Calamari HR Software Reviews

“Wonderful”

Pros

It is the first app to successfully manage absence time considering different requirements and options.

Cons

The mobile app can use some work.

“Friendly but fundamentally flawed”

Pros

Interface looks really modern and I found it pretty easy to use, though some of my team members had a different experience. What I really appreciated was being able to create approval workflows for time-off requests, having them go through the manager first and then come to me for final calendar updates and HR processing made everything much smoother.

Cons

The time off management got confusing since I wasn't using their time clock system too, employees couldn't actually accrue time properly. I had to set it up so all 120 hours showed available at the start of each year but this created issues because what employees saw wasn't always accurate. Despite explaining that they needed to check their actual timecards for real accruals, especially hourly workers who might not get the full 120 if they didn't work complete weeks, people kept getting confused about their available time. The interface itself was friendly but employees would constantly forget to change the time-off type dropdown (it defaulted to "Bereavement" since it was first alphabetically) and had trouble requesting partial days. I decided against their time clock system because the options didn't meet our needs. I wanted something like a kiosk or app where people could use a PIN or biometric data without having to log in individually, not everyone has computer access for the browser version. The iBeacon option seemed promising but you can't clock in/out for breaks with it, so that was useless. Plus salaried employees couldn't accrue time unless they were also clocking in and out which made no sense.

“Nothing at all”

Pros

The worse software I have ever used. All the promises were false. They didnt deliver any single thing they promised.

Cons

Everything.

“Its good but still can do better”

Pros

I wanted a product that fit in our budget, that could keep track of time off requests online. I was tired of paper floating everywhere! Calamari fit that bill.

Cons

Set up was mediocre; I think it could be easier but also in testing other products, its not the worst. There is no way to edit your time off request. If you make a mistake, the entire request has to be deleted.

“Wonderful experience”

Pros

Calamari offers a good feature set. Slick dashboards and the best customer support.

Cons

Tracking worked hours can get a bit messy with flexible working hours and lunches.

“Absolutely great”

Pros

The customer service is way too good. We love the features of the software. They are very useful and simple.

Cons

The only thing I think that could improve would be more demos on using the product better.

“Great investment”

Pros

Easy to navigate. The best thing is its very affordable for the features it offers.

Cons

Calamari has some features that are a little complicated.

“Outstanding”

Pros

I am so happy with this software. It has a fantastic team. Setting up is easy and simple, my workflow has become very efficient and smooth.

Cons

Nothing.

“Calamari has made my work life so simple”

Pros

I can easily set parameters for version levels if workers based on years of experience or the area they work in. I love this software.

Cons

I dont think there is any negative thing that I can point out.

“Flexible and easy to tailor”

Pros

Its very flexible and easy to tailor to different scenarios, simple to tweak and really user-friendly. The initial rollout can be pretty time-consuming but once it's set up, I can add new users, adjust their activity levels or change week types in under five minutes. The leave module is particularly handy because anyone on the team can quickly see who's in or out. Plus having it tie into Outlook and the rest of Microsoft Office is a big plus for my workflow.

Cons

One improvement I'd really appreciate would be the option to schedule an effective date for changes to an employee's activity rate or week type so those adjustments take effect automatically on the right day without having to edit records retroactively.

“Great for single sign-on with Microsoft”

Pros

As a team we were hunting for a tool that would let our staff manage their hours and time off while staying inside a single sign-on environment. The closer the functionality is tied into our identity provider,Microsoft 365,the easier it is for managers and staff to adopt and that was a major priority. Calamari has delivered really well for us. On top of that, I genuinely appreciated how it collaborated with us given our particular situation to craft a pricing approach that reflected our mixed staff requirements. That custom pricing was a significant added value for our organization.

Cons

We like that it is still being actively developed and I see that as a good thing because it shows ongoing improvement. At the same time I'd love for it to tie in more deeply with the expanding time and shift management features in Microsoft Teams. It might be that Microsoft's setup limits how far it can go here but from our perspective having tighter Teams integration would be really valuable and something we'd be excited to see.

“easiest with great help”

Pros

this is by far the simplest software to use, my staff used to have trouble with more complex platforms. What I love most is how easy it is to reach customer support, they're prompt, helpful, genuinely friendly and consistently fix issues for me even when the problem is something specific to my organization.

Cons

I am not finding any real negatives. I do notice small areas that could be tuned up a little (they don't interrupt day-to-day operations) and I appreciate that those tweaks are being developed and rolled out to improve the experience overall.

“Connects with apps easily but pricy”

Pros

Finding it easy to use and I like that it connects well with other services.

Cons

I'd want more features included without having to pay extra because I feel it's too expensive for what it offers.

“Makes working together from anywhere easy”

Pros

what really won me over was how simple it is to use, it's made coordinating across multiple countries easy and helps us all stay informed when someone is away from the office. I also appreciate alot of customization options available which let me tailor things to make workflows even smoother.

Cons

If there's one area I'd like to see improved, it would be more hands-on demos or walkthroughs that show how to use the product more effectively in real scenarios.

“best support ever!”

Pros

What I appreciate is that every essential detail for a vacation is gathered in a single spot, I can export my data without trouble, their support team has been excellent and it even connects with Slack.

Cons

every so often I struggle to locate certain features and end up having to reach out to support for help.

“awsome features”

Pros

For our team iBeacons are the absolute best feature, we practically forget about punching in and out and our staff are genuinely delighted by it.

Cons

I think some areas of the admin dashboard could be more user-friendly but because it offers so many features, it's understandable that keeping it perfectly simple is a challenge.

“perfect for everyone”

Pros

I find it very easy to use for both administrators and end users.

Cons

ease of use and Office 365 integration are weak points.

“easy to use, needs more reports”

Pros

It is user-friendly and simple to move around, both as an admin and as a regular user.

Cons

Wish there were more reporting options, it would be great if I could generate much more detailed reports.

“Great with Slack, bad in Safari”

Pros

I'm glad I can link it to Slack so I can approve requests directly from there.

Cons

When I tried using Safari, I ran into connection problems and couldn't get it to link properly.

“easy to manage everything!”

Pros

Setting it up was easy and my team can easily check how much PTO they have available. I'm really impressed with the approval workflow & it makes managing requests much smoother than before.

Cons

I'd appreciate more felxible reporting that shows the specific number of days taken in each PTO category for particular employees.