The best rostering apps in Australia, compared

Eight rostering apps sold in Australia, side by side for pubs, restaurants and cafés: who each suits, award interpretation, how staff clock in, payroll and published prices. We make one of them, Kaslu Work, so it’s last and clearly marked.

Facts and prices checked on each company’s own website on 12 November 2026.

The rostering apps at a glance

	Best for	Award interpretation	Clock-in	Price, as published
Deputy	Single venues to large groups wanting one well-known platform	Yes, pre-configured modern awards	Phone with GPS geofencing, or a kiosk on an iPad or Android tablet, with facial verification	From A$6.75 per user a month (annual billing); payroll A$5 extra
Tanda	Venues that want rostering, award interpretation and payroll in one system	Yes, modern award templates, including Hospitality and Clubs	GPS clock-in on the phone, or a central timeclock	A$12.80 + GST per user a month for HR, payroll and workforce management together
RosterElf	Small and mid-sized businesses wanting a low per-person price	Yes, including a Hospitality award pack	Phone inside a geofence, or a shared tablet with a PIN and optional photo	From A$6 + GST per active employee a month (annual); A$8 monthly
Employment Hero	Businesses already using Employment Hero for HR and payroll	Yes, automatic award interpretation	Work app, Hero Clock app or kiosk, with geofencing and a photo at clock-in	Rostering and time and attendance A$5 per employee a month, minimum A$50
Humanforce	Larger groups with complex or regulated workforces	Yes, interpreted automatically	GPS, biometrics or the app	Not published
Connecteam	Small teams wanting a free plan, and teams beyond hospitality	Not stated on its Australian pages	GPS on the phone, geofenced sites on higher plans, and a kiosk	Free for up to 10 users; paid plans priced in US dollars
Square Shifts	Cafés and restaurants already on Square POS	Not stated	Not stated	Free for up to 5 team members; Plus from A$5 per team member a month
Kaslu Work (ours)	Hospitality groups whose venues each run differently	Costs the roster under the Hospitality and Restaurant awards; doesn’t interpret pay	Phone or venue tablet, checked against a boundary drawn around the venue	Not published yet: waitlist

Prices are per person per month in Australian dollars unless marked, as each company published them on 12 November 2026. “Not stated” means we didn’t find it on the company’s own pages, not that the product can’t do it.

How we compared them

We make Kaslu Work, a rostering and clock-in app for Australian hospitality, so read this knowing that. To keep it fair:

Only what each company says. Every feature and price here is something the company’s own website stated on 12 November 2026, linked under each app. We haven’t run each product in a venue, so we don’t score them.
The things a venue asks first. Rostering, award interpretation, how staff clock in, payroll, price and whether there’s a phone app.
No ranking. The apps are in no particular order, each with who it suits best. Kaslu Work is last, in its own section.
Corrections. If a company changes its prices or features, or we’ve got something wrong, tell us at vinny@kasluwork.com.au and we’ll fix it.

The apps

Deputy

Best for: single venues to large groups wanting one well-known platform. Deputy is an established scheduling and time-clock platform with an Australian site, size options from a single location to enterprise, and a hospitality page aimed at restaurants and cafés.

Rostering. Recurring and seasonal templates, auto-scheduling that takes availability into account, shift swaps and offers with optional manager approval, and the cost of the roster before you publish it.
Awards. Pre-configured modern awards, with advanced award interpretation on the Core plan.
Clock-in. GPS geofencing and facial verification on the phone, or a kiosk app on an iPad or Android tablet.
Payroll. A payroll add-on available on all plans in Australia, and payroll integrations including Xero and MYOB. POS integrations include Square, Lightspeed Restaurant, Bepoz, Idealpos, OrderMate, Redcat and SwiftPOS.
Price. Lite A$6.75, Core A$8.75 and Pro A$13 per user a month on annual billing, excluding taxes. Monthly billing has a minimum spend of A$30 per invoice. Payroll is A$5 per user a month. Free trial, no free plan.
Apps. iPhone and Android.

Source: Deputy’s website, checked 12 November 2026.

Tanda

Best for: venues that want rostering, award interpretation and payroll in one system. Tanda describes itself as payroll, HR and workforce management software, with industry pages for hospitality, clubs, restaurants and quick service.

Rostering. Drag and drop or copy shifts, templates, roster checks for overtime and qualifications, weekly wage-cost reporting, and rosters driven by past sales, foot traffic and weather.
Awards. Modern award templates. Its hospitality page says it automates key parts of the Hospitality award, with Hospitality or Clubs award templates.
Clock-in. GPS clock-in that records location, or a central timeclock.
Payroll. Its own payroll with Single Touch Payroll, plus integrations including Xero, MYOB and Employment Hero.
Price. The bundle of HR, payroll and workforce management is A$12.80 + GST per user a month. Individual modules are priced on request.

Source: Tanda’s website, checked 12 November 2026.

RosterElf

Best for: small and mid-sized businesses wanting a low per-person price. RosterElf is an Australian rostering app for businesses with 5 to 500+ staff, with pages for hospitality, clubs and pubs, and data hosted in Sydney.

Rostering. Templates, auto-scheduling, availability, open and recurring shifts, multi-site rosters, labour budgets, wage costs as you build, and an AI rostering assistant.
Awards. A Hospitality award pack, plus guides to the Restaurant and Clubs award rates.
Clock-in. A shared tablet with a PIN and an optional photo, or the staff member’s phone with GPS inside a geofence around each site, with an optional selfie.
Payroll. Exports to Xero and MYOB.
Price. Core A$6 per active employee a month on annual billing or A$8 monthly; Full Suite A$7 or A$10; plus GST. Minimum 3 staff monthly or 10 annually. 15-day free trial for up to 50 staff, no card.
Apps. iPhone and Android.

Source: RosterElf’s website, checked 12 November 2026.

Employment Hero

Best for: businesses already using Employment Hero for HR and payroll. Employment Hero is an HR and payroll platform. Rostering and time and attendance are an add-on, for businesses including restaurants and hotels.

Rostering. Drag and copy shifts, templates, leave and unavailability checks, shift swaps and bidding, warnings for overtime and meal breaks, and the roster’s wage cost against budget before you publish.
Awards. Automatic award interpretation.
Clock-in. The Employment Hero Work app, the Hero Clock app or a dedicated kiosk. Geofencing limits clock-in to approved locations, and a photo and location are recorded at each clock event.
Payroll. Its own payroll, with Single Touch Payroll.
Price. The Rostering and Time and Attendance add-on is $5 per employee a month, with a $50 monthly minimum. HR plans start at $11 per employee a month, with a minimum of 10 users.

Source: Employment Hero’s website, checked 12 November 2026.

Humanforce

Best for: larger groups with complex or regulated workforces. Humanforce is a workforce management platform for complex and regulated teams, with a hospitality page for pubs, restaurants, hotels and venues.

Rostering. Schedule templates, AI demand forecasting, auto-scheduling, and cost visibility as you build. Staff manage rosters, leave and swaps in a self-service app.
Awards. Awards interpreted automatically. The Pro plan adds enterprise agreement rules.
Clock-in. GPS, biometrics or the app.
Payroll. Its own payroll product.
Price. Not published: both plans are custom pricing, through a demo.
Apps. iPhone and Android.

Source: Humanforce’s website, checked 12 November 2026.

Connecteam

Best for: small teams wanting a free plan, and teams beyond hospitality. Connecteam is an app for frontline and deskless teams across many industries, including food and beverage.

Rostering. An AI auto-roster that weighs availability, roles, labour laws and costs, repeating rosters, open shifts, and planned against worked hours. Templates start on the Advanced plan.
Awards. Award interpretation isn’t stated on its Australian pages.
Clock-in. GPS clock-in on every paid plan, geofenced sites from the Advanced plan, and a kiosk station on all plans.
Payroll. Integrations with Xero and MYOB.
Price. A free Small Business plan for up to 10 users, with some features limited. Paid plans are a flat price for the first 30 users, shown in US dollars on the Australian site: from US$29 a month billed yearly. 14-day free trial, no card.
Apps. iPhone and Android.

Source: Connecteam’s website, checked 12 November 2026.

Square Shifts

Best for: cafés and restaurants already on Square POS. Square Shifts is Square’s staff scheduling and timecard tool. It works with Square POS and is included in Square for Restaurants.

Rostering. Rosters and shifts, time-off requests, shift swaps, labour cost reporting, and tips and commission management.
Timecards. Time tracking and automatic timecards, with payroll preparation. How staff clock in isn’t stated on its pages.
Price. Free for up to five team members, including the owner. Plus starts at A$5 per team member a month, with discounts for larger teams, and a 30-day free trial.

Source: Square Shifts’s website, checked 12 November 2026.

Where Kaslu Work fits

Kaslu Work is ours, and it’s pre-launch: there’s a waitlist, and the first pub group is being set up with the team. It’s built only for Australian hospitality, for groups whose pub, café and function venue each run their own way.

Rostering. By section and by the hour, with each venue’s own trading hours, sections and budget. Every shift is costed under the Hospitality or Restaurant award as you build, with weekend, evening, public holiday and casual rates, before you publish.
Clock-in. On the staff member’s phone or a venue tablet, checked against a boundary drawn around the venue. Just outside it, the clock-in is held for a manager. It works without signal and syncs later. No photo, no fingerprint, no tracking during the shift.
Hours. Rostered against worked hours for every shift, with every manager change recorded with a reason. Worked hours export to CSV.

What it doesn’t do yet: run payroll or connect directly to Xero, MYOB or Employment Hero, approve and lock a pay period, or offer the staff app in the App Store or Google Play. If you need any of those today, one of the apps above will suit you better.

More on clock-in and attendance, groups with more than one venue, and how it compares with Deputy and Tanda.

Join the waitlist

How to choose a rostering app for your venue

Decide where pay is worked out. If you want the app to interpret the award and run payroll, look at the all-in-one platforms. If your payroll already works, a rostering app that exports clean worked hours may be all you need.
Roster a real week in the trial. Build last Friday and Saturday from scratch, with a split shift and a close after midnight.
Clock in from the cellar. Try it where the signal is worst, and from the car park, and see what the app does with each.
Ask a casual to use it. If they can’t find their shift and request a swap without help, nobody else will.
Price your actual team. Count everyone who’ll be in it, check minimums and whether the price is per active employee or every user, and whether it includes GST.

Our guide to choosing a rostering app for hospitality groups has the questions to take into each demo. Still on a spreadsheet? The free roster template is laid out by section.

Deputy, Tanda, RosterElf, Employment Hero, Humanforce, Connecteam and Square are trademarks of their owners. Kaslu Work isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.

Questions

What is the best rostering app in Australia?

It depends on where you want pay worked out. If you want rostering, award interpretation and payroll in one system, look at Tanda, Deputy with its payroll add-on, Employment Hero or Humanforce. If your payroll already works, a rostering app that exports worked hours may be enough.

Which rostering apps interpret Australian awards?

Deputy, Tanda, RosterElf, Employment Hero and Humanforce all state award interpretation on their own websites. Connecteam and Square Shifts don’t state it on their Australian pages.

Is there a free rostering app in Australia?

Square Shifts is free for up to five team members, and Connecteam has a free plan for up to 10 users with some features limited. The others offer free trials.

Which rostering apps have geofenced clock-in?

Deputy, RosterElf, Employment Hero and Connecteam (from its Advanced plan) state geofencing on their websites. Kaslu Work checks every clock-in against a boundary drawn around the venue.

Is Kaslu Work available now?

Not yet. Kaslu Work has a waitlist, and the first pub group is being set up with the team.

See if Kaslu Work fits your venues.

Tell us what you use now and how many venues you run, and we’ll let you know when there’s room for your team.