When I Work vs Branch

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Our analysts compared When I Work vs Branch 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

When I Work is a cloud-based platform that helps design, communicate and track work schedules for hourly workers. It replaces the hassle of spreadsheets and paper schedules with a user-friendly interface for creating and publishing schedules in minutes. You get features like drag-and-drop tools, schedule and timesheet templates, customizable automation, and reporting.

It offers built-in time tracking, communication tools and payroll integrations. Employees can clock in and out directly through the native app. They can also swap shifts and submit time-off requests from their profiles. It lets you access timesheets, identify labor cost trends and control overtime expenses.

Team messaging helps you coordinate staff members and avoid over or understaffing during peak seasons. While pricing varies based on company size and required features, the platform offers a free trial and multiple subscription tiers. This allows you to choose a plan that fits your budget and specific needs.

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The Branch app is a mobile-first solution that connects employees working on an hourly basis with enterprises. Employees can pick up available shifts within minutes rather than wasting valuable time in search of available shifts. Employees can earn more by working available shifts, collect advance paychecks and plan their finances.

It offers modules that bridge the communication gap between hourly workers and companies. Employees can find convenient shifts and can swap shifts in case of an emergency. Its seamless interface reduces absenteeism, saves time and cuts costs.
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$2.50/User, Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
$5 Monthly, Freemium
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Tailored to your specific needs
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Chromebook
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On-Premise
Mobile
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Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
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Videos
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Email
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Chat
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
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24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Top-Ranked Scheduling Solution: When I Work stands out as a leader in employee scheduling, with an analyst rating of 85 in our research. This puts it alongside industry heavyweights like Deputy (87) and 7Shifts (86). It offers a comprehensive set of features, including scheduling, time tracking and team communications, all of which are ready to use immediately, reducing setup time.
  • Effortless Shift Management: Our research shows that When I Work offers 96% of tools for creating and managing employee shifts out-of-the-box. These include everything from creating recurring shift templates and customizing layouts to features like open shift bidding and automatic vacant shift assignment. You can also add feedback, task notes, swap shifts and receive automated reminders.
  • Powerful Mobile App: The mobile app keeps everything you need for streamlined scheduling at your fingertips. It offers mobile scheduling, time tracking, geofencing, customizable push notifications and built-in chat for easy team communication.
  • Seamless Integrations: When I Work scored 92 for integrations in our analysis, effortlessly connecting with a wide range of business tools. These include accounting solutions like QuickBooks Online, Google and Apple Calendars, HR and payroll software like Rippling and Gusto, Square POS systems, and integration platforms as a service (iPaaS) such as Zapier and Tray.io.
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  • Automatic Notifications: Sends notifications automatically to employees about new messages, upcoming shifts, shift approvals or rejections. Its chat feature facilitates messaging between employees without having to share personal information. 
  • Improves Workers’ Finances: Provides various budgeting tools that help employees enhance their financial health. Employees can instantly access earned wages to pay their bills, unexpected expenses or emergencies ahead of the payroll period of two weeks. 
  • Boosts Earnings: Helps employees enhance their shift coverage and boost their earnings by picking up more shifts. 
  • Reduces Absenteeism Up to 43%: Offers a flexible platform for hourly employees to swap their shifts when their availability changes. This feature simplifies the scheduling process for shift managers and reduces employee absenteeism by as much as 43%. 
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  • Employee Scheduling: Create work schedules in one click based on employee availability and eligibility. View team availability, manage time off and track shift trades from one place. Allow employees to pick up and trade shifts while boosting workplace efficiency and productivity. Schedule multiple teams across job sites while preventing unnecessary overtime.
  • Time and Attendance: Track attendance, time off and breaks while turning any internet-connected device into an online time clock. Integrate schedules to control costs while applying pay rules. Implement an online time clock with a GPS facility for uniform clock-ins and outs across devices. Let remote employees log in and out using any device while receiving attendance data in real time.
  • Timesheets: Record weekly attendance changes into timesheets while setting differential pay rates for multiple positions. Monitor labor costs while auditing time records with labor distribution reports. Audit and approve timesheets from mobile or desktop while preventing overtime before it happens. Configure paid and unpaid breaks on schedule and time clock.
  • Shift Planning: Plan, swap and approve shifts using a mobile or desktop while empowering teams to collaborate on schedules. Ensure cost-effective shift coverage while creating schedules that work for the entire team.
  • Scalability: Start with a single team or location and scale to multiple teams across geographical locations as per business growth. Schedule multiple teams across various job sites.
  • Push Notifications: Send important messages to the entire staff in one go. Employees get email and text alerts for missed logins or outs. Notify all employees when you update or create new schedules.
  • Geo Check-In: Use GPS tracking and live map views to ensure that employees log in from their designated job sites. Monitor field staff’s real-time location, eliminating the need for employees to update their locations constantly in the office.
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  • Self-Service Design: Offers a self-service platform to employees so that they can swap shifts as per their availability. This functionality eliminates administrative hassles and drastically reduces the time spent on scheduling. 
  • AI Chatbots: Designed with artificial intelligence chatbots to facilitate the onboarding of the staff, training, engagement and learning. 
  • Mobile Application: A native mobile application helps employees manage their shift coverage, earnings, leaves, overtime and attendance. 
  • Communication Tools: Offers numerous features that strengthen communications within businesses and boosts coordination. Shift managers can broadcast important updates and announcements to ensure everyone is informed, and important tasks are finished within deadlines. 
  • Reporting and Dashboards: Offers automated reporting tools and dashboards to report survey results in real time. Businesses can generate various customizable reports that can aid their improvement and help with employee performance reviews. 
  • Performance Benchmarking: Compare survey results with industry benchmarks and discover the areas that need improvement. It can be used to improve the performance of an employee or shake up things high up the ladder. 
  • Integrations: Seamlessly integrate with various third-party applications like Zapier, Box, Salesforce and SAP. Connect with the company’s external systems to complete team workflows. 
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Product Ranking

#3

among all
Employee Scheduling Software

#85

among all
Employee Scheduling Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

86
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Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

When I Work
Branch
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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 74 78 91 98 84 83 88 89 89 77 0 25 50 75 100
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User Sentiment Summary

Excellent User Sentiment 1454 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 1616 reviews
90%
of users recommend this product

When I Work has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 90% when considering 1454 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

91%
of users recommend this product

Branch has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 91% when considering 1616 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

5.0 (11)
4.5 (14)
4.4 (286)
4.4 (219)
n/a
4.58 (679)
4.5 (1093)
4.6 (675)
4.4 (64)
3.9 (29)

Awards

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

User Favorite Award

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

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Intuitive and Efficient: Users appreciate the user-friendly interface and comprehensive features that centralize managing all scheduling needs from a single app.
Prompt Customer Support: Users report getting timely and helpful assistance from the vendor’s support team through live chat and email.
Enhanced Employee Experience: The app boosts staff productivity by offering them flexible tools to control their work schedules.
Improved Integration and Accessibility: Most users have had a positive experience connecting the platform with other necessary third-party tools.
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Ease of Use: All users who referred to ease of use said that the system is straightforward, making it easy to learn, use and navigate.
Communication: Provides an easy way to communicate with teams and includes supervision for more efficient workflows, as noted by all reviewers who referred to communication.
Management: All users who specified management said it streamlines managing and tracking of schedules, shifts, finances and more.
Advance Paycheck: All users who mentioned advance paychecks liked the ability to take paycheck advances or loans when needed.
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Pricing and Transparency Issues: Users have complained about the vendor’s pricing practices, which include hidden costs and a lack of clear information before signing up.
App Glitches: Users reported issues with iPhone and Android apps, particularly with tasks like staff punch-ins and location tracking using the phone’s GPS.
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Performance: All users who referred to performance said that the system can be slow, glitchy and also crash at times.
Integration: It doesn’t link with all banks or applications, as observed by 86% of users who mentioned linking.
Customer Support: All users who talked about customer support wished that support would be available online via 24/7 chat and phone.
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According to the reviews, users praise When I Work’s user-friendly design and all-in-one features for scheduling and time tracking. The customer support team is another win — responsive and helpful via chat and email. However, the pricing structure is a point of contention for some users, with complaints about hidden fees and a lack of transparency before signing up.What truly set it apart was its affordability for small and medium businesses. The starter plan, costing just $1.50 per location per month, offers unlimited employee scheduling and auto-scheduling — features usually reserved for top-tier plans in competitors like 7Shift and Homebase.However, communication features are restricted. During testing, I could send individual and group messages, but there's no bulletin board or newsfeed functionality, and message read receipts are absent.Security is another concern. The platform lacks biometric clock-in options, opening the door to potential time theft through buddy punching. Additionally, it doesn’t support geofencing or GPS tracking. I couldn’t remotely track staff shifts to ensure they were following established procedures.Overall, When I Work offers a compelling solution for small and medium businesses with a user-friendly interface, robust features and a budget-friendly starter plan. However, be mindful of the pricing concerns and other limitations, which can be a problem for growing teams and businesses.

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Branch is a cloud-based solution for time and productivity tracking for companies managing multiple shifts. It provides the capability to monitor work hours, view schedules, assign tasks, plan shifts and communicate with employees. Provides visibility on employee availability both in real time and in the future to help managers plan resources and workflows. A self-service mobile app enables employees to track everyday schedules and budgets, message colleagues, take advance paychecks and earn more money by taking shifts that are available. Some reviewers mentioned that it doesn’t link with all the banks and applications, preventing them from using the cash advance feature. The system can be glitchy, slow and crash at times. Users wished that customer support would be made available online via 24/7 options, which would be more pragmatic and reliable.

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Screenshots

Top Alternatives in Employee Scheduling Software


7shifts

Deputy

Findmyshift

Homebase

Humanity

OpenSimSim

Planday

Quinyx

ScheduleFlex

Shiftbase

Shiftboard

Sling

TimeForge

WhenToWork

ZoomShift

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