A café, taquería or food truck with a small team: a free or low-cost plan and short commitments matter most.
Weigh more here than in the overall ranking: 12-month cost (reference restaurant), free plan, and initial term. Weigh less here: labor cost against sales.
The ranking
Homebase
By Homebase
Scheduling, time clock and team messaging app priced per location. The Essentials plan costs $30 per location a month with unlimited employees, and the free Basic plan covers one location with up to 10 employees.
RTC SCORE
8.8
#1 for Small restaurants and cafés
Pros
- Flat $30 per location a month on Essentials, no matter how many employees you have.
- Free Basic plan with scheduling and a time clock for one location with up to 10 employees.
- Essentials includes shift trades, location check and photo at clock-in, plus live chat and phone support.
Cons
- Sales forecasts and labor cost management are only in All-in-One, the most expensive plan.
- Tip pooling and payroll are paid add-ons.
- We couldn't read its subscription terms: renewal notice, refunds and price changes aren't verified.
- Initial term
- Month to month
Strongest on 12-month cost (reference restaurant), time clock, and hours into payroll. Weakest on POS systems it connects to.
Connecteam
By Connecteam
All-in-one app for hourly teams whose Operations hub covers the time clock and scheduling. It has a free Limited plan for up to 30 users and a Basic plan at $35 a month for the first 30 users, billed monthly; chat and HR tools are separate hubs.
RTC SCORE
8.6
#2 for Small restaurants and cafés
Pros
- A free plan with a time clock and scheduling for up to 30 users, and a flat paid price for the first 30.
- Kiosk tablet with selfie verification, GPS location at clock-in and alerts for missed breaks and overtime.
- Hours sync to ADP, Gusto, Paychex and QuickBooks on paid plans.
Cons
- Chat and time off live in other hubs, each with its own plan; geofences and auto-scheduling need higher plans.
- POS sales integrations with Square and Clover are still in beta, and no POS sends clock-ins.
- No refund on a monthly plan, and a yearly plan renews on its own unless you give notice well before it expires.
- Initial term
- Month to month
Strongest on 12-month cost (reference restaurant), time clock, and hours into payroll. Weakest on POS systems it connects to.
Sling
By Sling
Scheduling and time tracking app owned by Toast, priced per user. Scheduling is free for up to 30 users, and the Premium plan with the mobile time clock costs $2 per user a month.
RTC SCORE
8.4
#3 for Small restaurants and cafés
Pros
- Free scheduling for up to 30 users, and the Premium plan with a mobile time clock and geofencing costs $2 per user a month.
- Premium tracks labor cost against sales, overtime, breaks and rest time between shifts.
- Owned by Toast, with a two-way Toast integration for employees, clock-ins and sales.
Cons
- Shared-kiosk clock-in, automatic shift assignment and payroll reports require the Business plan.
- Your account data can't be recovered once you close the account, so export first.
- No phone or live chat support is published, and no tip pooling.
- Initial term
- Month to month
Strongest on 12-month cost (reference restaurant), time clock, and hours into payroll. Weakest on POS systems it connects to.
7shifts
By 7shifts
Scheduling, time clock and team app built only for restaurants, priced per location, with sales forecasts from its POS integrations and its own payroll as an add-on. The free Comp plan covers basic scheduling for one location.
RTC SCORE
8.4
#4 for Small restaurants and cafés
Pros
- Built only for restaurants, with a long list of POS integrations, including Toast, Square, Clover, Shift4 POS, SpotOn and TouchBistro.
- Sales forecasts from the POS, fair workweek rules, photo clock-in and geofencing.
- Free Comp plan with basic scheduling, availability and time-off requests for one location.
Cons
- Fees are paid in advance and aren't refunded, and prices can rise each year with inflation without notice.
- Tip management, labor cost and compliance tools are on paid plans.
- Initial term
- Month to month
Strongest on 12-month cost (reference restaurant), time clock, and hours into payroll. Weakest on refund when you cancel.
Square Shifts
By Square
Scheduling and time clock module of the Square POS, included in Square Plus at $49 a month per location. Staff clock in at the register or in the Square Team app, and timecards sync with Square Payroll or export to another provider.
RTC SCORE
7.4
#5 for Small restaurants and cafés
Pros
- Published price per location with no per-user charge: $49 a month on Square Plus, billed month to month.
- Shift swaps, open shifts, time off, tip pooling and team chat come in the same plan.
- Clock-ins at the register or in the app, with an optional geofence and missed-break alerts.
Cons
- Only works with Square POS; the free Square plan has no scheduling or time clock.
- Shows labor against sales in reports, but documents no sales forecast or automatic schedule builder.
- Phone support on Square Plus is weekdays only; around-the-clock phone support needs Square Premium.
- Initial term
- Month to month
Strongest on 12-month cost (reference restaurant), time clock, and hours into payroll. Weakest on POS systems it connects to.
When I Work
By When I Work
Scheduling, time clock and team messaging app priced per user: $2.50 a month for a single location and $5 for several locations. Hours sync to payroll providers such as Gusto, Paychex, QuickBooks Online, Rippling and Square Payroll; it documents no POS integration.
RTC SCORE
7.1
#6 for Small restaurants and cafés
Pros
- Published per-user price with scheduling, time clock and team messaging, billed month to month.
- Shift swaps, open shifts, GPS radius for clock-ins and overtime alerts.
- Live chat every day, 75 hours a week.
Cons
- No documented POS integration, so sales don't reach the schedule from your POS.
- No refund of the period already paid, and access ends as soon as you cancel.
- Tips are only reported by employees; there's no tip pooling.
- Initial term
- Month to month
Strongest on 12-month cost (reference restaurant), time clock, and hours into payroll. Weakest on POS systems it connects to.
ZoomShift
By ZoomShift
Scheduling and time clock app billed per active team member. A free plan covers schedules for up to 20 users at one location; the Starter plan adds the time clock, timesheets and unlimited locations.
RTC SCORE
6.9
#7 for Small restaurants and cafés
Pros
- Published per-user price: Starter is $2.50 a month per team member billed monthly, with the time clock and unlimited locations.
- Free plan for schedules and team chat for up to 20 users at one location.
- Kiosk and phone time clock, breaks and overtime on timesheets, and you can pause the subscription in slow months.
Cons
- No POS or payroll provider connection documented: hours leave as a CSV file and sales don't come in from your POS.
- Geofencing, overtime warnings and auto-scheduling are only in the Premium plan.
- No phone support or support hours published, and fees already paid aren't refunded.
- Initial term
- Month to month
Strongest on 12-month cost (reference restaurant), time clock, and initial term. Weakest on POS systems it connects to.
QuickBooks Time
By Intuit
Time tracking and scheduling from Intuit, formerly TSheets, at $20 a month plus $10 per user on the Premium plan. It needs a QuickBooks Online account and sends hours to QuickBooks Payroll and other payroll apps.
RTC SCORE
4.3
#8 for Small restaurants and cafés
Pros
- Published price, billed month to month: $20 a month plus $10 per user on Premium, with the first admin included.
- Clock in from the phone, a shared kiosk or the web, with a photo at clock-in and overtime alerts.
- Hours sync to QuickBooks Payroll and to payroll apps like ADP and Paychex.
Cons
- Requires a QuickBooks Online subscription, which costs extra.
- No POS connection: it doesn't bring in sales or show labor cost against sales.
- Shift swaps and tip pooling aren't documented; geofencing needs the Elite plan.
- Initial term
- Month to month
Strongest on time clock, hours into payroll, and initial term. Weakest on 12-month cost (reference restaurant).
This is general information about published contracts, not legal advice: read your own contract and check with a lawyer before you sign.