ClockOut lets owners and managers post open shifts that eligible staff claim from the ClockOut phone app or the web app, first come, first served, and lets an employee trade a shift with a coworker once the coworker accepts and a manager approves. Open shifts and shift swaps are on the Starter plan ($19 a month for up to 5 people, then $3 per extra person), so a 10-person team pays $34 a month and a 25-person team pays $79; Pro, which adds multiple locations and payroll runs, is $69 and $159. Both features are built for hourly teams of 10 to 50, and neither is on the Free plan.
How open shifts work
An open shift is a shift with a date, a start and end time, and nobody on it yet. This is the whole path from posting it to having it covered.
- 01
A manager posts the shift
On the admin schedule board, choose Post open shift, or click an empty day in the Open shifts row at the top of the board. Set the date, the start and end time and, if you use positions, the position (Front desk, Line, Treatment). Notes are optional. Owners, admins and managers can post; employees cannot. Posting happens on the web, not in the phone app. Notify staff who can take it is checked by default; uncheck it to post the shift without telling anyone.
- 02
Eligible staff hear about it
About a minute and a half after you post, every active employee who could claim the shift gets an in-app and push notification, and tapping it opens Open shifts. Post several shifts in a row and each person gets one notification listing the ones they can take, not one per shift. Staff who work at that time, are on approved time off, or may not work the position are not told. The page itself is under Schedule in the web app and under More in the phone app, and each employee only sees open shifts they could actually take.
- 03
The first eligible tap wins
Tapping Claim shift puts it on their schedule on the spot. There is no approval step and no bidding. ClockOut refuses the claim with a plain message if someone already took it, the date has passed, it overlaps one of their shifts (counting an overnight shift from the night before), it falls on approved time off, or its position is limited to people the manager picked or needs a skill they do not hold.
- 04
The schedule updates itself
The shift moves onto the claimer’s row of the board and into their own schedule, and the manager who posted it gets an in-app and push notification. A manager can remove an open shift any time before it is claimed. One that nobody claims is deleted by a daily cleanup once its date has passed, so old postings do not pile up.
If you use staffing plans (Starter and Pro), there is a second way in. On the Positions view of the board, clicking a gap lists who can fill it, best pick first, and when nobody is free you can post it as an open shift in one click. That is the quickest way to handle a sick call.
How shift swaps work
A swap in ClockOut is a trade: each person gives one shift and gets one back. Three people touch it: the employee who asks, the coworker who answers, and a manager who approves.
- 01
Pick the shift you want to trade
On My schedule in the web app or the Schedule tab in the phone app, tap Swap on one of your upcoming shifts.
- 02
Pick a coworker's shift
ClockOut lists coworkers’ shifts in the next four weeks that work for both of you: neither person ends up with two shifts that overlap, neither has approved time off on the new date, and each person may work the position of the shift they receive. Open shifts, training shifts, past shifts and shifts already in a pending swap are left out.
- 03
The coworker accepts or declines
The coworker gets an in-app and push notification and answers from their Shift swaps screen. A decline ends the request and tells the person who asked. The person who asked can cancel any time before a manager approves.
- 04
A manager approves or denies
Once the coworker accepts, the managers who can approve the swap are notified. They decide from the Inbox on the web or from Approvals in the phone app. On approval, ClockOut checks overlaps, time off and positions again, then the two shifts change hands, both employees are notified, and any other pending swap that involves either shift is cancelled.
After an approved swap, each shift starts over for shift confirmation, because its new holder has not confirmed it yet. Shift reminders and missed clock-in nudges follow the schedule, so after a trade they go to the person who now holds the shift.
Giving a shift away without taking one back
There is no drop or give-away button: a swap always trades two shifts. If someone simply cannot work, they decline the shift with a reason (shift confirmation, Starter and Pro), the manager who created it is notified, and the manager reassigns it or posts it as an open shift.
Do you need a manager to approve shift swaps?
In ClockOut, yes. Every swap needs the coworker’s yes and then a manager’s approval, and there is no setting that skips the manager. Open shift claims are the opposite: no approval, and the first eligible claim wins. The rules:
- Who can approve. Owners, admins and managers. Employees cannot approve a swap, including their own.
- Scoped managers on Pro. A manager scoped to a location or department approves only swaps where both people are on their team, and only hears about those. A swap that crosses teams waits for an admin or an unscoped manager.
- Checked twice. Once when the swap is requested and again at approval. If something changed in between (approved time off, a new overlapping shift, a shift that became a training shift, or a date that passed), the approval is refused with the reason.
- Nothing moves early. Until a manager approves, both people keep their original shifts.
- Training shifts stay put. A training shift belongs to the trainee and the coworker they shadow, so it cannot be swapped. A manager changes it instead.
Notifications: who hears what
On Starter and Pro, each event below creates an in-app notification and a push notification to the ClockOut app on iPhone and Android and to the installed web app, for anyone who allowed notifications. None of these events sends an email or a text message.
| Who is notified | |
|---|---|
| Open shift posted | Each employee who could claim it, once, with shifts posted together in one notification |
| Open shift claimed | The manager who posted it |
| Swap requested | The coworker whose shift was picked |
| Coworker declines | The employee who asked |
| Coworker accepts | The managers who can approve it |
| Request cancelled | The coworker, plus managers if it was waiting on them |
| Swap approved or denied | Both employees |
| Employee declines a shift | The manager who created it, with the reason |
| Unconfirmed shift starts within 24 hours | The employee, once |
| 60-90 minutes before a shift | The employee |
What employees see on their phone
Staff use the ClockOut app for iPhone and Android, or the web app in a phone browser. The scheduling parts look like this:
- Schedule tab. Each upcoming shift with its times, a Swap button, and Confirm or Decline when shift confirmation is on. A shift tied up in a pending swap shows Swap pending.
- Shift swaps. Requests waiting on you, with Accept and Decline, and your own requests with their status: Waiting on coworker, Waiting on manager, Approved, Denied or Cancelled. You can cancel a request you sent until it is approved.
- Open shifts (under More). The open shifts you may work that fit around your other shifts, with the date, the times and any notes, and a Claim shift button.
- Push taps open the right screen. A swap notification opens Shift swaps, a new open shift opens Open shifts, and a confirmation reminder opens the schedule.
Managers use the same app. Owners, admins and managers get a manager section with Approvals, where swaps waiting for approval sit next to time off and punch corrections. Posting open shifts and building the week stay on the web schedule board.
What managers see on the web
- An Open shifts row at the top of the schedule board with the number still unclaimed. Click one to see its time, position and notes, or to remove it.
- A claimed shift moves straight onto the claimer’s row.
- With shift confirmation on, each shift shows a check when it is confirmed and a cross with the reason when it is declined.
- The Inbox lists swaps waiting for approval alongside time off and punch corrections, with a Recently reviewed view for the ones you already decided.
- When you assign a shift yourself, ClockOut warns you about overlaps, positions, availability and the person’s weekly hours cap before it saves. More on building the week is on employee scheduling.
Who does what
| Who | Where | |
|---|---|---|
| Post an open shift | Owner, admin or manager | Web schedule board |
| Remove an open shift | Owner, admin or manager | Web schedule board |
| Claim an open shift | Any employee who passes the checks | Phone app or web |
| Ask for a swap | The employee who holds the shift | Phone app or web |
| Accept or decline a swap | The coworker | Phone app or web |
| Cancel a swap request | The employee who asked, before approval | Phone app or web |
| Approve or deny a swap | Owner, admin or manager (a scoped manager: their own team) | Web Inbox or phone app Approvals |
| Confirm or decline a shift | The employee on the shift | Phone app or web |
Open shifts and swaps vs a group text
Plenty of 10 to 30 person teams run coverage through a group text: “Can anyone take Saturday, 4 to close?” It is free and everyone already has it. Here is what changes when the same thing runs through the schedule.
| Group text | ClockOut | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sees the open shift | Everyone on the thread, including people who can't work it | Only staff who may work it and have no clashing shift |
| Who is told it is open | Everyone on the thread | Only staff who could claim it, by in-app and push notification |
| Who gets it | Whoever replies first, if the manager notices | The first eligible person to tap Claim |
| Double-booking check | The manager checks by hand | Automatic, overnight shifts included |
| Approved time off | The manager checks by hand | Blocks the claim or swap |
| Can they work that position | The manager has to remember | Position rules apply |
| Trades between two people | Often agreed in a side text | Coworker accepts, manager approves |
| Schedule updated | When the manager edits it | The moment it is claimed or approved |
| Record of who agreed | Scroll back through the thread | A status on every swap, plus Recently reviewed |
| Cost | Free | Starter, $34 a month for 10 people |
A group text pings everyone, including people who are already working, on time off or not able to take the shift. ClockOut sends a new open shift only to the staff who could claim it, by in-app and push notification, so a same-day gap reaches the right people without waking up the rest of the team.
What you need on other tools
Connecteam, Homebase, Deputy and When I Work all offer open shifts and some form of swap or trade on a paid plan. The table shows the plan each vendor’s own pricing page lists those features on, checked October 15, 2026. Prices change often and depend on team size, so check the linked pages for current prices before you compare.
| Plan that lists it | How it is priced | What the pricing page calls it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ClockOut | Starter and Pro (not Free) | Base fee for 5 people, then per person | Open shifts and shift swaps |
| When I Work | Essentials and up | Per user, per month | OpenShifts and shift swapping |
| Homebase | Essentials and up (not the free Basic plan) | Per location, per month | Trade, cover and claim open shifts |
| Deputy | Lite and up | Per user, per month, with a monthly minimum | Shift Swap & Find Replacement |
| Connecteam | Open shift claiming from Basic; shift replacements on fewer tiers | Flat fee for the first 30 users, then per user | Claiming open shifts, shift replacements |
Sources, checked October 15, 2026: When I Work pricing, Homebase pricing, Deputy pricing and Connecteam pricing. Most of these pages do not say whether a swap needs a manager’s approval or whether the app checks time off before a shift moves, so test both in a trial. In ClockOut both are always on. For a full side-by-side, see ClockOut vs Connecteam, ClockOut vs Homebase, ClockOut vs Deputy and ClockOut vs When I Work.
Open shifts and shift swaps FAQ
What should an app for open shifts and shift swaps do?
At minimum, let staff claim open shifts from their phone, let two people trade shifts, and stop double-booking and time-off clashes before the schedule changes. Connecteam, Homebase, Deputy, When I Work and ClockOut all have open shifts and swaps on a paid plan. ClockOut has them on Starter, $34 a month for 10 people, and checks overlaps, approved time off and position rules on every claim and every swap.
How do shift swaps work in scheduling software?
In ClockOut, an employee taps Swap on one of their upcoming shifts, picks a coworker’s shift from a list of ones in the next four weeks that fit both people, and sends the request. The coworker accepts or declines. If they accept, a manager approves or denies, and only then do the two shifts change hands. Some tools also let staff offer a shift up without taking one back; in ClockOut a swap is always a trade.
Do I need a manager to approve shift swaps?
In ClockOut, yes, every time. A swap needs the coworker’s yes and then approval from an owner, admin or manager, and there is no setting to skip it, because a trade can change coverage, overtime and who is working a position. Open shift claims do not need approval: the first eligible claim wins.
Can staff pick up open shifts from their phone?
Yes. In the ClockOut app for iPhone and Android, Open shifts is under More; in the web app it is under Schedule. Each employee only sees open shifts whose position they may work and that do not overlap a shift they already have, and one tap on Claim shift puts it on their schedule.
Is claiming an open shift first come, first served?
Yes. There is no approval step and no bidding. The first eligible employee to claim it gets it, and everyone else sees it disappear. If you want to choose who works it, assign the shift yourself from the schedule board instead of posting it.
Can I post an open shift for one location or one role only?
By role, yes: give the open shift a position, and only people who may work that position can see and claim it. You can limit a position to people you pick, and on Pro also require a skill. Open shifts have no location of their own, so to keep a shift within one site’s crew, use a position limited to that crew. Running more than one site is covered on multi-location (Pro).
Does ClockOut check overtime or availability when someone picks up a shift?
No. Claims and swaps are checked for overlapping shifts, approved time off and position rules, not for availability, the weekly hours cap or overtime. Overtime alerts (Starter and Pro) tell the employee and managers when worked hours near the overtime threshold. When a manager assigns a shift directly, ClockOut does warn about availability and the weekly hours cap.
Which plan has open shifts and shift swaps, and what does it cost?
Starter and Pro. Starter is $19 a month for up to 5 people, then $3 per extra person: $34 for 10 people, $79 for 25 and $154 for 50. Pro is $39 for up to 5, then $6 each: $69, $159 and $309. Owners and admins count as people. Annual billing is 20% off ($27.20 a month for 10 people on Starter). The Free plan, for up to 2 people including you, does not include either feature. Every new company starts with a 14-day Starter trial, no card. Details are on pricing.
Do employees get notified about swaps and open shifts?
Yes, by in-app and push notification on Starter and Pro: a coworker hears about a swap request, the person who asked hears the answer, managers hear when a swap needs approval and when an open shift is claimed, and both employees hear the decision. Posting an open shift notifies each employee who could claim it, once, and shifts posted together come as one notification. None of these events sends an email or a text.
Related pages
- Employee scheduling: the schedule board, recurring shifts, availability and staffing plans that open shifts and swaps sit on.
- Multi-location: one schedule across several sites, on Pro.
- Clock in clock out app: the phone time clock that checks punches against the schedule.
- When I Work alternatives and Homebase alternatives for restaurants: how other scheduling apps compare.
- Connecteam pricing: what the Operations hub plans cost at real team sizes.
- ClockOut for restaurants and ClockOut for clinics: two trades where shift coverage changes every week.
- Pricing: current plans and checkout.