# 5 Key Scheduling Software Features | Capterra > Trying to figure out key scheduling software features before investing in a product? Check out the five scheduling software features users rate as most important. Source: https://www.capterra.com/resources/key-scheduling-software-features --- # 5 Key Scheduling Software Features and Top Products That Offer Them By Ashish Upadhyay Ashish Upadhyay Ashish Upadhyay is a writer at Capterra. He provides insights to help small businesses identify the right software for their needs by analyzing over 550,000 ... [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/aupadhyay/) Published July 3, 2023 5 min read Table of Contents - [1\. Employee scheduling](#1-employee-scheduling) - [2\. Calendar management](#2-calendar-management) - [3\. Real-time scheduling](#3-real-time-scheduling) - [4\. Task scheduling](#4-task-scheduling) - [5\. Real-time notifications](#5-real-time-notifications) Scheduling software is used by individuals and teams across industries to efficiently coordinate the scheduling of various business activities, such as appointments, events, training sessions, courses, and field service tasks. However, every business has unique needs, so the same set of scheduling software features might not cut it for every user. As a business owner, you should know which software features to look for to best serve your scheduling needs. This article highlights five key scheduling software features based on the ratings given by verified software users. We’ve also included the highest-rated scheduling software solutions for each feature. [Read more](#methodology). ## 1\. Employee scheduling Employee scheduling enables team managers to create employee shifts based on various parameters, such as business needs, employee availability, skill sets, and labor laws. This feature helps plan and organize employee work hours to ensure tasks or projects are completed on time. Some solutions also allow employees to request shift swaps or time off through a centralized scheduling dashboard. ### What business problem does employee scheduling solve? Manual scheduling of employee shifts can get complicated and lead to conflicts such as double bookings or understaffing. Employee scheduling eliminates these issues by automating the process of scheduling, creating, and assigning shifts, taking into account employee availability and preferences while also preventing any scheduling overlaps or conflicts. ### Ideal users of the employee scheduling feature Employee managers and shift administrators across industries who oversee a large team can benefit the most from employee scheduling. This feature enables them to efficiently allocate resources to projects and coordinate with employees while handling shift changes. ### Top 3 products with the highest ratings for employee scheduling #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Employee scheduling feature rating 4.89/5 #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of June 2023 #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Employee scheduling feature rating 4.88/5 #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of June 2023 #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Employee scheduling feature rating 4.83/5 #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of June 2023 ## 2\. Calendar management The calendar management feature of a scheduling tool allows users to create, organize, and manage their calendars to keep track of deadlines, appointments, events, tasks, etc. It helps them prioritize important tasks and block time to complete them. Team managers can use this feature to check the availability of their staff and schedule tasks or meetings accordingly, ensuring all team members are available at the desired time slot. ### What business problem does calendar management solve? Coordinating meetings with multiple employees or stakeholders is time-consuming and can result in scheduling conflicts. Calendar management simplifies this scheduling process by providing greater stakeholder or employee schedule visibility. It offers a centralized platform where teams can share their calendars, ensuring everyone has visibility into each other’s work hours and availability. ### Ideal users of the calendar management feature Team managers and project coordinators who regularly organize meetings or client appointments and track crucial task/project deadlines can benefit the most from the calendar management feature. It can help them stay on top of their schedules, coordinate with stakeholders, and prioritize tasks effectively. ### Top 3 products with the highest ratings for calendar management #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Calendar management feature rating 4.82/5 #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of June 2023 #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Calendar management feature rating 4.82/5 #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of June 2023 #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Calendar management feature rating 4.76/5 #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of June 2023 ## 3\. Real-time scheduling Real-time scheduling helps prioritize urgent tasks or deliverables so deadlines are not missed. It allows users to make immediate adjustments to their work schedules based on changing business needs. For instance, if an employee calls in sick, the feature can automatically reassign tasks or find a replacement, ensuring the work continues without disruption. ### What business problem does real-time scheduling solve? Businesses often face challenges with responding promptly to urgent customer requests or adjusting workloads due to employee absences. Real-time scheduling enables team managers to adjust their team’s schedule in real time so it’s instantly updated to accommodate real-time needs. It allows users to assign backup resources and re-route tasks to handle unprecedented disruptions. ### Ideal users of the real-time scheduling feature Project managers dealing with complex schedules, multiple resources, and changing project requirements can benefit the most from real-time scheduling. This feature enables them to create, update, and manage their team’s work schedule in real time, ensuring project progress doesn’t stop due to lack of resources. The feature is also beneficial for field service professionals who have to regularly deal with changing customer requests.  ### Top 3 products with the highest ratings for real-time scheduling #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Real-time scheduling feature rating 5/5 #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of June 2023 #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Real-time scheduling feature rating 4.83/5 #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of June 2023 #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Real-time scheduling feature rating 4.78/5 #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of June 2023 ## 4\. Task scheduling Task scheduling allows team managers and project coordinators to plan, organize, and manage tasks or activities within a project or workflow. This feature helps efficiently allocate time, assign tasks to individuals or teams, and track their progress to ensure timely completion. ### What business problem does task scheduling solve? Effective task scheduling helps break down large projects into small manageable tasks, accurately estimate project timelines, and allocate resources accordingly. Additionally, it lets team managers assign tasks to specific team members based on their skills and experience, track the progress of the assigned tasks, monitor milestones, and identify any potential delays or issues.  ### Ideal users of the task scheduling feature Project managers and task administrators responsible for managing ongoing operational activities can rely on task scheduling to plan and complete project tasks on time. Task scheduling also assists event planners in creating detailed event timelines, assigning responsibilities, and tracking the progress of event-related tasks. ### Top 3 products with the highest ratings for task scheduling #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Task scheduling feature rating 4.81/5 #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of June 2023 #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Task scheduling feature rating 4.66/5 #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of June 2023 #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Task scheduling feature rating 4.64/5 #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of June 2023 ## 5\. Real-time notifications Real-time notifications functionality of a scheduling tool provides managers and team members with instant updates and alerts regarding schedule changes, task assignments, deadlines, or any other project-related information. The feature ensures each stakeholder is promptly notified of any new development to help them prioritize their tasks or adjust their schedules. ### What business problem does real-time notifications solve? Real-time notifications help bridge communication gaps within teams and across organizations by ensuring relevant stakeholders receive instant updates on schedule changes, task assignments, and important events. This feature also ensures timely responses to changes and helps build a proactive team that can adapt its plans and adjust workloads. ### Ideal users of the real-time notifications feature Project managers rely on real-time notifications to ensure their team members stay updated about schedule changes, task assignments, and progress updates. Additionally, remote teams can leverage this feature to get real-time work updates and take proactive decisions related to tasks. ### Top 3 products with the highest ratings for real-time notifications #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Real-time notifications feature rating 4.70/5 #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of June 2023 #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Real-time notifications feature rating 4.69/5 #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of June 2023 #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Real-time notifications feature rating 4.64/5 #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of June 2023 ## Capterra's 2026 Software Buying Trends Report ### Download our 2026 Software Buying Trends Report to see how successful software adopters avoid disappointment and how your business can, too. * * * **Methodology** - **Key features:** To identify the key features for this article, we asked users to rate, on a scale of “low importance” to “critical,” how important different features are for scheduling software. The features showcased are those that the highest percentage of reviewers rated as “highly important” or “critical.” - **Feature eligibility:** To be included in the set of features considered, a given feature had to have at least 200 user ratings within the past two years, of which at least 20% must indicate the feature is “critical.” Eligible features were determined from two sources:  1. Our research team’s review of public information about scheduling software usage, definitions, and associated features  2. Reviewers’ indication of the features they use for scheduling. - **Product selection:** To identify the top-rated products per feature, we evaluated user ratings for products that offer each feature. For a given product, reviewers rate each feature on a scale of one to five stars. A given product had to have at least 20 user ratings (between June 2021-23) for the feature in question to be considered. * * * Looking for Scheduling software?Check out Capterra's list of the [best Scheduling software](https://www.capterra.com/scheduling-software/) solutions. ### Was this article helpful? * * * ## About the Author [### Ashish Upadhyay](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/aupadhyay/) Ashish Upadhyay is a writer at Capterra. He provides insights to help small businesses identify the right software for their needs by analyzing over 550,000 Capterra user reviews and nearly 48,000 interactions between Capterra software advisors and buyers. 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