Clockie vs Deputy: time clock + visitor sign-in in NZD, payroll-first
Deputy is a deep workforce platform, priced per user in Australian or US dollars. Clockie now includes a weekly roster that can draft itself from your real clock-ins, alongside a reliable time clock, visitor sign-in and hours that flow straight to NZ payroll, in NZD, for less.
$59
Monthly (20 staff, NZD)
2-in-1
Time clock + visitor sign-in
Direct
Xero & Crystal payroll
NZD
No USD conversion
Why teams pick Clockie
Deputy is built for complex rostering across large workforces. Clockie is built for NZ businesses that want a simple weekly roster, a verified time clock and visitor sign-in on one NZD bill.
Two products, one subscription
Deputy publishes no visitor sign-in product and points customers to a separate third-party tool for it. Clockie runs your team time clock AND a full visitor sign-in / H&S register on the same tablet — contractor inductions, host alerts, and an evacuation muster included.
- Staff clock-in + visitor sign-in
- Evacuation roll-call of everyone on site
- No separate visitor system to buy
NZ payroll, done directly
Approved timesheets push straight into Xero and Crystal Payroll (two-way), with formatted CSV for the wider NZ payroll ecosystem and NZ statutory breaks applied automatically.
- Direct Xero & Crystal Payroll API
- NZ statutory breaks auto-applied
- Formatted CSV for PayHero, MYOB, iPayroll…
NZD pricing, no per-user shock
Deputy’s Australian pricing page lists AUD 6.75 to 13 per user per month and its US page prices in USD; we could not find an NZ dollar price (read 19 September 2026). Clockie is $29 NZD base (5 staff included) + $2/extra staff, so a 20-person team is $59 NZD a month with the roster included.
- $29 base includes 5 staff
- +$2/month per extra staff
- Priced in NZD, GST-exclusive
Offline-first reliability
A tap is never lost. Clock-ins and visitor sign-ins save on the device and sync when you’re back online — built for rural sites, basement gyms, and flaky Wi-Fi.
- Local queue is the source of truth
- Auto-retry on reconnect
- Installs as a PWA — no app store
Side-by-side feature comparison
How Clockie and Deputy line up, feature by feature, so you can decide on the facts.
| Feature | ClockieNZ-built, payroll-first | DeputyWorkforce rostering (AU) |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | ||
| Monthly cost, 10 staff | $39 NZD | AUD $87.50 (Core), excl tax |
| Monthly cost, 20 staff | $59 NZD | AUD $175 (Core), excl tax |
| Monthly cost, 30 staff | $79 NZD | AUD $262.50 (Core), excl tax |
| Currency | NZD | AUD or USD, per user |
| Minimum monthly spend | $29 NZD base | AUD $30 or USD $30 per invoice (monthly plans) |
| Free trial | 14-day trial | Trial available |
| Time clock & on-site | ||
| Kiosk mode (shared tablet) | ||
| Personal-phone clock-in | ||
| Face / photo verification | ||
| Offline clock-in (full sync) | Kiosk + mobile | Limited |
| Visitor & contractor sign-in | ||
| Evacuation muster roll-call | ||
| Job costing (actual vs budget) | Partial | |
| Scheduling & rostering | ||
| Weekly roster grid, copy last week, templates | ||
| Draft the week from clock-in history, with a reason per shift | Not described | |
| Import a pasted roster or whiteboard photo | Not described | |
| How staff are told | Email, text message or WhatsApp | App, email or SMS (SMS charged) |
| Rostered vs actual hours | ||
| Auto-scheduling / demand forecasting | Core plan and above | |
| Shift swapping & open shifts | ||
| Shift confirmation by staff | ||
| Clock-in limited by the roster | Never: the clock always works | Optional early clock-in limit |
| NZ payroll & integrations | ||
| Xero Payroll | Direct API push | Via integration |
| Crystal Payroll | Direct API | |
| NZ statutory breaks | Manual | |
| Visitor management included | ||
| Support | ||
| NZ-based support | ||
| Priority support | All plans | Higher tiers |
Deputy details are based on publicly available information and may change. Check Deputy’s own site for their latest pricing and features.
What Deputy does better
An honest look at where Deputy is the stronger fit.
Auto-scheduling, open shifts and shift swaps
Deputy goes much deeper than Clockie on roster automation: demand-based auto-scheduling, open shifts staff can claim, staff swapping shifts with each other, shift confirmation and award interpretation. Clockie’s roster is a weekly grid that can draft itself from your clock-in history, and it stops there.
Large multi-site enterprise features
For big, multi-location operations with heavy scheduling needs and a wide integration ecosystem (incl. POS), Deputy’s platform depth is hard to beat.
Cross-country payroll breadth
Deputy integrates with payroll across multiple countries. If you operate outside NZ, that breadth may matter more than Clockie’s NZ-first focus.
Choose Deputy if…
- You need auto-scheduling, open shifts or staff swapping shifts
- You run large, multi-site operations
- You rely on demand forecasting and shift marketplaces
- You need payroll across multiple countries
Choose Clockie if…
- You want a time clock AND visitor sign-in in one
- You’re on Xero or Crystal and want hours pushed directly
- You want NZD pricing without per-user USD bills
- You need offline reliability and a simple setup
Switching from Deputy in 3 steps
Done in 15 minutes. No data loss.
Export from Deputy
Download your staff list (CSV) from Deputy.
Import to Clockie
Bulk-import staff into Clockie in one upload.
Set up the kiosk
Open Clockie on any iPad or tablet — 5-minute setup, and flip on visitor sign-in.
Need a hand? We’ll walk you through it.
Common questions
Does Clockie do rostering like Deputy?
Clockie has a weekly roster per location with copy last week, templates, approved leave shaded on the grid and publishing by email, text message or WhatsApp. On an empty week it can draft the shifts from the last eight weeks of clock-ins, with a reason on each one, or import a roster you paste or photograph inside Clockie. It does not do auto-scheduling from demand, open shifts, shift swaps, shift confirmation or award interpretation. If those are your core need, Deputy is the better fit.
Is Clockie cheaper than Deputy?
For most NZ SMBs, yes. Deputy’s Australian page lists AUD 6.75 per user per month on Lite and AUD 8.75 on Core, with a minimum monthly spend of AUD $30 or USD $30 per invoice (read 19 September 2026); we could not find an NZ dollar price. Clockie is a flat $29 NZD base (5 staff included) plus $2/extra staff, so a 20-person team is $59 NZD a month with the roster and visitor sign-in included.
Does Deputy have visitor sign-in?
No. Visitor and contractor sign-in — with inductions, host notifications, and an evacuation muster — is built into Clockie at no extra cost (your plan covers your first location, then $10/month per additional location).
How does Clockie connect to NZ payroll?
Clockie pushes approved timesheets directly to Xero Payroll and Crystal Payroll via API, applies NZ statutory breaks automatically, and exports formatted CSV for PayHero, MYOB, iPayroll, Smartly and PaySauce.
Does Clockie work offline?
Yes — full offline sync on both kiosk and mobile. Clock-ins and visitor sign-ins are queued locally and sync automatically when connectivity returns.
How do staff clock in on Clockie?
On a shared kiosk with a PIN, a photo or an on-device face match, or from a personal clock page on their own phone. Turn the optional Tap to Clock setting on and they can also tap an NFC badge or fob on an Android kiosk, or show a printed QR card or the rotating QR code from their phone to any kiosk with a camera, iPads included. Tap to Clock is off by default and works offline, and a tap or scan replaces the PIN and face check rather than adding to it, so it trades verification for speed. Clockie sells no hardware: fobs and card stock are bought separately, and printed QR cards come off the staff page.
Get your time clock and visitor sign-in sorted — in NZD
Try Clockie free. No credit card. Hours straight to Xero & Crystal, visitors signed in on the same tablet.
No credit card • Cancel anytime • NZ-based support