MasterSchedule.app vs TimetableMaster

MasterSchedule.app helps K–12 schools build and check a master course schedule before moving it into a student information system (SIS). Its visual grid assigns courses to teachers and periods, and a guided Excel walkthrough imports a course catalog and teacher roster. Real-time checks flag teacher double-bookings and scheduling gaps. Schools can create requirement groups that inherit base requirements, allowing subgroups such as honors, IEP, or ELL to extend them. The validator checks requirements for each student type, and finished schedules can be exported for an SIS or records system. Listed data exchange includes Excel import and CSV export; an SIS connection is not required. The web app is intended for school staff and, according to its privacy policy, does not create student accounts or collect students’ personal information. The site describes school data as isolated by tenant, role-based access, a five-year audit log, and automatic data expiry. The School Plan costs $100 a year, billed per school per year. The pricing page says a trial will be available at the School Plan launch.

TimetableMaster generates school timetables and handles substitutions, staff 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 staff are absent, it ranks possible cover teachers using subject familiarity, availability and existing cover workload; it can assign and notify a substitute in one click. Staff can request full or half days off, and approved leave feeds into cover planning. Calendars include holidays, exams, events and activities. The student-choice module gathers course preferences, creates sections, assigns faculty and rooms, and produces conflict-free schedules for individual students. Integrations include Veracross, PowerSchool, ManageBac and SchoolBase; other systems can exchange CSV or Excel files. TimetableMaster generates an import file for a school's SIS importer rather than writing directly into the SIS. A Pro trial runs for 10 days without a credit card, but PDF and Excel timetable downloads require a paid plan. The desktop app requires an internet connection; offline mode is described as coming soon.