This employee-scheduling and time tracking software functions well on its own, and the payroll add-on might fit the bill for small businesses with modest payroll requirements.
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REVIEWED BY
Expert Contributor
| Total Rating | 3.8 |
|---|---|
| Pricing3.6 | |
| Ease Of Use2.7 | |
| Features4.0 | |
| Customer Service4.4 | |
| User Reviews4.4 | |
Payroll Processing Time
2+ daysPricing Range
up to $99.95/month per locationBusiness Size
Small to large businesses with 1+ employeesTable of Contents
Homebase is an online employee scheduling and time-tracking software designed for use by small to large businesses with one or more locations.
Homebase also offers payroll services as an add-on for businesses that want to combine employee management and payroll processing into a single space.
Additionally, Homebase seems to be very well-loved by its users, boasts an excellent mobile app, and provides small businesses with a free plan that includes basic employee scheduling and time-tracking features.
| Pricing3.6 |
|---|
| Software Plans 4.8 |
| Pricing Transparency 5.0 |
| Pricing Customization 3.0 |
Homebase earned a 3.6/5 star rating in the pricing category, which is actually a pretty solid score. Homebase only lost points in this category because its pricing structure lacks customization options that could save smaller businesses money.
Here’s a look at Homebase’s pricing:
| Homebase Plans | Price | When To Use |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll Add-On | $39/month + $6/person | If you need basic payroll processing paired with scheduling software |
| Basic | $0/month | If you need basic scheduling features for up to 20 employees with one location only |
| Essentials | $24.95/location/month or $240/location/year | If you need advanced scheduling and live support |
| Plus | $59.95/location/month or $576/location/year | If you need advanced scheduling, live support, and strong employee management features |
| All-In-One | $99.95/location/month or $960/location/year | If you need advanced scheduling, live support, and strong employee management features, and support from HR advisors |
Homebase’s four pricing plans start at $0/month for one location with 20 or fewer employees paid and increase up to $99.95/month per location on its most expensive plan.
Homebase also offers payroll as an add-on service. At that price point, Homebase is affordable but isn’t rated as one of the best cheap payroll software services.
Homebase is best for businesses that have extensive scheduling needs and very basic payroll needs. For businesses that just need payroll, Gusto, Square Payroll, or OnPay offer stronger payroll processing features at a similar or lower price point.
Homebase’s payroll add-on includes:
Homebase’s Basic plan is free for businesses with one location paying 20 or fewer employees and includes:
Homebase’s Essentials plan includes everything from the Basic plan, plus:
Homebase’s Plus plan includes everything from the Essentials plan, plus:
Homebase’s All-In-One plan includes everything from the Plus plan, plus:
| Homebase Extra Costs | Price |
|---|---|
| Job Posting via Craigslist or ZipRecruiter | $79/post |
Homebase has a single published additional fee for businesses that want to publish and advertise their job postings on ZipRecruiter or Craigslist.
| Ease Of Use2.7 |
|---|
| Set Up 3.4 |
| Software Reliability 4.0 |
| Everyday Use 4.6 |
| Integrations 0.5 |
Homebase’s 2.7/5 star ease of use rating is low. However, the software is very easy to use on a day-to-day basis but lacks a substantial selection of accounting, HR, and time-tracking integrations.
Homebase is relatively easy to use. Sign-up was a breeze, and new users are treated to a 14-day free trial of Homebase’s most expensive and feature-rich All-In-One plan.
I found the software generally easy to navigate, save for a very minor error on the reports page and a slightly unintuitive start-up flow. However, in my software tests, I found that features such as reports, scheduling, time tracking, notifications, and more were very easy and worked as expected.
Homebase’s mobile app is also exceptionally well-designed and well-loved across both the App Store and the Play Store. However, user complaints did cite software reliability as a pain point.
| Features4.0 |
|---|
| Payroll Processing 4.2 |
| Employee Management & PTO 5.0 |
| Time Tracking 3.0 |
| Payroll Tax Support 4.5 |
| Reporting & Tax Forms 5.0 |
| Onboarding & HR 5.0 |
| Benefits Administration 0.0 |
| Niche Features 5.0 |
Regarding features, Homebase is an employee scheduling software above all, and it performs exceedingly well. Homebase earned a 4/5 star rating in the features section. Comparatively, top competitors, such as Gusto, OnPay, or QuickBooks Online Payroll, scored higher.
| Homebase Features | Availability |
|---|---|
| Payroll Tax Support | |
| Auto-Schedule Payroll | |
| Bonus Payroll | |
| Off-Cycle Payroll | |
| Employee Management | |
| Paid Time Off | |
| Time Tracking | |
| HR Support | |
| Onboarding Support | |
| Benefits Administration | |
| Number Of Reports | 10+ |
| Number Of Integrations | 25+ |
| Number Of Users Supported | Up to 20 |
For businesses with basic payroll needs, Homebase’s features will serve well and won’t break the bank. However, as your business grows, builds out a software stack, adds an employee benefits package, or needs more extensive reporting, you’ll start to notice where Homebase falls flat as a payroll solution.
Ultimately, Homebase has room to grow as a payroll service provider but should be able to meet the payroll and scheduling needs of many small businesses, especially those in the retail or restaurant industries.
Homebase Home Dashboard
Homebase Payroll Dashboard
Although Homebase’s payroll processing features aren’t as comprehensive as other options, businesses should be able to handle the basics of paying their employees and contractors. Homebase’s payroll processing features include:
Homebase Team Dashboard
Homebase’s employee management and PTO features are shining points for the software. Homebase’s users get plenty of customization options that should allow them to easily manage and organize their teams and tailor time off policies to best suit their business’s needs.
Here’s a look at Homebase’s employee management and PTO features:
Homebase Timesheet
As Homebase is primarily a scheduling and time-tracking software, businesses should have no trouble tracking and managing employee attendance. Homebase’s standout time-tracking features include:
Homebase Employee Tax Forms
Homebase offers industry-standard payroll tax support, including:
Homebase Reports
Even on its highest plan tier, Homebase’s reports were more scheduling and time-tracking-focused, rather than payroll-focused. However, there were report customization options and reports were easy to read. Here’s a look at Homebase’s reporting features:
Homebase Hiring Dashboard
Homebase offers solid HR and onboarding features designed to let your business let new hires onboard themselves and provide valuable HR resources. Homebase’s HR and onboarding features include:
| Customer Service4.4 |
|---|
| Personal Support 3.8 |
| Self-Service 5.0 |
Homebase scored a solid 4.4/5 stars in the customer service rating category, with plenty of genuinely helpful support options. However, Homebase lacks personalized software training and did earn some user complaints regarding customer service.
Here’s a look at Homebase’s extensive customer service options:
| Homebase Customer Service | Availability |
|---|---|
| Phone Support | |
| Email Support | |
| Support Tickets | |
| Live Chat | |
| Dedicated Support Representative | |
| Knowledge Base or Help Center | |
| Videos & Tutorials | |
| Company Blog | |
| Social Media |
Live representatives are available via phone from 8 AM to 7 PM CST, Monday through Friday.
One thing to note is that Homebase’s free Basic plan does not include live support options, so smaller businesses using the service are somewhat less prioritized.
Otherwise, Homebase’s customer service seems to perform well, with customers citing few complaints.
Homebase integrates with 25+ third-party software solutions, including POS software, payroll software, online job boards, and restaurant-specific business tools.
Standout Homebase integrations include Clover, Toast, Shopify, Square, QuickBooks, Revel, Indeed, Gusto, ADP, Rippling, and more.
Businesses using Homebase’s highest-tier plan also gain access to the software’s API.
| User Reviews4.4 |
|---|
| Customer Feedback 4.0 |
| Review Site Aggregate 4.5 |
With a 4.4/5 stars in the user review category, Homebase has garnered mostly positive reviews from its customers who cite the software’s ease of use, generous free plan, and scheduling features as some of its highlights.
The very few negative reviews came from users who weren’t satisfied with Homebase’s lack of customization options, pricing increases, and the limitations of its features.
Across the G2, Software Advice, and Capterra review sites, Homebase earned 4.5/5 stars with 2,000+ reviewers weighing in. More impressively, Homebase’s mobile app is exceptionally well-reviewed with the same 4.5/5-star rating and over one million downloads.
Homebase’s security earns an excellent rating, as the company has no history of data breaches, is transparent about what it does to protect its users’ data, and follows industry-standard security protocol. Homebase’s security highlights include:
| Homebase Review Summary | |
|---|---|
| Pricing Range | up to $99.95/month per location |
| Choose If You Need |
|
Homebase is a worthy investment for small businesses looking to combine scheduling software and payroll services at an affordable price point.
However, Homebase isn’t a great fit for businesses looking for a payroll-software solution because the company’s functionality as a payroll software is lacking compared to competitors in the space.
If your business is most drawn to Homebase’s free plan and affordable pricing, there are plenty of other free payroll services that may suit your needs, including our top choice Payroll4Free. Check out our Payroll4Free review for a look into the software’s features and fees.
We research, evaluate, and test each payroll software app that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate granular ratings.
Our exhaustive, 76-point rubric guides the star rating of each payroll provider we review, examining pricing, ease of use, features, customer service, and user reviews. Each section is weighted differently.
When rating payroll software, we are looking for very specific qualities. The speed and cost of payroll runs and the availability of tax filing services are given high weight, as are the quality and availability of accounting, time-tracking, HR integrations, and user onboarding services. We also look for the presence of client and employee portals, benefits administration, PTO and time management tools, and many more vital features.
Learn more about how we rate payroll software providers.
Free Trial: Try A Top Pick For Payroll
Gusto  |
|---|
Gusto is an all-in-one people platform that simplifies payroll many human resources tasks. Get Started.
Free Trial: Try A Top Pick For Payroll
Gusto |
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Gusto is an all-in-one people platform that simplifies payroll many human resources tasks. Get Started.
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Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
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