Papershift

Workforce Management Softwarepapershift.com

Papershift is a Karlsruhe-based German SaaS provider of cloud-based HR software — shift planning, time tracking, absence management, payroll preparation, and digital personnel files — sold on a modular per-employee subscription to SMB and mid-market customers in gastronomy, retail, healthcare, and production across DACH.

Company typePrivate
Founded2015
HeadquartersKarlsruhe, Germany
Headcount51–100
GTM typeB2B
OfferingSoftware

What Papershift does

Papershift GmbH is a Karlsruhe-based German SaaS provider of cloud-based HR software for shift-based and hourly-workforce industries, founded in 2015 and operating with 51-100 employees. The platform unifies digital shift planning (Dienstplanung), time tracking (Zeiterfassung), absence/vacation management, payroll preparation with DATEV export, onboarding/offboarding workflows, and GDPR-compliant digital personnel files into a single modular cloud product, complemented by iOS and Android mobile apps for employee self-service. Its productized AI capability is KI-Chat within Papershift Pulse, a text-based internal HR knowledge assistant that answers recurring employee questions using retrieval over company HR content.

The company serves a vertical-anchored customer mix spanning gastronomy, retail, healthcare, production/manufacturing, and service/logistics, with named references including BURGER KING (50+ franchise locations, 1,000+ employees), CEWE, Sparda-Bank Berlin, EDEKA Dirnberger, mymuesli, BrotZeit, Funkhaus Ortenau, and Das Fest. The business model is a modular per-employee monthly subscription sold both via product-led self-serve (14-day free trial with no payment information required) and sales-assisted direct sales for mid-market and enterprise deals. Distribution combines heavy SEO and HR-lexikon content marketing, social channels, trade shows, a partner/affiliate program, and app-store presence. Papershift has received a 2021 growth investment from eCAPITAL Entrepreneurial Partners, maintains GDPR (DSGVO) compliance, and holds BSFZ R&D certification and OMR Top Rated 2026 recognition. The company claims 200,000+ users across Europe, with primary commercial concentration in the DACH region.

Papershift firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Papershift
Legal name: Papershift GmbH
Website: https://papershift.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2015
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 51–100 employees
Short description: Papershift is a Karlsruhe-based German SaaS provider of cloud-based HR software — shift planning, time tracking, absence management, payroll preparation, and digital personnel files — sold on a modular per-employee subscription to SMB and mid-market customers in gastronomy, retail, healthcare, and production across DACH.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Papershift industry classification

Industry

Product category: Workforce Management Software
NAICS: Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
SIC: Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
akta.pro primary industry: Email, Calendar & Scheduling (BPAMAMAC)

Keywords

Shift scheduling software
Time tracking software
Workforce management
HR management platform
Employee scheduling

Where Papershift is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Karlsruhe
HQ country: Germany
HQ region: Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

Papershift business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Software
Cost components: Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

Subscription (SaaS): Papershift charges a per-employee per-month fee for access to its cloud HR platform. Pricing is modular, with base functions and optional add-ons. A 14-day free trial is offered without requiring payment information.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Per seat	Monthly	Per-employee monthly subscription (modular)

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Papershift product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Papershift is a cloud-based HR software platform that provides digital shift planning (Dienstplanung), flexible time tracking (Zeiterfassung), absence management, automated payroll preparation with DATEV export, GDPR-compliant digital employee files (Digitale Personalakte), onboarding/offboarding workflows, and an AI-powered internal HR knowledge chat. The platform is sold as a modular per-employee subscription to SMBs and mid-market enterprises in shift-based industries including gastronomy, retail, healthcare, and production.

Product overview

Papershift is a cloud-based HR software platform for SMBs and enterprises, featuring a modular architecture with three core modules: Papershift Plan (scheduling), Papershift Track (time tracking), and Papershift Pulse (HR management with AI). The platform integrates scheduling, time tracking, absence management, payroll preparation, onboarding, and digital personnel files into one unified system. Add-on modules like Insights (analytics/reporting) extend functionality, while the AI-powered KI-Chat feature provides knowledge retrieval capabilities within the HR assistant.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Papershift Plan (Dienstplanung)

Quantifiable outcome

Over 200,000 users across Europe trust Papershift for scheduling and time tracking
+1 more outcomes

Companies that use Papershift

Customer profile

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Papershift technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: Yes
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability2 records

Feature9 records

Papershift partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

DATEVcoreTechnology or IntegrationDATEV integration allows payroll data (hours, shift premiums, overtime) to be automatically exported from Papershift to the DATEV payroll system, streamlining end-of-month payroll processing.
Apple (iOS App Store)coreTechnology or IntegrationPapershift's mobile time tracking app is distributed through the Apple App Store, enabling employees to record time and manage schedules on iOS devices.
Google (Google Play Store)coreTechnology or IntegrationPapershift's Android app is distributed via Google Play Store, providing Android users with mobile time tracking and schedule management capabilities.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Papershift competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Broad incumbents

Sage HR: Sage's SMB HR module covering time tracking, leave, and people management. Comparable in SMB target customer and HR scope; broader portfolio position through Sage's accounting ecosystem.
Workday: Global enterprise HR and workforce management platform. Overlaps with Papershift in scheduling and time tracking but targets large enterprises with a much broader HR/finance suite.
BambooHR: Established SMB-focused HR suite with employee records, time tracking, and PTO. Broader and more mature than Papershift but overlapping on time-tracking and core HR for similar customer segments.

Direct peers

Personio: Munich-based HR SaaS for SMBs and mid-market covering recruiting, onboarding, time tracking, and payroll. Directly competes in DACH HR tech and is even listed as an integration partner of Papershift, underscoring overlap in target customer and feature set.
Deputy: Global shift scheduling, time tracking, and workforce management SaaS serving SMB and enterprise. Comparable feature set including auto-scheduling, mobile time clock, and payroll integrations.
When I Work: US-headquartered employee scheduling and time-tracking SaaS for shift-based SMBs. Comparable product functionality (drag-and-drop scheduling, time clock, mobile app) and SMB-led GTM.
Planday: Workforce management platform owned by Xero, offering shift scheduling, time tracking, and employee engagement for shift-based industries. Comparable in vertical focus (hospitality, retail, healthcare) and SaaS delivery model.
Shiftbase: Netherlands-based shift planning and workforce management SaaS for hospitality, retail, and healthcare. Closely comparable in product scope (scheduling, time tracking, absence) and SMB/mid-market focus.
Calamari: Polish time tracking, attendance, and leave management SaaS operating across Europe. Comparable in core scope (time tracking, absence management) and SMB/mid-market positioning.
Kenjo: Berlin-based all-in-one HR platform covering time tracking, shift planning, absence, and people management. Direct DACH competitor with similar SMB-to-mid-market target and modular feature approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Papershift compliance and trust

Trust signal

Compliance1 record

Papershift financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Papershift leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Papershift funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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

Papershift M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Papershift

What does Papershift do?

Is Papershift a public or private company?

Papershift is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.

When was Papershift founded?

Papershift was founded in 2015. It employs 51 to 100 people.

Where is Papershift based?

Papershift is headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, in the Europe region.

How does Papershift make money?

One revenue line is on record: subscription (SaaS).

Who are Papershift's main competitors?

Broad incumbents on record are Sage HR, Workday and BambooHR. Direct peers are Personio, Deputy, When I Work, Planday, Shiftbase, Calamari and Kenjo.

Does Papershift have an API?

Yes. Papershift exposes a public API. Developer documentation is at developers.papershift.com.

What industry is Papershift in?

Papershift's product category is Workforce Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAMAC, Email, Calendar & Scheduling. Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 7372.