Best for
Best for businesses rostering hourly staff across sites, where the hours have to reach payroll rather than an invoice.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Time Tracking Comparison
Deputy vs. QuickBooks Time
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for small businesses with hourly or field staff that already run their accounting in QuickBooks Online.
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Deputy | QuickBooks Time |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | lower value From $5 / user / month The $5 Lite plan covers basic scheduling, timesheets and time clocking. Core is $6.50 and Pro $9 per user per month. Deputy Payroll adds $8 per user per month plus a $49 monthly base fee, HR $2, Messaging+ $1.95 and Analytics+ $1.50 per user per month. | From $20 / month base plus $10 / user / month Time Premium: $20 monthly base fee including one admin, plus $10 per user / month. Time Elite: $40 base plus $12 per user / month. An introductory 50 percent discount applies to the base fee for the first three months. A QuickBooks Online subscription is required. |
| Free trial | Free trial, no credit card required | 30 days on the monthly base price; per-employee fees are not covered |
| Team size | Priced per user, per month | Not stated |
| Users | Shift-based teams across more than 15 industries, among them hospitality, healthcare, retail, manufacturing and logistics, construction and engineering, education, security and cleaning | Not stated |
| API | Yes, a developer API alongside prebuilt payroll, point-of-sale, HR and accounting connectors | Yes, a REST API with OAuth 2.0 |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS), with iOS and Android apps and a shared-device time clock | Not stated |
| Time tracking | Time clocking from the iOS and Android apps or a shared device, with biometric time clocking from the Core plan, timesheets with auto-approval from Core and advanced timesheets on Pro, plus shift swaps, find-a-replacement, leave and availability management and labour-law compliance rules | Yes, mobile clock in and out, a tablet or desktop Time Kiosk, location while on the clock and geofence reminders |
| Invoicing | No. Deputy's published feature set ends at approved timesheets, which export into payroll and accounting systems such as ADP, Gusto, Paychex, Paycor, Paylocity, Xero and QuickBooks; client invoicing happens in those tools | No native invoicing, approved hours sync into QuickBooks Online for payroll and billing |
| Reporting and controlling | Basic reporting on Lite; Core adds demand forecasting, labour optimisation and wage and labour budgets; Pro includes the Analytics+ add-on alongside advanced timesheets and location hierarchies | Project tracking with estimates against actuals and an activity feed on the Elite tier |
| Integrations and API | A developer API plus prebuilt connectors for payroll (ADP, Gusto, Paychex, Paycor, Paylocity, OnPay, Wagepoint, Xero), point of sale (Square, Clover, Lightspeed, Revel, Epos Now), HR (BambooHR, HiBob, Rippling, TriNet, Okta) and accounting (QuickBooks, NetSuite, Xero), with Zapier for anything else | Yes, the QuickBooks Time REST API at rest.tsheets.com/api/v1, authenticated with OAuth 2.0, covering timesheets, users, jobcodes, schedule events, projects, geolocations, geofences, time off and payroll and project reports. Throttled to 300 calls per access token in any five-minute window, 200 results per page |
| AI features | stated Yes | No |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Chat, 24/7 | more entries Phone, Chat, Community forum |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base, Guided onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base, Live online demos and webinars |
| Company size | more entries Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized |
| Integrations | more entries ADP, Gusto, Paychex, Paycom, Paycor, Paylocity, OnPay, Wagepoint, Talenox, Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite, Square, Clover, Lightspeed, Revel, Epos Now, BambooHR, HiBob, Rippling, TriNet, Okta, JobAdder, Box, Dropbox, ServiceM8, Tapcheck, Wagestream, TipHaus, Zapier | QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Online Payroll |
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Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price Deputy From $5 / user / month QuickBooks Time From $20 / month base plus $10 / user / month
- Free trial Deputy Free trial, no credit card required QuickBooks Time 30 days on the monthly base price; per-employee fees are not covered
- Company size Deputy Small and mid-sized, Enterprise QuickBooks Time Small and mid-sized
- Support Deputy Chat, 24/7 QuickBooks Time Phone, Chat, Community forum
- AI features Deputy Yes QuickBooks Time No
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Deputy
Strengths
- Biometric time clocking and a shared-device clock cover on-site and shift work
- Deep payroll and point-of-sale connector list, including ADP, Gusto, Paychex, Xero, QuickBooks and Square
- Demand forecasting and auto-scheduling build rosters against wage and labour budgets
- Single sign-on, custom access levels and location hierarchies on the Pro plan
Limitations
- No client invoicing: timesheets are built for payroll rather than for billing work
- Forecasting, auto-scheduling and biometric clocking all require the Core plan or above
- Payroll, HR, Messaging+ and Analytics+ are separately priced add-ons, and Deputy Payroll carries a monthly base fee
- No free tier; Lite is the cheapest paid plan
QuickBooks Time
Strengths
- Approved hours flow straight into QuickBooks Online payroll and accounting
- GPS, geofencing and a shared tablet kiosk suit crews out on site
- Scheduling by job or shift is included on both tiers
Limitations
- Requires a QuickBooks Online subscription and cannot be bought on its own
- A monthly base fee on top of per-user fees is steep for very small teams
- GPS and geofencing amount to location tracking, which not every team accepts
Plans
Pricing
Deputy
- Lite $5 Per user per month. Basic scheduling, timesheets and time clocking, labour-law compliance, shift swap and find a replacement, leave and availability management, basic reporting, messaging and news feed, and payroll and HR integrations.
- Core $6.50 Per user per month. Everything in Lite plus advanced scheduling, timesheet auto-approval, biometric time clocking, micro-scheduling, auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, labour optimisation, wage and labour budgets and a customer success manager.
- Pro $9 Per user per month. Everything in Core plus custom access levels, advanced timesheets, location hierarchies, single sign-on, a dedicated customer success manager, a sandbox environment, 24/7 live chat and the Analytics+ and Messaging+ add-ons.
- Add-ons Not stated Deputy Payroll $8 per user per month plus a $49 monthly base fee, HR $2, Messaging+ $1.95 and Analytics+ $1.50 per user per month. HR, Messaging+ and Analytics+ carry 30-day free trials.
QuickBooks Time
- Time Premium $20 Monthly base fee including one admin, plus $10 per user / month. Introductory $10 base for the first three months.
- Time Elite $40 Monthly base fee including one admin, plus $12 per user / month. Adds mileage tracking, project tracking, estimates against actuals, activity feed and timesheet signatures. Introductory $20 base for the first three months.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Deputy
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
QuickBooks Time
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Deputy https://www.deputy.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-12
QuickBooks Time https://quickbooks.intuit.com/time-tracking/ · checked against the official source on 2026-09-06
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.