Which Scheduling Software program is Higher for Your Enterprise

At a Look: Fast Abstract

Deputy is a workforce administration device constructed for groups with extra shifting elements. It simplifies scheduling and time monitoring, and leans into automation with options like auto-scheduling and labor forecasting. It additionally offers you deeper controls for issues like labor guidelines, reporting, and multi-location scheduling. Be taught extra in our full Deputy overview.

Once I Work is a dependable but easy worker scheduling and time monitoring software program for hourly and shift-based groups. Whereas it doesn’t provide a few of the superior options you discover with Deputy, it covers the fundamentals properly and is a strong selection for small and medium-sized companies. Learn our detailed Once I Work overview to study extra. 

Pricing and Plans

On the floor, Once I Work seems to be cheaper than Deputy, however it is a basic case of “you get what you pay for.” Whereas Deputy has the next value level, it provides a broader characteristic set and gives higher worth for cash. Nonetheless, it’s disappointing that neither platform provides a free plan. 

Once I Work has a 14-day free trial, whereas Deputy provides a 10-day free trial by default. You may prolong Deputy’s free trial to 31 days by finishing just a few fundamental duties, comparable to including your corporation identify, establishing schedule guidelines, and including workforce members. 

Whereas all that sounds good, Deputy has a minimal spend of $30 on all month-to-month subscriptions. Some small companies would possibly find yourself shopping for additional seats they don’t want, resulting in wasted sources. For instance, a small workforce with 5 staff should buy one unused seat on the Lite plan.  

Professionals and Cons

The next professionals and cons provide you with a sneak peek into the strengths and weaknesses of each platforms.

Deputy Professionals ✅

• Helps labor optimization and demand forecasting. 
• Helps with complicated labor legal guidelines, comparable to predictive scheduling legal guidelines. 

Deputy Cons ❌

• Cell apps don’t have an offline mode. 
• The built-in payroll system is obtainable solely in Australia. 

Once I Work Professionals ✅

• Consumer-friendly design makes Once I Work straightforward to make use of for brand new customers. 
• Let’s you create scheduling guidelines for compliance with labor legal guidelines. 

Once I Work Cons ❌

• Pricing will be steeper for multi-location companies
• Its messaging interface seems to be dated

Use Circumstances

Though Deputy and Once I Work have practically similar characteristic units, their automations and superior options are totally different. That makes every one a greater match for various use circumstances: 

Deputy is greatest for:

• Automated scheduling: Deputy’s auto-scheduler creates full schedules from scratch, saving you hours of handbook effort. Its labor forecasting can assist you expect staffing demand primarily based on historic gross sales information, stopping each understaffing and overstaffing.  
• Efficient labor-compliance management: Deputy helps you keep compliant with break, extra time, and predictive scheduling legal guidelines, making it supreme for companies in areas with strict labor legal guidelines. 

Once I Work is greatest for:

• Fundamental time monitoring: Once I Work’s time tracker precisely tracks staff’ common hours and extra time. The principle draw back is that the app doesn’t observe complicated kinds of extra time, comparable to vacation extra time.
• Environment friendly shift scheduling: In addition to providing customary scheduling instruments, Once I Work allows you to create scheduling guidelines, comparable to relaxation between shifts, to adjust to labor legal guidelines. 

Aspect-by-Aspect Function Overview

Deputy and Once I Work each have fundamental workforce administration instruments. They differ most in how they deal with scheduling, time monitoring, and superior options. Under, I’ll spotlight the strengths and weaknesses of those platforms that will help you perceive how every works. 

Worker scheduling — Winner: Deputy

Deputy and Once I Work each make scheduling simpler with instruments like drag-and-drop scheduling, pre-built templates, and recurring shifts. We additionally favored their shift-swap instruments, which let staff shortly discover replacements once they can’t work.

Each platforms allow you to construct scheduling guidelines (like rest-between-shifts and alter controls). That issues most in Honest Workweek areas, the place last-minute modifications can set off additional necessities. Deputy has the sting right here as a result of it flags sudden schedule modifications that require predictability pay. It even calculates the right amount owed for predictability pay, which might save time throughout payroll. 

Each platforms have an automatic scheduling characteristic, however Deputy’s AI-powered auto-scheduler is stronger. Once I Work requires you to create open shifts first after which assign them. 

With Deputy, you set your staffing wants (like headcount, shift size, and begin instances), and it builds the schedule routinely, even a whole bunch of shifts directly.

Verdict: Deputy AI-powered auto-scheduler is, surely, a game-changer for managers in busy environments. Its time-saving capabilities and compliance with Honest Workweek legal guidelines give it the crown on this class. 

Time monitoring — Winner: Tie 

Deputy and Once I Work provide a number of time-tracking modes that may work properly for hourly and shift-based groups throughout industries comparable to hospitality, retail, and healthcare. Their net time trackers work flawlessly on any internet-enabled machine, making it the right match for back-office workers. 

Their cell time monitoring works properly on each Android and iOS, which is useful for groups within the subject. The draw back is that each apps want an web connection to work, so that they’re not supreme in case your workforce is usually in low-service areas.

Deputy and Once I Work even have kiosk apps that permit a number of staff clock in/out on a shared machine. That’s helpful when a number of staff begin their shifts on the identical time, or when you’ve got short-term workers who don’t need to set up an app.

The one minor distinction is that the Once I Work kiosk works solely on iOS tablets. Deputy’s kiosk app is extra versatile and might run on iPads, Android tablets, or another machine via its net model. 

Verdict: Deputy and Once I Work time monitoring choices look strong. There are minor variations, comparable to which gadgets every kiosk app helps, however neither app has an actual edge. For that reason, this class is a tie. 

Clock-in restrictions — Winner: Deputy

If you wish to enhance timesheet accuracy, simplify payroll processing, and hold labor prices in examine, select a time-tracking app with strict clock-in restrictions. The nice factor is that each Deputy and Once I Work have sturdy clock-in restrictions, however the particulars are totally different.

Once I Work prevents staff from clocking in too early, which helps forestall timecard padding. Deputy doesn’t have an analogous characteristic, however it does block staff from clocking into unscheduled shifts, a characteristic you don’t discover with Once I Work. 

Each Deputy and Once I Work use geofencing (a digital boundary round a job web site) to make sure staff can clock in solely once they arrive on the job web site. They will additionally require staff to take a selfie photograph when clocking in via the kiosk app to forestall buddy punching (when somebody clocks in for another person). That mentioned, managers must seek out buddy punchers manually, which will be ineffective for giant groups. 

Past that, Deputy can require staff to make use of facial recognition to log into the Deputy Time Clock for Android app. If the face doesn’t match, the app blocks entry. Whereas the characteristic prevents buddy punching, it could have been more practical if utilized at clock-in/out. 

Verdict: Each platforms do an important job of making certain worker timesheets are correct, however I’ve to provide it to Deputy for its biometric facial recognition. 

Break and extra time monitoring — Winner: Deputy

If compliance with extra time legal guidelines is a high precedence, each Deputy and Once I Work ship exactly what you want. Throughout testing, each apps precisely tracked extra time primarily based on the California extra time legal guidelines, together with every day, weekly, and every day double-time extra time. 

Organising extra time insurance policies is simpler on Once I Work than Deputy. However there’s a trade-off: you possibly can solely set weekly, every day, and double-time extra time. 

When you should observe complicated extra time, like vacation and seventh-consecutive-day extra time, Deputy is the higher choice. The one downside with Deputy is that it doesn’t have a chosen extra time settings tab. You may solely set extra time via the pay rule builder, which will be troublesome to make use of and is obtainable solely to Core and Professional plan subscribers.

That apart, each Deputy and Once I Work can observe paid and unpaid breaks, however fall brief in the case of imposing strict laws. For instance, neither app has an choice to trace a number of breaks for longer shifts. This may result in violations in states like California, the place labor legal guidelines require a couple of break for shifts longer than 10 hours. 

Moreover, neither device reminds staff to take breaks, which might sometimes result in missed breaks. Deputy makes up for the lacking characteristic by flagging timesheets with shorter or missed handbook breaks, however this doesn’t forestall violations. Once I Work, however, can require staff to verify they took their break on longer shifts, however it nonetheless doesn’t forestall missed breaks.

Verdict: Deputy wins by a hair, solely as a result of it helps extra superior extra time guidelines. That mentioned, each platforms have gaps in the case of imposing breaks. If break guidelines are strict the place you use, chances are you’ll must look carefully at the way you’ll deal with that. 

Paid time-off administration — Winner: Deputy

Each platforms make time-off requests and approvals straightforward, however Deputy offers you a bit extra flexibility in the way you arrange insurance policies.

Deputy allows you to create each fastened (lump sum) and hourly accrual PTO. It really works properly for companies with salaried, part-time, and/or hourly employees. Once I Work, however, helps solely hourly accruals, making it a greater match for companies with solely hourly or part-time employees. 

That mentioned, managers and staff will discover it easy to make use of each Deputy and Once I Work. I discovered it straightforward to set PTO insurance policies, and requesting time without work was youngster’s play on cell and net apps. Each even have sturdy notification methods, which hold everybody within the loop, serving to approvals transfer sooner. 

Past that, Once I Work allows you to set a minimal request discover to forestall last-minute scheduling surprises. Deputy doesn’t have an analogous characteristic, however it does will let you prohibit time-off requests on busy days. 

Verdict: Each platforms have sturdy PTO methods, however I give the win to Deputy as a result of it helps each fastened and hourly accruals.   

Job administration  — Winner: Once I Work

I wouldn’t name Deputy and Once I Work’s process administration instruments highly effective, as a result of they’re lacking a number of key options like process precedence and progress monitoring. Nonetheless, they’re a superb match for companies seeking to handle easy duties and tasks.

Whereas creating duties is simple with each platforms, Once I Work has a transparent edge as a result of it allows you to break duties into sub-tasks or checklists. I do want it could let managers assign particular person subtasks. That apart, Once I Work allows you to create recurring duties, so that you don’t must create repetitive jobs from scratch on a regular basis.  

Even higher, Once I Work allows you to hyperlink duties to shifts, so staff can simply view them on the shift card. In Deputy, duties aren’t linked to shifts, however staff can nonetheless discover assigned duties via the cell duties widget.

Verdict: Once I Work has higher process instruments and is, surely, the winner right here. Nonetheless, it might have been useful if it provided a structured view that offers managers clear visibility into who’s engaged on what, and the place every process stands. 

Workforce messaging — Winner: Deputy

Each Deputy and Once I Work have built-in communication options, however their interfaces, characteristic units, and permission controls differ. For me, Deputy has a cleaner look and a format that makes it straightforward to make use of. Compared, Once I Work’s interface seems to be dated and fewer interesting. 

With Deputy, staff can ship DMs and group messages similar to they’d on any trendy messaging app. I notably favored the message filters, which make it straightforward to search out unread, direct, and archived messages. I might additionally connect information to messages, ship voice messages, and use emojis within the net app.

Deputy’s Information Feed can be helpful for bulletins. You may put up company-wide or location-based bulletins with photographs, movies, and PDF attachments. Staff can view updates on their smartphones or through the kiosk app in the event that they clock in on a shared machine. What stood out to me is the learn receipts, which allow you to observe message supply.   

Whilst you can create one-on-one and group channels on Once I Work, sending messages seems like utilizing a clunky electronic mail consumer. It additionally doesn’t have a learn receipt characteristic, so you possibly can’t inform whether or not all staff have learn an vital replace. 

Verdict: Deputy takes the lead as a result of its messaging seems to be trendy and it’s extra highly effective. It additionally offers higher management over who can put up messages and the place. 

Payroll administration — Winner: Tie 

For payroll, each Deputy and Once I Work largely get the job executed via integrations. The concept is straightforward: observe time within the app, then ship authorized hours to your payroll supplier so that you’re not re-entering every thing by hand.

Deputy integrates with widespread payroll instruments like ADP, Gusto, Paychex, and OnPay. Once I Work additionally depends on payroll integrations and helps choices like Rippling, ADP, Gusto, Sq. Payroll, and QuickBooks.

The one clear exception is Australia. Deputy provides built-in payroll there, which provides it an actual edge if you wish to run payroll immediately in the identical system you employ for time monitoring.

Each Deputy and Once I Work additionally provide earned wage entry, which lets staff entry a portion of their earnings earlier than payday. Earned wage entry helps employees deal with emergencies and sudden bills.  

Verdict: This one’s a tie for many companies. The one place Deputy clearly wins is Australia, the place built-in payroll offers it an edge. 

Consumer Rankings

Deputy has barely higher scores than Once I Work on widespread overview websites like Capterra and G2 Crowd. For each platforms, the positives outweigh the negatives, and the general scores match what I noticed on this comparability.  

Deputy

• ⭐ 4.6/5 on Capterra (763 evaluations)
• ⭐ 4.6/5 on G2 Crowd (648 evaluations)

Once I Work

• ⭐ 4.5/5 on Capterra (1,245 evaluations)
• ⭐4.4/5 on G2 Crowd (341 evaluations)

* Assessment scores had been final checked in January 2026.

Safety & Compliance

Deputy and Once I Work cowl safety and privateness fundamentals properly. Each encrypt information in transit and at relaxation, and each provide widespread account protections. I appeared for public studies and located no safety incident or information breach linked to both Deputy or Once I Work, which is an indication that their safety measures maintain up properly.  

The next desk summarizes Deputy and Once I Work safety and compliance choices: 

Each Deputy and Once I Work examine the massive safety containers: sturdy encryption and SOC 2 compliance. So I wouldn’t decide one over the opposite on “fundamental safety.”

If enterprise safety features are an enormous issue, the actual distinction is single sign-on (SSO)—logging in via your organization account system. Deputy has the sting right here (particularly for SSO/SAML setups, relying in your plan). Once I Work helps SSO too, however it’s extra restricted and works solely on the net app.

Neither Deputy nor Once I Work is HIPAA compliant, so hold that in thoughts in case your trade requires it.  

Setup and Onboarding

It’s fairly easy to create an account and arrange a workforce in Once I Work. Its intuitive interface, mixed with simply accessible settings, simplifies the preliminary setup course of. Having key settings on one web page additionally quickens early setup. 

The largest problem is which you could’t assign sure capabilities universally (for instance, break insurance policies). Assigning breaks throughout shift creation can typically be tedious and time-consuming, primarily for giant workforces. What’s extra, some Once I Work instruments, like WorkChat, have a dated interface, which might make the expertise much less clean. 

Compared, Deputy has an intuitive interface, and extra settings will be utilized universally. This could make it straightforward to arrange in principle, however the actuality is totally different. Since Deputy contains extra superior options, its setup course of naturally takes longer, particularly for very giant groups. 

Help and Buyer Service 

If you evaluate their assist choices and response instances, Deputy clearly comes out on high. Throughout testing, Deputy resolved two tickets inside an hour every, which was spectacular. Once I Work responded in lower than 24 hours, which is quick by ticket assist requirements, however nonetheless slower than Deputy.

Each platforms have an AI assist assistant on stay chat that allows customers to get immediate assist, anytime. Past that, Deputy’s brokers can be found 24/7 on stay chat, however solely to Professional plan subscribers. Compared, Once I Work’s brokers are on-line solely throughout enterprise hours, however the choice is obtainable to all customers.

🏆 Who Wins: Deputy or Once I Work?

Deputy wins this match-up because of a broader vary of options, and these instruments carry out higher than Once I Work’s in a number of classes. It additionally gives a set of superior instruments you gained’t discover with Once I Work. That features demand forecasting, labor optimization, and stronger assist for predictive scheduling legal guidelines. 

This doesn’t imply that Once I Work is unreliable, removed from it. Once I Work is actually reliable, particularly for small groups on the lookout for a easy scheduling and time monitoring resolution.

With this in thoughts, your best option isn’t about which platform is superior, however which one meets the precise wants and preferences of your corporation. 

👉 The decision: Choose Deputy in case you run a multi-location enterprise with complicated shift guidelines and want labor forecasting and superior reporting. But when your workforce is comparatively small and scheduling is fairly simple, Once I Work suits the invoice. 

Connecteam vs. Deputy vs. Once I Work

Deputy and Once I Work are highly effective in their very own methods, however every has its personal limitations. For instance, each lack superior geofencing, real-time location monitoring, or built-in worker coaching and onboarding instruments. 

In order for you a device that mixes the very best of Deputy and Once I Work (and closes their gaps), take a look at Connecteam. A few of Connecteam’s key options embody: 

• Correct GPS time monitoring: Connecteam can seize an worker’s location once they clock in or out, so you possibly can affirm the place work began and ended. It additionally makes use of geofencing, so staff can solely clock in once they’re on the job web site. Higher but, you possibly can configure the geofence to routinely clock out staff once they depart the location. 

• Automated shift scheduling: Connecteam helps you construct good schedules in minutes with rule-based automation, shift templates, and immediate battle alerts. You may also use the AI-powered Auto-scheduler to assign a whole bunch of open shifts in seconds primarily based on worker {qualifications} and availability. 

• Actual-time location monitoring: With Connecteam’s location tracker, you possibly can see (in actual time) who’s on-site, on the way in which, or working late. You may also use geofencing to get an alert when an worker leaves a job web site and to view the turn-by-turn route an worker takes whereas clocked in. This can assist you monitor a number of job websites with out leaving your workplace. 

• Cell-first worker onboarding and coaching: With the Connecteam onboarding and coaching module, new hires full onboarding documentation and coaching from their telephones. It additionally lets frontline staff full obligatory programs at their very own tempo proper from their telephones, so that you don’t have to assemble everybody in a single room.

The icing on the cake? Connecteam is extra reasonably priced and provides higher worth to your cash than each Deputy and Once I Work. Its Small Enterprise Plan lets small companies with as much as 10 staff use all its options without spending a dime, ceaselessly. And paid plans begin at $29 monthly for 30 customers, which is lower than $1 per consumer. 

Get began with Connecteam without spending a dime!

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