details———
    More Pricing Information
    Best Alternatives
    HotSchedulesPHENICIAScheduleFly
    Small Businesses
    Jolt
    Score9.7 out of 10
    Deputy
    Score8.6 out of 10
    When I Work
    Score6.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Jolt
    Score9.7 out of 10
    Harri
    Score6 out of 10
    When I Work
    Score6.5 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprise eTIME, by ADP (discontinued)
    Score10 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    HotSchedulesPHENICIAScheduleFly
    Likelihood to Recommend
    1.0
    (167 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.9
    (12 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.9
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    HotSchedulesPHENICIAScheduleFly
    Likelihood to Recommend
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Diags
    No answers on this topic
    ScheduleFly
    ScheduleFly is well suited for small or large businesses. We have around ten employees, and this works great! If you had a much smaller group to manage/schedule, you might not need something as complex and detailed. For larger groups, this would be perfect and well worth the cost for a subscription.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Diags
    No answers on this topic
    ScheduleFly
    • It works on your cell phone, which is wonderful! Our workers always have their schedules on hand and easily accessible.
    • ScheduleFly works in real-time, so changes and updates are immediate across all platforms
    • I love the message wall. If someone wants to find a replacement or swap hours, they can do so.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Diags
    No answers on this topic
    ScheduleFly
    • It can be costly, depending on the size of your team/staff.
    • Can be complicated and hard for older audience to adapt to and get used to
    • There are some extra features like the weather that aren't necessary and busy up the program.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    HotSchedules and Fourth
    Ease of use, efficiently creating and posting staff schedules.
    Incentivized
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    Diags
    No answers on this topic
    ScheduleFly
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Diags
    No answers on this topic
    ScheduleFly
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Diags
    No answers on this topic
    ScheduleFly
    I have never had to use support directly. Still, I love that even though they seem to be a smaller group that runs it, they are very personable in their email correspondence and supply phone numbers and contact information in case we are ever in a bind. It's nice to know that we have the option to contact them and will get personal support if we need it.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Diags
    No answers on this topic
    ScheduleFly
    ScheduleFly had a lot of extra features that some of the other scheduling software didn't offer. For example, one of the big draws of ScheduleFly was the ability to switch shifts right in the app. Workers continually need to make changes to their schedules, and it can add a lot of time to our plates as we try to put the puzzle together and make sure all shifts are covered. ScheduleFly gives workers a chance to makeshift and schedule changes on their own and leave leadership out of the picture. I love the display and organization of ScheduleFly too! It just seems a lot more organized and put together than some of the other ones we explored.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Diags
    No answers on this topic
    ScheduleFly
    • Keeps everyone organized, which makes the workplace more effective and well-staffed.
    • The older staff doesn't adapt to the program as well and makes things difficult and added a lot of time on our plate to train.
    • Great way to communicate between staff!
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    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.