Because we started new, we began with a completely new workforce — around 30 people. We needed everything in one place, and I needed a simple system that both I and our management team could use easily. RosterElf provided exactly that. What I liked most was being able to tell managers, “You only have to learn one intuitive system.” They understood it within 45 minutes.

Onboarding a whole team at once seemed like a big challenge, but it actually wasn’t hard at all. We booked an onboarding session for everyone, then arranged a separate session for our head chef so he could manage his location. In the end, rostering was one of the easiest parts of starting the business.

What helped me most was integrating RosterElf with payroll. When you have around 30 employees, payroll day can be a headache. They showed me how to integrate with Xero — I simply confirm all the hours, and everything feeds into Xero automatically. Paying staff became super easy.

I love how simple the system is, and how great it is for staff. They have their app, they know exactly when they’re working, and there’s no misunderstanding or miscommunication — everything is in one place.

Support was very important for us, especially at the beginning. Whenever I needed help, I received a response within an hour. We’d jump on a Zoom call, or someone even came in initially to walk me through the basics. When I didn’t understand something, I’d share my screen and they’d guide me step-by-step. Everything was solved within minutes. The support has been extremely helpful, and it’s something I highly recommend.

I would definitely recommend RosterElf. I like everything about it. If there’s something I don’t understand, I send a text or make a call, and it gets sorted out quickly. I genuinely recommend RosterElf.

The biggest fear for me was wondering whether the rosters were being done properly, whether we were paying people the right amounts, and whether we were opening ourselves up to fraud. That was always my concern, especially because I had aspirations to scale to multiple centres. We’re now at three centres and about to open number four, and of course the problem just gets bigger as you grow.

The centre management system we use has a very rudimentary rostering tool built in, but it didn’t integrate into Xero or anything similar to produce pays. So we started looking around the market. RosterElf quickly became top of the pack. A lot of the childcare staff we work with aren’t the most computer-literate people, so the way I judge how easy a system is comes down to how much support I’m asked for. When we’ve onboarded new centres and new centre directors, they’ve barely needed any training. We give them a short demo, and if they need more help, they contact RosterElf support who jump on straight away and give them a fantastic run-through. The support has been incredible — very willing, very patient.

The key thing I look for is the user interface and user experience. Are things logical? With RosterElf, it’s clear that the design has been well thought out, with plenty of user testing and feedback behind it. It’s very intuitive. The integration with Xero was seamless — the initial connection only took a few minutes. Processing pays and having everything ready for approval each fortnight is quick and reliable.

The only time things fall outside of that is due to anomalies caused by human error — for example, if someone forgets to enter half an hour of time. That’s on the user or the centre manager, not the software. In fact, the software is often more accurate than the staff entering the data.

If anyone is considering whether to automate their process, the truth is it will reduce your workload by 90–95%. As a company that provides support myself, having local support and a local phone number is important for my clients. Some of the bigger tech companies have gone too far with offshoring support to the Philippines or India. I understand it’s cheaper, but it can be incredibly frustrating as a customer. You just want someone who understands you and can help you solve the problem. I’m more than happy to pay a premium for local support, and every time we’ve leaned on RosterElf, the problem has been solved quickly.

Payroll used to be a bit of a nightmare — something nobody looked forward to. It was a two- to three-day ordeal, almost a full day per centre. Once RosterElf was embedded and staff understood that timesheets must be entered properly, it stopped people from trying to circumvent the system — which we did have early on. Now, payroll processing time has been cut by 90–95%. What was three days of work — six to seven hours a day for my CFO, who is on $100 an hour — has now been reduced dramatically. You can do the math.

Do your own due diligence. There are certainly other platforms out there that RosterElf competes with, but you have to weigh up things like local support, how fast the platform moves, and how well it’s tailored to the Australian market. Being an Australian product, it feels far more aligned with Australian businesses.

More recently, we’ve become even more committed — we’ve locked in RosterElf for the next 36 months on a plan. I’d be the first to say it’s been a great product and a great experience. There are other software products we’ve regretted purchasing and wanted to throw in the bin afterwards, but RosterElf has been a decision we’re very pleased with. If you’re considering it, absolutely put it at the top of your list.