The short answer
A small staffing tool, such as a shift sign-up or timesheet app, starts at about $1,500. A scheduling app with GPS attendance, timesheet approval and payroll export usually costs $4,000 to $15,000. A full platform with candidate and client portals, multiple clients and reporting starts at around $15,000.
Most staffing agencies and operations teams start from WhatsApp groups and spreadsheets. The right first app replaces the most painful one of those, not all of them at once.
These are our price ranges, what pushes a project up a range, and the order we usually recommend building in.
Staffing and scheduling app cost by project size
| Size | Typical cost (USD) | What you get | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | From $1,500 | One focused tool: shift sign-up, timesheets or a simple internal dashboard | 2-4 weeks |
| Standard | $4,000 - $15,000 | Scheduling app with swaps, GPS attendance, timesheet approval, payroll export and a manager dashboard | 6-12 weeks |
| Full platform | From $15,000 | Candidate and client portals, multi-client and multi-location setup, invoicing exports and reporting | 12-20 weeks |
What drives the cost
- Field use
- Staff working away from a desk need offline mode and GPS or geofenced check-in, which adds mobile work.
- Payroll and invoicing
- Exporting approved hours in the format your payroll or accounting software accepts is usually simple; a direct integration takes longer.
- Clients and candidates
- Portals for clients to request staff and approve hours, and for candidates to apply and upload documents, each add a set of screens.
- Scale
- Several clients, locations and pay rules need a flexible data model from the start.
- Replacing spreadsheets
- Importing existing staff, shift and client data takes some effort but avoids a hard switchover.
Features staffing teams ask for
- Shift scheduling with swaps and availability
- GPS or geofenced check-in
- Timesheets with manager approval
- Payroll and accounting exports
- Candidate applications and documents
- Client portal for requests and approvals
- Works offline in the field
- Live dashboards and reports
How long it takes
- 1.Discovery (1-2 weeks, paid): shifts, pay rules, clients and data, ending in a written brief and a fixed quote.
- 2.Design (1-3 weeks): staff app and manager screens as a clickable prototype.
- 3.Build (2-12 weeks): weekly sprints with a live demo every Friday.
- 4.Launch and support: staged rollout with data import, and 30 days of support.
How to keep the cost down
- Start with scheduling and attendance; add client and candidate portals later.
- Export hours to your payroll software before building a direct integration.
- Roll out to one client or location first.
- Use one React Native app for iPhone and Android staff.
