Deputy is an all-in-one employee scheduling, time-clock and workforce communication tool used by managers, employers and staff alike to track payable hours with ease. The app offers more than a basic scheduling tool, with additional capabilities that include task management and performance appraisal. The time and attendance features of Deputy offer a more efficient way for staff to clock-in and out of locations and submit their worked hours, while it offers managers a single platform to manage time-off, payroll and performance.
Through Deputy’s rostering tool, managers and employers can create weekly rosters in a few simple clicks. The roster allows you to create several shifts, and offers automatic recommendations of available staff members for each shift. Rosters can be published on the app, emailed, sent by text or printed out. By using either the Deputy app for smartphones, or the Deputy Kiosk tool for iPad, employees can clock-in and out of their shifts. Deputy offers a face-recognition tool, along with a geo-location tool to log the location of employees clocking in through their smartphones.
After employees log their hours, timesheets are automatically created and sent to management for approval. Deputy’s integrations with a number of payroll solutions mean approved timesheets can be sent directly to these apps for payment processing. Deputy can also be used by staff members to communicate with one another – sharing important work news, giving feedback and sending reminders. Staff and managers can also create tasks and assign tasks to others. Through an employee performance log and reporting widgets, Deputy provides insight into how scheduling is impacting revenue.
What is the history and popularity of the app?
Deputy was founded in 2008 by Steve Shelley and Ashik Ahmed, who originally launched the app as a scheduling solution for an Australian airline ground services company. The company’s mission is to provide a scheduling solution for shift-based businesses in any industry to helps eliminate miss-communication and poor organization. The app’s users currently cover many industries, from hospitality to healthcare, and it is used by businesses of all sizes.
What are the differences to other apps?
Unlike more basic scheduling tools, Deputy offers a number of additional features to remove communication barriers among staff and management. The app allows its users to make announcements to team members, sharing thoughts and comments, posting reminders and creating/ assigning tasks. The Journaling tool helps management keep a log of their best employees by taking notes in the app on how that employee is performing. The reporting tools offered by Deputy allow you to view scheduling performance through visual graphs, such as rostered hour’s vs actual hours worked, as well as to see an overview of staff availability and leave requests.
How does the web app look and feel to use?
Deputy offers a familiar black, white and blue interface, with 5 main headers accessible form the homepage: Rostering, Timesheets, Tasks, People and Reports. From the home screen, you can see a live feed of announcements and all employee locations. For employees, Deputy offers both a desktop and mobile app that gives a summary of who’s working when, comments from team members, and pending tasks. Employees can stop and start a time clock by clicking bright yellow and red buttons. Managers can create and publish rosters in 3 steps. The rostering dashboard shows a summary of all filed shifts, hours, costs, expected sales and wages vs sales.
How does the registration process work?
What does it cost to use the application?
Deputy is offered through three separate pricing plans. The “Starter” pack is offered for free and facilitates 10 employees and 1 location. The “Premium” pack costs $1 per person per week and caters for unlimited numbers of employees and locations. The Flexi pack costs $2 per person per week for “active users” and is offered for free for “inactive users”. Active users are classified as those who have a shift assigned to them, or have submitted a timesheet for that given week.
Who would you recommend the application to?
Deputy is a scheduling, time & attendance, and staff communication tool rolled into one. The app meets the needs of any business who employs shift workers working non-fixed hours, and with timetables that change regularly. The type of users Deputy currently serves include those in the hospitality, retail, security, healthcare, construction, services and entertainment industries. The app is used by business of all sizes, from 15 to 1000+ employees.
Deputy Features
- Create weekly rosters for all available staff and send them to the app, by email or text message
- Use the mobile app to find replacements, assign tasks, write performance notes and track time
- Use the smartphone app or Deputy Kiosk for iPad to clock-in and out, with face-recognition and geo-location
- Manage payroll with automatic timesheet creation and payroll integration with Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks and Excel
- Create tasks and assign them to employees. With notifications when tasks are completed
- Send announcement and share message with specific locations or across the entire business
- Generate reports on staff performance, revenue and scheduling discrepancies