Deputy vs TimeForge

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Our analysts compared Deputy vs TimeForge based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Employee Scheduling Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Product Basics

Deputy is a one-stop shop for hiring, training, scheduling, paying and managing time sheets of frontline and hourly workers. It offers an intuitive interface and various features to help manage employees, streamline scheduling operations and simplify internal communications.

You can easily create, edit and manage schedules while ensuring optimal staffing levels. The platform's drag-and-drop functionality allows quick adjustments to accommodate changes in staffing or workload. Time clock features enable employees to clock in and out accurately, minimizing the risk of time theft and simplifying payroll processing.

Also, Deputy provides a comprehensive suite of HR tools, including features for managing time off. Employees can easily request and track vacation, sick leave and other absences. A built-in messaging portal facilitates internal communication and records interactions to promote accountability.

You can also post job openings on popular online channels and create a branded portal to accept applications. The system lets you design a new hire’s onboarding workflow with embedded training materials and tips. Additionally, customizable automation helps businesses comply with fair workweek regulations, break rules, maximum work hours, consecutive workdays and other labor regulations.

One of the platform’s standout features is its pre-built integrations and extensibility with other third-party solutions. The vendor lets you add extra features such as payroll processing, business intelligence, demand forecasting, point of sale system and more.


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Timeforge is an all-in-one labor management solution that helps manage employee hiring, training, scheduling, communications and payroll. You can manage all aspects of your labor operations seamlessly from a centralized software without any data silos.

Its employee scheduling module provides a visual calendar that allows you to easily drag and drop shifts, ensuring optimal staffing levels at all times. Additionally, the built-in time tracking feature enables employees to clock in and out of work, eliminating the need for manual timesheets and reducing the risk of errors.

To help you run your team like clockwork, Timeforge also incorporates nifty HR and compliance management tools. You can manage employee records, track sick leave and vacation time, and ensure compliance with labor regulations. The software's built-in compliance alerts keep you informed about any changes in labor laws and avoid costly penalties.

The built-in messaging feature lets you communicate with your team easily, so you won’t lose important conversations across different platforms, minimizing the risk of miscommunication. Moreover, a native payment processor ensures same-day pay, boosting employee satisfaction and reducing administrative overhead.

Finally, Timeforge empowers you to make data-driven decisions with its labor analytics, reporting and sales forecasting capabilities. You can analyze employee performance, track labor costs and forecast future staffing needs based on historical data. This insight enables you to optimize your workforce, improve operational efficiency and drive business growth.

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$2.50/User, Monthly, Freemium
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Tailored to your specific needs
$2.50/User, Monthly
Get a free price quote
Tailored to your specific needs
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Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Create The Perfect Software Stack: Deputy won the SelectHub award for having the best integrations and extensibility options among employee scheduling tools, with 96 analyst score. It offers pre-built integrations with popular accounting solutions, online calendars, HRMS software, HCM tools and iPaaS platforms. You can easily import or export data and access the API to design custom integrations with external solutions.
  • Work From Anywhere: The platform offers one of the most robust scheduling mobile apps that lets you manage operations from any remote location. With a perfect 100 analyst rating, it supports offline scheduling, chat options, team news sharing, mobile time clocks, GPS tracking and customizable push notifications.
  • Streamline Scheduling: Another top-rated module is its scheduling toolkit, which has a 93 rating from our analysts. You get customizable templates and drag-and-drop tools to design schedules in minutes. The built-in AI sends conflict alerts for unavailable employees and compliance issues, ensuring schedules are accurate and efficient. The platform automatically updates employee calendars upon publishing a schedule and offers them the option of first refusal, shift swapping and bidding via their unique portals.
  • Manage Timesheets Efficiently: It offers a robust time and attendance management module that got a 92 rating from our analysts. Employees can track work hours via the mobile app, and the platform automatically prevents early clock-ins, sends break reminders, tracks overtime and maintains timesheets. It also automatically clocks out employees and prevents overtime based on your business’s budget and compliance regulations.
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  • Streamline PTO Handling: Timeforge offers a robust leave and absence management module that scored a perfect 100 rating from our analysts. It allows you to configure custom leave policies, track balances and set blackout periods, helping you handle leave requests efficiently while staying compliant with your organization's policies. The platform also supports partial day-offs and simplifies time-off requests and approvals for both employees and managers.
  • Simplify Scheduling: According to our data, the platform excels in its scheduling capabilities, offering every key scheduling feature ready to use out of the box. With features like ad-hoc scheduling, auto-scheduling and a drag-and-drop interface, you can easily create, modify and manage schedules. The system also identifies scheduling conflicts, supports multi-location scheduling and provides various visualization options to help you better understand and communicate schedules.
  • Adopt a Data-Driven Decision-Making Approach: The platform’s reporting and analytics capabilities are another strong suit, receiving a perfect rating from our analysts. With customizable dashboards and report templates, you can easily track KPIs and identify areas for improvement. Additionally, its sales forecasting capabilities enable you to analyze historical sales data and predict future demand, helping you optimize workforce allocation.
  • Ensure Compliance With Labor Regulations: Lastly, the platform offers a robust security and compliance management toolkit that got a 100 analyst rating. The solution adheres to industry-standard regulations such as FLSA, OSHA and GDPR, ensuring that your organization complies with relevant labor and data protection laws. Additionally, its role-based permissions and single sign-on capabilities provide security and control over access to sensitive employee data.
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  • Scheduling: Create, manage and optimize schedules with AI. Use drag-and-drop scheduling tools while considering availability, skills and preferences to create partial, pre-assigned or open shifts.
  • Time Tracking: Turn staff phones into a time tracking solution using the mobile app or connect the platform to a POS system to allow employees to punch in and out of work. The platform sends alerts for break hours, overtime and budgetary conflicts. It also offers geofencing to help avoid time theft and buddy punching.
  • Mobile App: Managers can access their profiles from anywhere, create schedules, approve time off requests, communicate with team members and track task progress. Employees can view schedules, request PTO, chat with colleagues, swap shifts and bid on open shifts.
  • Demand Forecasting: Access your business’s historical sales data and seasonal trends on a centralized dashboard to make informed staffing decisions. Define business logic and benchmarks with demand-based rules to ensure minimum coverage while considering your budget. You can pull real-time wage-to-sales data on the mobile app to make scheduling adjustments on the go.
  • Shift Pulse: Send feedback forms and questionnaires to employees after every shift. Minimize staff fatigue by automating schedule assignments based on worked hours and overtime. Employees can express their work satisfaction using a staff sentiment bar and tracker.
  • Compliance Tools: Deputy helps comply with fair workweek regulations by providing tools to manage overtime, minimum rest periods and other labor laws. It also assists with reporting, managing employee records and ensuring adherence to minimum wage laws.
  • Leave Management: Employees can submit time-off requests directly through the platform, and managers can review and approve or deny them. You can also track leave balances and generate leave reports.
  • Document Management: The platform offers a centralized repository for storing and organizing employee documents, such as contracts, performance reviews and training certificates. Its search and filtering capabilities make it easy to find specific documents when needed.
  • Hiring: Post openings on online job forums and track their traction from within the software interface. You can track applicants, schedule interviews, send questions and receive applicant feedback.
  • Training and Onboarding: Design branded onboarding workflows for trainees and manage employee training programs by tracking attendance, assigning tasks and monitoring progress.
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  • Employee Management: Track candidates before they even become employees, seamlessly transferring information over to HR files. It can monitor the progress and completion of forms, exams and training, as well as notify employees of forms they need to complete before they even clock in for a shift.
  • Employee Self-Service: Provide employees with access to the system as soon as they accept an offer, allowing the new employee to enter all of their information into the database and freeing up managers to focus on other essential onboarding tasks.
  • Communication Tools: Send texts and alerts to individual employees or groups of staff members. Managers can send communications as necessary or enable the system to automatically send notifications regarding things like schedule changes or open shifts.
  • Mobile Access: Log into the platform from any internet-connected device, allowing managers and employees alike to complete essential tasks, such as clocking in for work or requesting a shift change. Mobile apps are available for both Android and iOS, with specific apps for employees and managers.
  • HR Types: Create, customize, categorize and track various types of files, including employee information sheets and tax forms. Managers and employees can both upload relevant documents and files, allowing for centralized storage and organization.
  • Learning and Development: Develop HR Activities and send them to employees for completion. Activities can include everything from collecting employee information to assigning training courses to employees.
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Product Ranking

#8

among all
Employee Scheduling Software

#34

among all
Employee Scheduling Software

Find out who the leaders are

Analyst Rating Summary

89
91
91
98
85
88
78
100
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Mobile Capabilities
Integrations and Extensibility
Schedule Management
Time and Attendance Management
Collaboration
Leave and Absence Management
Reporting and Analytics
Schedule Management
Security and Compliance
Time and Attendance Management

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Deputy
TimeForge
+ Add Product + Add Product
Collaboration Employee Management Leave And Absence Management Mobile Capabilities Platform Capabilities Reporting And Analytics Schedule Management Security And Compliance Shift Management Time And Attendance Management 91 85 78 100 88 64 95 76 89 94 98 88 100 59 71 100 100 100 94 100 0 25 50 75 100
88%
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12%
100%
0%
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83%
0%
17%
89%
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11%
75%
0%
25%
100%
0%
0%
100%
0%
0%
63%
0%
37%
89%
0%
11%
75%
0%
25%
67%
0%
33%
100%
0%
0%
95%
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5%
100%
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78%
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22%
100%
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0%
89%
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11%
94%
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6%
95%
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5%
100%
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Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

90%
0%
10%
78%
0%
22%

User Sentiment Summary

Excellent User Sentiment 1504 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 41 reviews
90%
of users recommend this product

Deputy has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 90% when considering 1504 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

94%
of users recommend this product

TimeForge has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 94% when considering 41 user reviews from 3 recognized software review sites.

4.3 (15)
n/a
4.7 (307)
5.0 (1)
4.6 (720)
4.7 (37)
4.2 (462)
4.5 (3)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Deputy and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Mobile Capabilities and Integrations and Extensibility. Deputy stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award
Mobile Capabilities Award
Integrations and Extensibility Award

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated TimeForge and concluded it deserves the award for the Best Overall Employee Scheduling Software available today and earns best-in-class honors for Leave and Absence Management, Reporting and Analytics, Schedule Management, Security and Compliance, Shift Management and Time and Attendance Management. TimeForge stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

Analysts' Pick Award
User Favorite Award
Leave and Absence Management Award
Reporting and Analytics Award
Schedule Management Award
Security and Compliance Award
Shift Management Award
Time and Attendance Management Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

User-Friendly Interface: Users appreciate the intuitive design, which makes it accessible for both managers and employees and easy to adopt with minimal training.
Robust Remote Workability: The mobile app is highly praised for allowing employees to clock in/out, manage shifts and receive notifications, making it convenient for on-the-go use.
Greater Flexibility and Accessibility: Deputy offers flexible shift management, allowing employees to swap or pick up shifts and work across multiple locations. Cloud-based hosting ensures access from anywhere with an internet connection.
Employee Empowerment: The software gives employees more control over their schedules, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility for time management.
Streamline Scheduling: Deputy effectively manages scheduling, time tracking and attendance, reducing errors and improving overall efficiency. Reviews highlight valuable features like preventing early clock-ins and integrating with payroll systems.
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Time-Saving: Reviews mentioned that TimeForge significantly reduces the time spent on scheduling, payroll and other HR tasks.
Comprehensive Functionality: The platform offers a wide range of key HR tools out of the box. You don’t need to spend resources on integrating with external solutions.
Customization: TimeForge allows for a high level of customization to meet specific business needs, particularly in reporting and scheduling.
Customer Support: Users frequently praise the responsiveness and helpfulness of the customer support team during implementation and ongoing use.
Real-Time Data: The ability to access and manage real-time data remotely through the web-based platform is a significant advantage.
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Support and Customer Service Issues: Several users reported poor customer service experiences, especially when dealing with technical support or canceling the service. The vendor primarily offers support via email, which some users found inadequate.
Performance and Speed: Some users experienced lag when accepting shifts or clocking in and out, causing delays and frustration.
Challenges With Multi-Location Tracking: For organizations with employees across multiple locations or states, keeping track of everyone’s whereabouts could be challenging as the platform doesn’t support multiple time zones across geographies.
Syncing Issues: Users noted that the inability to sync with external calendars (like Google or Apple Calendar) was a significant drawback.
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Limited Mobile Access: Many users complained about the mobile app lacking essential features such as geofencing, customizable push notifications and offline scheduling.
Integration Issues: The lack of integration with certain systems like QuickBooks or sales programs limits the platform’s scope.
User Interface Challenges: Some users experienced minor issues with the user interface, such as fields being too narrow to view all information or the system refreshing and pulling users away from the section they were working on.
Complexity of Reports: The platform has a clunky and outdated reporting and analytics interface, which involves a steep learning curve.
Cost Concerns: The platform cost was a concern for some users, especially those from smaller or rural businesses.
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Deputy is a valuable asset for businesses looking to streamline their scheduling operations and enhance employee productivity. During my research, I found it to be a highly effective and centralized tool for hiring, training and scheduling employees. Users consistently praise its performance, with many giving it a 4.5-star rating.One of Deputy's standout features is its AI-powered automation, which can significantly improve scheduling and shift break compliance. However, it may require some initial setup and learning to function optimally. The touchless facial recognition clock-in feature is particularly valuable in today's post-pandemic world.I appreciate Deputy's commitment to employee empowerment. Its accountability measures, such as GPS tracking and facial recognition, effectively prevent time theft without compromising employee autonomy. The Shift Pulse feature is another valuable tool that fosters open communication between employees and management.While Deputy is a powerful solution, it's not without its flaws. I encountered bugs and glitches that occasionally disrupted the user experience. Slow performance, particularly for mobile app users and non-desk staff, can be frustrating. Additionally, GPS challenges can be problematic for businesses with multiple locations as the platform doesn’t support multiple time zones.The HR functionality is also limited, but I believe it has the potential to expand over time. Adding more languages to the interface would also make it more inclusive. Overall, I recommend Deputy to small to mid-sized organizations seeking a reliable and feature-rich scheduling solution that also offers basic HR functionalities.

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TimeForge is a labor management platform offering various features to streamline hiring, scheduling, payroll and workforce tracking. Our experience with the software has been mixed, with both strengths and weaknesses.Setting up TimeForge was straightforward, with a user-friendly setup wizard guiding me through each step. The platform's intuitive interface made it easy to create schedules using the drag-and-drop editor. I appreciated the ability to customize intricate settings, such as pay rates, payment options, employee roles, permission groups and custom fields.While the user interface felt somewhat outdated compared to some competitors, it was still functional and easy to navigate. One of my favorite things was how organized the platform was, providing separate dashboards for tracking shift confirmations, swaps, templates, work periods and messages. You can also create custom dashboards to track key performance indicators specific to your business.TimeForge significantly improves the employee experience as well. Staff members can access their schedules, chat with colleagues and easily swap shifts. The platform's automatic prevention of early clock-ins and late punch-outs helps avoid time theft and ensure compliance. Additionally, the integration of staff surveys allows managers to gather feedback and improve the overall employee experience.However, there are some limitations to consider. The mobile app, while functional, is not as robust as those offered by competitors like Deputy, 7shifts and Sling. The lack of GPS tracking can make it challenging to verify employee locations during clock-ins and clock-outs. Additionally, the inability to create schedules offline and publish them later can be inconvenient.Also, TimeForge's integration capabilities are limited. It doesn’t integrate with popular sales and accounting solutions like QuickBooks and HubSpot. This requires you to manually enter sales, payroll and employee data, opening the door for errors and mistakes.Overall, TimeForge is a solid option for businesses of all sizes, but it’s important to weigh its strengths and weaknesses to see if it meets your specific needs. If mobile scheduling and extensive integrations are a priority, you may want to explore other options. However, if you’re looking for a user-friendly platform that can streamline processes and provide valuable insights, TimeForge is worth considering.

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