OpenSimSim Reviews & Pricing

by OpenSimSim | Founded 2010, Carlsbad, CA

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Overview Pricing Benefits Reviews Features

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What is OpenSimSim?

Industry Specialties: Hospitality, F&B and Retail

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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User Sentiment

Based on 552 reviews:

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OpenSimSim Pricing

Based on our most recent analysis, OpenSimSim pricing starts at $16 (Monthly).

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Starting From: $15.99
Pricing Model: Monthly
Free Trial: Yes, Request for Free

Training Resources

OpenSimSim is supported with the following types of training:

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars

Support

The following support services are available for OpenSimSim:

Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Help Desk
Knowledge Base
Tickets
Training
24/7 Live Support

OpenSimSim Benefits and Insights

Why use OpenSimSim?

Key differentiators & advantages of OpenSimSim

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.

Industry Expertise

OpenSimSim provides employee scheduling solutions to industries like food and beverage, retail, hospitality, government, security, education, healthcare and more.

OpenSimSim Reviews

Average customer reviews & user sentiment summary for OpenSimSim:

552 reviews

90%

of users would recommend this product

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Based on an aggregate of OpenSimSim reviews taken from the sources above, the following pros & cons have been curated by a SelectHub Market Analyst.

Pros

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.

Cons

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.

Researcher's Summary:

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.

Key Features

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.

Approach to Common Challenges

Last-Minute Call-Outs and Absences: Unexpected staff shortages can disrupt operations. The built-in shift trading feature enables employees to swap shifts while instant notifications alert managers of vacancies, allowing for quick replacements.
Overtime Management: Uncontrolled overtime can inflate labor costs. OpenSimSim provides real-time overtime tracking, helping managers identify overtime hotspots and adjust schedules accordingly to minimize unnecessary expenses.
Balancing Labor Costs: Matching staffing levels to business needs is crucial. OpenSimSim's analytics tools allow you to analyze historical data and forecast labor requirements, ensuring optimal staffing levels without overspending.
Compliance Issues: The time and attendance tracking feature helps you maintain accurate records of hours worked, preventing compliance issues and potential penalties.
Poor Communication: OpenSimSim's centralized messaging platform facilitates clear and timely communication between managers and employees, reducing errors and improving efficiency.
Time-Consuming Scheduling: Manual scheduling is often inefficient. A drag-and-drop interface and pre-built templates streamline the scheduling process, saving you valuable time.
Employee Satisfaction: Happy employees are more productive. Empower your employees with self-service tools to view schedules, request time off and trade shifts, fostering a positive work environment.

Cost of Ownership

Frequently asked questions regarding OpenSimSim pricing include:

Q. Can I use the HotSchedule mobile app for free?

A. Yes, you can use OpenSimSim’s mobile app, Hot Schedule, without any cost. The free plan includes the app and lets you schedule up to 10 workers in one location and department.

Q. What are OpenSimSim’s paid pricing plans?

A. OpenSimSim’s pricing plans are as follows:

Starter: Charges $12.99 monthly to schedule unlimited employees across two locations or departments. It offers a manager logbook, overtime reports and shift confirmation notifications.
Premium: Charges $33.99 monthly to schedule unlimited employees across five locations or departments. It offers mobile time clock, POS integrations, certificate management and auto break allocation.
Enterprise: The vendor offers custom quotes to provide dedicated customer support, API integration, custom reports and personalized features.

Q. Are there any additional costs to OpenSimSim?

A. OpenSimSim offers a variety of pricing plans to suit different business needs. While your subscription includes the core platform, there are a few additional costs to consider.

Each plan provides a limited amount of cloud storage. The Free plan includes 28 days of storage, while the Starter plan offers one year. For businesses requiring longer-term storage, additional fees may apply. Alternatively, you can upgrade to the Premium or Enterprise plan, both of which include seven years of free cloud storage.

Limitations

At the time of this review, these are the limitations according to user feedback:

It doesn’t support geofencing or GPS tracking.
You can’t search message inboxes.
It lacks schedule filters and search options.
No notification and alert customization.
The platform offers limited dashboard customizations and view filters.

Demo Resources

Insights: Gain valuable insights into industry trends, best practices and expert advice. Discover how to optimize your scheduling strategies, improve employee satisfaction and boost operational efficiency.
Learning and Support: Access tutorials, guides and FAQs to get the most out of the platform. You also get a dedicated support team to assist you with any questions or issues.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions regarding OpenSimSim include:

Q: Is OpenSimSim suitable for small businesses?

A: Yes, OpenSimSim is user-friendly and adaptable to businesses of all sizes. Its intuitive interface and flexible features make it a great option for small businesses looking to streamline their scheduling process.

Q: Can I integrate OpenSimSim with my existing payroll system?

A: OpenSimSim offers integration capabilities with various payroll systems, including Paycor, Gusto and ADP Workforce Now. This integration can streamline data transfer, reducing manual input and errors.

Q: What kind of support is available?

A: OpenSimSim provides customer support to assist with questions, issues or training needs. It also offers a knowledge base and in-platform resources.

Q: Can I try OpenSimSim before committing?

A: Yes, OpenSimSim typically offers a free trial to allow potential customers to explore the platform and its features. You get scheduling tools, time clock integration, in-app messaging, timesheets and PTO request workflows with the free plan.