Workforce management is of critical value for businesses to achieve peak business efficiency. Scheduling conflicts and communication breakdowns can make any company lose its ground. Homebase and Gusto are two human resources (HR) solutions known to reduce the likelihood of such errors.

While both platforms offer advanced payroll, scheduling, and labor cost management tools, a head-on comparison of their features will determine which one best fits your business needs.

Homebase Vs Gusto: At A Glance

Feature

Homebase

Gusto

Payroll Management

  • Unlimited payroll runs
  • Automated tax filing
  • Tip management
  • Unlimited payroll runs in all states and 120+ countries

HR And Compliance

  • Performance notes
  • Live HR support
  • Employee handbook
  • Compliance with federal, state, and city labor laws
  • Employee document management
  • Automated benefits enrollment
  • Compliance across federal, state, and city levels
  • Access to HR experts

Workforce Management Tools

  • Schedule building
  • Track employee availability
  • Avoid under and over-staffing
  • Team communication features
  • Time tracking
  • Shifts scheduling
  • PTO management

Labor Cost Management

  • Track real-time labor expenses
  • Prevent time theft
  • Limits early clock-ins
  • Detailed cost reports
  • Homebase mobile app for cost management
  • Labor cost visibility
  • Avoid overscheduling
  • Workforce cost reports
  • Project-based cost tracking

Hiring And Onboarding   

  • Custom job posts
  • Applicant tracking
  • Automated onboarding
  • Paperless W-4, W-9, and I-9 form submissions
  • Centralized ATS
  • e-sign
  • Handle new-hire paperwork digitally
  • Dashboard login information

What Is Homebase?

Homebase is a cloud-based HR tool designed to streamline workforce management through employee scheduling, time clocks, and payroll tools. Built for small to mid-sized businesses, the software helps HR teams streamline schedules, track employee availability, and forecast labor costs to optimize business operations.

Homebase payroll system seamlessly integrates with other HR systems to calculate paychecks and hourly wages, file taxes, and send direct deposits to employees. Its team communication tools, shift scheduling features, and time-tracking make it an ideal choice for companies with hourly workers in the retail, restaurant, and hospitality sectors.

Unique Features Of Homebase

  • Tip Manager: Simplifies tip management by automatically pulling tips from the Point-of-Sale (POS) system, calculating the tip pool, and integrating it into employee timesheets
  • Employee Scheduling: Part of Homebase workforce management tools, ‘Employee Scheduling’, allows companies to streamline employee schedules with shift swaps, schedule reminders, and availability management. It also empowers employees to trade, cover, and claim open shifts
  • Team Communication: Homebase allows managers and teams to communicate directly within the mobile and web applications. Managers can send announcements, updates, or shift reminders while getting notified when workers view schedules and read messages

Pros And Cons Of Homebase

Pros

  • Color-coded scheduling and an intuitive interface allow for seamless shift management and communication
  • Hourly scheduling feature provides critical value to part-time workers
  • Offers quick timesheet edits with complete history tracking for up to 4 years

Cons

  • Reporting features lack depth for HR compliance issues and would do well with more customization options
  • Job posting system occasionally mixes listings for businesses with multiple locations or brand names

What Is Gusto?

Gusto HR is a cloud-based payroll and benefits management solution designed for small and medium-sized businesses to support their HR teams. The platform stands out for its powerful automation features, comprehensive benefits plans, and tax handling.

Gusto also provides tools for hiring, learning and development (L&D), and performance management, taking an all-in-one approach to HR management. With its extensive integration capabilities and customization features, the platform becomes an ideal choice for businesses in real estate, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, technology, law firms, and hospitality.

Unique Feature Of Gusto

  • Centralized Applicant Tracking System (ATS): Gusto’s in-built ATS streamlines hiring with its automation, customization, and tracking features, leading to a smooth transition from recruitment to onboarding
  • Learning Management System (LMS): This fully integrated LMS empowers businesses to build training materials and track course completion in real-time, all while promoting a culture of growth and boosting employee engagement
  • Global Contractors: The platform enables companies to onboard and pay their international contractors from over 120 countries worldwide with no additional monthly fees

Pros And Cons Of Gusto

Pros

  • The ability to divide and save portions of each paycheck in ‘Gusto Wallet’ promotes financial freedom and wellness
  • The mobile app allows employees to track time off and paychecks, with notifications when they get paid
  • Customizable welcome package helps businesses create a smooth onboarding experience for new employees
  • The option to download paperwork instead of printing is convenient and eco-friendly

Cons

  • The time off feature would do well with more customization features
  • Does not show total hours for an individual week after the pay period moves to the second week; only the combined total is shown

Gusto And Homebase: Side-By-Side Feature Comparison

Payroll Management

Homebase payroll system empowers businesses to run payroll manually or automate it while handling compliance and tax filings. The platform handles new hire reporting, tip management, direct deposits, W-2 and 1099s distribution, and integration with timesheets.

Homebase also supports growing businesses allowing them to run unlimited payrolls for multiple locations at no additional cost.

Gusto also offers unlimited manual or automated payroll runs while handling local, state, and federal tax filings and compliance. The system automatically calculates tax, worked hours, and paid time off (PTO), along with any tips or bonuses, and integrates it with the payroll. Gusto Global supports 120 international salaried or hourly contractors, empowering businesses to manage both in-house and remote teams.

Winner: Gusto wins against Homebase for its comprehensive payroll system, supporting international, hourly, and salaried employees.

HR And Compliance

Homebase’s HR and compliance tools allow companies to securely store confidential employee documents with information like emergency contacts, payroll details, and performance notes. The platform also offers live HR support and an employee handbook while ensuring compliance with labor laws at federal, state, and metropolitan levels.

Gusto offers employee document management, automated benefits enrollment, and compliance across federal, state, and city levels. To further streamline HR and compliance, the platform provides dedicated resources, compliance alerts, and access to HR experts.

Winner: Both platforms offer effective tools for HR and compliance. However, Homebase takes a slight edge against Gusto for its employee handbook.

Scheduling Tools

Homebase boasts a strong set of workforce management and scheduling tools, empowering businesses to ‍build schedules, track employee availability, and avoid understaffing. The platform seamlessly prepares payroll data by tracking hours, overtime, tips, and breaks. Combined with its team communication features like real-time alerts, scheduling reminders, and messages, scheduling is one of the most powerful tools in Homebase.

Gusto also offers powerful tools for workforce management, but the features lack the depth that Homebase offers. Some of the functionalities include time tracking, scheduling to manage shifts, and PTO management to track and approve time off.

Winner: Homebase wins with its advanced scheduling tools for optimized workforce management.

Labor Cost Management

Homebase offers extensive labor cost management tools that track real-time labor expenses, prevent time theft by limiting early clock-ins, and create detailed cost reports. The platform integrates sales and labor data, sending alerts for potential overtime and cost overruns. This enables businesses to forecast labor costs during scheduling.

Additionally, it breaks down labor costs by hour, department, and role, allowing HR teams to streamline the whole process through the Homebase mobile app.

Gusto provides comprehensive labor cost visibility to avoid overscheduling and overtime payments. With workforce cost reports, companies can effectively optimize employee schedules and headcount planning.

Additionally, the platform also offers project-based cost tracking, with easy reporting or data export options to other business systems.

Winner: This round ends in a tie. Homebase excels in real-time labor cost management during scheduling, while Gusto offers advanced project cost tracking and reporting.

Hiring And Onboarding

Homebase hiring and onboarding suite has options for customizable job posting, applicant tracking, and automated onboarding. The platform also handles all new-hire paperwork online, such as direct deposit, W-4, W-9, and I-9 forms digitally.

Gusto streamlines hiring and onboarding with its centralized ATS, custom job posts, and an automated onboarding checklist. The platform also offers an e-sign option to send, sign, and store new-hire paperwork digitally, including direct deposits, 1099 forms, and dashboard login information.

Winner: Gusto wins this round against Homebase for its powerful hiring and onboarding tools, including a built-in ATS.

Homebase Vs Gusto: Which Is The Right HR Software For You?

After comparing Homebase and Gusto in terms of their core functioning, the next step is to assess the size and complexity of your business operations.

Homebase excels in workforce management with tools for employee scheduling, time tracking, and payroll processing. It is an ideal solution for small businesses looking to streamline various operational tasks associated with managing hourly employees.

Gusto, with its advanced payroll and benefits features, is tailored for small to medium-sized businesses seeking more comprehensive HR solutions. It presents itself as a go-to solution for companies looking to simplify project tracking, performance management, and remote team management.

Ultimately, the final decision rests with you. If you want a more personalized suggestion in deciding between Homebase and Gusto, contact us here .