Deputy vs When I Work
time & attendance head-to-head for ERP teams: evidenced capabilities, published pricing, and which ERPs each actually integrates with.
| Starting price | From $5/user/mo (published) | From $2.50/user/mo (published) |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud |
| Company size | Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise | SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Stated ERP integrations | NetSuite, QuickBooks, Xero | QuickBooks |
| Vendor | Deputy | When I Work |
Our take
Where Deputy leads
- Stronger evidenced coverage on 13 of the 30 capabilities where they differ (led by kiosk / shared-device clock-in and biometric verification (face/fingerprint)).
- Stated NetSuite, Xero integration the alternative doesn't list.
Where When I Work leads
- Stronger evidenced coverage on 17 of the 30 capabilities where they differ (led by photo capture at punch and exception detection & alerts).
- A lower published starting rate ($2.5 vs $5 per user/mo).
Where they differ
The 30 capabilities (of 54 in the time & attendance taxonomy) where the evidence separates them, biggest gaps first. “Not evidenced” means our research found no public documentation of this capability — the vendor may still offer it. Confirm on a demo.
| Capability | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kiosk / shared-device clock-inTime Capture & Punch Methods | Core strength | Not evidenced |
| Biometric verification (face/fingerprint)Time Capture & Punch Methods | Core strength Biometric clock-in verification | Not evidenced |
| Photo capture at punchTime Capture & Punch Methods | Not evidenced | Core strength Photo verification at clock-in to prevent buddy punching |
| Exception detection & alertsTimesheets & Pay Rules | Not evidenced | Core strength Real-time overtime and max-hours warnings |
| Multi-jurisdiction / union pay-rule engineTimesheets & Pay Rules | Core strength Award interpretation and pay rule automation | Not evidenced |
| Reusable shift templatesScheduling | Not evidenced | Core strength Reusable schedule templates applied to any week |
| Predictive scheduling / Fair Workweek complianceCompliance & Labor Law | Core strength Fair Workweek / predictive scheduling compliance | Not evidenced |
| Buddy-punching prevention controlsLocation & Fraud Prevention | Partial Biometric clock-in verification serves this; no dedicated feature name | Core strength Photo verification at clock-in explicitly to prevent buddy punching |
| Timesheet submission & approval workflowTimesheets & Pay Rules | Core strength Timesheet auto-approval | Partial Edit logs on digital timesheets imply review; no explicit approval workflow documented |
| Drag-and-drop schedule builderScheduling | Core strength | Partial One-click auto scheduling; no explicit drag-and-drop builder documented |
| Absence & attendance analyticsLeave & Absence Management | Not evidenced | Supported 24-hour callout reporting (Pro and Premium plans) |
| Budgeted vs. actual hours trackingLabor Costing & Job Tracking | Partial Covered via labor budgeting and cost forecasting dashboards | Core strength Real-time scheduled-vs-budgeted hours comparison |
| Multi-country labor law coverageCompliance & Labor Law | Supported Award interpretation (AU/NZ) plus Fair Workweek (US) compliance coverage | Not evidenced |
| Audit trail & policy-violation logsCompliance & Labor Law | Not evidenced | Supported Digital timesheets with edit logs |
| Union / collective bargaining agreement supportCompliance & Labor Law | Supported Award interpretation covers enterprise/union agreement pay rules | Not evidenced |
| Standard reports & exportsWorkforce Analytics & Reporting | Not evidenced | Supported Labor cost reporting by job, role or location |
| Public API & webhooksPlatform & Integrations | Not evidenced | Supported API key access and webhooks on the Premium plan |
| ERP general ledger postingPlatform & Integrations | Supported Pushes approved timesheets into NetSuite for payroll | Not evidenced |
| GeofencingLocation & Fraud Prevention | Supported | Core strength Blocks early or off-site clock-ins |
| Automatic timesheet calculationTimesheets & Pay Rules | Supported Real-time attendance tracking feeding auto-approved timesheets | Core strength Digital timesheets with edit logs |
| Overtime & premium pay calculationTimesheets & Pay Rules | Core strength | Supported Real-time overtime alerts and max-hours warnings |
| Demand-based / forecasted schedulingScheduling | Core strength Demand forecasting | Supported Custom unit forecasting (Pro and Premium plans) |
| Shift swap & open-shift self-serviceScheduling | Supported Shift swapping and replacement | Core strength Shift trades and OpenShifts for self-service pickup |
| Leave request & approval workflowLeave & Absence Management | Supported | Core strength Time-off request submission and manager approval |
| Job / task / project cost codingLabor Costing & Job Tracking | Partial Location hierarchies and pay centers imply cost-center coding, not explicit job/task costing | Supported Labor cost reporting by job, role or location |
| Meal & rest break enforcementCompliance & Labor Law | Core strength | Supported Scheduling around required breaks |
| Labor cost dashboardsWorkforce Analytics & Reporting | Core strength Labor cost, hours and profit dashboards | Supported |
| Employee self-service portal / appEmployee Experience | Supported | Core strength Mobile availability, shift pickup and time-off requests |
| Team messaging / shift communicationEmployee Experience | Supported In-app news feed and team messaging | Core strength WorkChat one-on-one, group and all-staff messaging |
| iPaaS / prebuilt third-party connectivityPlatform & Integrations | Supported Prebuilt connectors for NetSuite, QuickBooks and Xero | Core strength Zapier plus a wide native HR/payroll integration roster |
Both grade identically on the other 24 capabilities — see each product's full profile: Deputy, When I Work.
Deputy vs When I Work — FAQs
Is Deputy or When I Work better for ERP integration?
Both state integrations with QuickBooks. Deputy additionally lists NetSuite, Xero. Always verify the connector against your ERP version with a reference customer.
Which is cheaper, Deputy or When I Work?
When I Work has the lower published starting rate ($2.5 vs $5 per user/month, list price). Implementation, ERP integration and volume discounts change the real total — treat list rates as a starting point.
Get pricing for both
Tell us your ERP, seat count and must-haves and we'll come back with an independent view of what Deputy and When I Work should each cost you — and whether a third option belongs on your shortlist.