Homebase is a well-liked all-in-one tool for US small businesses: scheduling, time clock, hiring and, in the US, payroll. Canadian cafés and shops can use Homebase for scheduling, but the payroll side stops at the border. ShiftMaster was built the other way around, starting from Canadian payroll rules and adding scheduling on top.
Bottom line up front: Homebase gives you more tools in one app, especially the time clock and hiring. If Canadian payroll deductions are the reason you are shopping, Homebase cannot do them and ShiftMaster can, at a flat $5 CAD a month.
Side-by-side feature comparison
| Feature | 🍁 ShiftMaster | Homebase |
|---|---|---|
| Free option | ✅ 30-day free trial, no card | ✅ Free plan for one location with a limited number of staff |
| Paid pricing | ✅ $5 CAD/month flat, every feature, any team size | ⚡ Paid tiers priced per location in USD, from roughly $20 to $100+ USD/month |
| Built in Canada 🍁 | ✅ Canadian company, Canadian pricing | ❌ US-based; Canadian scheduling supported |
| Canadian payroll deductions | ✅ Built in: CPP/QPP, EI, QPIP, federal + provincial tax | ❌ Homebase Payroll is US-only; no CPP/EI/provincial tax |
| Every province and territory | ✅ All 10 provinces and 3 territories, 2026 CRA and Revenu Québec tables | ❌ Not applicable |
| AI auto-scheduling | ✅ Included: trained on your own past schedules | ⚡ Auto-scheduling on higher tiers |
| Employee availability | ✅ Yes, with conflict warnings when you book | ✅ Yes |
| Shift swaps | ✅ Yes, coworker accepts, manager approves | ✅ Yes, with manager approval |
| Publish and notify | ✅ One click, each person emailed their own shifts | ✅ Yes, with app notifications |
| Labour cost tracking | ✅ Live projected labour vs weekly budget | ✅ Yes, on paid tiers |
| Mobile for staff | ⚡ Browser portal on any phone, nothing to install | ✅ Native iOS and Android apps |
| Time clock / punch-in | ❌ Not yet | ✅ Yes, including GPS and photo clock-in |
| Team messaging | ❌ Not yet (email notifications only) | ✅ Yes, built-in chat |
| POS integrations | ❌ None | ✅ Square, Clover, Toast, Shopify and others |
| Setup time | ✅ Under 10 minutes | ⚡ 20–40 minutes |
| Team size sweet spot | ✅ Built for 5–30 staff | ⚡ Best value for 1 location with a larger team |
Homebase details are from its public website and pricing page as of September 2026, converted loosely to give a sense of scale; plans and prices change, so confirm on their site. ShiftMaster's column describes the current product.
Best for Canadian small businesses: ShiftMaster
Every shift becomes a payroll line with CPP or QPP, EI, QPIP where it applies, and federal and provincial income tax for all 13 jurisdictions, at $5 CAD a month. Homebase needs a separate payroll tool to get the same numbers.
Where Homebase still has an edge
To be fair, Homebase has things ShiftMaster does not have yet:
- Time clock — GPS and photo clock-in, break tracking and timesheets are core to Homebase
- Hiring — job posts and applicant tracking are built in
- Native apps and chat — staff get push notifications and a team chat
- POS integrations — Square, Clover, Toast and Shopify sync sales and staff
Choose Homebase if you want a time clock with GPS, hiring tools, or an integrated POS and you handle payroll elsewhere.
The Canadian payroll difference
Homebase advertises payroll, but the payroll product is only available to US employers. A Canadian business on Homebase still needs a separate Canadian payroll service or spreadsheet for CPP, EI and income tax.
With Homebase in Canada the monthly routine still looks like this:
- Export hours from Homebase
- Import them into a Canadian payroll service (typically $40–$150 CAD a month) or a spreadsheet
- Reconcile the two sets of numbers
- Work out CPP or QPP, EI, QPIP and income tax for each person
- Remit to the CRA (and Revenu Québec) separately
ShiftMaster does steps 1 to 4 inside the schedule. Open a pay period, expand an employee, and the gross, deductions, net pay and employer cost are there. You can check the math against our free Canadian payroll deductions calculator, which runs on the same engine.
Try ShiftMaster free for 30 days
No credit card. Drag-and-drop scheduling, an AI that drafts next week from your own history, staff shift swaps, and Canadian payroll for every province.
Start Free Today →Verdict
Choose ShiftMaster if: you are a Canadian café, restaurant or retail shop with 5 to 30 staff, you want the schedule and the payroll numbers in one place, and you want to be set up in an afternoon.
Choose Homebase if: you want a time clock with GPS, hiring tools, or an integrated POS and you handle payroll elsewhere.