HotSchedules Reviews

Intuitive User interface
Easy to add new users
Great scheduling utility
incredible for contacting staff on a large scale
Has a mobile app that users can use

The mobile app costs money so most of my staff refuses to download this app which sends them push notifications in the event I need to contact them all. I believe that since we are already paying to use the software this app should be free to download. Without a login the application is useless so the fact you need to pay to download the app is very ridiculous.

HotSchedules is user friendly and the easiest way to keep your schedule in the palm of your hand. Being busy with two jobs is hard and this software helps me keep my availability up to date and to make necessary changes when needed. Being able to pick up shifts without any phone calls is great. I would highly recommend for any type of company that requires scheduling many employees.

I think that there are some visual issues such as way things look on the mobile app that could be updated.

I have found that HotSchedules solves the ever-present problem in any workplace: "I didn't know I was scheduled!" Even when employees swap shifts or take another employee's shift, the software shows them that they maintain ownership of their originally assigned shifts until manager approval.

The fact that users have to pay to download the app on their smartphones is challenging. Although the workplace pays for the software, employees have to pay to get the software on their cellphones. This problem is compounded by the fact that the website doesn't have a very interactive design, much unlike the app, so employees often have to get the app to have a decent experience using HotSchedules.

The thing I liked most about hot schedules is how easy it was to navigate and how easy it was to explain the use.

I’m not sure exactly what it was that I didn’t like about hot schedules.

I like how this software has all of the features needed for restaurant scheduling. You can view who is working each shift and be notified when the schedule is created. It also makes it easy to request time off without having to talk to somebody.

I haven't encountered any problems with this software so far.

This program was super easy to use and I enjoyed the level of communication

The only thing that was no fun was when I would be half way though a schedule and something would go wrong and I would loose my work

What I like most about this software is everything about the software is easy to use very user friendly everything's out there so you can find it easy.

There's no features I like least about this software.

Easy use for employees, the web page navigation on a cell phone works well. The app is definitely a plus.

Negation is hard to understand for upper management. Would like to be able to add daily notes on the schedule for events happening that day for the employees.

Integration with our POS (sales and labor reporting), ease of use for managers and employees, wide variety of reporting, writing schedules takes no time at all

Messaging function (email notifications don't include what the actual message is), no longer have the ability to manually sync new employees from POS

It’s very helpful in the food service industry. When I previously worked as a server, the restaurant used this. It made trading shifts or picking up shifts much easier. The schedules were sent out weekly and it allowed trading shifts. It’s easy to read and use.

The most annoying thing about is the notifications. I think everyone gets all the notifications. So it’s notification overload.

Management "Red Book" log
Logging of Employee and Store incidents/issues.

Cumbersome and non-intuitive UI
Poor employee sharing between locations
Weather Widget did not function in Canada as promised
Training/Learning Center feature was not included in cost of Hotschedules as promised.
When I had issue to be addressed, I was ignored by their staff for months until I stopped paying.
We were not allowed to cancel the contract as promised by our sales person.
The program is centered on the desk top program with the mobile app being an after thought.

The communication side of it is great. I have less meetings now that I can send out mass messages. The scheduler itself is top notch. I can move shifts around quickly using the quick keys and copying schedules is a snap. Having the freedom to do my schedule anywhere and being able to approve or deny schedule changes from my phone makes those decisions more informed. We use it to document all incidents good and bad on employees, so when an evaluation comes around you have all that information at your fingertips. It makes a great reservation scheduler. The roster report is the first thing I print out in the mornings to make sure everyone is here and where they are supposed to be and if they are not I have all the phone numbers on that sheet. The fact that it gives you the number of hours for everyone helps with creating budgets for the week.

My biggest complaint is that part of the expense for the is put on the employee. I know it's very little but some employees don't have a bank account or credit card and have trouble making the purchase. It seems to me that the revenue generated by that could be built into the cost of the software on the employer side.

Hotschedules won our business by having the best Aloha POS integration of all the companies we spoke with. Employees that are added to our system are automatically synced with Hotschedules so you can quickly begin adding them to the schedule. The integration also allows us to restrict employees from clocking in too early or late with saves labor and allows you to quickly identify the less punctual employees. Finally, the integration also pulls historical sales data from our POS and uses it to establish a good sales forecast that you can use to budget your labor accurately.

The app and website are just not as intuitive and streamline as I would like. Previously we had used PeopleMatter schedule, which had a much less cluttered and more user friendly interface. Hotschedules also starts to think it knows how to schedule better than the manager and will start adding "House Shifts" to your schedule that employees can pick up, which frustrates me when I really don't need that shift covered.

Reporting and ease to swap shift

No way to set request off parameters by the day. Schedule writing is harder with the new version

Hotschedules changed the restaurant industry when it came out. I have worked in the industry for over 10 years, so when this software came out. It really changed the industry. Before we would have to wait for a photo of our schedules and sometimes we would miss our shifts or getting our shifts covered was so difficult. When hotschedules came out , you never wondered when your shift was. You are reminded when you have a shift and if you need a shift covered you simply post it up. It is a secure way to have everyone feel accountable and be accountable for work.

The only thing I had a trouble with when I first started using hotschedules was understanding how to update my availability for work but once someone showed me its a no brainer.

I like the copy function when scheduling. You can cut or copy a shift and paste it in another day. I also enjoy the creation of House Shifts to help meet projected labor needed. There are some cool reporting functions and the Broadcast feature is great for company-wide announcements.

Our whole team has had issues with the messaging part of HotSchedules. The messages are easy to missed. Since HotSchedules can put out so many notifications - messages get lost in the jumble.

Makes schedule making quick.

The website goes down or kicks you off for extended periods of time. I will say this happens less frequently than it used to. I have used hotschedules for almost six years.

Hotschedules makes schedule creation and updates ridiculously easy. Not only can you input the schedules you need covered to receive optimization suggestions, but once you post the schedules, you don't have to track down your staff to inform them of their schedules.

When I utilizied Hotschedules my employees were not able to input one-off requests or identify preferred shifts, limiting the efficacy of the schedule optimization features.

There was also not an option to send internal communication notes to management emails so there was no way to verify when management was reading the information.

A couple things that I really enjoy about HotSchedules is the reporting and future forecasting functions. You can also teach HotSchedules how to auto-schedule based off of those patterns from previously scheduled weeks. It is pretty user-friendly and when you launch for the first time - you have plenty of help. They give you a contact to assist you and provide plenty of step-by-step tutorials for all of the included functions of the software. They also give you styling options for how you would like to view and edit the schedules. The reporting data is quickly accessible and can be pulled from a large range of dates (this helps with payroll verification).

HotSchedules, at times, can be a little buggy. There have been instances where I have completed a full schedule and upon saving my data, it would revert to the previous schedule before the changes had been added. This can be a tad frustrating when trying to crank out schedules quickly.

I love that this software is more comman than it use to be. Most employees hired have heard or used hotschedules which makes the transition alot easier. Communication threw hotschedules makes this program a must for any business that has a decent sized staff

Software is great however it is a little pricey for what it does. Dont get me wrong its great but just a hair high

IOS Compatibilty, cloud based.

Reporting can be cumbersome at times. Not all functions work well on Safari Browser.

I had to have this software when I worked at a restaurant. It was pretty simple and easy to use. Once the manager had posted the schedule, you could see who was working and what shift it was. If there was an open shift, you could grab it and see if it would get approved. You could also switch shifts with someone, if the managers approved it. Message came in and were easy to read.

I did not really have any issues with this software. I had to have it and it worked fine with my phone. I was a bit mad that I had to pay for it, but I understood why.

Online scheduling is a must for an operation of our size. The HotSchedules messaging makes communicating clearly to large groups of employees consistent. The reporting and data is a must. We use HotSchedules multiple times a day.

Some of the updates/when the software times out can get frustrating but I understand that they are necessary to make improvements.

Ease of use, accessibility -- the facebook of scheduling!

Honestly, would love to see them work on the ease of the scheduler. I feel like that whole page could be done differently. It just seems that something could be done to streamline it. The shortcuts are nice but not easily remembered. Additionally, I would love if there was a cost effective version for small independently owned restaurants.

Its super easy to get new schedules and the managers know we have seen them. Also we can trade, drop and pick up shifts as needed. Overtime is already tracked so accepting a new shift is fine as long as the dining room is covered. I like that I can see my paycheck too great way to budget.

The app is 2.99 ok not a lot but without tje team app why should staff pay for an app the company is already paying for?