Lots of Bang for the Buck!

7Shifts has been a tremendous timesaver! We used to spend so much time transferring requests to our paper scheduling forms. Now we can just work directly in the app. Saves paper too! Our staff is incredibly happy we've made this technological leap. Takes some stress out of their already busy lives by being able to switch shifts online. It has also alleviated the issue of "misreading" their schedule. As managers, we love that we no longer have to hear that excuse. Ha ha! Managing overtime is incredibly easier on 7Shifts. Prior to the app, we relied on floor managers to make judgement calls regarding shift exchanges when senior managers weren't available. Labor considerations didn't get factored into decisions and we would run higher labor numbers. Now that fewer managers are part of the shift exchange decisions, we know that the appropriate factors are being implemented into the decision making. The floor managers appreciate not having the pressure of making a decision that could negatively impact a shift. Posting and editing schedules in real time also alleviates issues. We would have people switch shifts and then forget. Now it goes immediately into their schedule once approved. Confusion alleviated!!! We don't use the auto-fill option but find that manually scheduling is so much more efficient in the app than it was on paper. I also love that you accept requests for features/functions and compile them for consideration. The service has always been wonderfully friendly and fast. The tutorials are really helpful and well done. I can't say enough good things. Thank you for creating such a user friendly app. Makes our busy restaurant lives so much easier!

Pros

Easy to use
Great tutorials
Fast and friendly support staff
Efficiency for reviewing labor
Incredibly communication tool between staff and management
Consider suggestions for functions and features and notify you if they become implemented
Fair price for the power of the product

7Shifts saved my company!

I used to schedule my staff with an excel spreadsheet, screenshot and posted to a Facebook Forum. It was a madhouse trying to deal with shift swaps and reading the staff clockin/out cards to match their shifts. With a growing company this just wasn't gonna cut it anymore. 7shifts popped up in my personal Facebook feed and the rest is Kismet. The software has helped clean up so many of my payroll processes, allows my staff to switch shifts with only others of the same experience level or higher (so I ALWAYS have a manager on shift and not a hoard of brand new employees), helps my managers reach staff more easily, is so easy to understand that I haven't had to train the new staff on it and combined with the 7punches Clock-in/out software- I can relax knowing my staff can't clock in if they aren't on the schedule and my staff can breathe easily with the ability to calculate their paycheck in advance! The staff at 7shifts has always been extremely helpful and always welcoming for suggestions and updates. I can't imagine moving to any other system and am so glad I found it!

Pros

It is easy to understand, set up and the customer service is extraordinary!

Cons

I wish there were more manager capabilities in the mobile app, but the app has improved already since it was first launched, so I imagine it will only get better.

Excellent scheduling software!

I used to make schedules through Excel, and would have employees email time off requests and availability changes. This software makes everything so much easier. It is so easy to use - copy schedules from week to week, move around shifts, copy shifts, etc. This app made me like making the schedule! It's also employee-friendly - they can give up and pick up shifts, and manager can approve them. They can communicate with each other through chat. Phone numbers and emails are available, so employees can easily contact each other.

Pros

No glitches ever (previous app we used glitched and made errors to employees' schedules)
Budgeting tool
Ability to put in events
Color coding departments and jobs
Ability to print PDF schedule
Communication (chat and message options)
Employees can trade shifts
Availability and time off request features are perfect
Multiple locations allows you to use employees at different sites, but you can see in lighter color where they are already scheduled to work
Great value for the price
They keep making it better and will let you know when an update has been made

Cons

There's a minimal international fee charged monthly for 7Shifts. But that's all!

Best Scheduling Software for Restaurants

I have invested time and money into alot of different software for our restaurant - scheduling, inventory, marketing, ordering etc. No product or service has come close to the Value, Convenience, and Effectiveness of 7Shifts. Some apps are overpriced, bulky, actually add more time and effort to your work week, not this one. From day one I have been throughly impressed with how well designed, engineered, executed, and supported this software is. We had a big name schedule software before 7Shifts, but it came with a big price tag and big headaches. I promise you, 7Shifts will make your life much easier, and improve the way you schedule and communicate with your staff. You can't go wrong with this software - it's built to be the best in the business, and it's second to none.

Pros

Very Easy to Learn and Use
Excellent Features You and Your Employees will love
Great Value, Inexpensive, Time-Saving
Outstanding Support Team
Constantly Innovating and Improving

Cons

2+ Years in and No Negatives. Like I said it's the best software of it's kind, custom built for the restaurant industry.

7shifts, not just for scheduling

I have found that using 7shifts significantly decreases the number of errors surrounding scheduling and requested time off which is priceless in a labor market like this. furthermore, the time and energy spent on writing the schedule is much lower than when we used a homemade spreadsheet.

Pros

7shifts makes scheduling easy with a copy to next week feature that allows scheduler to mimic previous weeks schedules.

the repeating schedule feature makes scheduling kinder - allowing staff to set a weekly schedule of availability.

the chat and announcements feature lets communication flow without messier emails and texts.

the app-based time off submissions really simplify and streamline a formerly archaic system that was easy to screw up with paper notes, emails, calendars, notebooks.

the shift pool empowers staff to make last minute changes to their schedules or pick up extra work.

Cons

there's a lot of neat features that you have to pay extra for like an events calendar and labor to sales based scheduling.

Has all the tools you could need

I get updates/push notifications from 7 shifts every week when my schedule is published, as well as updates from my managers and corporate offices. I also sometimes use it to make work life easier. Really glad to have this piece of software I thought I'd never use. Very good for the restaurant industry and hourly positions.

Pros

It's a really nice layout, it has thought of just about everything you could possibly need to use the software for. I have personally found it very useful for looking up the contact information of my coworkers and keeping track of request off time. For people like servers who constantly drop/add/trade shifts with other people, there is a useful feature to do that as well.

Cons

It logged me out when I changed phones, don't think that's necessary to protect information on this kind of app, but was easy to recover password. Overall a very minor con.

Excellent tool that goes far beyond scheduling.

7shifts ties together many organizational tools that has improved communication in our restaurant immensely. We make fewer scheduling errors, our staff can easily contact managers and coworkers through the messaging feature, amendments to the schedule keep everyone in the loop with notifications and the manager log book helps us stay on top of issues and address them quickly and effectively. I originally decided to try the software because I thought it would save time and keep our BOH and FOH schedules cohesive. It pays for the time it saves and adds much more value with all of the additional features. Don’t hesitate to give it a try!

Pros

Our supervisors use the manager logbook and it has been extremely helpful in keeping everyone up to speed on daily operations, issues and ideas. We act much quicker when addressing problems with staff and maintenance, and reduce the distortion of facts when compared to transferring information along a chain of conversations. This is a valuable feature not to be overlooked.

Cons

Some of our staff members have been experiencing freezing and glitching in the app. Some staff are resistant to change and there was a lengthy transition time to get everyone on board. Now that it’s in place almost every new employee loves the interface and is eager to sign up.

Beamer’s Coffee Bar

Watching our sales correspond with the labour reports from 7Shifts has been a game changer. The mobile app makes it so easy to see as an owner where you need your staffing levels to be each day, but it also records history so you can go back and see what your sales and labour with even a weather report from a year ago that day. Also the 7Punch system has made it real easy for our staff to clock in and out. Keeps it simple and easy to use.

Pros

The integration of 7Shifts labour reports to our POS TouchBistro sales reports has been the perfect marriage.

The interface of 7Shifts software has been easy to understand and use with admin, managers and staff levels.

Cons

Not much to say here because when moving over from another employee staffing company you quickly see the difference and benefits that 7Shifts has to offer you.

Our old way was an Excel spreadsheet......

I can't imagine going back to the old way of doing things! When I've had questions or suggestions the 7shifts team has been prompt to respond and follow up.

Pros

Saves so much time over our old way of using an excel spreadsheet and having to keep track of paper time-off requests. Very easy to start using right away and great advanced features to use once you get into using the software! It was always a headache keeping track of vacation requests and changing availabilities - but now the computer flags them immediately. Employees feel more in control being able to electronically submit days-off requests and availability. Employees are easily able to see who's working or not in order to get their shifts covered/switched. Setting up shift templates and having the computer fill out the schedule according to employee availability is awesome. Employees being able to instantly see schedule and changes when they are made is great!

Cons

I'll never go back to excel for scheduling if that counts as a con?