The best rostering and scheduling software in 2025

Why rostering software matters more than ever in 2025

For frontline businesses, rostering is no longer just a back-office task — it’s one of the most powerful tools for business performance. In 2025, organisations across Australia continue to face ongoing workforce challenges: tight labour markets, shifting compliance requirements, cost pressures, and rising employee expectations for flexibility and fairness.

Manual rostering processes — such as spreadsheets or paper-based schedules — simply can’t keep up. They’re prone to errors, create compliance risks, and drain time that managers could spend leading their teams.

Modern rostering software removes these inefficiencies by allowing businesses to:

• Build accurate, compliant rosters in minutes

• Align staffing with real-time operational demand

• Automate compliance with awards, EBAs, and labour laws

• Empower employees with self-service shift management

• Track and forecast labour costs in real time

In short, rostering software is no longer a “nice-to-have”. For frontline businesses, it’s essential for staying compliant, controlling costs, and keeping employees engaged.

What to look for in rostering software

Choosing the right rostering platform means understanding which features will make the biggest difference to your business.

Key features to prioritise include:

• Automated rostering & templates: Simplify roster creation and reduce admin time

• Demand forecasting: Match staffing levels with customer demand and business peaks

• Awards & compliance: Eliminate manual pay calculations and ensure compliance with regulations

• Real-time cost visibility: See the financial impact of every shift before publishing

• Mobile access: Empower staff to view, swap, or accept shifts anywhere, anytime

• Shift bidding & preferences: Promote autonomy, flexibility and fairness

• Analytics & reporting: Turn workforce data into actionable insights

• Payroll & HR integrations: Create a seamless, end-to-end workflow across people systems

The top rostering platforms for frontline businesses in 2025

Here’s a comparative look at the leading rostering and workforce management platforms used by enterprise-level, shift-based organisations operating in Australia.

1. Humanforce – Rostering & Scheduling

Best for: Enterprise businesses with complex rostering needs, including multi-role/multi-department scheduling, who operate in complex industrial landscapes where pay compliance is difficult to manage

Core industries served: Aged Care, Healthcare, Childcare & Early Learning, Retail, Hospitality, Events & Stadiums Leisure, Education, Local Government, and more

As a cloud-based, all-in-one HCM platform, Humanforce covers all aspects of people management in frontline and flexible workplaces, including Workforce Management, HR Management, Talent Acquisition, Benefits and Payroll.

Sitting within the Workforce Management suite, Humanforce’s Rostering & Scheduling solution brings together intelligent automation, compliance confidence, and real-time workforce insights in one unified platform.

Purpose-built for shift-based and deskless workforces, it allows managers to create compliant, data-driven, cost-efficient rosters in minutes while empowering employees to manage their own shifts on-the-go via the Humanforce Work App.

Humanforce helps businesses forecast demand, manage costs, and maintain compliance — all while improving employee experience and engagement.

Key rostering features:

• Automated roster creation that factors in all staff preferences, leave dates, availability, qualifications, compliance obligations, budget, and more

• Templates and drag and drop functionality to help streamline the roster creation process

• AI-powered forecasting that takes into consideration historical rostering patterns and data from other business intelligence platforms (e.g. bookings/reservations or POS) to ensure rosters are never under- or over-staffed

• Integrated Awards & Compliance for calculation of correct payments and entitlements according to relevant EBAs and modern awards

• Real-time cost visibility and budget tracking while the roster is being created for better control not just of labour costs but also of minimum and maximum hour limits across timeframes, qualifications, awards, and more

• Automated notifications when roster conflicts or issues occur, including alerts when attempts are made to roster workers who don’t have appropriate or up-to-date qualifications, or have worked too many hours without adequate breaks

• Employee shift swaps, availability management, and preferences

• Mobile access through the Humanforce Work App to bolster communication to staff about shift details

• Workforce insights and analytics via Workforce Analytics, including industry-specific reporting dashboards such as AN-ACC Reporting for Aged Care employers

• Seamless integrations with the wider Humanforce HCM suite, including HR and payroll, or secure API integrations with external providers

Humanforce is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with operations across Australia, New Zealand, the US and the UK. Our goal is to make work easier and life better for frontline and flexible workforces – and our Rostering & Scheduling software embodies this vision perfectly: Humanforce helps frontline organisations roster smarter, reduce costs, and stay compliant — all while empowering their people to work more flexibly and productively.

2. Deputy – Rostering software

Best for: Organisations needing straightforward rostering and time tracking

Core industries served: Retail, Hospitality, Healthcare, and Education

Deputy provides a functional rostering and time management tool aimed at simplifying day-to-day scheduling. It offers visibility of wage costs and supports award interpretation, making it suitable for standard workforce environments.

Key rostering features:

• Automated shift scheduling

• Basic cost tracking and reporting

• Award rule interpretation

• Employee self-service for shift swaps

• Integrations with payroll software

Deputy – G2 sentiment summary
Online reviewers often highlight Deputy’s intuitive interface and easy navigation, citing how quickly managers and frontline staff adopt its scheduling and time-off features. Many praise its mobile access and shift-reminder functionality as helpful in real-world operations, as well as the ease of scheduling and detailed time tracking it offers. Criticisms tend to focus on occasional app slowdowns or lag when handling large roster volumes. Some also mention limited customisation of reporting for complex workforce environments, while others find the excessive notifications overwhelming.

3. Tanda – Workforce Management Platform

Best for: Businesses seeking compliance-focused scheduling tools

Core industries served: Hospitality, Retail, Hospitality, Healthcare, Grocery

Tanda provides a compliance-led approach to rostering, with features designed to align staffing with operational demand. It includes forecasting and award interpretation for organisations that prioritise accurate labour cost management.

Key rostering features:

• Award interpretation and compliance alerts

• Labour forecasting based on sales and demand data

• Shift templates for recurring schedules

• Wage and budget tracking

• Payroll system integrations

Tanda – G2 sentiment summary
Online reviewers commend Tanda’s simplicity and ease of use, particularly for scheduling and payroll integration in Australian environments. Users also appreciate that it handles award compliance well for many typical rostering needs. However, some point out that advanced customisation options are limited when dealing with highly complex shift patterns or irregular work rules. A few reviewers also mention occasional friction when managing multi-location operations.

4. Connecteam – Employee Scheduling Module

Best for: Smaller teams or mobile-first workforces

Core industries served: Construction, Cleaning, Healthcare, Food and Beverage

Connecteam provides a simple mobile solution that combines rostering, communication, and task management. It’s designed for businesses with dispersed or on-the-go staff who need an easy way to manage shifts and updates.

Key rostering features:

• Mobile shift creation and open shift posting

• GPS-enabled time tracking

• Basic communication and task tools

• Time-off and availability management

Connecteam – G2 sentiment summary
Online reviewers frequently praise Connecteam’s mobile-first design and how effortlessly staff can view and manage shifts on their phones. The communication and task modules bundled with scheduling receive positive mention for boosting operational coordination. Some feedback highlights the lack of payroll integration as a key pain point, as well as limited customisation options and a steep learning curve. Others note the user experience can become less smooth when scaling across multiple locations.

5. Employment Hero – Shift Scheduling

Best for: Organisations seeking integrated HR, payroll, and rostering in one platform

Core industries served: Software / IT, Manufacturing, Marketing and Advertising, Childcare

Employment Hero includes a scheduling module as part of its broader HR and payroll suite. It’s designed for organisations that want simple rostering functionality within a centralised people platform.

Key rostering features:

• Drag-and-drop roster builder

• Award-based compliance settings

• Employee mobile access for shifts and leave

• Integration with Employment Hero Payroll

Employment Hero – G2 sentiment summary
Online reviewers often mention the convenience of having rostering closely integrated with HR, payroll, and leave management, reducing duplication across systems. Many appreciate that core scheduling features are simple and intuitive for general use. On the flip side, some reviewers say more complex scheduling needs or multi-site rostering expose limitations in flexibility. A few also mention that support or feature rollouts can sometimes lag behind expectations, while others express frustration with poor customer support and limited features.

6. UKG – Workforce Management

Best for: Large global enterprises with advanced scheduling and compliance needs

Core industries served: Healthcare, Contract Services, Distribution, Hospitality and Food Services

UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group) delivers enterprise-grade scheduling, timekeeping, and workforce optimisation tools. It’s designed for large, complex organisations operating across multiple regions.

Key rostering features:

• Rule-based scheduling engine

• Fatigue and workload compliance

• Workforce optimisation and reporting

• Multi-site and multi-country scheduling

UKG – G2 sentiment summary
Online reviewers highlight UKG’s configurability and powerful rule-based engine, which make it suitable for large organisations with complex scheduling requirements. Many note its capacity to handle multi-site, multi-region operations and integrate fatigue and compliance controls. They also appreciate the ease of use and intuitive user interface. Some criticisms point to the system’s complexity, and a steep learning curve, particularly during implementation. Others mention that tailoring for niche use cases can require significant admin effort.

7. Dayforce – Workforce Management

Best for: Enterprises needing integrated scheduling and payroll

Core industries served: Retail and Hospitality, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Financial Services

Dayforce (formerly Ceridian) combines scheduling, payroll, and HR functions in a single cloud platform. It supports real-time compliance and cost management for complex workforce environments.

Key rostering features:

• Real-time compliance alerts

• Demand-driven scheduling

• Unified payroll and HR integration

• Labour cost forecasting

Dayforce – G2 sentiment summary
Online reviewers frequently commend Dayforce’s unified platform, where scheduling, payroll, and HR share a single database, reducing reconciliation work. Many appreciate its real-time compliance alerts and how shifts sync with time and payroll data. However, some mention that initial setup and configuration are intensive — especially for large, diverse frontline teams. A few users also note performance or usability constraints when rostering across numerous sites. Others noted poor customer support and limited customisation options.

8. ELMO Software – Rostering, Time & Attendance

Best for: Organisations wanting a broader HR suite with scheduling capabilities

Core industries served: Healthcare, Education, Construction, Financial Services

ELMO Software delivers rostering, time and attendance, and payroll management tools within its integrated HCM platform. It’s designed for medium to large organisations seeking a single system to manage HR, workforce scheduling, and compliance processes across departments.

Key rostering features:

• Shift building and roster templates

• Time capture and approvals for payroll processing

• Award/entitlement configuration and basic compliance checks

• Integrations across ELMO HCM modules and selected payrolls

ELMO Software – G2 sentiment summary
Online reviewers highlight ELMO’s ease of setup and the benefit of managing rostering, time, and HR modules within one platform. Many appreciate its clean interface and straightforward scheduling for standard shift patterns, as well as excellent customer support and ease of use. However, some note inconsistent performance across modules when scaling, and limited mobile functionality which may hinder frontline use in dynamic settings. Others mention that more advanced custom rostering features are less mature.

9. Rippling – Employee Rostering

Best for: Businesses wanting an all-in-one HR, payroll, and rostering platform

Core industries served: Construction, Retail, Financial Services, Technology

Rippling provides connected HR, payroll, and workforce management tools in a single, unified system. Its rostering capabilities are built to streamline shift planning, time tracking, and cost control for businesses managing large or distributed teams.

Key rostering features:

• Shift planning with templates and role-based assignments

• Time-off/availability sync across HR and scheduling

• Timesheets and approvals linked to payroll

• Centralised admin with employee self-service

Rippling – G2 sentiment summary
Online reviewers often praise Rippling’s sleek UI and how well its rostering integrates with payroll and HR in a single platform. Many credit it with reducing administrative overhead by centralising scheduling, attendance, and compensation workflows. Some users mention that support response times for complex or custom issues can lag. A few reviewers also say that handling deep compliance or industry-specific requirements sometimes requires additional configuration. While the UI is praised, it poses a steep learning curve and is said to cause navigation difficulties for some users.

Humanforce Rostering & Scheduling: Designed for frontline workforces

The above guide was written to help you navigate through the best rostering software providers of 2025 — but the list is by no means exhaustive. Your business has unique needs, and it's critical to shop around and identify which features matter most to your teams and overall operations. Many providers also design their software to match specific industry needs — another key factor to consider when looking for the perfect tool.

In 2025, rostering is no longer just about filling shifts — it’s about building a more compliant, connected, and cost-efficient workforce. Each of the solutions listed provides value, but Humanforce’s Rostering & Scheduling solution stands out for its purpose-built design for frontline workforces. With intelligent automation, built-in compliance, and powerful analytics, it helps businesses deliver better experiences for managers and employees alike — while keeping labour costs under control.

About Humanforce

Humanforce is the all-in-one platform for frontline and flexible workforces, offering a truly employee centred, intelligent and compliant human capital management (HCM) suite – without compromise. Founded in 2002, Humanforce has a 2300+ customer base and over half a million users worldwide.

Our vision is to make work easier and life better by focusing on the needs and fulfilment of frontline workers, and the efficiency and optimisation of businesses.

To learn more about how Humanforce’s solution can help automate people processes in your business, please contact us.