# Best Rota Software for Hospitality (2026)

Canonical: https://paddl-ai.co/best/best-rota-software-hospitality
Last reviewed: 2026-09-11 by the Paddl team

Staff rota and scheduling software for UK pubs, restaurants, cafes and hotels, compared.

## In one sentence

Paddl includes a per-site rota in its £69 per location per month; RotaCloud publishes from £10 a month for five staff, Deputy from £3.25 per user with a £20 minimum, 7shifts has a free tier, and Planday and Bizimply quote.

Rota software takes the weekly grid out of the spreadsheet and turns it into something staff can see on their phones, managers can build against a forecast, and payroll can read without retyping. For hospitality the test is narrower than for a call centre: can it handle split shifts and late finishes, does it work out holiday for zero-hours staff on the 12.07% rule, does it clock people in and out, and does it get the hours to payroll without a manager reconciling two systems on a Monday morning. We compared the leading options on those questions, on price for a single venue and a small group, and on whether the rota lives next to the compliance records or in a separate tool.

Methodology: We compared each product on the questions a hospitality operator asks in the first ten minutes of a demo: rota building, holiday and accrual, clocking and timesheets, payroll export, forecasting and price at a fifteen-person venue. Paddl is our own product and is listed first; the strengths and weaknesses of every pick, including ours, are stated the same way.

## The picks

| Product | Best for | Pricing | Checked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Paddl | Rota inside the compliance app | £69 per location per month, every feature included, 30-day free trial. No tiers and no volume discount. |  |
| RotaCloud | Rota-only, per user | From £10 a month for up to five employees, scaling by headcount; Capterra lists £5 per user; no contract | 2026-09-11 |
| Deputy | Scheduling for larger teams | £3.25 to £6.50 per user per month, £20 minimum; a 40-person team on Core is £170 a month for the rota alone | 2026-09-11 |
| Planday (Xero) | Rota with Xero payroll | Per user per month from around £2.99, five-user minimum; Pro on quote | 2026-09-11 |
| 7shifts | Restaurant scheduling from North America | Free plan for one location; paid from US$39.99 a location a month | 2026-09-11 |
| Bizimply | Scheduling and HR on quote | Not published; quoted after a call | 2026-09-11 |

### Paddl

A per-site rota with open shifts, swaps, timesheets and labour cost against forecast sales, included in the per-location price rather than sold per user.

Strengths: SFBB, HACCP, allergens, temperature and cleaning records in one subscription; AI drafts the HACCP plan from your menu, equipment and chemicals; EHO audit pack exports every record as one PDF; One published price with every feature and a 30-day free trial
Weaknesses: No sensor hardware: staff log temperatures on the app; No volume discount for larger groups; Four tills connect today: Square, Zettle, Epos Now and SumUp POS
Pricing: £69 per location per month, every feature included, 30-day free trial. No tiers and no volume discount.

### RotaCloud

A UK rota and time-and-attendance tool priced per user, from a published starting price for small teams.

Strengths: Affordable UK-built rota and scheduling tool; Clean interface designed for simplicity; Good holiday and absence management; Competitive pricing from £2.50/user/month
Weaknesses: No food safety, compliance, or audit features; No SFBB, HACCP, allergen, or COSHH management; No document management, training tracking, or knowledge hub; No equipment or maintenance scheduling
Pricing: From £10 a month for up to five employees, scaling by headcount; Capterra lists £5 per user; no contract (checked 2026-09-11 against https://www.rotacloud.com/pricing)
Reviews: 4.9/5 from 286 on Capterra (https://www.capterra.co.uk/software/143177/rotacloud)
Full comparison: https://paddl-ai.co/compare/rotacloud

### Deputy

Rota, timesheets and time clock per user with a monthly minimum.

Strengths: Market-leading shift scheduling with AI auto-scheduling; Time tracking with GPS and biometric clock-in; Strong payroll integrations (Xero, ADP, MYOB); Flexible per-user pricing for larger teams
Weaknesses: No food safety compliance features whatsoever; Team messaging is the Messaging+ add-on, charged per user on top; No SFBB, HACCP, allergen, or COSHH management; No document management or digital signatures
Pricing: £3.25 to £6.50 per user per month, £20 minimum; a 40-person team on Core is £170 a month for the rota alone (checked 2026-09-11 against https://www.deputy.com/gb/pricing)
Reviews: 4.6/5 from 773 on Capterra (https://www.capterra.co.uk/software/126548/deputy)
Full comparison: https://paddl-ai.co/compare/deputy

### Planday (Xero)

Rota and timesheets per user, owned by Xero.

Strengths: Owned by Xero, with a direct accounting integration; Strong European presence and multi-language support; Revenue-based scheduling insights; Clean mobile experience for staff
Weaknesses: No food safety or compliance features; No SFBB, HACCP, allergen, or COSHH management; No document management or training tracking; No equipment, maintenance, or knowledge hub features
Pricing: Per user per month from around £2.99, five-user minimum; Pro on quote (checked 2026-09-11 against https://www.planday.com/uk/pricing/)
Reviews: 4.3/5 from 58 on Capterra (https://www.capterra.co.uk/software/145648/planday)
Full comparison: https://paddl-ai.co/compare/planday

### 7shifts

Restaurant-specific scheduling with a free tier and per-location plans, priced in dollars.

Strengths: Purpose-built for restaurants with tip pooling and labour compliance; Free tier available for small single-location restaurants; Team chat and announcements built into the scheduling app; POS integrations for labour-to-sales insights
Weaknesses: Primarily focused on North American market; No UK-specific food safety compliance (no SFBB, no HACCP plans); No allergen management, COSHH, or risk assessments; No document management, equipment tracking, or knowledge hub
Pricing: Free plan for one location; paid from US$39.99 a location a month (checked 2026-09-11 against https://www.capterra.co.uk/software/123038/7shifts-restaurant-scheduling)
Reviews: 4.7/5 from 1212 on Capterra (https://www.capterra.co.uk/software/123038/7shifts-restaurant-scheduling)
Full comparison: https://paddl-ai.co/compare/7shifts

### Bizimply

Workforce management for hospitality: scheduling, time and attendance, HR and communications, priced after an assessment call.

Strengths: Scheduling, timesheets and HR in one; Direct Debit billing; Annual discounts
Weaknesses: Prices are not published; Demo-led sales; No food safety or compliance records
Pricing: Not published; quoted after a call (checked 2026-09-11 against https://www.bizimply.com/pricing/)

## Buying guide

### Per user or per location?

Most rota tools charge per user, which suits a five-person office and punishes a fifteen-person kitchen. Work out the real monthly cost at your headcount, including the casual staff who work one shift a fortnight but still need a login. Per-location pricing is the exception, and the reason it matters is that hospitality headcount is high and turnover is higher.

### Ask how it handles zero-hours holiday

Since April 2024 irregular-hours workers accrue holiday at 12.07% of the hours they work. Any tool you shortlist should calculate that from the timesheet, show the balance on the request, and let you pay it as rolled-up holiday pay if your contract says so. If the demo skips it, ask.

### Forecast first, rota second

A rota built against last week repeats last week's mistakes. Tools that read the till and forecast covers or sales let you staff to demand rather than habit, which is where the labour saving comes from. Check which tills the tool can read and how far ahead it forecasts.

### Where do the compliance records live?

The person on the rota is the same person whose food hygiene certificate expires next month. If the rota and the training records are in different systems, nobody joins them up until an inspector does. It is worth asking whether one platform can hold both.

## Questions

**What is the best rota software for a small pub or restaurant?**

For a single venue the choice is between a rota-only tool priced per user, such as RotaCloud, and a platform that includes the rota alongside compliance and training records at a per-location price, such as Paddl. Add up the monthly cost at your real headcount before deciding.

**Does rota software calculate holiday entitlement?**

The better ones do. Look for statutory 5.6-week entitlement for fixed patterns, 12.07% accrual for irregular hours, pro-rata for starters and a balance shown on each request. Our free holiday entitlement calculator does the same maths if you want to check a tool's answer.

**Can rota software export to UK payroll?**

Most export a CSV or connect directly to common UK payroll providers. Check the export includes worked hours from the timesheet rather than rostered hours from the plan, and that it separates holiday pay.

**Is a free rota template good enough?**

For a handful of staff on fixed patterns, a printed template works. It stops working when hours vary, holiday balances need tracking, or staff expect to see the rota on their phone. The free staff rota template on this site is a reasonable starting point and the same layout a digital rota uses.