Connecteam Review: My Assessment So Far

Last Updated on June 1, 2024 by Ewen Finser

If you are trying to figure out if Connecteam is right for your “deskless” workforce, this article is for you, based on my experience testing it out over the last 4+ weeks.

My TL;DR is that Connecteam is a solid option for “all in one” deskless employee management, pulling together time tracking, scheduling, and real-time reporting into one (more cost effective) suite. There ARE a few drawbacks (like no auto scheduling) and it isn’t for everyone, but it works really well for the industries it targets.

They also have a fully functional and very generous free version for up to 10 users, which (as far as I know) leads the industry in terms of free HR software of it’s kind.

Ok, so lets get right into the meat of the review…

What is Connecteam & Where Does it fit?

The easiest way I can describe Connecteam is that it’s an employee management suite for employees who are often in the field, onsite, and not plugged into a specific workstation, desk, or computer.

Some of the practical features are around employee tracking, task tracking, scheduling, and communication, but this doesn’t do it justice fully.

There’s also some unique (for it’s class) employee engagement tools and more robust analytics & reporting tools than I expected to find (more on that later!).

Standout Connecteam Features

There’s a lot of features packed into Connecteam, so this isn’t an exhaustive list by any means. BUT, these are some of the core features you can “hang your hat on” when it comes to the platform:

• Employee Time Clock: Connecteam offers a time clock functionality that enables staff to effortlessly start and end their shifts, facilitating precise recording of work hours and real-time data feeds back to management.

• Employee Scheduling: The scheduling tool by Connecteam empowers supervisors to efficiently formulate and disseminate work schedules and manage time-off or absences.
• Communication and Engagement: Connecteam delivers a robust platform for team communications. It includes a company newsfeed to monitor engagement, a secure messaging system for business use, and a comprehensive directory for all employee contact details.
• Task Management: Connecteam introduces a task management solution that permits real-time assignment and monitoring of tasks, boosting productivity and effectiveness.

• Training and Onboarding: Connecteam provides the tools to develop interactive training modules complete with tracking of progress, streamlining the process of training and onboarding for better efficiency. They even have quizzes to test employee knowledge, which I found quite unique compared to other competitors (almost like a mini LMS suite).
• Workplace Directory & Wiki: As your company scales, keeping up-to-date contact information and best practices (SOPs) gets super challenging. Connecteam has a really easy to use (and accessible) company directory with all of the needed information, accessible via the app.

Connecteam Pricing Overview

Cost is definitely a factor here, so I definitely want to take a look at the different plans from a budget perspective. Here’s the overview:

Here’s a full breakdown of what you get across the 3 main “hubs”:

• Operations Hub:
  • Basic: $35/mo for the first 30 users ($0.6 per additional user/month) or $29/mo x 12 for the first 30 users ($0.5 per additional user/month)
  • Advanced: $59/mo for the first 30 users ($1.8 per additional user/month) or $49/mo x 12 for the first 30 users ($1.5 per additional user/month)
  • Expert: $119/mo for the first 30 users ($3.6 per additional user/month) or $99/mo x 12 for the first 30 users ($3 per additional user/month)
• Communications Hub:
  • Basic: $35/mo for the first 30 users ($0.6 per additional user/month) or $29/mo x 12 for the first 30 users ($0.5 per additional user/month)
  • Advanced: $59/mo for the first 30 users ($1.8 per additional user/month) or $49/mo x 12 for the first 30 users ($1.5 per additional user/month)
  • Expert: $119/mo for the first 30 users ($3.6 per additional user/month) or $99/mo x 12 for the first 30 users ($3 per additional user/month)
• HR & Skills Hub:
  • Basic: $35/mo for the first 30 users ($0.6 per additional user/month) or $29/mo x 12 for the first 30 users ($0.5 per additional user/month)
  • Advanced: $59/mo for the first 30 users ($1.8 per additional user/month) or $49/mo x 12 for the first 30 users ($1.5 per additional user/month)
  • Expert: $119/mo for the first 30 users ($3.6 per additional user/month) or $99/mo x 12 for the first 30 users ($3 per additional user/month)
• The Small Business Plan:
  • Free: Specifically designed for small businesses, this plan is free for life and offers full access to all hubs and features, catering to everything a small business needs to manage employees.

Connecteam Integrations

I’ll have a full deep dive on Connecteam’s integrations in a separate article (they are growing, I’ll keep it updated), but for now these are some of the key integrations to be aware of:

• Gusto (Payroll)
• Paychex (Payroll)
• Xero (Bookkeeping)
• QuickBooks (Bookkeeping)

As you can see, Connecteam is currently focused on rolling out their Payroll service integrations and accounting tools. This makes sense as it’s the biggest “other software” most of their businesses need.

Personally, I use Gusto for most of our businesses, so this is a great fit but I use Bench.co for bookkeeping and SOME QuickBooks (mostly businesses we’ve bought that had legacy accts).

I’d like to see more integrations, particularly for brands that don’t need ALL of the the ConnectTeam suites (e.g. Slack integration for chat or monday.com for task management).

UPDATE: Connecteam does offer an open API to configure with pretty much any third-party platform that you need. It’s not a direct integration, but with some initial technical setup, you can theoretically integrate any platform.

What I Liked Best About Connecteam

Overall, I really enjoyed the app and found that while it was hard to describe it ALL made sense once I tried it out.

These were some of the top things that stuck with me about it:

• Built Around a Type of Company: If you have employees in the field or away from desks in retail settings, it can feel like the tools and tech hasn’t changed while the “office” employees have all sorts of PM tools, dashboards, apps, and comms system… built with them in mind. This can lead to a really lopsided organization, where the ACTUAL work is disconnected from the systems management is used to report progress. Connecteam does an excellent job of merging these worlds and putting highly usable systems in the hands of those in the field.
• Pricing Structure: I get really annoyed with Slack and other tools that charge PER USER pricing. This feels like a huge tax on growth and widespread company adoption. I like that Connecteam has tiered pricing e.g. the first 30 users on every plan are included, with each additional a modest $1.50 – $3 (on Expert Plan) per month.
• A Completely FREE Tier: Best of all, for small businesses Connecteam is completely free up to the first 10 users. This is an incredible value and isn’t the typical “freemium” gimmick. This also makes it really easy if you’d like to demo a specific department on the platform before embracing throughout the organization.
• Great Engagement Tools: I love the surveys, milestone trackers, and other tools to keep key personnel on the “front lines” as engagement as their peers in the home office. Particularly for skilled trades, maintaining your people is so much more cost effective than constantly needing to hire (often due to unsurfaced systemic issues). People vote with their feet and by that time it’s often too late.
• Goes Beyond the Basics: There are MANY other tools out there for time tracking and employee scheduling and Connecteam does these things well, in a highly consistent, usable way. That said, Connecteam goes way beyond “just time tracking” and is almost a full work operating system for service and “deskless” workforces.

What Could be Better

I really did enjoy exploring Connecteam. It’s one of the best systems of it’s kind for deskless workplace management that I’ve tried.

That said, there were some things that could be improved, missing features or other issues that may not make it a perfect fit for certain businesses.

• Pricing Upgrades & Complexity: Overall, it’s not bad and I figured out what I needed, but initially the 3 different “functions” of Ops, Communications, and HR & Skills was confusing. I think most fall into the Ops category, but if you want ALL of the features, it gets pricey.
• Not the Most Integrations: This is a work in progress and I’m prepared to update as new ones roll out, but I felt the integrations were somewhat limited to Monday.com or even Deputy (a leading competitor). That said, Connecteam has more functionality on day 1 than many of their peers so you’ll likely need fewer integrations out of the gate.
• Auto Scheduling: Less functionality here compared to peers, but maybe I was using it wrong! UPDATE: This feature IS in beta and should be released sometime in 2024.

Connecteam Alternatives Landscape

There’s a few key competitors out there that I need to mention here. Although I really like Connecteam, there are some specific use cases where you may be better served with another system:

• Deputy: Deputy is a good option if you really just need the employee scheduling and time tracking tools and not much else. That said, it’s significantly more expensive than Connecteam for arguably fewer features. See my take on how Deputy compares to Connecteam directly.
• Homebase: Homebase has fewer performance and workplace management tools, but DOES have built in payroll processing which might save some cost + time. See how I compare Homebase to Connecteam here.
• monday.com: Not a true direct competitor, but with how customizable monday.com has become, it can be retrofitted (and integrated) to get some of the same features (but not all). This is a good option for more project-based service work that doesn’t required daily employee tracking.
• 7Shifts: If you specifically run a restaurant or food service industry business, 7Shifts might be a better out of the box fit as it’s tailored to common applications in this industry as a niche scheduling software.
• When I Work: Another shift management app, When I Work also features built-in payroll processing and unique features like an excellent mobile app and “shift swapping”. See my comp of When I Work versus Connecteam for more details.

SO Who is Connecteam Best for?

After spending a few weeks with the platform, I think ANY business with a significant footprint of employees “away from a desk” could benefit from using Connecteam.

I’d put that number at 5+ as a good critical mass to make the most of the system, but right around 10 seems like a really good value prop.

Some of the best use cases I immediately thought of were for:

• Retail settings with salespeople “on the floor”
• Field service, including landscaping, trades (plumbing, HVAC, etc..)
• Construction (job sites, general contracting)
• Other home services (cleaning, installs, furniture delivery, other interior services)
• Manufacturing (bespoke assembly lines, or high touch craftsmanship)
• Hospitality
• Retail food & beverage
• Real estate
• Luxury sales (yachts, planes, etc..)

I also think that internal teams WITHIN larger corporations could benefit from this type of platform:

• IT Service and IT Asset Management
• Janitorial services
• Advance teams / live events

Bottom Line: If this seems to fit your description, I’d definitely recommend giving Connecteam a try, especially given their generous FREE tier (up to 10 team members).