When it comes to digital scheduling solutions, Deputy is a name that often comes up, yet it’s far from the only option. For HR leaders that want the best tools for the job, it’s important to make the right decisions.
To help you find the right tool for your needs, whether it’s to save time, more easily calculate costs or simply improve overall efficiency, we’ve compiled a list of the top alternatives to Deputy’s employee scheduling software.
What should you seek from Deputy alternatives?
In this guide, we will be considering a number of key criteria, based on the key needs of HR teams and other shift organizers in typical businesses. Listing every feature would take far too long, so we’ve used this methodology to focus on the critical factors that each tool has to offer in the area of employee scheduling.
Time tracking & adaptability
All employee scheduling software can help set work calendars, but we also need to consider the additional time tracking capabilities of each. How effectively do the best Deputy alternatives help you in tracking the time of each employee, ensuring schedules and shifts are fully filled? We’ve considered how effectively these solutions help manage your team when you need to, for example, swap shifts or expand a shift with little notice.
Hourly employees and labor costs
Similarly, it’s also important to consider labor costs when scheduling staff with hourly contracts and rates. The best employee scheduling software will offer seamless payroll integrations and additional features to help calculate – and optimize – costs in real time.
Task management & additional features
When it comes to human resources, it’s hard to find an all in one solution for every niche need. However, many of the Deputy alternatives on this list offer a range of additional services connected to employee scheduling. These additional features, such as performance management, team communication or project management capabilities, are still worth noting, as they can be of good use for team leaders and HR staff alike.
Movo
Our own answer to workforce management software, Movo has over 70,000 monthly users. As a platform, it enables employees to clock in and out digitally via a cloud based system. HR teams can then make use of the custom reporting to assess the efficiency of teams, as well as ensure shifts are easily filled.
Key features
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- Automatic scheduling: Based on your criteria and worker availability, Movo can update schedules in real time, filling shifts automatically for a full work schedule.
- Automatic substitutions: Similarly, Movo can automatically recommend replacement workers when shifts need to be filled, greatly eliminating one of the major challenges of workforce management.
- Labor forecasting: Movo can also help you predict upcoming workforce requirements, helping you plan ahead.
- Digital clocking in: Thanks to the app, workers can clock on via their mobile devices.
- Time tracking: Movo’s time tracking solutions also includes anti-time-fraud features to ensure the accuracy of time management in your organization.
- Reporting & analytics: Summarize workforce management with analytical graphics for deep insights, from total hours worked to data on individual teams and shifts.
Additional support
In addition to time and schedule managing software, Movo also provides an inbuilt learning management system, helping employees to take advantage of any internal training and development opportunities. This, combined with a greater level of automation, provides HR teams with a self service tool to do much of the heavy lifting in day to day tasks. Reporting, scheduling and remote monitoring are all taken care of
Buddypunch
Buddy Punch is the type of time management software that focuses around fulfilling one need, and fulfilling it well. Many of its features focus specifically around tracking employees, both in and out of the office, with integrations to help HR pay employees accordingly.
Key features
- Time tracking: Buddy Punch can help leaders and Human Resources teams to manage the time of their employees, ensuring schedules are kept.
- Digital clocking in: For ease of time tracking, employees can clock in on both the desktop program or through the accompanying mobile app.
- Notifications: A simple feature, but a welcome one. Buddypunch’s push notifications alert workers to changes in the schedule, when new shifts are about to start and when they haven’t clocked in on time.
- Employee monitoring tools: Buddy Punch boasts a range of features, from GPS tracking to monitoring individual tasks, to help track employees productivity inline with their time.
Additional support
In addition to time tracking, Buddy Punch integrates with most popular payroll services and, additionally, also offers its own built in solution as well. This helps automate the process of calculating labor costs and paying hourly employees. Overall, it’s a very user-friendly alternative to Deputy if a digital time clock is your top priority.
When I Work
A popular option amongst managers, When I Work is another user-friendly solution that focuses specifically on helping management keep control of schedules and the associated time tracking duties.
Key features
- Time tracking: With both a desktop platform and accompanying mobile app, employees can easily clock in and out.
- Shift scheduling: When I Work shines when it comes to managing demand, as employees can request extra work directly in the app, helping to fill open shifts in the schedule.
- Overtime alerts: With When I Work, schedulers receive alerts if their schedule puts employees into overtime, helping teams to not only track time, but save on labor costs where possible, too.
Additional support
In addition to its time clock and scheduling features, When I Work also enables communication between employees, both within a team and across the company. As an added bonus, this supports many of the existing features, such as swapping shifts, helping users to organize amongst themselves.
Connecteam
With a focus on time sheets and shift reviews, Connecteam has a wide enough array of features that help it stand out as one of the best Deputy alternatives for smaller businesses that need something a little more than just basic employee scheduling software.
Key features
- Time tracking: Connecteam’s digital clock also comes with GPS tracking, recording both when and where they start their work.
- Time sheets: Conencteam compiles information from schedules and gives leaders accurate insights into shift fulfillment.
- Free tier: For small businesses, a free plan is available. It’s limited in scope, but it’s a good chance to try it out as a Deputy alternative.
- Notifications: Receive alerts when employees start their shifts late, or submit a PTO request. This helps keep most shift related activity within the platform.
Additional support
Like When I Work, Connecteam also has built in communication features, as well as forms, checklists and surveys. In short, it’s a more robust tool for wider management needs, with greater access to task management for project or shift leaders. As such, Connecteam can find a home not only amongst shift based workforces, but also typical office life.
OnTheClock
A simple employee scheduling software solution, OnTheClock focuses on time tracking and schedule reporting above all else. Human Resources will find this an effective tool for most of their day to day needs, freeing up plenty of time to focus on other tasks.
Key features
- Time tracking: Like most Deputy alternatives, OnTheClock also features a mobile digital clock for starting and ending shifts, complete with GPS tracking.
- Shift scheduling: OnTheClock is a robust shift scheduling tool, allowing shifts to be allocated in various locations, teams and projects. For companies where employees have a lot of roles, this is a valuable addition.
- Absence tracking: OnTheClock also lets leaders track time off for each employee, helping to stay compliant with vacations and other employee needs directly within the platform.
Additional support
While it might seem simple on the outside, OnTheClock has enough little features to greatly improve quality of life. For example, in addition to popular integrations for payroll software, leaders can restrict when employees are able to log in, helping to stop hourly employees working unwarranted overtime. It’s these extra touches that make OnTheClock a considerable option. That being said, its pricing plan is per employee, so enterprises will quickly find the costs jumping up.
HubStaff
A task management tool at its heart, HubStaff offers a wealth of time tracking and employee scheduling tools to meet any needs. However, its biggest strengths may lie in calculating labor costs and tracking the schedules of hourly employees.
Key features
- Time tracking: With digital clocks, a supporting mobile app and even GPS tracking, HubStaff’s basic time features meet most workforce management needs.
- Shift scheduling: HubStaff also lets leaders set shift limits, repeat schedules, swap shifts and plan workloads with ease.
- Overtime tracker: With alerts and notifications, leaders can set limits and make sure they don’t go over.
- Project costs calculator: Alongside reports and analytics, HubStaff can track billable hours and calculate the costs of ongoing projects.
Additional support
HubStaff is something of a mixed bag. On one hand, it lacks some of the advanced employee self service features seen elsewhere, such as letting workers swap shifts amongst themselves. On the other hand, it has a wider range of task management support, including a handy habit tracker, that are great performance management tools for more diverse teams.
Paymo
More than a solution for clocking in, Paymo offers a range of tools for helping to track projects, employees and larger work goals. That said, it’s not lacking in finer details either, making it a viable alternative to Deputy for leaders and workers alike.
Key features
- Time tracking: Alongside the typical digital clock, Paymo also offers a desktop app that tracks which programs are being used, and for how long, alongside a pomodoro tracker for employees.
- Shift scheduling: Paymo’s calendar is clean and easy to use, combining both project timelines and worker schedules in one clear view.
- Project management: With built-in Kanban board support, Paymo goes beyond most time tracking tools, with advanced task management features for project leaders.
- Free tier: While limited in scope, Paymo’s free plan does mean teams can test it out as a viable Deputy alternative without having to pay upfront.
Additional support
Outside of time and task management, project leaders have a wealth of options. Invoicing, for example, is ideal for any business that does a lot of billable work. Combined with the various project tools and team communication tools, Paymo is a tool that can find a home in project-heavy businesses.
BrightHR
A rather admin-heavy alternative to Deputy, BrightHR is a powerful tool for HR departments that need to manage large teams. It has an array of features, from time and shift planning to document handling, designed to make day to day paperwork as easy as possible.
Key features
- Time tracking: Clocking in and off, as well as taking breaks, are all tracked in BrightHR’s app. Late employees are also alerted when they fail to start shifts on time.
- Shift scheduling: Alongside typical expectations in scheduling and reporting, BrightHR also lets leaders select which employees are eligible for additional open shifts, which the platform then notifies when shifts become available.
- Overtime tracker: BrightHR tracks over time, alerts leaders and also lets the latter choose between paying the extra hours or offering time in lieu.
- Expense tracker: By taking photos of receipts, BrightHR lets staff track expenses directly in the app, which is handy for businesses that have a lot of traveling or remote teams.
Additional support
Uniquely on this list of Deputy alternatives, BrightHR offers 24/7 employment law advice. This level of customer support may be useful for small businesses that lack such in-house experts, or even enterprises that want to save costs but keep options open for potential legal or compliance issues. Naturally, this may be limited to BrightHR’s selected regions. However, its powerful integrations and additional features make a considerable option for managers anywhere.
7 Shifts
One of the best Deputy alternatives for restaurants and hospitality, 7 Shifts has a few tricks up its sleeve that other time or task management solutions lack. While this comes at the cost of some more advanced workforce management features, it’s still a reputable and considerable choice for small businesses with diverse team needs.
Key features
- Time tracking: With a companion app for clocking in, 7 Shifts offers a simple and effective means of keeping an eye on fulfilled hours.
- Shift scheduling: As the name implies, 7 Shifts prioritizes employee scheduling.
- Compliance: 7 Shifts notifies employees when they need to take mandatory breaks, helping companies stay compliant in real time.
- Tip pooling: With a range of customized rules, 7 Shifts can split tips from a given night, with options for controlling which roles receive which percentage from the shift.
Additional support
While it’s primarily an employee scheduling tool, 7 Shifts also includes support for hiring processes, as well as shift performance reviews with individuals. If you’re willing to put the work in, it also supports training videos and other additional needs, making it a valuable tool for recruiters or self-run small businesses.
Planday
If employee scheduling is your key concern, Planday is a suitable option. Users will quickly realize that it prioritizes the needs of managers, but it nonetheless has enough usability and robustness to help the wider team in planning their work weeks.
Key features
- Time tracking: With an app for clocking in, Planday offers time tracking support like all solutions, but this is further supported with intuitive dashboards on weekly, fortnightly and monthly levels, straight out of the box.
- Shift scheduling: Planday offers some advanced scheduling options, from cost calculations to saving a predefined template, which the platform then helps you match as closely as possible.
- Absence management: With vacation and other time off requests taking place within the app, Planday becomes an all in one solution for general shift planning.
Additional support
Alongside employee communication tools and payroll integrations, Planday has everything HR teams need for employee scheduling. It might lack any detailed task management but, as its name suggests, this isn’t its core audience. Team leaders and HR heads will find Planday a suitable option, while small businesses will also find it a cost effective choice for a very specific need.
Finding the right Deputy alternative for you
The above options represent the very top Deputy alternatives from a very diverse market. There’s no easy answer: some tools are suited to larger businesses and multiple teams, while others focus on the specific needs of HR managers. All of them, however, offer excellent scheduling options.
If you need a digital clock, a schedule that’s easy to plan and automated notifications for employees, each option here will help you. We advise you to look at the more unique features and consider your own needs in mind.
