Shiftboard vs OpenSimSim

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Our analysts compared Shiftboard vs OpenSimSim based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Employee Scheduling Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Product Basics

Shiftboard is a cloud-based employee scheduling software designed to help businesses efficiently manage their workforce. It caters to businesses of all sizes, but it particularly shines when handling complex scheduling needs or a large number of employees. Shiftboard offers a variety of features including schedule creation and management, employee hour tracking, and communication tools. The software integrates with other business systems like payroll and HR software, streamlining operations.

Benefits of using Shiftboard include improved employee productivity, reduced labor costs, increased employee satisfaction, and better compliance with labor laws. Users appreciate its ease of use, comprehensive features, and positive impact on workforce management. Shiftboard's pricing structure is not publicly available, so interested businesses should contact Shiftboard directly for detailed pricing information. Keep in mind that pricing for software like this can vary based on factors such as the number of users and desired features.

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OpenSimSim is a cloud-based platform for creating, communicating and managing schedules for hourly workers. Managers can create and manage schedules using pre-built templates, automated conflict alerts and drag-and-drop tools. It incorporates employee availability, time-off requests and shift trading into a single, unified view to avoid scheduling errors.

Employees can use self-service portals to view schedules, request time off and swap shifts with colleagues, fostering a sense of ownership over their work-life balance. The mobile app enhances accessibility, allowing managers and employees to stay connected and informed on the go.

Built-in messaging enables interaction between team members, eliminating the need for external communication modules. Additionally, analytics helps track labor costs, identify scheduling patterns and optimize staffing levels. Businesses can get actionable insights and make data-driven decisions to improve overall efficiency and profitability.

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$3/User, Monthly
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$15.99 Monthly
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Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Efficiency: Helps HR managers build better schedules in less time. On average, implementing the system results in a 53% increase in schedule creation efficiency and a 55% increase in shift change management efficiency. 
  • Optimized Workforce: Save on business costs by reducing the number of unnecessary shifts. The average user can reduce scheduled hours by more than 7% and overtime costs by more than 50%. 
  • Employee Performance:: Managers can build better schedules that benefit employees as well as the business. As a result, the average user reports a more than 6% increase in employee productivity and a 40% decrease in turnover. 
  • Accuracy: It helps optimize scheduling processes, reducing the average number of scheduling errors by more than 50%. 
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  • Start Scheduling For Free: OpenSimSim offers the starter plan for free and doesn’t require credit card information to start scheduling. You can schedule up to 10 workers in one location and department at no cost.
  • Manage Your Team Efficiently: According to our data, OpenSimSim offers 85% of key employee management tools out of the box. This includes multiple pay rates, access permissions, staff roles, self-service portals, labor budgeting and cost tracking. It also centrally stores staff documents and certificates and sends expiry alerts based on your rules.
  • Schedule From Anywhere: The platform offers a robust mobile app, SocialSchedules, which has ratings of 4.5 and 4.8 on the Play Store and Apple Store, respectively. You can use it to create schedules, communicate with team members, publish shifts and track tasks from anywhere.
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  • Profiles: Collect and store employee information such as contact information, credentials, skills and work history. This information can then be used to assign roles based on scheduling needs. 
  • Communication: View schedules online and notify staff on schedule changes. It sends messages and notifications automatically so that all team members have access to the most up-to-date information. 
  • Demand Planner: Forecast scheduling needs using historical data and patterns. Managers can build schedules and fill shifts based on predicted business needs. 
  • Tradeboard: Employees can utilize Tradeboard to switch shifts, while the system ensures that no shifts are double-booked. Managers can oversee shift-swapping and set rules to ensure compliance and that employees don’t pick up shifts that will put them into overtime. 
  • Reports and Analytics: The system can collect data on shifts, employees, budgets, forecasts, labor costs and more. Generate reports and analyze them at any time to help track spending. 
  • Mobile: Access the schedule at any time through any internet-connected device. Employees can view the schedule, update their availability, request time off and trade shifts, all through the mobile app. 
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  • Employee Scheduling: Easily create and adjust your team's schedule per day or week by week. See who's available, handle shift swaps and manage time-off requests in one place. You can set reminders for your team and share updated schedules instantly.
  • Team Communication: Keep your team connected with built-in messaging that supports personal messages as well as team announcements and group chats. You can also use the logbook to store files and important notices and share them with your entire team or specific groups.
  • Notifications: Improve accountability by instantly notifying employees of updated schedules and modifications. Send shift reminders and confirmations to improve staff attendance while finding replacements faster.
  • Time Clock: The mobile app allows staff members to log attendance and track time from a phone or tablet. Review timesheets, approve hours and handle breaks with ease. You can also export time data directly for payroll to avoid manual errors.
  • Timesheets: Simplify your payroll process with clear and easy-to-understand timesheets. See the hours worked, breaks taken and costs for each pay period. You can approve or edit timesheets on the go and get alerts if someone misses a break, ensuring compliance with federal labor regulations.
  • Reporting: Uncover hidden labor costs with reports that compare your scheduled hours to actual hours worked. Use punctuality reporting to identify latecomers and spot repeat offenders via overtime reports.
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Product Ranking

#10

among all
Employee Scheduling Software

#59

among all
Employee Scheduling Software

Find out who the leaders are

Analyst Rating Summary

80
73
39
78
94
86
65
52
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Platform Capabilities
Employee Management
Mobile Capabilities
Shift Management
Mobile Capabilities
Employee Management

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Shiftboard
OpenSimSim
+ Add Product + Add Product
Collaboration Employee Management Leave And Absence Management Mobile Capabilities Platform Capabilities Reporting And Analytics Schedule Management Security And Compliance Shift Management Time And Attendance Management 39 94 65 90 100 67 84 78 89 79 78 86 52 93 71 64 80 43 68 74 0 25 50 75 100
38%
0%
62%
75%
0%
25%
92%
0%
8%
75%
8%
17%
63%
0%
37%
50%
0%
50%
87%
0%
13%
93%
0%
7%
100%
0%
0%
78%
0%
22%
67%
0%
33%
67%
0%
33%
80%
0%
20%
75%
0%
25%
78%
0%
22%
44%
0%
56%
89%
0%
11%
68%
0%
32%
79%
0%
21%
74%
0%
26%

Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

70%
0%
30%
70%
0%
30%

User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 519 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 552 reviews
88%
of users recommend this product

Shiftboard has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 88% when considering 519 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

90%
of users recommend this product

OpenSimSim has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 90% when considering 552 user reviews from 1 recognized software review sites.

4.6 (48)
n/a
4.39 (236)
n/a
4.4 (230)
4.5 (552)
3.3 (5)
n/a

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Shiftboard and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Platform Capabilities.

Platform Capabilities Award

OpenSimSim stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Shift Management: Nearly 94% of reviewers liked the built-in Tradeboard for employees to exchange or transfer shifts, boosting accountability and efficiency.
Schedules: Around 90% of users who referred to schedules liked that it reduces time spent creating and managing schedules. It notifies of any errors and provides easy access for employees.
Tracking: It helps monitor the login / logout of individual workers, their interest in additional shifts and overtime status, as noted by 91% of users who specified tracking.
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Smooth Setup: The platform is easy to implement with a guided onboarding experience that helps users set up employee profiles, departments and recurring shifts.
Efficient Communication: Users appreciate the built-in messaging option, which allows managers to share news, post announcements and message employees directly.
Prompt Customer Support: Users report receiving timely and helpful responses from the vendor’s support team, which leads to faster turnaround times for platform issues and troubleshooting.
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Reports: About 56% of reviewers who referred to reports said that custom reports require a great deal of trial and error, and some fields are not reportable.
Layout: The page layout style is quite clunky and difficult to navigate, especially when there are more teams and time slots, as mentioned by 80% of users who referred to layout.
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Sync Issues: Some users have faced syncing problems between the platform’s desktop and mobile app versions. This may affect business performance and lead to the loss of critical information.
Printing Limitations: The platform can’t print schedules, forcing users to use Microsoft Excel to print physical copies of a shift.
Customization Challenges: Users found it difficult to customize views and dashboards. Some also complained about a lack of customizations such as blackout dates, multiple types of PTO and schedule editing permissions.
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Shiftboard provides robust scheduling tools that help reduce scheduling errors. Its online and mobile availability allows employees to access it from anywhere and stay updated on schedules and shifts. Staff in certain roles can trade shifts within Shiftboard without going through management. It helps to keep track of employee shift times and their clock in and out locations. Some reviewers said that creating custom reports requires a great deal of trial and error, while some fields are not reportable. Users have mentioned that they would like to see more viewer-friendly pages.

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OpenSimSim is a user-friendly platform for small to medium-sized businesses with straightforward scheduling needs. Its onboarding process is smooth, and the ability to communicate directly with employees through the platform is a significant advantage.During testing, I found it helpful to manage a small team with features like employee profiles, user photos and color-coded positions to enhance the overall experience. Additionally, the vendor's customer support is responsive and helpful, taking inputs from users to update the software continually.However, OpenSimSim falls short in some critical areas. The lack of customization can be frustrating. For instance, I couldn't set specific blackout dates or a notice period for PTO requests. This may lead to last-minute scheduling challenges, as employees can submit requests whenever they want.On top of that, the platform doesn’t let you filter push notifications, so staff members receive notifications for every scheduling change, even if it doesn’t concern them. Another drawback is the absence of AI-driven features. You must manually input employee availability based on PTO requests to get automated conflict alerts when scheduling, which can be time-consuming and error-prone.Overall, OpenSimSim is a great starting point for businesses looking for basic scheduling and time-tracking tools. However, larger organizations with more complex needs may find the platform limiting due to its lack of customization and AI assistance.

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Screenshots

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