TimeForge Scheduling Pricing
If you're considering any type of employee scheduling solution, be aware that the software doesn't comprise a singular, upfront cost. Rather, you pay a monthly fee based on the number of users or number of locations covered by the service, or in TimeForge Scheduling's particularly confusing case, both.
Depending on which service tier you sign up for and whether you include point-of-sale (POS) integrations with existing web-based functionality, you will pay for the service on a per-user basis as well as per location.
TimeForge Max includes all the features of TimeForge Attendance, TimeForge Scheduling and TimeForge Human Resources, making it a prime solution for small businesses. Here is a breakdown of all of the service plans offered:
- TimeForge Max: This is the company's most feature-rich offering. At $3.45 per user, per month, with a $25 monthly minimum, the web-only option not only includes the features of the three previously mentioned modules, but it manages attendance and work schedules, cuts down on early clock ins and late clock outs, and provides an AutoScheduler to quickly generate schedules. If you want to integrate TimeForge Max with your POS solution, you must have one of the 13 systems it supports before you can get started. Prices for each POS are charged on a per-location and per-user basis. For example, Dinerware POS users can expect to pay $25 per location, per month, in addition to $3 per user, per month. Along with the feature-rich TimeForge Max, the company sells other solutions piecemeal at low prices.
- TimeForge Scheduling: If you're only needing an employee scheduling solution, TimeForge Scheduling covers that base. At $1 per user, per month, with a $15 monthly minimum, TimeForge Scheduling lets users match previous schedules and forecast sales to predict the best coverage patterns for a given day. In addition, this tier features time off tracking, and employees can swap shifts, with management getting the final say.
- TimeForge Scheduling Lite: If you want to try TimeForge Scheduling, the Lite service tier is a free yet limited version.
- TimeForge Attendance: This module tracks attendance and manages employee timecards. Managers can keep tabs on an employee's clock in and out times, the tips they collect and the mileage they log while driving for your business. This service is available for $1.95 per user, per month, with a $20 monthly minimum.
- TimeForge Human Resources: As the company's solution for a digital human resources product, TimeForge Human Resources tracks staff demographics. It costs $1 per user, per month, and there is no monthly minimum. Through this feature, managers can track an employee's certifications and training, as well as manage prehiring, onboarding, and other functions.
If you're not satisfied with the packages TimeForge offers, according to the company, you can create a custom one by picking the package that's closest to what you want and then requesting a custom price.
Features
While many of its features deal with regular employee scheduling needs, what sets TimeForge apart from other software solutions is its ability to take the data it has received and transform it into actionable information that business owners and managers can use to fine-tune their business.
The software includes over 60 reports on topics such as attendance, shift swapping, labor costs and employee retention. The reports include bar graphs that are color-coded and easy to read, making them suitable for your own perusal or for presentations. You can access reports in different formats, which can be useful if you need to export the information to various programs or Excel.
TimeForge Attendance users have access to a timeclock with management tools that provide real-time insights into your labor costs. Attendance users benefit from the solution's ability to simplify state and federal labor law compliance by setting grace periods, scheduling staff breaks and handling overtime.
TimeForge further helps with labor law compliance by integrating with existing payroll providers, including SurePayroll, CompuPay, QuickBooks, Heartland Payment Systems, ADP, Paychex, and FMS.
For more mobile businesses, TimeForge has two apps, TimeForge Employee and TimeForge Manager, for iOS and Android devices. As the names suggest, they address either the management or employee side of employee scheduling.
Additional Considerations
While TimeForge's options are not the easiest to understand compared to the companies we examined, if you need a solution that reports important data in an easily digestible manner, this could be the solution you've been seeking. TimeForge Scheduling has a comprehensive set of tools and strong scheduling capabilities, though its strongest point is its variety of well-organized reports.
We had good interactions with the customer representatives at TimeForge. You can contact customer support by phone and email. They answered our questions clearly and professionally.
You can also access TimeForge's knowledgebase, which includes training videos and links to the manuals and FAQs. (These are also on the website.)
Limitations
TimeForge may have the most comprehensive reporting capabilities of any employee scheduling solution we evaluated, but it also is one of the programs we evaluated that has a required monthly minimum. While their minimums are relatively reasonable for small businesses, for particularly small businesses, TimeForge may be too expensive.
Another concern was the pricing model structure. Looking at the pricing page can be a little confusing, as you may be tempted to sign up for TimeForge Max, along with some of the other modules that are already included in the highest tier. While it can be easily rectified, it's the kind of thing that could cause an unpleasant surprise down the road.