WhenToWork vs OpenSimSim

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Our analysts compared WhenToWork vs OpenSimSim based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Employee Scheduling Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

WhenToWork Software Tool

Product Basics

WhenToWork is a cloud-based solution that helps businesses create and manage schedules for hourly workers. It offers a free mobile app that supports time tracking, allowing employees to punch in and out of work remotely.

The platform’s standout feature is its one-click scheduling that uses a proprietary algorithm to generate optimal shift schedules, minimizing conflicts and reducing human error. With just a few clicks, you can create efficient work plans that ensure your team is adequately staffed at all times.

Employees can easily input their preferred, disliked and unavailable work times, allowing managers to make informed decisions when creating schedules. This feature enhances employee satisfaction and minimizes scheduling conflicts by ensuring that employees are working shifts that align with their availability and preferences.

This platform lets you prioritize clear communication and accountability within your team. It automatically sends notifications to employees when their shifts are created or updated, ensuring everyone stays informed. This enhances employee engagement and reduces the risk of missed shifts.

WhenToWork offers a 30-day trial period, allowing you to test the platform’s suitability for your scheduling needs. Its paid plans start from $38 per month, with pricing based on the number of employees and the subscription duration. Unlike other platforms, it doesn’t offer tiered plans based on features — every plan includes the full toolkit.

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OpenSimSim is a cloud-based platform for creating, communicating and managing schedules for hourly workers. Managers can create and manage schedules using pre-built templates, automated conflict alerts and drag-and-drop tools. It incorporates employee availability, time-off requests and shift trading into a single, unified view to avoid scheduling errors.

Employees can use self-service portals to view schedules, request time off and swap shifts with colleagues, fostering a sense of ownership over their work-life balance. The mobile app enhances accessibility, allowing managers and employees to stay connected and informed on the go.

Built-in messaging enables interaction between team members, eliminating the need for external communication modules. Additionally, analytics helps track labor costs, identify scheduling patterns and optimize staffing levels. Businesses can get actionable insights and make data-driven decisions to improve overall efficiency and profitability.

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$40 Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
$15.99 Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
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Windows
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Linux
Android
Chromebook
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Android
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Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
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24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Effortless Schedule Management: WhenToWork’s scheduling toolkit is its highest-rated module, with an 89 rating from our analysts. From ad-hoc adjustments to automated scheduling, the platform provides a flexible, efficient solution. It also offers features like break scheduling, color-coded schedules and configurable options that improve the overall scheduling process.
  • Efficient Reporting: Rated 81 by our analysts, the platform’s reporting toolkit is its second highest-rated module. It offers customizable dashboards and pre-built reports to meet your unique reporting requirements. With the ability to create custom reports, apply filters and generate visualizations, you can easily drill down into data, identify trends and make data-driven decisions. Additionally, WhenToWork's report scheduling and sharing capabilities streamline communication and collaboration.
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  • Start Scheduling For Free: OpenSimSim offers the starter plan for free and doesn’t require credit card information to start scheduling. You can schedule up to 10 workers in one location and department at no cost.
  • Manage Your Team Efficiently: According to our data, OpenSimSim offers 85% of key employee management tools out of the box. This includes multiple pay rates, access permissions, staff roles, self-service portals, labor budgeting and cost tracking. It also centrally stores staff documents and certificates and sends expiry alerts based on your rules.
  • Schedule From Anywhere: The platform offers a robust mobile app, SocialSchedules, which has ratings of 4.5 and 4.8 on the Play Store and Apple Store, respectively. You can use it to create schedules, communicate with team members, publish shifts and track tasks from anywhere.
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  • Flexible Scheduling: You get multiple scheduling views, task templates and drag-and-drop tools to create different types of recurring schedules for multiple locations.
  • Import/Export: It lets you import shifts via Excel and .CSV files or export schedules in Excel format.
  • Automated Assignments: You can define rules to automatically assign shifts based on employee preferences and availability.
  • Employee Self-Service: Design unique portals for each team member based on their seniority, job roles and access requirements. Employees can log in via desktops or the mobile app to view and swap schedules, receive messages, and submit time off requests.
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  • Employee Scheduling: Easily create and adjust your team's schedule per day or week by week. See who's available, handle shift swaps and manage time-off requests in one place. You can set reminders for your team and share updated schedules instantly.
  • Team Communication: Keep your team connected with built-in messaging that supports personal messages as well as team announcements and group chats. You can also use the logbook to store files and important notices and share them with your entire team or specific groups.
  • Notifications: Improve accountability by instantly notifying employees of updated schedules and modifications. Send shift reminders and confirmations to improve staff attendance while finding replacements faster.
  • Time Clock: The mobile app allows staff members to log attendance and track time from a phone or tablet. Review timesheets, approve hours and handle breaks with ease. You can also export time data directly for payroll to avoid manual errors.
  • Timesheets: Simplify your payroll process with clear and easy-to-understand timesheets. See the hours worked, breaks taken and costs for each pay period. You can approve or edit timesheets on the go and get alerts if someone misses a break, ensuring compliance with federal labor regulations.
  • Reporting: Uncover hidden labor costs with reports that compare your scheduled hours to actual hours worked. Use punctuality reporting to identify latecomers and spot repeat offenders via overtime reports.
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Product Ranking

#5

among all
Employee Scheduling Software

#59

among all
Employee Scheduling Software

Find out who the leaders are

Analyst Rating Summary

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73
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78
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52
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Schedule Management
Mobile Capabilities
Employee Management

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

WhenToWork
OpenSimSim
+ Add Product + Add Product
Collaboration Employee Management Leave And Absence Management Mobile Capabilities Platform Capabilities Reporting And Analytics Schedule Management Security And Compliance Shift Management Time And Attendance Management 52 62 79 55 67 81 89 37 82 27 78 86 52 93 71 64 80 43 68 74 0 25 50 75 100
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93%
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83%
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26%

Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

30%
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70%
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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 226 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 552 reviews
89%
of users recommend this product

WhenToWork has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 89% when considering 226 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

90%
of users recommend this product

OpenSimSim has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 90% when considering 552 user reviews from 1 recognized software review sites.

4.7 (15)
n/a
4.3 (93)
n/a
4.5 (114)
4.5 (552)
4.5 (4)
n/a

Awards

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OpenSimSim stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Ease of Use: Users praised the platform’s user-friendly interface and ease of use across all user types. Its intuitive navigation simplifies shift management, schedule swaps and coworker communication. The platform also provides useful "how-to" videos, making it easier for users to understand the system without needing live support.
Better Customization and Flexibility: Users appreciated the ability to customize schedules, permissions and worker roles. It’s easy to switch shifts and see assigned shifts in one place.
Easy Reporting: The one-click report generation feature helps users manage budgets and track employee hours. This is especially helpful for administrators manually comparing scheduling costs with budgetary constraints.
Improved Remote Workability: Reviews highlight the benefit of accessing the software from any mobile device, making it convenient for teams to check schedules, receive notifications and streamline internal communications.
Simple Implementation Process: Users from small and medium businesses appreciated the software’s lightweight nature. It requires minimal IT involvement and can be deployed quickly across multiple departments.
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Smooth Setup: The platform is easy to implement with a guided onboarding experience that helps users set up employee profiles, departments and recurring shifts.
Efficient Communication: Users appreciate the built-in messaging option, which allows managers to share news, post announcements and message employees directly.
Prompt Customer Support: Users report receiving timely and helpful responses from the vendor’s support team, which leads to faster turnaround times for platform issues and troubleshooting.
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Lack of Live Support: Live representatives are unavailable, especially during troubleshooting. Instead, the platform relies on video tutorials, which may not be sufficient in urgent situations.
Complicated Staff Availability Settings: Some reviewers found the "date specific" availability options frustrating, as it often caused confusion when scheduling in advance. Also, the inability to fully turn off certain options, like the "dislike" function, can complicate determining worker availability.
Limited Enterprise Features: Users from larger businesses noted that the platform lacks advanced enterprise-level security settings and integration support, making it less ideal for organizations with complex needs.
Cluttered Interface: The schedule display can sometimes be confusing or cluttered, particularly when many shifts are on the board. This makes it harder to quickly view and understand schedules at times.
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Sync Issues: Some users have faced syncing problems between the platform’s desktop and mobile app versions. This may affect business performance and lead to the loss of critical information.
Printing Limitations: The platform can’t print schedules, forcing users to use Microsoft Excel to print physical copies of a shift.
Customization Challenges: Users found it difficult to customize views and dashboards. Some also complained about a lack of customizations such as blackout dates, multiple types of PTO and schedule editing permissions.
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WhenToWork is a user-friendly online scheduling solution for small and medium-sized businesses. Its intuitive interface and straightforward features make it a viable option for businesses looking to ditch paper trails and digitize their scheduling operations.My experience with WhenToWork began with a simple sign-up process that required minimal information. The platform guided me through a brief onboarding process, where I provided details about my business and team members. While the onboarding process was straightforward, I noticed the business category list didn’t offer many options for construction-related industries.Upon accessing the web platform, I was greeted by a somewhat outdated design that felt reminiscent of an earlier era. While the layout was clean and easy to navigate, a modern update could benefit its overall aesthetic. The main menu has sections for schedules, employees, trades, time off, messaging, reports and current on-duty employees.The mobile app, however, offers a more streamlined experience with a user-friendly interface. It provides quick access to schedules, shift trades, time off, messaging, staff information and a link to the full web version. The app's dashboard offers a clear overview of assignments, time off, shift trades and messages.The messaging features are designed for efficient team communication. You can send and receive messages, create urgent alerts, and post on a bulletin board. The “Reports” section offers customizable reporting options, allowing you to generate reports based on various criteria and export them for further analysis.Overall, WhenToWork is a suitable option for businesses with basic scheduling needs. Its user-friendly interface, straightforward features and robust reporting capabilities make it a viable choice for organizations that prioritize simplicity and ease of use. However, businesses seeking a more modern and feature-rich platform may need to explore other options.

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OpenSimSim is a user-friendly platform for small to medium-sized businesses with straightforward scheduling needs. Its onboarding process is smooth, and the ability to communicate directly with employees through the platform is a significant advantage.During testing, I found it helpful to manage a small team with features like employee profiles, user photos and color-coded positions to enhance the overall experience. Additionally, the vendor's customer support is responsive and helpful, taking inputs from users to update the software continually.However, OpenSimSim falls short in some critical areas. The lack of customization can be frustrating. For instance, I couldn't set specific blackout dates or a notice period for PTO requests. This may lead to last-minute scheduling challenges, as employees can submit requests whenever they want.On top of that, the platform doesn’t let you filter push notifications, so staff members receive notifications for every scheduling change, even if it doesn’t concern them. Another drawback is the absence of AI-driven features. You must manually input employee availability based on PTO requests to get automated conflict alerts when scheduling, which can be time-consuming and error-prone.Overall, OpenSimSim is a great starting point for businesses looking for basic scheduling and time-tracking tools. However, larger organizations with more complex needs may find the platform limiting due to its lack of customization and AI assistance.

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