Honest comparison

Comparing staffing software: what fits your agency?

Staffing agencies usually run their planning in one of three ways: in their back-office or payroll package, in a separate planning tool, or in Excel and WhatsApp. Here you see what each does well, where SimpleFlex differs, and when SimpleFlex is not the best choice.

Four options side by side

Capability Back-office or payroll package Separate planning tool Excel + WhatsApp SimpleFlex
Payroll and invoicing No — runs next to your payroll
Scheduling shifts per client and function Often limited Manual
Housing (accommodation, occupancy) next to the planning Usually separate Usually separate Separate list
Transport linked to the planning Usually separate Sometimes Manual
Alert for missing documents, before scheduling Sometimes Sometimes
App for flex workers Sometimes Often WhatsApp iOS & Android
Time until you work live Weeks to months Varies Immediately Own environment within 48 hours
Pricing Often on request Varies Free Online, from €399/mo

A general picture per category; individual packages differ. In every demo, ask about your own situation — including ours.

Where we differ — fairly

Each option does some things well. Here is what, and where SimpleFlex differs.

Excel + WhatsApp

Good at: Familiar, flexible and free. Still the most widely used "system" — and honestly our biggest competitor.

With SimpleFlex

  • A change goes to the flex worker's app as a push message, not through ten group messages.
  • Transport follows from the planning: no separate list to keep up.
  • Add a new flex worker once, and planning, transport and the app know them straight away.

Separate planning tool

Good at: Rosters and availability, often quick to set up. Housing, transport and documents then usually live somewhere else.

With SimpleFlex

  • Change the planning and transport follows: it appears on the right day automatically.
  • Missing or expiring documents stand out before you schedule someone.
  • The flex-worker app for iOS and Android is in every package, with roster and push notifications.

Back-office or payroll package

Good at: Payroll, invoicing and contracts — you need that anyway. SimpleFlex does not compete there: it runs alongside and takes over the planning.

With SimpleFlex

  • Planning, housing and transport in one system, instead of in separate lists next to your back office.
  • The distance between housing and work site counts when you schedule.
  • Worked hours go to your payroll ready to use; your back office stays as it is.

When SimpleFlex is not the right fit

In these situations you get less out of SimpleFlex, or you are better off with something else.

You want one package for everything, including payroll and invoicing

SimpleFlex does not do payroll or invoicing itself. It runs next to your payroll package: you print or export worked hours as input. We are happy to look into a link with your payroll software — whether that is possible depends on the package and the API it offers.

You schedule a small, fixed team that rarely changes

Then a roster or spreadsheet often works fine. SimpleFlex pays off where things keep moving: new starters every week, shifts and rides that keep changing, and documents you need to renew in time.

No housing or transport? It still pays off.

The planning alone saves a lot of work compared with Excel and WhatsApp. And hour registration often pays for itself: one of our clients uses only the hour registration and now sees straight away who did not show up or was not planned — hours that used to be paid out anyway at remote sites.

Switching: how it works

From the first call to a decision, with your own data from week one.

  1. 1

    30-minute demo

    We look at how you work today and show how that goes in SimpleFlex.

  2. 2

    You send your data

    Interested? Send your data: everything at once, or part of it first, for example a few clients with their flex workers and planning. We import it, so you do not start in an empty environment.

  3. 3

    Your own environment within 48 hours

    With a dedicated database and your data in it, set up for your situation.

  4. 4

    30 days of real testing

    You work live for a full month with your own data, with no obligation to continue.

  5. 5

    Carry on

    All good? Started with part of your data? Then we import the rest, and you carry straight on in the same environment.

Common questions

Good, keep it. SimpleFlex does not do payroll or invoicing and runs alongside it. It takes over the planning, housing, transport and document alerts that now often sit in separate lists. You print or export worked hours as input for your payroll; we are happy to look into a link with your payroll software, depending on the package and its API.
Then you already know the benefit of one roster. The difference is in what happens around it: in SimpleFlex, housing, transport and documents live in the same system as the planning, so a change carries through everywhere. In the demo we show that with your own situation.
How many hours a week does your planner spend arranging transport and updating WhatsApp groups? At €399 per month you are at roughly €13 a day. Run the numbers with your own figures on the pricing page, then check in the demo and the trial month whether it holds up in practice.
After the demo you send your data — everything, or part of it first — and your own environment is ready within 48 hours; if you started with part of it, we complete the import after the 30 days. The data import is part of the one-off setup: we move your data over from Excel or your current package. Then you work live for 30 days with your own data before you decide.
When you want one package that also does payroll and invoicing: SimpleFlex runs next to your payroll. We are happy to look into a link with your payroll software, but it depends on the package and its API. No housing or transport is no reason to skip it — the planning and the hour registration alone save a lot of work and money.
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