Our Full Review
When I Work is the Goldilocks of scheduling tools—not too complex, not too basic, just right for small teams. If you're tired of Excel spreadsheets but don't need enterprise features, this is your upgrade.
Who Should Use When I Work?
When I Work is ideal for:
- Small businesses (5-75 employees) with shift-based scheduling
- Retail stores, cafes, gyms, salons with part-time staff
- Healthcare clinics managing nursing or support staff shifts
- Any team currently using pen, paper, or Excel who needs to modernize
- Budget-conscious managers who need scheduling without paying $10+/user
Who Should Look Elsewhere?
- Restaurants — 7shifts has better POS integrations and labor cost tools
- Large enterprises (100+) — Deputy or Paylocity have better enterprise features
- Field service teams — Connecteam or Hubstaff have GPS tracking and job site features
- Teams needing AI scheduling — Deputy has demand forecasting; When I Work doesn't
Employee Scheduling
Scheduling is dead simple:
- Drag-and-drop calendar with color-coded shifts
- Shift templates for recurring schedules
- Copy last week's schedule in one click
- Open shifts: Post available shifts for employees to claim
- Availability tracking: Employees set when they can/can't work
- Conflict detection: Warns about double-bookings or understaffing
- Push notifications: Employees get alerted instantly when schedules publish
Setup time: Literally 5 minutes. No exaggeration.
Shift Trading & Time-Off
Self-service features reduce manager workload:
- Shift swaps: Employees offer shifts; others claim them (manager approves)
- PTO requests: Built-in time-off request and approval workflow
- Drop shifts: Employees can drop unwanted shifts back to the pool
- Pick up extra shifts: Grab open shifts without asking manager
Reduces "hey can you cover my shift?" texts by 80%.
Time Tracking
Optional time clock add-on (separate pricing):
- Mobile clock-in/out from employee app
- Web-based time clock
- Kiosk mode for shared devices
- Automatic break tracking
- GPS verification (on premium time clock plan)
- Syncs to schedule for overtime alerts
Time clock is optional—you can use When I Work for scheduling only.
Team Communication
Built-in messaging:
- Group chats by team or location
- Broadcast announcements to everyone
- 1-on-1 messaging between employees and managers
- Shift notes for handoffs
Mobile App
The mobile experience is excellent (4.8 stars on App Store):
- Clean, intuitive interface
- View schedule with one tap
- Clock in/out seamlessly
- Swap shifts or request time off
- Chat with coworkers
- Push notifications for schedule changes
Employees actually like using it—huge for adoption.
Reporting
Basic but functional reports:
- Labor cost summaries
- Attendance and tardiness tracking
- Time card exports for payroll
- Schedule vs actual hours worked
Not as robust as Deputy or 7shifts, but covers essentials.
Integrations
Limited but practical integrations:
- Payroll exports: CSV export to Gusto, ADP, QuickBooks, Paychex
- Slack: Schedule notifications to Slack channels
- Google Calendar: Sync shifts to personal calendars
- Zapier: Connect to 1,000+ apps
Not as many native integrations as Deputy, but exports work fine.
Pricing Breakdown
When I Work has straightforward tiered pricing:
- Free: Up to 75 employees — Basic scheduling, 1 location, limited features
- Standard: $2/user/month — Adds shift trading, multiple locations, mobile clock-in (no GPS)
- Time Clock (add-on): +$2/user/month — Adds GPS tracking, kiosk mode, advanced time features
- Premium: $6/user/month — Adds advanced reports, integrations, priority support
For a 30-person team on Standard + Time Clock: 30 × $4 = $120/month.
That's half the cost of Deputy and way cheaper than 7shifts' premium tiers.
Customer Support
Solid support:
- Email and chat support
- Phone support on Premium plan
- Comprehensive help center and video tutorials
- Fast response times (typically under 2 hours)
The Bottom Line
When I Work is the best value in employee scheduling. It's not the most feature-rich (Deputy wins there) or niche-optimized (7shifts for restaurants). But for small teams who just need solid scheduling without complexity, it's perfect.
At $2-6/user/month, it's affordable enough to try without risk. The free plan is actually usable (unlike most "free" tiers), so start there.
If you're managing shifts in Excel or with pen and paper, When I Work will save you 5-10 hours per week. For that alone, it pays for itself.