TimetableMaster

TimetableMaster generates school timetables and supports staff substitutions, leave, calendars and student course choices. Its generator places lessons around teacher availability, room capacity, building transitions and workload limits, with a drag-and-drop editor for changes. When a staff member is absent, it ranks possible cover teachers by subject familiarity, availability and cover already assigned that week; users can assign and notify a substitute in one click. Staff may request full or half days off, and approved leave is factored into cover planning. The calendar can include holidays, exams, events and activities. For student course selection, the system gathers preferences, creates sections, assigns faculty and rooms, then builds conflict-free schedules for individual students. It integrates directly with Veracross, PowerSchool, ManageBac and SchoolBase; other systems can exchange CSV or Excel files. TimetableMaster creates a file for the school to load through its own SIS importer rather than writing to the SIS. It is available on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, web and API. A 10-day Pro trial requires no credit card; timetable PDF and Excel downloads require a paid plan.

TimetableMaster combines timetable creation with cover planning, leave management and student course scheduling. Check its paid-download requirement and SIS import workflow against your school’s needs.

It is presented for schools, colleges and universities, including institutions that need student course selection or elective scheduling. Schools should note that it prepares SIS import files rather than writing directly into their system.

TimetableMaster is a scheduling platform for schools, colleges and universities that combines timetable construction with staff cover, leave and student course choices. It suits institutions with complex rooms, teacher workloads or electives to coordinate. The main qualification is commercial and operational: exporting a timetable requires a paid plan, while the desktop app remains internet-dependent.

Overview

Automatic scheduling places lessons around teacher availability, room capacity, building changes and workload limits, then gives administrators a drag-and-drop editor for corrections. Conflict detection, teacher and room constraints, student-group scheduling and multi-campus support make it broader than a timetable-only tool. That breadth is valuable when one team manages the academic timetable and daily staffing, but schools wanting a simple offline desktop scheduler may find the current connection requirement restrictive.

TimetableMaster is presented for schools, colleges and universities, with advanced high schools, colleges and universities the clearest fit when students choose individual courses. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, with role-based access; the privacy policy says personal information is not sold or rented and that Google Workspace API data is not used to train AI or machine-learning models without explicit consent. The service states that it is GDPR compliant.

Key features

Scheduling and editing

The generator handles several real-world constraints simultaneously, including room capacity and movement between buildings. A visual editor lets staff resolve exceptions after automation, an important safeguard when institutional rules change or a generated result needs human judgment.

Cover, leave and calendars

For an absence, potential cover teachers are ranked by subject familiarity, free time and cover already assigned during the week. Staff can request full or half days off, and approved leave flows into cover planning; one-click assignment and notification shorten the response to an absence. The calendar incorporates holidays, examinations, events and activities, keeping operational dates alongside the timetable.

Student course choices and integrations

The student-choice workflow gathers preferences, creates sections, assigns faculty and rooms, and produces conflict-free schedules for individual students. It is particularly relevant to IB schools and institutions with electives. Dedicated integrations cover Veracross, PowerSchool, ManageBac and SchoolBase. Other systems use CSV or Excel import and export. TimetableMaster creates an import file for the school’s own SIS importer rather than writing directly to the SIS, so the school retains the final data-load step and there is no third-party write access to student data.

Pricing

TimetableMaster uses a freemium model, but there is no free plan. Each school can try Pro for 10 days without a credit card. After the trial, the account is locked unless a plan is selected, and PDF and Excel timetable downloads require a paid plan.

Pro includes unlimited timetable generation and unlimited users and staff members, subject to a fair-use policy. Its pricing page presents the pricing details as loading, so expect custom pricing rather than a published figure. Pro includes email, WhatsApp and video-call support and is the sensible starting point for schools that need the core scheduling, cover and leave workflows without advanced institutional requirements.

Max is aimed at colleges, universities and advanced high schools needing electives or individual student course selections, qualified-teacher matching or room optimization. It adds premium support and a dedicated relationship manager. The plan’s price is custom, and the paid-download requirement still matters when evaluating the trial.

Platforms

TimetableMaster is offered on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, the web and an API. The desktop app currently requires an internet connection; offline mode and built-in update notifications are planned rather than current capabilities.

Who it's for

Choose it when a school wants one system for constrained timetable generation, absence cover, leave, institutional calendars and student course scheduling. Max is the stronger match for higher education and advanced secondary programs with many individual pathways. It is less suitable for teams that require offline desktop work, direct SIS write-back or a permanently free edition.

Pros and cons

• Pros: broad scheduling scope connects timetable, cover and leave workflows; constraint handling includes rooms, workloads and building transitions; student-course scheduling supports electives and conflict-free individual timetables; multiple SIS integrations plus CSV and Excel exchange; role-based access and stated GDPR compliance.
• Cons: there is no free plan; PDF and Excel downloads are paywalled; the 10-day Pro trial ends in account lockout without a plan choice; SIS changes require a school-run import; desktop use needs an internet connection; Pro’s unlimited usage is subject to fair use.

Alternatives

Peñalara GHC is worth considering if you want a freemium education scheduler with a free plan and trial across Android, iOS, web and Windows.

Prime Timetable fits buyers comparing a paid product that offers a free evaluation plan, a 30-day trial and support across desktop, mobile and web platforms.

aSc Timetables is an option for a paid timetable product with an unlimited free trial, although exporting is unavailable during that trial.

Untis suits institutions seeking a modular WebUntis package priced through a sales request.

GC Education Analytics K–12 Master Scheduler is a web-based free beta for elementary, middle and high schools.

SchoolGrid offers a free annual plan for one school with a 30-day scheduling and publishing evaluation.

UniTime is free open-source software with commercial support available for a fee, including self-hosted and API-capable platforms.

FET is free scheduling software for Linux, macOS and Windows with no stated usage limits.

Verdict

TimetableMaster is a strong choice for schools and higher-education institutions that need timetable automation tied to cover, leave and student course selection. Its main reason to choose it is the connected workflow and wide constraint support; its main reason to look elsewhere is the paid-download gate, custom pricing and lack of direct SIS write-back or offline desktop operation.