HotSchedules
Scheduling and workforce management for restaurants
4.4 /5 (402 reviews) Write a Review!
Your Schedule On The Go!
Pros
I really enjoy the convenience of being able to view your work schedule remotely and anywhere for that matter! Set up an email or a Gmail account and it's delivered right to your inbox! Gone are the days of having to call your employer or having to drive to your place of employment to view it on paper. "Your" time is valuable and let's be honest, none of us want to go to work on our days off for any reason!
Cons
I really and truthfully speaking have nothing negative to include with Hot Schedules. It's been a great software addition to our store and team! If someone did tell me that I had to pick out one feature that I don't care for, I guess it'd be the "How was your shift?" feature that pops up when logging on. That said, it's such a minor dislike and isn't really worth mentioning.
Good Scheduler
Overall its very good. I don't have much issue with it, but the UI could be definitely be better.
Pros
Hotschedules won our business by having the best Aloha POS integration of all the companies we spoke with. Employees that are added to our system are automatically synced with Hotschedules so you can quickly begin adding them to the schedule. The integration also allows us to restrict employees from clocking in too early or late with saves labor and allows you to quickly identify the less punctual employees. Finally, the integration also pulls historical sales data from our POS and uses it to establish a good sales forecast that you can use to budget your labor accurately.
Cons
The app and website are just not as intuitive and streamline as I would like. Previously we had used PeopleMatter schedule, which had a much less cluttered and more user friendly interface. Hotschedules also starts to think it knows how to schedule better than the manager and will start adding "House Shifts" to your schedule that employees can pick up, which frustrates me when I really don't need that shift covered.
Hotschedules Implimentation
I recently signed up for hotschedules for my business that opens up in March. The support staff was great and very knowledgable in questions I had for hotschedules.
Pros
I love that this software is more comman than it use to be. Most employees hired have heard or used hotschedules which makes the transition alot easier. Communication threw hotschedules makes this program a must for any business that has a decent sized staff
Cons
Software is great however it is a little pricey for what it does. Dont get me wrong its great but just a hair high
Response from HotSchedules
Anthony,
We know you're very busy, so thank you for taking time out of your day to provide us feedback. We appreciate your role in our community.
If you have any specific suggestions for product enhancements, please do not hesitate to voice your thoughts on our community forum page!
https://help.hotschedules.com/hc/en-us/community/topics/200388757-Feature-Requests
Happy Scheduling!

Great for scheduling staff in the restaurant industry
I used this app to schedule a full restaurant staff including FOH BOH and Managers. This tool is incredible useful and negates the need to figure out scheduling most weeks. All employees can submit their availability and I can schedule them badsed off of this availability without thinking to check because it bars me from scheudling people outside of their approved availability. No more scheduling issues!
Pros
Intuitive User interface
Easy to add new users
Great scheduling utility
incredible for contacting staff on a large scale
Has a mobile app that users can use
Cons
The mobile app costs money so most of my staff refuses to download this app which sends them push notifications in the event I need to contact them all. I believe that since we are already paying to use the software this app should be free to download. Without a login the application is useless so the fact you need to pay to download the app is very ridiculous.
Very convenient tool
Overall, our business couldn't function without HotSchedules. It makes scheduling easy for managers and provides vital flexibility for employees. It might be overkill for small teams, but if you frequently schedule several people for many shifts each week, it's well worth the cost.
Pros
HotSchedules allows employees to trade shifts, pick up shifts, and see their schedules very easily. It makes managing personnel and schedules so much easier for managers, and it's great for the team to have added flexibility. Without HotSchedules, trading shifts can be a nightmare for both employee and manager alike.
Cons
The only con we've seen is that HotSchedules has built-in rejections for some requests. In theory, this is a great tool - if you don't meet the criteria to make the request, then it's automatically rejected. However, there are some manual workarounds, which means employees still make requests to the manager rather than via HotSchedules since they know there can be adjustments made. This really isn't a complaint of HotSchedules since it works as it's supposed to, but just a head's up that there will still be manual adjustments.
HotSchedules in the Restaurant Industry
I love the fact that HotSchedules was created. It makes life in the restaurant industry so much easier. I just wish I would have though of it first!!
Pros
I enjoy using HotSchedules from both an employee and a management perspective. As an employee, the app makes it super easy to double-check my schedule or swap a shift with a coworker. As a manager, logging in from my computer and using "scheduling" truly makes the world of a difference when it comes to writing schedules. It helps me keep track of employee availability, requests off, and labor costs. I also enjoy the "logbook", as communication is key for my team!
Cons
I wish there was a way to use one username and be able to view multiple restaurants under one user. I sometimes have more than one job at a time and they typically all use HotSchedules. It would just be convenient to log in under me and be able to view all of my schedules, messages, etc. without having to remember multiple usernames/passwords and log in and out repeatedly.
Valuable Product
I have worked with HotSchedules in 3 different restaurants. Each experience a little different. As a team member it was amazing, being able to see my schedule, trade shifts and message other team members.. all from my phone without any communication to my manager! As a manager of a multi-unit restaurant, scheduling was a breeze, again no need to speak to team members about shifts. They were easily approved via my own phone WHEREEVER! As a Beverage Manager at a casino with 24 hours-- the logbook and adjusting the system to work within union guidelines was AMAZING! I love hotschedules, once my restaurant expands I plan to use it again!
Pros
Ease of use, accessibility -- the facebook of scheduling!
Cons
Honestly, would love to see them work on the ease of the scheduler. I feel like that whole page could be done differently. It just seems that something could be done to streamline it. The shortcuts are nice but not easily remembered. Additionally, I would love if there was a cost effective version for small independently owned restaurants.
I have used this in every major restaurant I have managed.
There are so many features to talk about I could write a book. It took me less time to right schedules, forecasting gave me an idea how many employees Id need at given areas around the restaurant and really left the guess work out of it.
Pros
Ties in with inventory and POS software to establish patterns in business and gives you Forecasting on volume of business to help with your scheduling needs.
Cons
Its expensive. Especially if you want all the major features. But you get what you pay for. If you can afford it, its worth the leap.
Hotschedules makes life so much easier
I love the convenience and ease of being able to use hotschedules. I get my schedule right to my phone, can trade/release/pick up shifts, and can communicate easily with all my coworkers and managers!!
Pros
I love the fact that I can almost take charge of my own schedule with this software. I have the app, and it seriously makes my life so much easier. ? I'm a waitress, and a single mom of 2, so the fact that I can do everything from my phone is super convenient!!! I rarely have to go in to talk to a manager now. I can just pop in on the app to release/pick up shifts, change my availability, or send a message to a manger or coworker!
Cons
It took me a minute to figure out how to use it, however, I am not at all a tech person. Once I figured out how to use it, it was super easy!
streamlined, simple, reliable
Easy to use scheduling
Pros
Easy to schedule based on availability and staffing needs. It's nice to have a consolidated roster report for every position. I also like that you can sync it with the POS system to control labor.
Cons
New scheduling module makes it difficult to see how many people are on a certain schedule for each specific day. Also, having two request off options is confusing and sometimes makes it difficult for the MOD to control when people can and cannot request off
Easy if everyone uses it! ha!
Pros
I like the ability to have everything in one place for all employees. I have used this as a server and as a manager and as a manager, being able to see what everyone needs and organize the schedules all in one place is the highlight here. And it allows you to separate different schedules, like server and manager schedules, etc.
Cons
There are some glitches sometimes, it's slow and doesn't always load on my phone. And other people have complained about this as well. I suppose some of the functions could be easier and a little more user-friendly.
Hotschedules Review
Overall, I've always loved HS. Easy to use and teach.
Pros
Easy to interact with staff. Keep accountability in the hands of staff. Easy to use. Easy to train staff on.
Cons
Sometimes the updates make scheduling difficult. Also, we are trying to switch the day that our work week starts and they make it difficult because you have to have two weeks of schedules out before they'll do it for you.
App for my work schedule
Love this app and have used it with my job at Chilis and Buffalo Wild Wings and Bagger Daves.
Pros
The fact I can access my schedule for work whenever I need to. And I don't have to remember all the shifts I am scheduled.
Cons
How messages sent or recieved don't recieve notifications for it. WIsh I would get a alert when someone sends me a message or notification on tab showing I have a message.
Quick and easy!
This was a great system to work with and it is highly recommended for anyone who is just looking for a basic scheduling system. I honestly didn't have any issues with this system. Once it went down and we all needed new passwords.
Pros
This scheduling system is so quick and easy to use. from logging in, to requests and switching shifts. It also has the great email and text features that ensure everyone gets the reminders needed. I loved this system!
HotSchedules is an amazing application for all businesses!
Overall, I would definitely recommend HotSchedules to other businesses to manage their employee schedules.
Pros
What I liked most about HotSchedules is how user-friendly it was to use. It also made the process of posting schedules to staff and accessing so much easier!
Cons
The only con that I have is that the employee has to pay to download the application. Other than that, no complaints!
Overall Not bad!
I am not a fan of some of the changes to hot schedules, but overall it is useful! It would be great to do in house trainings so all staff can be up to date on use.
Pros
It makes schedule switches very easy
Cons
The interface is complicated and it is difficult to see when I have messages.
Response from HotSchedules
Michelle,
Thank you for taking time out of your day to provide us with feedback, we really appreciate it! We apologize for the less than exceptional ease of use with our new interface. We value any and all feedback-we have a community request page where you can submit your thoughts and insights directly to our Customer Support team!
https://help.hotschedules.com/hc/en-us/community/topics/200388757-Feature-Requests
Great Tool
I can forecast and track labor with ease. Hot schedules in intergraded with our pos so sales/ labor is updated daily
Pros
I like the way it is intergraded with our daily pos system which makes it possible for me to track things like labor.
Cons
Scheduling is a bit troublesome sometimes do to the icons on the lower right of the boxes. Forecasting could be made a bit easier to use.
Hotschedules is Helpful
Hotschedules makes it easy to trade shifts, see your schedule, request time off, and message co-workers all in one app.
Pros
My favorite thing about this program is the ability to release and pick up shifts. You can even message co-workers on the software.
Cons
Sometimes the app will glitch or freeze. However overall, Hotschedules is user friendly and their customer support is great.
HotSchedules review
All I need to do because I am a user, not a administrator of the product is 4 or 6 number digit. It’s convenient for me.
Pros
I’ve had to use this product because of work and in the last two years, 90 percent of my employers use it.
Cons
Something I didn’t like about this product I it’s that it is a little complicated to use, an DV it takes sometime to get used to it.
Great Product.
It really helps with communication with your staff they have the availability to check their schedule any time. You can also eliminate early clock-ins
Pros
online access, clock-in monitoring
Cons
Inability to update the template, having to resave a schedule instead of just adjusting the template. Having to put in the password all the time on my office computer. Need an option for a "keep me signed in on this computer and only ask for passwords when making a change
Response from HotSchedules
Hello Laura,
Thank you so much for your feedback! Here are some articles that may help with updating your template!
https://help.hotschedules.com/hc/en-us/articles/215565947-HS-Create-New-Templates-Based-on-Existing-Templates
https://help.hotschedules.com/hc/en-us/articles/214872978-HS-How-to-Edit-Existing-Templates
Hotschedules review
Its super helpful with mapping weekly schedules and for staff communication. Ease of use could be improved and the app should be free.
Pros
Customiable roles per employee.
That the software does not delete terminated employees from the system.
Cons
It can be glitchy and does not always update in real time when multiple administrators are using.

Easy to use
Pros
I like that you can use this to not only schedule but also approve vacation time. Multi-purpose/multi-use tool. Like that you can personalize tasks.
Cons
No cons. Would recommend hot schedules over other programs (ex: Appointment Plus)
Hotschedules is a must have tool for any restaurant operation
We manage 5 restaurants, hotschedules is extremely important to our operation. It integrates with our POS system and has awesome forecasting and budgeting tools.
Response from HotSchedules
Fernando,
Thank you for the great review! We love to serve those who serve and are happy to help your business run more efficiently. We appreciate your role in our community.
Happy Scheduling!
Has continually gotten less user friendly for managers and staff.
Pros
Being able to schedule and message staff. However, you have to go to the app to respond or read messages.
Cons
Notifications are hit or miss. Sometimes you get them and sometimes you don't. You have to go to app to read messages. You can not respond to texts or emails.
Great scheduler
Always easy to use and customer service is fast and helpful . Have used hotschedules with previous employers and it has always been an asset.
Response from HotSchedules
PJ,
Thank you so much for the great review! We love to serve those who serve and are happy to help your business run more efficiently. Thank you for being a part of our community.
Happy Scheduling!
Wonderful! I can easily access using the app from my phone a comprehensive view of todays roster and more! Helping me as a director plan a shift before I even get to work. Especially important to plan in my business because surprises arise frequently and daily. I can also easily request time off needed through the app, call, text, or even email my staff if needed to. Hot Schedules saves me and my company time, money, and helps our business to stay productive!