Homebase

In short

Homebase is scheduling, time tracking and team communication software built for small businesses with hourly teams, with payroll offered as a separate paid add-on rather than bundled into the core plans. Its free Basic plan covers a single location with up to ten employees, which is enough for many small crews outright; a business with more employees or more than one location needs a paid tier, and payroll itself carries its own add-on fee regardless of which base tier a business is on.

Key features for service businesses

| Point-of-sale integration | Connects Homebase to a business's point-of-sale system | Free |

| AI scheduling assistant | Builds an optimized schedule automatically for a manager to review and adjust | Plus and up |

| PTO controls and department management | Manages paid time off policies and organizes staff by department | Plus and up |

| Labor cost and sales forecasting | Tracks staffing cost against sales in real time and sends overtime alerts | Paid tiers |

| Employee onboarding and HR compliance tools | Adds onboarding workflows and compliance-focused reporting for a growing team | All-in-One (top tier) |

| Full-service payroll | Runs payroll with automated tax filing, direct deposit, and W-2 and 1099 filing | Separate add-on on any plan |

Who it's for

Homebase fits a small service business built around an hourly crew, such as a single-location plumbing, HVAC, restaurant or salon operation with up to ten employees, that wants scheduling, time tracking and a point-of-sale connection covered for free. It also suits a growing multi-location operation willing to pay per location for advanced scheduling, unlimited employees, and features like AI-assisted schedule building and labor cost forecasting as the team scales past what the free tier covers.

Who should look elsewhere

A business that wants payroll bundled into a single flat subscription, rather than layered on as a separate per-employee add-on, should compare Homebase's total cost against a platform that includes payroll in its base pricing before assuming Homebase is cheaper outright. A multi-location business should also weigh the per-location paid pricing model carefully, since costs scale with each additional location rather than staying flat as the business grows.

What it does well

Homebase's scheduling tools include shift templates and a drag-and-drop builder, employee availability submitted through the mobile app with manager approval, and an AI scheduling assistant on paid tiers that builds an optimized schedule for a manager to review rather than build from scratch.

Its time clock lets employees clock in and out from any device, flows hours, breaks and overtime directly into payroll-ready timesheets, and automatically flags missed punches and overtime compliance issues before they become a payroll problem.

Employees can swap shifts, pick up open shifts, and request time off directly through the mobile app, with automatic reminders sent by text, email or app notification, which cuts down on a manager having to personally rearrange coverage every time someone cannot make a shift.

The payroll add-on runs directly from approved timesheets rather than a separate export and re-entry step, handling multiple wage rates, tip pools, break compliance, overtime and paid time off in the same run, and it supports unlimited off-cycle payroll runs alongside bonus and commission payments.

Limits to know

The free Basic plan is capped at one location and ten employees, and does not include the AI scheduling assistant, PTO controls, department management, employee onboarding or HR compliance tools that sit on paid tiers, so a business expecting those features to already be included on the free plan will be surprised. Payroll is never bundled into any base plan; it runs as its own add-on with a separate per-employee fee no matter which tier a business is on, which matters when comparing Homebase's real total cost against a platform that includes payroll by default.

What to check on pricing

Homebase's paid tiers are priced per location per month, which adds up quickly for a business running several locations rather than one, and payroll's per-employee add-on fee sits on top of whichever base tier a business chooses. A business should map its actual employee count and location count against the free plan's limits, and separately check whether it wants Homebase's payroll add-on or an existing payroll tool, before comparing total cost; specifics are shown on the pricing table on this page.

Alternatives and when they fit

• Deputy if you want a similar hourly-team scheduling and time tracking tool with its own free-tier limits and add-on structure to compare directly against Homebase's.
• When I Work if your priority is shift scheduling and team messaging for an hourly crew without necessarily bundling a payroll add-on in the same account.
• Sling if you want a lighter tool focused mainly on scheduling and communication, and plan to run payroll through a separate dedicated payroll platform instead.

How we reviewed it

We checked Homebase's pricing page for the free Basic plan's limits, what each paid tier adds, and how the payroll add-on is structured across tiers. We separately reviewed Homebase's scheduling features page for shift building, availability management, labor cost forecasting and shift-swap details, and its homepage for how it describes payroll, time tracking and its target hourly-team audience. We did not rely on any third-party review site for feature claims in this review, and we did not restate specific dollar figures shown on the pricing page.