TimetableMaster

TimetableMaster is a scheduling platform for schools, colleges and universities that combines timetable building with absence cover, leave, calendars and student course choices. It is most compelling for institutions with complicated room, staffing or elective requirements that want those processes connected. The principal caution is operational: SIS updates remain a school-side import task, and useful timetable exports sit behind a paid plan.

Overview

The automatic generator works around teacher availability, room capacity, building transitions and workload limits, then provides a drag-and-drop editor for human adjustments. That combination is better suited to busy, constraint-heavy schedules than a simple period grid. Conflict detection, teacher and room constraints, student-group scheduling and multi-campus support broaden its fit.

TimetableMaster also covers the work that follows timetable creation. It ranks cover teachers by subject familiarity, free time and cover already assigned that week, and can assign and notify a substitute in one click. Staff can request full or half days off; approved leave is fed into cover planning. Its calendar accommodates holidays, exams, events and activities.

Key features

Student choices and SIS workflow

For IB schools, colleges and universities, the student-choice workflow collects course preferences, creates sections, assigns faculty and rooms, and produces conflict-free individual schedules. Dedicated integrations cover Veracross, PowerSchool, ManageBac and SchoolBase; other systems can exchange CSV or Excel files. TimetableMaster creates an import file for the school’s own SIS importer rather than writing directly to the SIS or holding third-party write access to student data. That preserves institutional control, but it leaves the final loading step with administrators.

Security and support

The platform says data is encrypted in transit and at rest, uses role-based access and is GDPR compliant. Its privacy policy says personal information is not sold or rented, and Google Workspace API data is not used for AI or machine-learning training without explicit consent. Pro provides email, WhatsApp and video-call support; Max adds premium support and a dedicated relationship manager.

Pricing

TimetableMaster uses a freemium model with a free trial, but there is no free plan. Each school can try Pro for 10 days without a credit card. If no plan is chosen after the trial, the account is locked. PDF and Excel timetable downloads require a paid plan, so the trial is principally for evaluating the workflow rather than maintaining export access.

Pro includes unlimited timetable generation and unlimited users and staff members, subject to a fair-use policy. The pricing page presents the price as custom pricing, so schools should seek a quote. Max is aimed at colleges, universities and advanced high schools needing electives, individual course selection, qualified-teacher matching or room optimization; its price is also custom pricing. Pro is the sensible fit for a school needing broad scheduling and cover tools, while Max is the stronger case for higher-education complexity and enhanced support.

Platforms

TimetableMaster runs on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows and the web, and provides 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

Schools managing staff absence, room constraints and recurring calendar commitments can use Pro as a central scheduling workspace. Max is better aligned with colleges, universities and advanced high schools where electives, student-level choices, teacher qualification matching or room optimization drive the schedule. Institutions wanting direct SIS write-back, offline desktop use or no-cost timetable exports should look elsewhere.

Pros and cons

Pro: Constraint-aware automatic generation handles teacher, room, transition and workload rules.

Pro: Substitute ranking combines subject fit, availability and weekly cover load, with one-click assignment and notification.

Pro: Student choices, sections, faculty and rooms can produce individual conflict-free schedules.

Pro: Dedicated SIS integrations and file exchange cover common school data routes while retaining school-side control.

Con: PDF and Excel downloads require a paid plan, limiting the practical value of a no-cost evaluation.

Con: The SIS connection stops at an import file, so staff must complete the importer step themselves.

Con: Desktop use is online-only for now, which is a poor fit for unreliable connectivity.

Alternatives

Choose Peñalara GHC if a freemium option with a free plan and Android, iOS, web and Windows support is more important. Prime Timetable suits buyers wanting a paid product with a 0.00 USD evaluation plan, premium support and a 30-day trial. Pick aSc Timetables when an unlimited trial is preferable, accepting that export is unavailable during the trial.

Untis is an alternative for institutions prepared to request sales-led pricing for WebUntis and its modules. UniTime is the clearest choice for free, open-source, self-hosted deployment, with commercial support available for a fee. SchoolGrid fits a web-only evaluation with a free annual plan for one school and a 30-day scheduling and publishing period. FET is appropriate when entirely free Linux, macOS or Windows software and no stated usage limits are the priority. GC Education Analytics K–12 Master Scheduler is a web-based free-beta alternative for K–12 scheduling.

Verdict

TimetableMaster is a strong choice for schools and higher-education institutions that need one system for constraint-heavy timetables, absence cover and student course scheduling. Its main reason to choose it is the breadth of connected scheduling workflows; its main reason to look elsewhere is the paid export requirement and manual SIS-import boundary.