Calamari HR Software Reviews

“easy with JIRA some small bugs

Pros

I find it really easy to use, the support has been helpful and I can integrate it with JIRA.

Cons

I do face small bugs occasionally but since the product is evolving, that's understandable.

“Very friendly with great support

Pros

this app is very user-friendly and simple to move around on my own. Also their customer service team is fantastic, always ready to resolve any problems quickly.

Cons

There isn't much flexibility when I need to change a leave request that's already been approved.

“efficient app!

Pros

It is very interactive and simple to use. I can submit an absence request without ever logging into the main system and it connects with the most widely used software.

Cons

It's not fully translated & the absence types remain in Polish. I would like to see brief descriptions added for each absence option.

“my go to tool!

Pros

Using it feels really easy and I can pull a huge amount of information out of the system without any effort.

Cons

Nothing really comes to mind, if there's something I don't like, I just contact support and they're always open to improving the system.

“Turns mandatory chores into efficient process

Pros

Managing annual leave is a legal must when you hire staff, yet it often feels like a bureaucratic task that doesn't really benefit the wider business. For me it turns this required chore into a easy, efficient process that represents good value for money. I can easily customize the system to suit my company's needs by tweaking leave policies for our sites in Spain, Kuala Lumpur and Ireland. When I reached out to customer support they were prompt and knowledgeable solving my issue directly instead of just sending me to the help pages.

Cons

Can't think of anything I disliked about this software.

“Powerful but overwhelming at first

Pros

I find it simple to modify my company's settings and because there's a mobile app, every employee can reach it easily.

Cons

It packs so many features that, at times I find it somewhat overwhelming, I needed someone (in my case) to walk me through and explain how everything works properly.

“Daily work got much easier

Pros

ever since we started using it, our daily work has become noticeably simpler. Having everything accessible online is a major plus! Vacation requests, sick days and home office entries are all recorded directly in the system calendar now. As HR administrator I and the directors can quickly pull reports, edit profiles and review everyone's absences without effort. There's also a mobile app which I find really handy when my day begins with meetings outside the office. Honestly I recommend this software to anyone looking to align their workload.

Cons

mobile app could offered more features, for example the ability to view the calendar.

“easy to use, needs Italian translation

Pros

I find it incredibly easy to use and I can also operate it through the app without any trouble.

Cons

Unfortunately, it doesn't offer an Italian translation which I find quite frustrating.

“everything in one place

Pros

Its really simple to use, with everything neatly grouped in one spot. The layout is clean and easy so all the information sits together in one place. With a single click I can finish the task.

Cons

While I really enjoy the app, if you force me to point out something I don't like, it's the dominant green color & I'm not a fan. I would appreciate a more colorful, prettier palette to make using it feel nicer.

“Works with everything

Pros

This is user friendly solution and I can integrate it with multiple applications like Jira, Slack and G Suite.

Cons

There's not much I can say against it, I find that all of Calamari's features are easy and easy for me to use.

“Simple but tricky for new joiners

Pros

Overall this app is pretty simple and easy to use although a few parts of the interface feel uninteractive.

Cons

When someone joins my team in the middle of the year, I still can't work out how to assign them a prorated PTO balance that reflects their start date.

“easy for teams, tough for admins

Pros

I am impressed by how approachable Calamari's interface is, its user-friendly layout really encourages our colleagues to use it on a regular basis. Because the system is so easy, day-to-day internal communication across our office has become noticeably stronger. The Success team is also incredibly responsive, usually answering within minutes and helping with practically everything so working with them has been very easy.

Cons

We do see a few HR-oriented features that are missing and would make life easier for administrators. Right now, it feels more naturally targeted at team members than at people managing the system. Specifically, I'd like to be able to view a history of different contract types and have leave calculations adjust accordingly and it would be helpful to set reminders for medical check-ups and OHS requirements, these are things we still hope will be added.

“Fully customizable & excellent value

Pros

It gives me everything I need to handle attendance smoothly. 1. First off, it's highly customizable to fit our processes , I set up 13 separate approval flows for leave requests. Other tools I tried before only let me create up to four so the whole setup felt like it was made just for us. Truly impressive. 2. Seeing the absence calendar for the entire team makes planning work so much easier. 3. I can add as many absence types as required which is really convenient. 4. Integration with Jira is available , our Project Managers love it and it makes their lives a lot simpler. 5. There's also a mobile app. 6. The reporting features are solid and essential for payroll, the board and HR. 7. The Calamari team are fantastic and very supportive professionals. 8. And the price , excellent value for the features we get.

Cons

Right now I honestly can't think of any real drawbacks.

“Good for online requests

Pros

What I appreciate is that team members can submit leave requests online and I can also monitor those absences plus get weekly reminder notices about who will be out of the office.

Cons

the initial setup a bit fiddly although the support team tends to respond fairly quickly, just be aware they're based outside the US so sometimes there's a noticeable delay before you get a reply.

“Custom rules work but setup was tricky

Pros

It's great how interactive the platform is and the degree of customization it offers. Because we run distinctive time-off and remote-work policies I've found the system flexible enough to handle every type of rule we use across the company.

Cons

When it came to syncing with Google I ran into some hiccups that made integration a bit tricky. I ended up reaching out to the support team several times before everything was fully linked and functioning but their responses were timely and genuinely helpful.

“easy to use but setting up some features is hard

Pros

It is really easy to use and I appreciate that support responds fast and gives concise, on-point answers.

Cons

Occasionally I find setting up the advanced features such as approval workflows or managing staff across different markets , a bit complicated.

“Does everything we need

Pros

We were able to encode our leave rules so it automatically applies them,for example, determining who can take school visitation leave, allocating some leave yearly and some based on days worked and setting different minimum durations across leave categories. The platform gives very fine-grained control during configuration and once everything is set up it feels very interactive and runs smoothly.

Cons

The trade-off for having such comprehensive configuration options is that implementing the system comes with a fairly steep learning curve. Luckily, the support team has been excellent and really helped us work through the complexities. One improvement I'd appreciate is an edit function for already approved leave requests since being able to modify approvals directly would be much more convenient than having to cancel and submit a new request.

“Great integrations!

Pros

Having GSuite and Slack integrations built in was a major reason I chose this application and I really appreciate that. The interface is easy to use and I can tailor the product extensively to match our business requirements.

Cons

In practice, I notice the entitlement availability report only shows correct balances when an employee has no future leave booked, otherwise I have to manually calculate the actual amount. It also ignores what future accruals will be when that leave is eventually taken. I think managers should be able to pull an entitlement breakdown for every team member at any given time so we can plan accurately.

“helpful app & great with Slack

Pros

My experience is that it's incredibly simple to handle all my holidays, vacation days and home-office arrangements from a single app. It also connects to commonly used apps like Slack which makes approvals happen blazing fast.

Cons

I don't have any complaints right now , I'm genuinely satisfied with it and using it happily.

“good calendar sync & hard to switch

Pros

We've loved being able to sync the vacation calendar with our individual calendars. It makes it quick for me to check whether a colleague is on leave or working remotely. That capability is excellent and actually weighed heavily in our decision to choose it.

Cons

its difficult having to switch back and forth between the timesheets and the vacation parts of the app.