7shifts

High-Level Overview

7shifts is an all-in-one workforce management platform for restaurants, offering tools for scheduling, payroll, time tracking, tip management, communication, and retention to simplify HR and operations.[1][2][4] It serves over 55,000 restaurants worldwide, helping owners and managers hit labor targets, reduce costs, ensure compliance, and boost employee engagement across the full employee lifecycle—from hiring to retention.[1][2][4] The platform drives growth momentum with features like sales forecasting (95% accurate), automated payroll integrations, and mobile apps that cut turnover by up to 13% and deliver 20%+ average monthly recurring revenue growth from payroll add-ons.[1][2][4][5]

Born from real-world restaurant pain points, 7shifts has scaled into an industry standard, powering billions of scheduled hours and billions in payroll while integrating with leading POS and payroll providers.[1][4]

Origin Story

7shifts was founded in 2014 by Jordan Boesch, CEO, in the back office of his family's sandwich shop, where he witnessed firsthand the chaos of irregular scheduling, high turnover, complex wages, and fragmented tools for restaurant operations.[1][2] Frustrated by the lack of a comprehensive solution tailored to restaurants, Boesch built 7shifts to deliver simple, industry-specific fixes for team management challenges.[1][2]

Early traction came from proving value across the employee lifecycle, evolving from basic scheduling to a full platform with payroll powered by partners like Check, time clocking via 7punches, and retention tools.[1][2][3] Pivotal moments include rapid adoption by multi-unit chains like Pita Way (100+ employees) and Fresh (400+), where accurate forecasting and mobile shift swapping replaced manual processes and risky communication like Facebook groups.[5]

Core Differentiators

7shifts stands out in restaurant tech through restaurant-specific simplicity, end-to-end lifecycle coverage, and seamless integrations that save time and cut errors.

• Industry-Tailored Features: Sales forecasting to 95% accuracy, labor budgeting to stay on target, automated tip/wage calculations, overtime tracking, and compliance tools designed for irregular hours and high turnover—unlike generic HR software.[2][4][5]
• Mobile-First Employee Experience: Employees swap shifts (with approval), request time off, track hours/availability, and communicate instantly via app; managers get real-time insights and digital checklists.[1][3][4][5]
• Payroll and Ops Efficiency: Integrated payroll reduces manual entry, boosts MRR by $160/location on average (20%+ MoM growth), and syncs with POS for accurate data—no exports needed.[2][4]
• Retention and Insights: Monitors engagement/sentiment to cut turnover 13%; partners like 7punches for time clocking and Check for compliant money movement keep teams lean and focused.[1][2][3]
• Proven Scale: Handles 50,000+ locations, billions of hours/billions paid; praised by leaders like Danny Meyer (Union Square Hospitality) as the "gold standard."[1][4]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

7shifts rides the wave of restaurant digitization, addressing a $1T+ industry plagued by 70-100% annual turnover, labor shortages, and razor-thin margins amid post-pandemic shifts to off-premise dining and wage pressures.[1][2][5] Timing is ideal: rising minimum wages, compliance demands (e.g., tip reporting), and multi-unit growth demand automated ops, where legacy tools fail—7shifts fills the gap with a connected tech stack.[2][3]

Market forces like POS integrations and partner ecosystems (e.g., Check, 7punches) amplify its influence, enabling data-driven decisions that cut costs and boost speed.[3][4] It shapes the ecosystem by prioritizing employee-centric tech—happier teams mean better retention—partnering to build the "restaurant employee tech stack" and helping operators scale without proportional admin bloat.[3][5]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

7shifts is poised to dominate as the restaurant OS, expanding payroll/retention AI amid labor crunches and AI-driven forecasting. Trends like gig-ification of shifts, sustainability (already carbon-neutral), and global multi-unit booms will fuel growth, potentially doubling users via deeper POS embeds and international push.[1][2][5]

Expect evolution toward predictive retention analytics and full-lifecycle HR (hiring/training), solidifying its role in thriving teams. From a sandwich shop hack to 55,000+ venues saving billions in labor, 7shifts proves simplicity scales restaurants—watch it redefine industry standards.[1][4]