Homebase

joinhomebase.com
HR & Payroll
Weekend Project

All-in-one Employee Scheduling, Time Clocks, Payroll, & More

How to Replace Homebase

Overview

Homebase is an all-in-one workforce management platform designed for small businesses and hourly teams. It consolidates employee scheduling, time tracking, payroll processing, and HR management into a single app. The platform serves over 150,000 small businesses and 3.5 million employees, helping managers save time and streamline operations.

Features

36 features across 14 categories

AI Assistant(4)

Hiring AssistantAIPremium

AI-powered hiring platform that automates job posts, candidate screening, and interviews

Onboarding AssistantAIPremium

AI assistant that streamlines forms and gets new hires set up and scheduled quickly

Payroll AssistantAIPremium

AI assistant that catches errors, prevents compliance issues, and ensures payroll runs smoothly

Scheduling AssistantAIPremium

AI assistant that creates optimized schedules for teams in just a few clicks

Administration(1)

Departments & PermissionsPremium

Create departments, assign managers with custom access permissions, and organize scheduling and reporting

Also in: Notion, Airtable, Smartsheet

Analytics(2)

Business Insights & ReportingPremium

Detailed reports on activity, sales, and labor costs with forecasted sales and custom labor targets

Labor Cost ManagementPremium

Monitor labor costs with overtime alerts, prevent early clock-ins, auto clock-outs, and track salaried wages

Also in: Hugging Face, Notion, Smartsheet

Communication(5)

Custom Messenger ChannelsPremium

Create custom messaging channels and share announcements with specific teams

Personalized Shift NotesPremium

Create personalized notes for each shift to communicate important information to employees

Real-Time NotificationsPremium

Automate real-time reminders and notifications to employees about schedules and updates

Schedule Read ReceiptsPremium

Get confirmation when employees view schedules and read messages

Team Communication

Chat, messaging channels, and shift updates to keep team members connected and informed in real-time

Also in: Jobber, Jira, Insightly

Compliance(1)

Break & Overtime CustomizationPremium

Customize overtime and break preferences with compliance waiver controls

Also in: Insider CDP, Airtable, 1Password

HR(4)

Employee OnboardingAIPremium

Digital onboarding with automated paperwork (W-4, W-9, I-9, Direct Deposit forms), custom documents, and e-signature

HR & Compliance ToolsPremium

Access to certified HR advisors, policy reviews, custom handbooks, and labor law updates

Performance TrackingPremium

Track team attendance, late alerts, celebrate milestones/birthdays, manage certifications, and keep performance notes

PTO & Time Off ManagementPremium

Manage paid time off with accrual policies, request limits, advance notice requirements, and compliance controls

Integration(2)

API AccessPremium

Custom API access to build custom integrations with Homebase

POS Integration

Integration with point-of-sale systems for seamless data flow and clock-in capabilities

Also in: monday.com, Notion, Airtable

Mobile(1)

Mobile App

Full-featured mobile app for managing team, viewing schedules, and team communication on the go

Also in: monday.com, Smartsheet, Calendly

Payroll(3)

Flexible Pay Benefits

Offer flexible pay benefits like Cash Out to employees at no cost to business

Payroll ProcessingAIPremium

Automated payroll with wages, taxes, and tips calculated automatically, supporting direct deposit, W-2s, 1099s, and next-day pay

Tip ManagerPremium

Automatically pull tips from POS, calculate tip pools, and add to timesheets

Recruitment(3)

Background ChecksPremium

Run reliable background checks on candidates directly within Homebase

Hiring & Job PostingPremium

Post jobs, track applicants, and manage the hiring process with integration to ZipRecruiter and Craigslist

Job Post BoostsPremium

Promote job openings on Craigslist and ZipRecruiter to reach larger or more targeted applicant pools

Scheduling(3)

Availability ManagementPremium

Manage employee availability and time off requests with advance notice controls

Shift Trading & CoveragePremium

Allow employees to trade shifts, cover open shifts, and claim available shifts from the app

Smart SchedulingAI

AI-powered scheduling that plans shifts based on employee availability, roles, labor costs, and other factors

Support(2)

24/7 AI Chat SupportAI

Round-the-clock AI-powered chat support and access to Help Center

Live SupportPremium

Live support via chat and phone from real people

Task Management(1)

Task ManagerPremium

Build and assign task lists to employees, track completion, and hold team accountable

Time Tracking(4)

Location-Based Clock InPremium

Enable GPS-based clock-in with location restriction to business location

Photo Capture on Clock InPremium

Capture team member photos when clocking in on tablets and POS devices for verification

Time Clock

Digital time clock for employees to clock in and out on tablets, computers, phones, POS devices, and web

TimesheetsAI

Automatic timesheet creation from clock-ins with error-free data flowing to payroll, with 90 days to 4+ years of storage

Pricing

Basic

$0 / location / month
  • Basic scheduling
  • Basic time tracking
  • Point-of-sale integration
  • Build weekly schedule
  • Clock in on tablets, computers & POS devices
  • Manage and store timesheets for up to 90 days
  • Message with your team in real-time
  • Offer flexible pay benefits like Cash Out
  • Manage your team on mobile app
  • 24/7 AI chat support and Help Center

Essentials

$30/mo or $24/mo annually
  • Everything in Basic
  • Advanced scheduling
  • Advanced time tracking
  • Team communication
  • Customize overtime & break preferences
  • Manage availability & time off requests
  • Allow employees to trade, cover and claim open shifts
  • Enable location-based clock in
  • Automate real-time reminders & notifications
  • Manage and store timesheets for 4+ years
  • Payroll integrations

Plus

Popular
$70/mo or $56/mo annually
  • Everything in Essentials
  • AI-powered Scheduling Assistant
  • PTO & time-off controls
  • Departments & permissions
  • Share upcoming events & create personalized shift notes
  • Create custom messenger channels & share announcements
  • Get confirmation when employees view schedules & read messages
  • Track team attendance with reporting & late alerts
  • Celebrate employee milestones & birthdays
  • Manage employee certifications
  • Keep performance notes for employees

All-in-One

$120/mo or $96/mo annually
  • Everything in Plus
  • Employee onboarding
  • Labor cost management
  • HR & compliance
  • Send onboarding packets to new-hires and contractors
  • Automate paperwork with W-4, W-9, I-9 and Direct Deposit Forms
  • Upload custom documents and employee identification
  • Verify & e-sign employee paperwork
  • Organize and securely store employee documents
  • Get live support from certified HR Advisors
  • Have HR Professionals review your policies and create a custom handbook
  • Get notified about changes to federal and state labor laws
  • Receive alerts when employees approach or reach overtime
  • Prevent employees from clocking in or returning from break early
  • Automatically clock out employees at the end of their shifts
  • Track employees with salaried wages & multiple wage rates
  • Access detailed reports on activity, sales, and labor costs
  • Build your schedule using forecasted sales and custom labor targets

Payroll Add-On

$39/mo + $6/mo per employee
  • Payroll processing
  • Automated tax calculation and filing
  • Direct deposit
  • W-2s and 1099s
  • Unlimited payroll runs
  • Payroll Assistant AI
  • Next day pay

Tip Manager Add-On

$25/mo per location
  • Automatically pull tips from POS
  • Calculate tip pool
  • Add tips to timesheets

Background Checks Add-On

$30 each
  • Run reliable background checks
  • Convenient background checks in Homebase

Task Manager Add-On

$13/mo per location
  • Build and assign task lists
  • Hold team accountable
  • Track completion in app or on desktop

Job Post Boosts Add-On

Starting at $79/post
  • Promote job openings on Craigslist
  • Promote job openings on ZipRecruiter
  • Reach larger applicant pools
  • Reach more targeted applicants

Hiring Assistant Add-On

Starting at $30/post (first month free)
  • Find right candidates
  • Streamline job posts to interviews
  • Screen applicants
  • Surface top candidates

Cost Calculator

Keep Paying Homebase

Monthly$13/mo
Yearly$156/yr
5-Year Total$780

Build It Yourself

Est. Build Time~3 hrs
Hosting$20/mo
DifficultyVery Easy

Total Cost Comparison

1 Year
SaaS
$156
DIY
$240
3 Years
SaaS
$468
DIY
$720
5 Years
SaaS
$780
DIY
$1.2k

DIY hosting estimate based on Vercel + Supabase free/pro tiers (~$20/mo). Build time estimated from 36 features at very easy complexity.

Build vs Buy

Should you build a Homebase alternative or buy the subscription? Estimate based on 36 features.

Buy Homebase

Better Value
Monthly cost$130/mo
3-year total$4,680
Time to deployDays

Build Your Own

Development cost$24,000
Maintenance$360/mo
3-year total$36,960
Dev time~2 months

Buying Homebase saves ~$32,280 over 3 years vs building.

Estimates based on 36 features and a BuildScore of 5/5. Actual costs vary.

Integrations

4 known integrations

CraigslistCustom APIPoint of Sale (POS) SystemsZipRecruiter