An honest comparison
Kordis vs When I Work for staffing agencies (2026)
Last updated . Competitor facts checked against the sources at the bottom of this page.
When I Work is employee scheduling and time-clock software, published from $2.50 US per user per month with a 14-day free trial. It is built for hourly teams rostering their own staff.
Kordis is built for the agency side: filling client shifts with temp workers, staging confirmation calls and texts for your approval, covering overnight drop-outs, and preparing payroll hours under Canadian provincial rules.
What is When I Work good at?
When I Work is one of the simplest and cheapest scheduling tools available, and that simplicity is the point: a manager can build next week's roster in minutes, staff pick up shifts from their phones, and the time clock feeds payroll. For a small hourly business it removes a real weekly chore at a very low price.
- Among the lowest published prices in the category, from $2.50 US per user per month
- Genuinely easy: a manager can be running a roster the same afternoon
- Shift swaps and open-shift pickup that hourly workers use without training
- A 14-day free trial with no credit card
How do Kordis and When I Work compare?
| What matters | Kordis | When I Work |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Canadian temp staffing agencies with 25 to 100 workers | Small hourly teams scheduling their own staff |
| Pricing | Flat per agency (founding rate, then $499 a month), not per user | $2.50, $5 and $8 US per user per month across three tiers |
| Shift filling | Auto Dispatch and Instant Cover: confirmation texts and calls go out on their own; fills and backfills are staged for your OK | Manager rosters, open-shift pickup and swaps |
| Screening | Smart Screening: applicant screening calls with transcripts and scores | Not an applicant screening product |
| Credential tracking | AutoFile and the Renewal Clock: credential expiry tracking with renewal texts at 90 days, 2 weeks, and 3 days, plus dispatch gating | No credential expiry gating |
| Canadian rules | Ontario, BC, and Alberta rules built in: the cards workers carry, gating, calling hours | US-centred; no provincial ESA or WSIB features |
When I Work publishes Essentials at $2.50, Pro at $5 and Premium at $8 US per user per month, with a 14-day free trial and no card required, on wheniwork.com/pricing. Checked 2026-07-27.
Pick When I Work if
- You schedule your own hourly staff and want the cheapest tool that does it well
- Simplicity matters more than depth, and you have no compliance burden to carry
Pick Kordis if
- Your workers go to other companies' sites, so the client relationship rides on the fill
- The 4 a.m. cancellation has to be covered before you wake up
- You need credential expiry to gate who can be sent, by province
- Hours have to reconcile from a client timesheet into a payroll file without re-typing
Common questions
Is When I Work enough for a small temp agency?
It is enough to hold the schedule. It is not enough to run the desk: no screening calls, no automatic cover when someone cancels, no credential gating, and no payroll reconciliation from client hour sheets. Most agencies keep a spreadsheet alongside it.
What does Kordis charge compared with When I Work?
When I Work charges per user per month, so cost grows with your roster. Kordis charges one flat price per agency, so a 30-worker desk and a 100-worker desk pay the same. See the Kordis pricing page for the current figure.
Do they integrate?
There is no integration between them. For an agency there is rarely a reason to run both, because the scheduling sits inside the shift operations. A business rostering only its own staff does not need Kordis at all.
Sources
The honest way to compare is on your own roster.
Bring a recent week. You will see your own shifts, workers, and hours working, not a canned demo.
Start your two weeks freeOn your own data. No credit card.