Restaurant scheduling software like Homebase automates the process of creating, managing, and updating staff schedules. It replaces spreadsheets and group texts with one centralized place where you can post open shifts, handle coverage gaps, track availability, and communicate changes in real time.

A good restaurant labor scheduling software like Homebase also factors in labor laws, demand forecasting, and staff preferences—so your team knows when they work, and you know you're covered.

The best way to manage scheduling for multiple restaurants is through a centralized employee scheduling software, like Homebase.

With Homebase, your entire team in one place, giving you one reliable dashboard to manage scheduling, time tracking, payroll, and communication for multiple locations or franchises.

Homebase also makes tedious admin tasks easier with automatic labor law compliance by jurisdiction, easy shift coverage and shift swaps across locations, and payroll integration. No more juggling spreadsheets, group texts, and separate systems.

Homebase is built for how restaurants actually operate—with unpredictable demand, split shifts, constant call-outs, and staff who need flexibility. We handle the stuff that keeps you up at night, like labor law compliance, scrambling for shift coverage when someone calls out, keeping track of multiple locations, and running payroll without doing a bunch of math.

Homebase saves restaurant owners and managers hours on complex admin work. Plus, your team will actually use the mobile app because it's simple, free, and makes it easy to swap shifts, track PTO, and ask questions.

Homebase offers free basic online scheduling software for restaurants with up to 10 employees and 1 location. For more advanced scheduling features and for bigger teams, check out our pricing page to find the right plan for you.

Start by adding your locations, employees, roles, and wages. Then ask your employees to download the free Homebase app and log in to add their availability and shift preferences.

Once your team is set up, you can drag and drop shifts as needed. As you make adjustments to the schedule, your labor costs update in real-time and you’ll get alerts if a shift pushes an employee into overtime, or conflicts with approved PTO, availability, or labor law compliance.

Your employees can also request time off, pick up open shifts or trade with eligible coworkers, right in the app. All you have to do is approve or deny.

Homebase restaurant staff scheduling app allows you to schedule and assign two separate split shifts on the same day and tracks the hours accurately across both portions of the shift, while also accounting for breaks and overtime.

All the hours, breaks, and overtime tracked then automatically flow into payroll, so your team is paid accurately, even accounting for split shift premiums if required by your state’s labor laws.

Yes! Employees can easily request time off and swap shifts with the free Homebase app.

We’ll also make sure that employees can only request shift swaps or trades with eligible coworkers who have the right availability, skills, and qualifications. If a shift swap request could push an employee into overtime, we’ll flag it before you approve the request.

All of this can be done with a few taps right from the Homebase restaurant staff scheduling app.

Homebase connects your scheduling and POS data so you can see where labor costs actually go — in fact, Butter Baker saved 20% on labor costs once they started using Homebase!

You can run reports to spot overstaffing, use sales forecasts to predict busy or slow periods, and schedule based on real numbers instead of guesses. Our schedule builder also flags overtime as you add shifts, and you’ll also see an overtime alert if a requested shift swap could push an employee into overtime.

Yes. Homebase integrates with most POS devices like Clover, Square, and Toast, so your scheduling and sales data live in one place. This means you can pull real sales numbers directly into Homebase, and forecast busy or slow periods, and build smarter schedules based on what your customers and business actually need. You can see all of the platforms we integrate with here.

The Homebase restaurant scheduling app is very user-friendly! Employees clock in and out with a tap on their phones, or a tablet, computer, or POS device at work.

Managers and coworkers communicate directly in the app instead of group texts, which means requests and decisions are resolved in minutes, not hours of back-and-forth messages.

You can see your entire team's availability at a glance and make adjustments on the fly—no steep learning curve required.

Homebase automates break tracking—the compliance gap that creates most problems. Set your state's break requirements once (duration, timing, paid vs. unpaid), and Homebase applies those rules automatically to every shift. You get real-time alerts if someone misses a required break, and timestamped records of every clock-in, clock-out, and break taken. When it's time for payroll or an audit, your documentation is ready.

We’ll also help you set and follow overtime rules based on your state’s requirements, and flag conflicts in the scheduler if a shift pushes an employee into overtime.

Homebase's Teen Scheduling Compliance feature automatically flags shifts that violate state or provincial minor labor laws—curfews, hour caps, school-night restrictions—before they're published. Employees under 18 are clearly labeled in the schedule view, so managers never accidentally over-schedule a teen.

Minor labor law violations can result in DOL fines up to $15,138. Homebase removes the guesswork and protects your business.

Note: You'll need to have your employees' dates of birth on file to enable this feature.

Eligible employees get automatic notifications when a shift opens up or someone calls out. If they’re interested and able to pick up the shift, they can claim it directly in the app. All you have to do is approve—no long text chain required.

Your team can also manage their own shift trades and coverage requests, requesting swaps or asking teammates to cover directly from the app. We’ll only show them eligible coworkers to request trades so your shifts are staffed with employees that have the right qualifications, skills, and available hours.