Startups > When I Work

When I Work

When I Work helps shift-based teams schedule staff and track time instantly.
Private Equity $224M total United States
When I Work is an employee scheduling and time tracking platform built for shift-based teams in hospitality, retail, healthcare, and field service industries. It combines scheduling, GPS-based time tracking, team messaging, and labor forecasting in a single app, with an AI-powered auto-scheduler that matches shifts to employee eligibility and availability. The platform serves over 1 million users across 150,000+ customers in 50+ countries and differentiates on affordability—starting at $2.50 per user/month with auto-scheduling included, a feature typically reserved for premium tiers at competitors.
Problem solved
Managers waste hours manually building schedules, coordinating shift coverage through phone calls, and tracking employee attendance across multiple locations.
Target customer
Small to mid-market hospitality, retail, healthcare, and field service businesses with 50+ hourly employees managing multiple locations.
Website LinkedIn Crunchbase
Founders
U
Unknown
Unknown
No public information available about founders.
Funding history
Series A Unknown January 8, 2014 Led by Arthur Ventures, Headline · Unknown
Series B Unknown June 8, 2016 Led by Drive Capital · Unknown
Series C $200M November 1, 2021 Led by Bain Capital · Unknown
Total raised: $224M
Industries
Information Technology Management Information Systems Messaging Productivity Tools
Pricing
Freemium model: free for up to 75 users. Paid plans start at $2.50/user/month (single-location Essentials) and $5/user/month (multi-location). All plans include scheduling, time tracking, and team messaging. 14-day free trial available. Monthly or annual billing options.
Notable customers
Not disclosed. Over 150,000 customers across hospitality, retail, catering, accessories, and healthcare sectors.
Integrations
Rippling (preferred partner with 6 months free), generic payroll system integrations
Website
wheniwork.com/
Competitors
Homebase
Homebase offers similar auto-scheduling and time tracking but starts at $20/month per location vs. When I Work's $2.50/user/month, making it significantly more expensive for small teams.
Deputy
Deputy is a close competitor with similar features but pricing starts at $3.50/user/month; When I Work includes auto-scheduling at base tier while Deputy reserves it for higher plans.
7shifts
7shifts targets mid-market restaurants and is more expensive, especially for smaller companies; When I Work's pricing advantage is clearest for sub-500 employee organizations.
Humanity Schedule by TCP
Humanity Schedule focuses on workforce management but lacks When I Work's integrated time tracking with GPS geofencing capabilities.
Why this matters: When I Work has raised $224M from top-tier investors like Bain Capital and achieved 1M+ users, yet maintains an unusually aggressive pricing model ($2.50/user/month) that undercuts competitors while including auto-scheduling—typically a premium feature. This suggests strong product-market fit and customer retention in a fragmented but growing shift-work management market.
Best for: Best for small to mid-market shift-based businesses (hospitality, retail, healthcare, field service) that need affordable, fast employee scheduling with built-in time tracking and minimal setup complexity.
Use cases
Quick shift coverage in retail stores
A retail manager with 5 locations needs to fill an unexpected absence. Using OpenShifts, they instantly post the shift, notify eligible employees, and get coverage confirmed in minutes instead of spending 30 minutes making phone calls. This reduces labor costs from emergency staffing fees and ensures consistent service levels.
Multi-location labor cost control
A casual dining group with 12 restaurants uses labor forecasting to compare scheduled hours against predicted customer demand. This prevents overstaffing on slow nights and understaffing during peak times, protecting profit margins without manual re-scheduling intervention across all locations.
Automated payroll accuracy
A healthcare clinic uses GPS-verified time clock-ins integrated with Rippling payroll. Employees clock in via the app, location is verified via geofencing, and hours automatically sync to payroll—eliminating manual time sheet entry errors and reducing payroll processing time by 80%.
Alternatives
Homebase Choose Homebase if you need POS integration and payment processing, or prefer a location-based pricing model despite higher cost.
Deputy Choose Deputy if you need advanced compliance features or are in a highly regulated industry like healthcare with specific audit trail requirements.
7shifts Choose 7shifts if you're a mid-market restaurant group and need deep integrations with restaurant-specific tools like Toast POS.
FAQ
What does When I Work do? +
When I Work is an employee scheduling and time tracking platform for shift-based teams. It includes AI-powered auto-scheduling that matches shifts to employee skills and availability, GPS time clock-ins with geofencing, team messaging, and labor forecasting to optimize staffing costs. The platform works across multiple locations with customizable workflows and integrates with payroll systems like Rippling.
How much does When I Work cost? +
When I Work is free for up to 75 users. Paid plans start at $2.50/user/month for single-location teams and $5/user/month for multi-location businesses. All plans include scheduling, time tracking, and team messaging. A 14-day free trial is available with no credit card required.
What are alternatives to When I Work? +
Top alternatives are Homebase (location-based pricing, POS integration), Deputy (compliance-focused, $3.50+/user/month), 7shifts (restaurant-focused), and Humanity Schedule (workforce management platform).
Who uses When I Work? +
Over 150,000 customers and 1 million users across 50+ countries, primarily in hospitality, retail, catering, healthcare, and field service. Target customers are small to mid-market shift-based businesses with 50+ hourly employees managing multiple locations.
How does When I Work compare to Homebase? +
When I Work starts at $2.50/user/month with auto-scheduling included in all plans, while Homebase starts at $20/month per location—making it 8-10x more expensive for comparable teams. Both offer similar core features, but When I Work's per-user pricing is significantly lower. Homebase includes POS and payment processing, while When I Work focuses on scheduling, time tracking, and labor forecasting.
Tags
employee scheduling time tracking shift management labor forecasting geofencing auto-scheduler multi-location management