Xbit

What Xbit does

Xbit (株式会社クロスビット, Xbit Inc.) is a Tokyo-based SaaS company founded in April 2016 by Representative Director Takasaki Kokubo (小久保 孝咲) that operates the "Rakushifu" (らくしふ) cloud-based shift management platform. The company targets shift-heavy industries in Japan — primarily restaurant chains, food service groups, and retail businesses — and serves an installed base of more than 30,000 workplaces, a position it claims as the No.1 LINE-based shift management cloud service in Japan by paid workplace count (Tokyo Shoko Research, April 2024). The core technical differentiator is a deep, native integration with LINE that enables employees to submit shift preferences and receive confirmed schedules via the company's official LINE account, eliminating the need to share personal LINE contacts with employers and reducing app-installation friction. The platform also provides position-level color-coded shift visualization, time-specific ideal staffing analytics, automated labor compliance alerts (foreign worker hours, minor labor rules, ¥1.03M/¥1.06M part-time income thresholds), and bidirectional sync with attendance and payroll systems. AI capability is primarily featured through integration with SoftBank's "Sakimiu" demand forecasting service for demand-aligned staffing, with plans articulated for broader AI-driven workforce optimization.

Xbit generates revenue primarily through recurring subscription fees for the Rakushifu SaaS, sold per business account or per seat to multi-location restaurant and retail operators. The go-to-market combines a self-serve product-led motion (product website at rakushifu.jp, 10–20 minute verbal onboarding) with enterprise direct sales for large restaurant chain deployments and a multi-layered channel partner network. Distribution partners include SoftBank Corp. (sales agent for enterprise retail/restaurant accounts, paired with Sakimiru AI), Satellite Office Corp. (mid-market reseller leveraging 70,000+ cloud customers), and Studist Corp. (mutual referral and co-selling with Teachme Biz). The company is privately held and became a group company of SmartHR on May 7, 2026, with the product rebranded as "Rakushifu by SmartHR," aligning Xbit's shift management capabilities with SmartHR's HR, payroll, and talent management infrastructure to form a comprehensive workforce ecosystem. Xbit is ISO 27001 / ISMS certified and operates from a WeWork office in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, with a team of 11–50 employees.

Name

Xbit

Legal name

株式会社クロスビット

Website

https://x-bit.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Xbit (株式会社クロスビット) operates "Rakushifu," a cloud-based shift management SaaS for Japan's restaurant and retail industries, leveraging native LINE integration for frictionless employee adoption and serving 30,000+ installed workplaces. Founded 2016, headquartered in Tokyo, and now a SmartHR group company.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Management SaaS

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Employee Experience (DEX) & IT Experience Management (ITXM) Platforms (HDAEALAL)

Keywords

• Cloud shift management
• Workforce management SaaS
• HR tech software
• Restaurant scheduling platform
• LINE-integrated scheduling

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Cloud Shift Management SaaS (らくしふ): Xbit generates revenue primarily through subscription fees for its cloud-based shift management SaaS platform "らくしふ". The service is sold on a per-business-account or per-seat basis, targeting restaurant and retail chains with multiple locations. Following SmartHR Group acquisition (May 2026), it is branded as "らくすふ by SmartHR". Revenue is recurring/subscription-based with pricing tiers differentiated by scale of deployment.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Xbit develops and operates らくしふ (Rakushifu), a cloud-based shift management SaaS platform that manages the full shift lifecycle — preference collection, schedule creation, confirmation, and sharing — for businesses employing shift workers, primarily in the restaurant, retail, and service industries. The platform is differentiated by deep LINE Official Account integration, enabling employees to submit and receive shift information without sharing personal LINE contacts. It supports position-based scheduling, labor cost visualization, attendance/payroll system synchronization, compliance automation, and integrates with SoftBank's AI demand forecasting service (Sakimiru) for predictive staffing.

Product overview

Xbit operates as a cloud workforce management company, offering the らくしふ (Rakushifu) series as its primary product line. らくしふ is a unified cloud shift management platform that addresses the full shift lifecycle for shift-worker-heavy industries (particularly food service, retail, and service sectors). The product integrates directly with LINE for employee-facing communication, connects with attendance/payroll systems for data synchronization, and provides labor cost analytics and optimization features. The company has pivoted from pure shift management toward a broader 'Workforce Enablement' vision, with plans to incorporate AI for predictive staffing and resource optimization. Since May 2026, Xbit became a subsidiary of SmartHR, enabling deeper integration with HR and labor management workflows.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• らくしふ (Rakushifu) — Cloud Shift Management SaaS

Quantifiable outcome

• ~10 hours saved per shift creation cycle per store
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability4 records

Feature11 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• 株式会社スタディスト (Studist Co., Ltd.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 April 2025Sales partner contract (販売パートナー契約) between Xbit and Studist. The partnership enables cross-referral and co-selling of Xbit's shift management "らくすふ" and Studist's operations manual platform "Teachme Biz" to shared customers in the restaurant and retail industries. The combined offering addresses both shift scheduling and workforce skill development, targeting labor productivity and rapid upskilling of diverse workforces.
• 株式会社HajimariOthers · 24 March 2025Hajimari operates the freelance agent platform "ITプロパートナーズ" and published a case study/interview featuring Xbit's Chief Product Officer on freelance talent utilization practices within the company. Partnership supports Xbit's freelance/contractor hiring strategy and provides thought leadership content for the HR-tech community.
• 株式会社サテライトオフィス (Satellite Office Co., Ltd.)secondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 26 February 2025Sales agent partnership (販売代理店契約) between Xbit and Satellite Office. Satellite Office, with 70,000+ enterprise customers for cloud solutions (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, LINE WORKS), resells and promotes らくすふ to its existing customer base. The partnership leverages Satellite Office's cloud deployment expertise and support infrastructure.
• SB C Corp. (SoftBank Corp.)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 November 2024Sales agent partnership (販売代理店契約) with SoftBank Corp. for らくすふ distribution. SoftBank targets its retail and restaurant customers with a combined offering of らくすふ (shift management) and SoftBank's AI demand forecasting service "Sakimiu" for integrated workforce optimization. SoftBank displayed らくすふ at RetailTech JAPAN 2025 in its booth.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• KING OF TIME (キングオブタイム): Japanese cloud-based attendance and shift management SaaS widely used by SMBs. Directly competes with Rakushifu in time-tracking and scheduling for shift-worker businesses in Japan.
• TeamSpirit (チームスピリット): Workforce management SaaS targeting enterprise Japan, with attendance, shift, expense, and ERP-integrated HR features. Closely comparable in WFM feature set and target market to Rakushifu.
• HRMOS (jinjer): HR-tech suite covering attendance, shift, payroll, and HR for Japanese SMBs and mid-market. Direct competitor in shift management, with a broader bundled HR offering.
• Deputy: Global shift scheduling and workforce management SaaS for hourly workers in retail, hospitality, and healthcare. Comparable in product surface and target user, though primarily serving markets outside Japan.
• When I Work: US-based shift scheduling and employee communication app for hourly workforces. Closely comparable in product scope and SMB target to Rakushifu, with mobile-first shift exchange workflows.
• Sling (by Toast): Shift management and team communication tool for restaurants and retailers, owned by Toast. Directly comparable in restaurant-vertical focus and shift-scheduling functionality.
• Humanity (TCP Software): Cloud-based employee scheduling and workforce management platform for shift-based industries. Comparable in scheduling, time tracking, and shift-worker focus, though serving primarily North America and Europe.

Broad incumbents

• SmartHR: Xbit's parent company and Japan's leading cloud HR/payroll platform with 40,000+ customers. Overlaps with Rakushifu via time/attendance and labor management features inside the broader HR suite.
• freee (freee株式会社): Major Japanese cloud HR/payroll SaaS suite for SMBs. Bundles attendance, payroll, and tax filings, competing with Rakushifu indirectly as an integrated alternative for shift-based employers.
• Money Forward (マネーフォワード): Large Japanese fintech/HR-tech conglomerate with cloud payroll, attendance, and HR products. Competes at the suite level rather than specialist shift management, similar in target to freee.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/corporatexbit
• Facebookfacebook.com/xbit.inc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors11 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Xbit