Most scheduling software treats shift work as an afterthought. Planday was born in a Copenhagen bar in 2004, built by people who understood that hospitality rotas are not like office calendars. Now owned by Xero and serving over 350,000 users across Europe and the UK, it has become one of the most focused workforce management tools on the market.
We tested Planday across restaurants, hotels and care providers in the UK. What we found was a platform that does one thing exceptionally well: making shift scheduling painless for both managers and staff.
The Big Picture
Planday is a workforce management platform built specifically for shift-based businesses. Starting at £2.99 per user per month, it covers scheduling, time tracking, absence management, team communication and payroll integration. Everything is accessible through web and mobile.
Unlike broader HR platforms that bolt on scheduling as a feature, Planday treats it as the core product. Every design decision flows from one question: how do we make rotas easier to build, share and manage?
For UK hospitality operators juggling Working Time Regulations, split shifts and last-minute no-shows, this focus matters.
Why It Works
Scheduling That Respects Shift Work Realities
Planday’s drag-and-drop scheduler handles the complexity that generic tools ignore. You can create rotating rosters, enforce minimum rest periods between shifts and see labour costs update in real time as you build the week.
A Brighton hotel group we spoke with uses Planday across three properties. Their operations manager told us: “We used to spend Sunday evenings wrestling with spreadsheets. Now the rota takes twenty minutes. Staff see it instantly, and cover requests happen through the app.”
Schedule templates let you save common patterns and reuse them. The system remembers who can work which positions, flags overtime before it happens and alerts you when a shift violates working time rules.
Mobile-First for Floor Staff
Staff can access their schedules, clock in via GPS or kiosk, request time off and swap shifts from their phones. Managers approve changes with a tap. No more WhatsApp chaos or paper rotas pinned to notice boards.
The shift swap feature is particularly useful. Employees can offer shifts to qualified colleagues, subject to manager approval. At a Manchester restaurant group, this reduced no-shows by helping staff find cover without management having to broker every exchange.
Labour Cost Visibility
Planday integrates with Xero (its parent company), Sage, QuickBooks and ADP, so scheduled hours flow directly into payroll. But the more useful feature is live cost forecasting. You see exactly what each shift costs as you plan it.
For hospitality operators watching margins closely, this visibility is invaluable. One London pub group uses Planday’s revenue forecasting to match staffing levels against expected sales, adjusting rotas before the week even starts.
How Planday Compares
Planday sits in a crowded market. Here is how it stacks up against the main alternatives:
| Feature | Planday | Deputy | 7shifts | Factorial |
| Best for | Multi-site hospitality, UK/EU compliance | AI scheduling, global teams | Restaurant-specific features | Full HR suite with scheduling |
| Starting price | £2.99/user/mo | £3.50/user/mo | Free to £50/site/mo | Around £8/user/mo |
| Free tier | 30-day trial | 31-day trial | Yes (1 location) | 14-day trial |
| Xero integration | Native (owned by Xero) | Yes | Limited | Yes |
| Standout feature | Live labour cost tracking | AI auto-scheduling | Tip management | Full HRIS included |
Is Planday Right for You?
Planday is built for a specific type of business. Here is how to know if it fits.
Planday is ideal if you…
- Run a UK or European hospitality business and need Working Time Directive compliance built in
- Manage multiple sites and want unified scheduling with cross-location visibility
- Already use Xero for accounting and want seamless payroll integration
- Have outgrown spreadsheets but do not need a full HR suite
- Want staff to manage their own shift swaps and time-off requests via mobile
You might prefer an alternative if you…
- Need a free plan (7shifts and Homebase offer forever-free tiers for single locations)
- Operate primarily in the US, where Planday’s payroll integrations are less comprehensive
- Want advanced analytics and custom reporting dashboards (Planday prioritises simplicity)
- Need comprehensive HR functionality beyond scheduling (Factorial or BambooHR may suit better)
Verdict
Planday does scheduling properly. It understands that hospitality rotas are not about moving boxes around a calendar. They are about managing labour costs, staying compliant and giving staff visibility over their working lives.
The Xero ownership makes it particularly compelling for businesses already in that ecosystem. The pricing is competitive, the mobile experience is solid and the focus on shift work realities sets it apart from generic HR tools trying to be everything to everyone.
If you are running a restaurant, hotel or care business in the UK and spending hours each week on rotas, Planday is worth the thirty-day trial.
Before You Start
Test with real data. Import actual employee records and build a week’s rota during the trial.
Get staff involved early. Have a few team members download the app and test shift swaps before full rollout.
Verify payroll integration. Confirm your payroll provider connects smoothly. Xero users will find this seamless.
Understand the pricing tiers. Starter at £2.99 lacks time-off tracking and payroll integration. Most hospitality businesses will need Plus at £4.49 per user.
