Gig Grafter

What Gig Grafter does

Gig Grafter Limited is a privately held Northern Ireland software company, founded in 2016 by brothers Barry Lynch and Ciarán Lynch, that provides a cloud-based workforce management SaaS platform targeting small and mid-sized businesses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The platform is delivered as a web application plus Android and iOS apps, and combines six integrated modules — Rota Planning, Wage Cost Control, Time & Attendance (tablet-based punch clock), Holiday Management, Payroll, and HR — along with a Republic of Ireland-specific Public Holiday pay calculation module. Underlying technical components include app-based time tracking with facial recognition for clock-in verification, drag-and-drop rota scheduling with SMS notifications delivered via Twilio, cloud infrastructure hosted on Amazon Web Services, and customer support chat powered by Intercom. The platform exports timesheet data into five UK and Irish payroll systems (Sage, BrightPay, Thesaurus, Big Red Book, Quantum).

The company operates a product-led growth motion with a self-serve 30-day free trial (no credit card required), direct website signup, and a 'Book a Demo' channel for larger prospects, supported by a quoted per-employee monthly subscription. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Named customers are concentrated in convenience retail (multiple SPAR and Centra franchisees), independent hospitality (Murphy's Hotel, Milk & Sugar Cardiff, Horatio Group) and mid-sized retailers (McBride Retail Group, 14 stores), with case-study outcomes citing reductions such as payroll processing time falling from 4 hours to 20 minutes and rota creation time halving. The geographic footprint covers Northern Ireland, the wider United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Wales, with an Ireland-specific compliance module addressing 13-week public holiday reference periods.

Gig Grafter is founder-controlled, with 1-10 employees and total disclosed historical funding of approximately $404K (a 2017 round led by Techstart Ventures and a 2020 round from an undisclosed investor). In October 2025 the company announced a £1m investment programme over two years to expand product and markets, alongside the board appointment of Patricia O'Hagan MBE, former CEO of Core Systems (acquired by Multi-Health Systems Inc. in 2023) and a board member of Northern Ireland's Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Centre. No revenue, ARR or bookings figure is publicly disclosed.

Name

Gig Grafter

Legal name

Gig Grafter Limited

Website

https://giggrafter.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Gig Grafter is a Northern Ireland-based SaaS company that provides cloud-based rota planning, time and attendance, holiday management, payroll and HR modules to small and mid-sized retail, hospitality and manufacturing businesses across the UK and Republic of Ireland on a per-employee subscription model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Management Software

NAICS

Payroll Services (541214)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Workforce Management & Scheduling Outsourcing (Non-payroll) (BPACAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Payroll Software & Payroll-as-a-Service (SaaS) (BPACAIAB), Gig / On-Demand Generalist Staffing Platforms (BPACACAK)

Keywords

• Workforce management software
• Rota planning software
• Time and attendance
• Payroll integration
• Employee scheduling

Headquarters

HQ city

Newry

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscription-Based SaaS: Monthly subscription fees calculated based on the total number of customer employees registered to use the Employee Services. The platform offers a 30-day free trial period with pay-as-you-go billing and no credit card required.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Gig Grafter provides a cloud-based, all-in-one workforce management platform delivered as a web application and Android/iOS mobile app. It enables small and mid-market businesses to plan staff rotas, track time and attendance, manage holidays and HR records, control wage costs, and export payroll-ready timesheets to major UK and Irish payroll software. The platform serves retail, hospitality, manufacturing, healthcare, and leisure sectors primarily in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

Product overview

Gig Grafter is a cloud-based workforce management platform providing an integrated suite of modules for retail, hospitality, and manufacturing businesses. The core platform consists of Rota Planning (staff scheduling), Wage Cost Control (budget tracking), Time & Attendance (clock in/out via tablet app), Holiday Management (leave and accrual tracking), Payroll (payroll-ready reporting and export), and HR (employee data and compliance reporting). The Public Holiday module specifically addresses Republic of Ireland requirements. All modules share a common employee database and integrate with external payroll software (Sage, BrightPay, Thesaurus, Big Red Book, Quantum) for seamless payroll processing. The platform is accessible via web application and mobile apps for Android and iOS.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rota Planning Staff scheduling module that enables quick rota creation with drag-and-drop shift reassignment, copy and paste of shifts, templates, instant SMS notifications, and multi-device access for managers to view and update rotas from any location. Designed for retail, hospitality, and manufacturing businesses scheduling hourly and part-time staff.
• Wage Cost Control Budget and cost management module that tracks wage budgets, provides daily and weekly payroll projections per employee, monitors wage cost as a percentage of revenue, and measures sales per hour to optimize rota profitability. Targeted at SMBs seeking visibility into staffing costs versus sales.
• Time and Attendance Tablet-based clock in/out application for Android and iOS with facial recognition verification, multiple clock-in location support, live attendance monitoring, and break tracking. Requires no hardware installation or engineering support, designed for retail and hospitality businesses with multi-site workforces.
• Holiday Management Leave management module handling holiday requests and approvals, accruals for full-time, part-time, and casual employees, and automated holiday pay calculations. Includes a Holiday Helper Tool for payroll integration. Designed for SMBs managing mixed employment types in the UK and Ireland.
• Payroll Payroll-ready reporting module that links scheduling and time tracking data to payroll, supports configurable exception rules with auto-approval, and exports timesheets in formats compatible with major payroll systems. Provides live attendance records and custom reporting for audits and compliance.
• HR Human resources module that centralizes employee information, tracks absences in real time, and generates sickness and lateness reports to support compliance and workforce planning. Designed for SMBs seeking consolidated employee record keeping.
• Public Holiday Pay (Ireland) Republic of Ireland-specific module that automatically calculates public holiday entitlements based on employee hours, accesses detailed work history for the 13-week reference period, and computes appropriate public holiday pay. Targeted at Irish employers requiring automated compliance with Irish public holiday regulations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Payroll processing time reduced from 4 hours to 20 minutes (Centra Crosshaven)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered key leadership and core.

• Patricia O'Hagan MBE (Board Director)key leadershipOthers · 13 October 2025Award-winning entrepreneur and former CEO of Core Systems (acquired by Multi-Health Systems Inc. in 2023) appointed to Board of Directors. Brings experience in digital platform development, policy advisory roles, and AI ethics.
• Amazon Web ServicescoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party data processor used for cloud infrastructure hosting. Gig Grafter's terms of service confirm Amazon Web Services as a subprocessed data handler for personal data processing.
• Twilio Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party processor for SMS notification services enabling instant notifications to employees regarding shift schedules and updates.
• IntercomcoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party processor used for customer support chat functionality. Cookie policy confirms Intercom cookies for chat and functional purposes.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• When I Work: When I Work is a scheduling and workforce management SaaS targeting hourly and shift-based SMBs in retail, hospitality, and healthcare. Its product scope (drag-and-drop scheduling, time clock, payroll) is highly comparable to Gig Grafter's, with a primarily North American customer base.
• Shiftboard: Shiftboard provides employee scheduling and workforce management software for shift-based operations including manufacturing, hospitality, and healthcare. It is a more enterprise-tilted peer but overlaps with Gig Grafter's manufacturing overtime and shift swap functionality.
• Deputy: Deputy is a global workforce management platform offering scheduling, time & attendance, and payroll integration for shift-based businesses in retail, hospitality, and healthcare. It directly overlaps with Gig Grafter's core feature set and target buyer, with deeper resources and a broader geographic footprint.
• Planday: Planday is a workforce management SaaS focused on shift-based SMBs in retail, hospitality, and healthcare across the UK and Europe. Like Gig Grafter it combines rota planning, time tracking, and payroll integrations with a self-serve GTM motion.
• Sling (by Toast): Sling is a shift scheduling and workforce management tool for restaurants, hospitality, and retail SMBs. Acquired by Toast, it competes in the same drag-and-drop scheduling and time tracking niche as Gig Grafter, especially in hospitality.

Broad incumbents

• IRIS Software Group: IRIS Software is a UK-established provider of payroll, HR, and workforce management software for SMBs and accountancy practices. It is a broader incumbent whose payroll software (BrightPay, Big Red Book) is already integrated into Gig Grafter — making it both a partner and a potential bundling competitor.
• Sage HR: Sage HR (formerly Sage People / Sage HR Online) is a UK-headquartered broad HR and people management suite that overlaps with Gig Grafter's rota planning and HR modules. As a Sage ecosystem product, it benefits from integration with Sage Payroll, one of Gig Grafter's key integration partners.

Regional players

• BrightHR: BrightHR is a UK-based HR, employment law, and people management platform serving SMBs. While broader than Gig Grafter, its footprint and SMB focus in the UK and Ireland make it a regional competitor for HR/rota consolidation decisions.

Emerging players

• Personio: Personio is a European HR and workforce management platform targeting SMB and mid-market companies. While broader than Gig Grafter, it increasingly competes in scheduling and time tracking for European shift-based businesses, particularly in retail and hospitality.
• Humanity (by TCP Software): Humanity is a cloud-based employee scheduling and workforce management platform serving retail, hospitality, and healthcare. It is comparable to Gig Grafter in core scheduling and time clock functionality but operates at a larger scale with broader North American and European presence.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gig-grafter-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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 Gig Grafter