Timetastic vs CharlieHR

Keeping track of everyone’s holiday requests and sick days can prove a challenge — especially if you’re using software that’s just not fit for purpose. If you’re tired of navigating spreadsheets and manually calculating leave allowances, it’s time to switch to HR software that handles time off management — but which is right for you?

‍In this guide we’re comparing Timetastic vs CharlieHR. Both allow you to track time off, but beyond that they’re very different.

Our goal with this comparison guide is to bring you a clear overview of Timetastic vs CharlieHR, so you can figure out which is the right leave management solution for your business. Of course we’re big fans of Charlie, but we’re also not shy about highlighting the features that make Timetastic a promising choice for some companies.

Ready to find the best fit for your needs? Let’s jump in and compare Timetastic vs CharlieHR.

Comparing Timetastic vs CharlieHR

There are lots of HR information systems (HRIS) and HR management systems (HRMS) out there that offer absence management and time off tracking. We’ve even compared some of them before — like BreatheHR, SageHR, and BambooHR.

This time the focus is on Timetastic, and seeing how it shapes up when compared against Charlie. Both platforms give you a better alternative to an old Excel spreadsheet, but what does that look like in reality and which is better?

To bring you this guide, we’ve:

• Thoroughly researched Timetastic and Charlie’s unique points, features, and pricing
• Considered real user reviews of both software tools
• Spoken to Charlie customers to understand their needs
• Researched the wider HR software market to understand what else is out there

With thorough research and customer insights, we now have a clear view of how both of these HR software tools perform — not just for time off management but where they might excel in other areas too.

Let’s take a closer look at both Timetastic and CharlieHR in more detail and explore some of their key features.

An introduction to Timetastic

Timetastic is an HR software tool built around one feature — staff leave and holiday planning. The software helps HR teams and managers streamline the time off management process with a central, visual, and easy-to-use holiday planner and tracker.

Timetastic’s main features include:

• Employee holiday tracker
• Sickness absence tracker
• Personal calendars
• Filter and group by departments
• Built-in work schedules
• Birthday, event, and milestone reminders
• Multiple types of leave covered
  
• Built-in public holidays for 3,000 different regions
  
• Self-service leave requests
  
• App and email notifications
  
• Mobile app
  
• Integrations with platforms like Microsoft Teams (only on the Pro plan)
  

Timetastic’s dedication to being great at one thing means it’s useful if that’s your area of focus, but some teams might find the functionality too minimalist — especially if you want to streamline your HR tech stack.

Charlie: The highlights

We can see that Charlie features everything that Timetastic does — and more. With more functionality, better value, and higher levels of flexibility, it’s easy to see why Charlie is such a popular choice for small businesses.

The better choice for growing startups and small businesses

Our software was created with the human resources needs of UK small businesses in mind, so it’s the perfect choice for even the smallest of businesses and startups that want to grow. You can use the time off management features now, and expand into other areas and when you want to.

Charlie offers functionality beyond simple staff holiday and leave management — including onboarding, performance management, engagement surveys, and perks and benefits. We also have plenty of integrations, including timesheets and time tracking, so you can run everything from one dashboard. Charlie works beautifully now and when you want to grow and expand.

More flexible and personalised time off management

While Timetastic is designed for absence management, it’s not always the most flexible system. In comparison, Charlie offers HR teams an abundance of flexibility and personalisation options that allow you to tailor the way you use the software based on your individual needs.

Create working locations and monitor leave and clashes by area, or flag overlapping requests within a team. Add your own company holidays and length of service annual leave increases. Set multiple holiday policies and apply them to the right team members. It’s time off management that you can tweak to match your exact needs, rather than trying to adjust how you work to fit a certain schedule.

Just as affordable and with even more features

Timetastic offers great value for money, starting at just £1.20 per month per user. Charlie’s pricing is on a similar level, with a plan for 1-4 team members available for just £5 per month. That’s in total, not per user.

For a similar monthly subscription, HR teams get access to not just time off management but functionality to support HR processes right across the entire employee lifecycle. From onboarding to ongoing performance management, Charlie is packed with features designed to streamline every area of human resources.

You can also choose to add on the latest addition to their arsenal: an applicant tracking software. 

Why choose Charlie over Timetastic?

Timetastic handles time off management expertly, but being focused only on this means it’s a less attractive option for HR teams that want to streamline operations. Charlie does everything that Timetastic can, but with more flexibility, customisation, and expanded features — plus support for other areas of your work like onboarding, performance management, and employee engagement.

With this in mind, let’s consider when to choose one of these HR software tools over the other.

Choose Timetastic if you:

• Only want software for time off management
• Aren’t likely to want (or need) to change to more in-depth software anytime soon
• Prefer the digital wall chart view
• Don’t mind paying extra for integrations

Choose Charlie if you:

• Want to streamline leave management and other areas of HR
• Don’t want to invest in multiple HR software subscriptions
• Prefer a calendar or list view
• Want access to the integrations marketplace on any plan
• Are looking for excellent value for money
• Want access to excellent support, free HR templates, and HR guides
• Would like the choice between easy self-service setup or a 1:1 bespoke setup experience (with Charlie Plus)
• Want software that can support your growth with extra features and functionality
• Are thinking about expanding and need an applicant tracking system to rely on in the future

When you compare Timetastic vs CharlieHR, it starts to become clear that one offers better value for money and more room for growth than the other. But if time off management is all you need or you prefer the way Timetastic looks, that could be the better option for you.

Make leave management feel effortless with Charlie

While Timetastic offers a user-friendly way to manage sick leave and holiday requests, that’s all it can do. With Charlie, HR teams can simplify absence management and workflows in other areas like onboarding and performance reviews, for a new approach to HR that feels effortless.

If a painless time off system is what you’re looking for, you need Charlie. Take a free trial of Charlie to explore the software in full and get a feel for how it can support you to cut down on admin time, streamline workflows, and enhance the experience for everyone involved.