TimeTagger
A time tracker that ships twice a year and spends it on self-hosters.
Comparison · HR
Jorani vs Workyard
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Jorani and Workyard — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Jorani vs Workyard: at a glance
| Feature | Jorani | Workyard |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | HR | HR |
| Velocity score | 0.0 | 6.3 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 1 |
| Top themes | hr, leave-management, self-hosted, php | construction-workforce, ai-agents, payroll-integrations, job-costing |
| Last editorial update | 1h ago | 1d ago |
| Website | Visit → | — |
What is Jorani?
A dormant leave-management app returns with an MIT relicense and a hard break from its own API
Jorani is a self-hosted leave and overtime management app built on legacy CodeIgniter PHP. After a three-year gap, v1.0.4 arrives labelled a maintenance release but is anything but conservative: it relicenses from AGPL to MIT, moves the repository to a new organization, and deletes the Basic Auth REST API, the client-side password encryption layer and MySQL 5.7 support. The database schema is untouched, so the disruption is entirely in licensing, packaging and interfaces rather than data.
What is Workyard?
Workyard's AI assistant is absorbing pre-payroll cleanup while its ERP connectors multiply.
Workyard is shipping on two tracks at once. The Time Assistant, introduced at the end of June, has grown from batch clock-time edits into reading worker notes and reallocating hours across projects and cost codes — always proposing, never saving without approval. In parallel, the export layer keeps widening: QuickBooks Online time off, QuickBooks Desktop and NetSuite expense transactions, and a full two-way Acumatica integration, plus auto-top-up on the expense-card checking balance.
Jorani vs Workyard: editorial side-by-side
Jorani
0.0HR
A dormant leave-management app returns with an MIT relicense and a hard break from its own API
◆ Current state
Jorani is a self-hosted leave and overtime management app built on legacy CodeIgniter PHP. After a three-year gap, v1.0.4 arrives labelled a maintenance release but is anything but conservative: it relicenses from AGPL to MIT, moves the repository to a new organization, and deletes the Basic Auth REST API, the client-side password encryption layer and MySQL 5.7 support. The database schema is untouched, so the disruption is entirely in licensing, packaging and interfaces rather than data.
◆ Where it's heading
The long arc is a small project shedding weight. Releases through 2017 filled in the workflow model — cancellation states, SSO, mandatory rejection comments, a steady stream of translations. Version 1.0.0 in 2020 rebuilt the leave-balance engine and documented an OpenAPI surface, and the two releases since have been almost entirely security and PHP-version compatibility. v1.0.4 continues by removing rather than adding, including the very API 1.0.0 had documented, and folds the old tree under a legacy/ directory — which reads as groundwork for a replacement rather than a destination.
◆ Prediction
The legacy/ layout and the withdrawn REST API point to a new API and a non-legacy codebase as the next move; the entries don't indicate on what stack, or when.
Workyard
6.3HR
Workyard's AI assistant is absorbing pre-payroll cleanup while its ERP connectors multiply.
◆ Current state
Workyard is shipping on two tracks at once. The Time Assistant, introduced at the end of June, has grown from batch clock-time edits into reading worker notes and reallocating hours across projects and cost codes — always proposing, never saving without approval. In parallel, the export layer keeps widening: QuickBooks Online time off, QuickBooks Desktop and NetSuite expense transactions, and a full two-way Acumatica integration, plus auto-top-up on the expense-card checking balance.
◆ Where it's heading
Both tracks point at the same place: owning the handoff between the field and the back office. The connector work removes re-keying on the way out; the Time Assistant removes the click-by-click review on the way in. What is notable is how much judgment the assistant is being trusted with — it started with rounding rules, now it interprets free-text notes and moves cost attribution, which is the data job costing depends on.
◆ Prediction
The assistant's next step is likely the approval and exception path itself, and the connector template that produced Acumatica, NetSuite, and both QuickBooks targets looks set to add more ERP destinations.
Alternatives to Jorani and Workyard
Other HR products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Jorani or Workyard.
Wagepoint
Wagepoint's news is its accountant channel, not its software
Ever Gauzy
Ever Gauzy turned its dashboard into a composable canvas, then filled it with 47 widgets in a week.
iCIMS
iCIMS publishes labor-market research on a cadence its product changelog never matches.
Zelt
UK HR and payroll software running a pure search-acquisition feed
Teamtailor
An ATS opening its pipeline to AI assistants while screening moves into every stage
See all Jorani alternatives → · See all Workyard alternatives →
Recent activity from Jorani and Workyard
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2d agoWorkyardForm submissions now go to the right person - automatically
- 3d agoWorkyardFix project and cost code time right in AI Time Assistant
- 6d agoWorkyardInclude time off in your QuickBooks Online export
- 9d agoWorkyardAcumatica integration: sync your jobs and export payroll-ready time
- 14d agoWorkyardExport expense transactions to QuickBooks Desktop
- 14d agoWorkyardTime Assistant now turns your crew's notes into ready-to-approve edits ⚡
- 3mo agoJoraniSecurity and PHP8.5 support ⚡
- 3y agoJoraniSecurity and PHP8.2 compat release (No DB Patch)
- 5y agoJoraniJorani 1.0 revamps leave balances and documents a Swagger API
- 8y agoJoraniJorani 0.6.5 adds Portuguese and Arabic translations
- 8y agoJoraniJorani 0.6.4 fixes leave transitions and broken ICS feeds
- 8y agoJoraniJorani 0.6.3 adds Greek and mandatory rejection comments
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Jorani and Workyard?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Workyard is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Jorani better than Workyard?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Workyard is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other HR products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Jorani?
Top Jorani alternatives in HR are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Jorani alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/jorani for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Workyard?
Top Workyard alternatives in HR are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Workyard alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/workyard for the full list with editorial commentary on each.