# Ordio — Employee Scheduling

Ordio by Ordio GmbH holds a panel rating of 3/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 2.5/5), as of 2026-10-29. Provenance: EU-Made; sovereignty: not determined.

- Vendor: Ordio GmbH (https://www.ordio.com)
- Category: [Employee Scheduling](https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling.md)
- Provenance (editorial classification): EU-Made
- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/ordio
- Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/ordio/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/ordio/alternatives.md))
- Data as of: 2026-10-29 · evaluated 2026-10-29 · oldest source captured 2026-10-29

**AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## At a glance

- Vendor: Ordio GmbH
- Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026
- Data hosting: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026
- Free plan: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026

## The panel's verdict

Ordio is employee scheduling software from Ordio GmbH of Cologne, covering shift planning, time tracking and payroll export for restaurants, retail and bakeries. The bench scores it highest on staff self-service and payroll and integrations, both clustering at 6-7, alongside roster planning and working-time rules; weighted totals span 4.7 to 6.0. Judges credit an employee app delivering the roster, availabilities, swaps, leave and clock-in in more than ten languages, and a DATEV export set up in four steps with wage-type mapping for Lohn und Gehalt and LODAS, plus a REST API on the Pro tier. The weakest scores are pricing transparency at 1-2 — the pricing page names the Starter, Plus, Pro and Enterprise tiers and their features but publishes no price figure — and sovereignty at 3-4, where the vendor states all data is stored securely on German servers, GDPR-compliant and encrypted, yet we found no public information on a subprocessor list or a data processing agreement covering employee data. Scores sit in narrow bands and the flagged split analysis flags nothing material.

**Speaks for it:**
- Employee app for iOS and Android covers the roster, availabilities, open-shift applications, shift-swap requests, leave with a live balance and clock-in by app or shared PIN terminal, with offline use claimed and more than ten languages.
- DATEV export (Pro tier) is set up in four steps from master data through a test export to the monthly close, bundling actual hours, surcharges, holiday and sickness with wage-type mapping for Lohn und Gehalt and LODAS, with Addison, Lohn AG, Lohnconsult, Agenda and CSV/Excel as further targets.
- Eleven-hour rest periods under § 5 ArbZG and breaks under § 4 ArbZG are flagged to the planner before publishing, with night, Sunday and holiday surcharges configurable per role or location.
- Granular rights and roles let admins restrict access to information and functions per area, and salary changes, approvals and exports are traceable.
- A free weekly schedule tool runs in the browser without registration.

**Held against it:**
- No price figure for any tier appears on the captured pages — no per-employee or per-location amounts and no billing period — so an annual invoice cannot be computed from what is public.
- We found no public information on a data processing agreement, a subprocessor list, or the provider behind the German-server statement for employee data; the named provider Hetzner covers the website.
- We found no public information on whether a failed working-time check blocks publishing or only warns, on youth-protection or works-agreement rule sets, or on a recorded reason when a planner overrides a warning.
- We found no public information on vendor documentation supporting works-council approval under § 87 BetrVG, or on GPS tracking being off by default.
- We found no public information on demand-based planning from a named source such as POS revenue, footfall or occupancy, or on sharing staff across locations.

**Best for:**
- You run shift operations across several locations or roles and want the payroll handoff to a tax advisor on DATEV Lohn und Gehalt or LODAS documented step by step.
- Your teams are deskless and need to see the roster, set availabilities, swap shifts and clock in from a phone or shared terminal in more than ten languages.
- You build rosters from templates, recurring patterns and automatic proposals based on availabilities, qualifications and target hours, rather than from demand forecasts.
- You want gross payroll prepared from the plan and time tracking, with the option of in-house net payroll through Payroll Plus.

**Avoid if:**
- You need to compute a real annual invoice from public pricing before contacting the vendor.
- Your procurement requires a published data processing agreement or subprocessor list covering employee data before shortlisting.
- You need planning driven by POS revenue, footfall or occupancy, or staff shared across locations.
- Your works council requires vendor documentation supporting approval before the software is introduced.

## Scores by judge and criterion

Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v2). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price, or the judge found no public information on that criterion.

| Criterion | The Shift Manager | The Operations Director | The Payroll Officer | The Works Council Advocate | The Frontline Employee | The Skeptic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Roster building & demand planning | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Working-time law & collective agreements | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 |
| Mobile self-service for deskless staff | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 |
| Works council & employee data | 2.5/5 | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 |
| Payroll handoff & integrations | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 |
| European sovereignty | 1.5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| Pricing transparency | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 0.5/5 |
| **Weighted verdict** | **3/5** | **3/5** | **3/5** | **2.5/5** | **3/5** | **2.5/5** |

### The judges

- **The Shift Manager** (v1.0): Builds next week's roster for a restaurant or store on Thursday night and fields the sick calls on Saturday morning. Wants templates, qualifications that stop the wrong person landing on the till, open shifts staff can claim, and a rest period warning before publication rather than after the inspection.
- **The Operations Director** (v1.0): Answers for labour cost across thirty locations in retail, hospitality or care. Wants demand-based planning from real POS or occupancy data, labour cost against budget while the plan is still editable, and staff shared across sites. Reads "AI-powered scheduling" as a request to see the method.
- **The Payroll Officer** (v1.0): Turns the worked month into DATEV and answers for every surcharge. Cares about night, Sunday and holiday supplements from the Tarifvertrag, Minijob limits caught before the month closes, and corrections after the close. Treats "CSV export" as an admission that the handoff was never designed.
- **The Works Council Advocate** (v1.0): Co-determines how hours and overtime are distributed and how staff are monitored (BetrVG §87), and will not sign a works agreement for a system that watches more than it plans. Asks who sees absence reasons, what the app stores about location, what is logged and when it is deleted. Reads "performance insights" as a warning.
- **The Frontline Employee** (v1.0): Works part-time shifts next to a second job or a degree and never opens a laptop at work. Judges the product by its phone app: can she mark availability, swap a shift without three calls, see her hours, and read it in her own language. A roster she learns about from a photo in a group chat has failed.
- **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Has read a great many pages saying the product "supports" the Arbeitszeitgesetz and wants to know whether it blocks a violation, warns about it, or merely exports it. Reads for which tier the time clock and the DATEV export sit in, how seasonal staff are counted per employee, and what the forecasting "AI" actually uses as input.

## European sovereignty — proven facts

Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: not determined.

| Dimension | Finding | Points | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | — | — |
| Ownership | Not determined | — | — |
| Data residency | Not determined | — | — |
| Subprocessors | Not determined | — | — |

## Key facts

Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources).

**Compliance**
- Cookie consent: analysis · marketing · website improvement [S3]

**Data**
- Application retention: applicant data · 6 [S3]
- Logfile retention: 14 [S3]
- Statutory retention: 2 · 10 [S3]
- Website analytics: Hetzner, EU · server-side first-party analytics (IP, session, page, events, UTM, form data) · consent (Art. 6(1)(a) DSGVO) · 14 [S3]

**Hosting**
- Provider: EU · Hetzner Online GmbH [S3]
- Residency: DE · yes · yes [S10]

**Integrations**
- App store: Ordio App Store for partner integrations incl. payroll and accounting [S10]
- CSV export alternative: zu klären, Export primär auf DATEV ausgelegt [S13]
- Datev export: Pro · yes · yes [S2]
- Datev supported programs: Lohn und Gehalt · LODAS [S13]
- Demo and callback channels: Kostenlos starten · Demo vereinbaren · Rückruf anfordern [S13]
- Export: yes · yes [S8]
- Minijob threshold: 603 [S9]
- Rest API: Pro · JSON · yes [S2]

**Product**
- Absence management: yes · yes · yes [S6]
- Absence management: yes [S14]
- Absence notice period: On-call work: employer must notify working time at least 4 days in advance (stated as legal info, not product feature) [S6]
- Advance payments: Employees can request salary advances directly in the system [S14]
- AI agent: Nano [S4]
- AI schedule suggestions: AI/rule-based schedule suggestions based on availabilities, qualifications and target hours [S6]
- App stores: Google Play Store · Apple App Store [S3]
- Arbg rest time check: § 4 ArbZG · 11h per § 5 ArbZG [S6]
- Arbg warnings: yes · yes · yes [S6]
- Audit log manipulation protection: Protokoll in Ordio [S13]
- Audit proof: Salary changes, approvals and exports are traceable/audit-proof [S14]
- Automatic detection: yes [S8]
- Break tracking: yes [S10]
- Broadcast messages: Broadcast messages as push notifications [S6]
- Broadcast push: Broadcast messages via push notification to all staff [S10]
- Calculation modes: Auszahlung · Freizeitausgleich [S9]
- Calendar sync: Sync of private appointments and calendar subscription [S11]
- Cloud only no physical goods: no [S5]
- Company customers: used daily by 2,500+ businesses [S8]
- Contract features: fixed-term contracts · probation period · dynamic holiday entitlement · 13-week average · overtime offset · additional payments · advances [S14]
- Core modules: shift planning · time tracking · checklists · master data management [S3]
- Custom tariff rates: custom surcharge rates per role or location in Ordio, applying to planning and payroll [S8]
- Customer count: 2500+ [S4]
- Customer count: 2500+ [S6]
- Customer count: 2500 [S11]
- Customer count: 2500+ [S12]
- Customer count claim: 2500 [S13]
- Customer teams: 2500 · more_than [S2]
- Customers count: >= · 2500 [S10]
- Customizable dashboard: yes [S11]
- Dark mode: yes [S11]
- Datev export comparison: yes [S6]
- Datev export content: Ist-Stunden je Person · Zuschläge · Urlaub und Krankheit · Zuordnung zu Lohnarten [S13]
- Datev setup steps: Stammdaten · Lohnarten · Testexport · Monatsabschluss [S13]
- Demo available: yes [S10]
- Disclaimer: model calculation, not tax or payroll advice [S8]
- Document management: Central digital document management for contracts, proofs, absence documents [S14]
- Document storage: Documents uploadable in app, stored in personal profile [S10]
- Early access: yes · email request [S11]
- Employee daten datev key required: Personalnummer bzw. DATEV-Schlüssel je Mitarbeitendem [S13]
- Employer costs reporting: yes [S14]
- Enterprise features: priority_support · roadmap_prioritization · ordio_events · document_generator · staffing_agency · tips [S2]
- Example results: 252,38 € (10h aus 3.500 € Monatsgehalt, 40h/Woche) · 250,00 € (10h × 20 €/h × 25 %) · 450,00 € (15h × 20 €/h × 50 %) · 10 h Freizeit bei 10 Überstunden [S9]
- Export frequency recommendation: pro Lohnlauf (monatlich) [S13]
- Export options: CSV · PDF · yes [S9]
- Export targets: Datev Lodas · Datev Lohn und Gehalt · Addison · Lohn AG · Lohnconsult · Agenda · CSV/Excel [S14]
- Formula: Gross payout = hourly wage × overtime hours × (1 + surcharge % ÷ 100) [S9]
- Free schedule tool: yes · yes · yes · yes [S6]
- Gps tracking: yes [S1]
- Gps tracking: yes [S10]
- Gross capabilities: personal master data · flexible working time models · max/min hours · hourly/monthly/daily wages · flexitime · location-dependent hourly wages · working time account · overtime · minus hours [S14]
- Gross vs net results: gross payroll · complete net payroll [S14]
- Hourly wage derivation: 4.3333333333333 · 4.35 [S9]
- HR records: Digital personnel files: contracts, qualifications, master data alongside scheduling [S6]
- Import capabilities: Imports of common formats supported for migration [S14]
- Industries: 72 [S8]
- Industries: 72 · >= [S10]
- Industries count: more_than · 72 [S2]
- Industries count: 72+ [S6]
- Industries count: 72 [S11]
- Industries count: 72 [S13]
- Industry breadth: 72+ [S12]
- Industry count: 72+ [S4]
- Industry ranges: 25-30% · 50-60% · 100% · 25-50% · 50-100% · 100-150% · 25-40% · 50-75% · 100-125% · 25-35% · 50-75% · 100-125% [S8]
- Ki agent: Nano – KI agent in Ordio [S11]
- Ki agent existence: Nano · yes [S13]
- Languages: 10 [S11]
- Law updates: Gross parameters like minimum wage kept current; Payroll Plus continuously updates contribution rates and allowances [S14]
- Leave requests: Leave requests via app with live leave balance and one-tap approval [S10]
- Limitation period: 2–6 Monate · 3 Jahre (§ 195 BGB) [S9]
- Manual holiday checkbox: yes [S8]
- Minijobs parttime: minijobs · part-time [S14]
- Minimum wage 2026: 2026 · 13.9 [S8]
- Mode legislative defaults: 25 · 50 · 100 [S8]
- Modules listed: Schichtplanung · Zeiterfassung · Lohnabrechnung [S11]
- Multi location roles: yes · yes [S6]
- Nano AI agent: Nano [S2]
- Nano ki agent: Nano AI agent: checks availabilities, finds replacements, informs teams via chat [S6]
- Net estimate basis: BMF-Lohnsteuer-PAP 2026 und Ordio-Payroll-Engine inkl. Midijob-Sozialversicherung · no [S9]
- Net estimate method: marginal (monthly net with minus without overtime) [S9]
- New app release: Ordio App has been rebuilt from the ground up (announced 10.11.2025) [S11]
- New views: Timeline View and Agenda View [S11]
- Newsletter: yes · yes [S12]
- Newsletter free: free · yes [S11]
- Offline: yes [S10]
- Ordio sign description: digital document signing in employee app, coming soon [S2]
- Overtime payout calculator: Free overtime payout calculator computing gross payout or time off from salary/hourly wage, overtime hours and surcharge, optional net estimate and §3b breakdown [S9]
- Page last updated: 2026-10-29 [S13]
- Paragraph 3b limits: 25% max 50€/h · 50% max 50€/h · 125% max 50€/h · 150% · bis 75% [S9]
- Payroll core description: Ordio Payroll Core calculates gross payroll from pay rules plus shift plan and time tracking, and prepares DATEV export for the tax advisor [S14]
- Payroll datev: optional via Payroll Plus · yes · yes [S6]
- Payroll integration: yes [S8]
- Payroll plus description: Payroll Plus add-on provides fully integrated net payroll with taxes, social security, filings and payslips, without external payroll office [S14]
- Payroll plus features: net payroll (taxes, social security, deductions) · eAU · digital tax certificates · automated payroll cycles · filings to authorities and health insurers · digital payslips [S14]
- Platform scope: shift scheduling, time tracking, absences, tasks and payroll in one platform [S1]
- Platforms: iOS · Android [S10]
- Plausibility check planned shifts: yes [S13]
- Plus features: legal_compliant_time_tracking · gps_location_check · digital_signature_verification · team_terminal · broadcast_push_notifications · smart_break_rules · individual_tolerances · lateness_documentation [S2]
- Pro features: checklists_forms · datev_payroll_export · public_rest_api_json · partner_integrations [S2]
- Publish push notification: yes · yes · yes [S6]
- Qualification tracking: Customer cites qualification tracking and shift staffing (testimonial) [S10]
- Recurring shifts templates: yes · yes [S6]
- Related calculators: Zuschlagsrechner · Arbeitszeitrechner · Stundenlohnrechner · Brutto-Netto-Rechner [S9]
- Related tools section: Arbeitszeitrechner · Gleitzeitrechner · Zuschlagsrechner · Stundenlohnrechner · Brutto-Netto-Rechner · Urlaubsabgeltung-Rechner · Lohnfortzahlung-Rechner · Urlaubsgeld-Rechner · Inflationsrechner · Mindestlohn-Rechner · Arbeitgeberkosten-R… [S9]
- Reporting: Reports of personnel costs, working times and staffing per shift or location [S6]
- Review ratings: 40 · 4.8 · 87 · 4.8 [S11]
- Role based access: yes [S10]
- Roles activation path: Settings → Rechte & Rollen → activate; activated with one click [S12]
- Roles granular access: Admins can configure access to information and functions per area individually [S12]
- Roles migration: yes · yes [S12]
- Roles modular architecture: Modular design allowing quick integration of new features without disrupting existing infrastructure [S12]
- Roles parallel use period: 2024-01-03 [S12]
- Roles rollout date: 2023-11-08 [S12]
- Roles scalability: Roles can be assigned or edited in seconds to many employees; no per-user permission editing [S12]
- Rollout automatic: all Workspaces · next weeks · yes [S11]
- Schedule drag drop: yes · yes · yes [S6]
- Shift mode: yes [S8]
- Shift planning self service: Employees view shift schedules, set availabilities and apply for open shifts in the app [S10]
- Shift swap: yes [S10]
- Shift swap in app: yes · yes [S6]
- Simpler navigation: yes [S11]
- Social presence: Instagram · TikTok · LinkedIn [S3]
- Staffing costs view: yes · yes · yes [S6]
- Starter features: shift_planning · digital_employee_file · document_management · leave_absence_planner · roles_permissions · automatic_payroll · employee_app · nano_ai_agent · app_store · reporting_analytics [S2]
- Statutory surcharge: no · 25 · 50 · 100 [S9]

**Support**
- Cancellation contact: support@ordio.com [S5]
- Datev error help: keine rechtlichen/steuerlichen Fragen · yes [S13]
- Priority enterprise: Enterprise · yes [S2]
- Setup assistance: Team assists with setup and rollout, optional personal demo [S6]

23 more facts on the canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/ordio

## Questions

### Is Ordio European?

Yes. whats-best.ai classifies Ordio as EU-Made.

### Where does Ordio store data?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026.

### Does Ordio have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026.

### What are the best alternatives to Ordio?

As of 28 Oct 2026, the panel rates [Shiftbase (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/shiftbase), [Connecteam (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/connecteam) and [gastromatic (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/gastromatic) highest among the other 26 Employee Scheduling products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [Shiftbase](https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/shiftbase) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [Ordio alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/ordio/alternatives).

## What this page leaves out

- We could not confirm any pricing information on the vendor’s own pages as captured, so this page shows none rather than a statement we cannot stand behind.
- 40 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 22 compliance facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 10 subprocessors facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 7 legal facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 6 integrations facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 5 support facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 3 sovereignty dimensions could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and are shown as unknown.

## Sources

- [S1] Vendor homepage: https://www.ordio.com/ (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S2] Pricing page: https://www.ordio.com/preise (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S3] Privacy policy: https://www.ordio.com/datenschutz (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S4] Legal notice: https://www.ordio.com/impressum (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S5] Terms of service: https://www.ordio.com/agb (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S6] Roster building & demand planning — found from sitemap: https://www.ordio.com/schichtplan (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S7] Roster building & demand planning — found from sitemap: https://www.ordio.com/tools/schichtplan-erstellen (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S8] Working-time law & collective agreements — found from sitemap: https://www.ordio.com/tools/zuschlagsrechner (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S9] Working-time law & collective agreements — found from sitemap: https://www.ordio.com/tools/ueberstunden-auszahlen-rechner (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S10] Mobile self-service for deskless staff — found from sitemap: https://www.ordio.com/mitarbeiter-app (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S11] Mobile self-service for deskless staff — found from sitemap: https://www.ordio.com/produkt-updates/ordio-app-neue-features-neues-design (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S12] Works council & employee data — found from sitemap: https://www.ordio.com/insights/inside-ordio/rechte-rollen (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S13] Payroll handoff & integrations — found from sitemap: https://www.ordio.com/datev-schnittstelle (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S14] Payroll handoff & integrations — found from sitemap: https://www.ordio.com/payroll (checked 2026-10-29)

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Cite as: whats-best.ai, "Ordio — Employee Scheduling", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-10-29. https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/ordio

Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/1134?target=page