Homebase is an employee scheduling and time tracking platform that also includes the option to add on payroll software for an additional fee. In this review, we explain what you need to know about Homebase’s pricing plans and features. Then we dive into the pros and cons to help you decide if Homebase is the right choice for you.

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Homebase Payroll’s pricing

Homebase offers four main pricing plans, none of which actually include payroll. The small business payroll add-on costs $39 per month plus $6 per employee paid per month. A free trial is available, but it can be glitchy: When we tried to sign up on the website, Homebase claimed that an account already existed for each of the email addresses we tried, even though we had never used Homebase before.

Basic

The Basic plan is free for one location and up to 20 employees. It includes timesheets, time clocks, scheduling, availability and hiring tools.

Essentials

The Essentials plan costs $20 per location per month billed annually or $24.95 per location per month billed monthly. It includes all the features in Basic as well as team communication, performance tracking and remote and field tools.

Plus

The Plus plan costs $48 per location per month billed annually or $59.95 per location per month billed monthly. It includes all the features in Essentials as well as labor cost controls, budget tools, time off limits and PTO tracking.

All-in-One

The All-in-One plan costs $80 per location per month billed annually or $99.95 per location per month billed monthly. It includes all the features in Plus as well as new hiring onboarding, employee documents and HR and compliance tools.

Homebase Payroll’s key features

Scheduling

Managers can create a schedule either using templates or the auto-scheduling feature (Figure A) and allow employees to pick up or trade shifts to ensure coverage. Homebase will notify your team of schedule updates and remind them of upcoming shifts through the app, text or email. Supervisors can also set rules for block-out dates and time-off requests in advance and get alerts when team members are running late or approaching overtime.

Figure A

Time clock

If you have hourly workers, you will appreciate Homebase’s time clock app (Figure B), which works on most iOS, Android and POS devices. The GPS-enabled time tracking helps your business track hours for on-site and field teams by verifying clock-in locations. The app can also snap employee photos, require a PIN number, prevent early clock-ins and automate clock-outs to cut down on time theft.

Figure B

Timesheets

Once you’re ready to calculate wages, Homebase’s automated timesheets (Figure C) do all the hard work for you. The software will automatically calculate total hours, paid and unpaid breaks and overtime. It also gives you the ability to add tips and run calculations for employees with multiple wage rates. If you opt for the payroll software add-on, all this timesheet data will flow right over to the payroll app to make payments easy and accurate.

Figure C

Payroll

If you opt for the payroll add-on (Figure D), Homebase will instantly convert timesheet data into wages in payroll. It automatically calculates both wages and timesheets, then sends the correct payments to both employees and state and federal governments.

Managers can run payroll for multiple locations at once, with only a few clicks. At the end of the year, Homebase will automatically process your tax filing and send out 1099 and W-2 forms. To learn more about what functionality matters, check out our guide to the best payroll software features.

Figure D

Hiring and onboarding

Homebase also includes some basic tools for hiring and onboarding. Use the library of pre-written job descriptions to quickly generate a new job post, then publish it for free at major online job boards like Indeed, ZipRecruiter and Google Jobs (Figure E). You can also use the same system to log walk-in and referral applicants as well. You can message all applicants, submit screen questions and schedule interviews right within Homebase to keep everything centralized.

Figure E

Team communication

Homebase’s mobile includes a team chat message function that allows you to send messages to individuals, groups or the whole company. New hires automatically get added, so you never have to worry about updating group chats or exchanging phone numbers.

HR and compliance

Besides the features we’ve already covered, Homebase offers additional tools to support HR compliance. For instance, Homebase makes it possible to manage all employee details and documents, such as emergency contact information, in one place. Managers can also send out automated welcome packets to allow employees to self-onboard.

Integrations

If you already use another system for payroll, Homebase integrates with ADP, Paychex, Rippling and Gusto. It also connects to major payment gateways like Stripe, Square and Shopify as well as major financial institutions like Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

Homebase Payroll pros

• Especially well-suited to businesses with hourly workers.
• Intuitive interface is easy for managers and employees to learn.
• User-friendly mobile app.
• Automated scheduling and timesheet tools.
• Time clock apps for iOS, Android and POS devices.
• Includes some HR tools beyond time and payroll.
• Forever free plan for one location and up to 20 employees.
• Good number of integrations.

Homebase Payroll cons

• Many features are limited to more expensive plans.
• Can be difficult to correct errors with clocking in or out.
• Software can glitch sometimes, especially when logging or clocking in.
• Caters mostly to U.S. businesses.
• Customers say that the iPad app could be improved.
• Some users complain that Homebase markets its “early cash out” (a.k.a., payroll advance) option too aggressively.
• Not as robust as a full HRIS system.

If Homebase Payroll isn’t ideal for you, check out these alternatives

Homebase has a lot to offer, but it isn’t the right choice for anyone. If you’re not sold on Homebase yet, then try out one of the alternatives below. And if you need help with your software search in general, head over to our guide on how to choose payroll software.

Gusto

Gusto is a payroll and HR platform with pricing plans that start at $40 per month plus $6 per employee paid per month. It offers pretty much all of the same features in Homebase, such as time tracking and scheduling. However, Gusto also offers additional tools such as employee benefits administration, talent management and reporting analytics. If you like Homebase’s intuitive platform but need more robust HR features, then Gusto is worth consideration.

Rippling

Rippling is an HR and workforce management platform that also includes optional products for finance and IT. Rippling is a great choice for rapidly growing businesses that need software to scale with them, which is why we named it the best all-around enterprise payroll software.

Rippling is also well-suited to international businesses or businesses that hope to expand globally in the future. Unlike Homebase, which is focused on the U.S., Rippling supports global payroll in 50+ countries. It also offers both PEO and EOR services for companies looking to hire either domestically or internationally.

OnPay

OnPay is a small-business payroll and HR software that is very similar to Homebase. It offers a single pricing plan that costs $40 per month plus $6 per employee paid per month, so certain features aren’t limited to more expensive tiers.

Unless you were planning on sticking with the free Homebase account, OnPay will almost certainly be more affordable. This plan includes payroll as well as tools for onboarding, team messaging and document management, though it does lack native time tracking.

Review methodology

To review Homebase, we consulted user reviews and product documentation. We considered factors such as pricing, integrations, user interface design and customer support. We also considered features such as timesheets, time clocks, payroll, onboarding, team communication and compliance tools.