A Deputy alternative with no subscription.
Clock In Now is a $89 one-time facial recognition tablet — the cheaper alternative to Deputy for businesses that only need clock-in and CSV export, not full rostering. If you need Deputy's rostering and award interpretation, stay on Deputy.
What Deputy does really well
Deputy is a strong AU-built workforce platform. Its rostering is genuinely good, its award interpretation saves real hours, and its payroll integrations (Xero, MYOB, KeyPay/Employment Hero, Reckon) are reliable. If any of those matter to you, don't switch — the subscription is earning its keep.
Where the value stops matching the price
A lot of Deputy accounts end up as glorified time clocks. Staff open the app, tap start, tap end. The rostering module goes unused, the award interpretation goes unused, and the monthly bill still lands. For those businesses, $30–$50 per month is buying features that never get opened.
Clock In Now vs Deputy — side by side
| Feature | Clock In Now | Deputy |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | $89 once | $0 (free trial) |
| Ongoing cost | $0 | From $4.90 per user / month (Time & Attendance) — more with Scheduling |
| Contract | None | Monthly, auto-renew |
| Facial recognition | Yes, on-device | Available (Kiosk with photo, or add-on) |
| Rostering / scheduling | No | Yes (core feature) |
| Award interpretation | No | Yes |
| Leave management | No | Yes |
| CSV export (Xero, MYOB) | Yes | Yes |
| Works offline | Yes | Limited |
| Setup time | 5 minutes | Account + staff onboarding |
| Best for | Small teams that just need clock-in | Teams that need full rostering + payroll |
Total cost over 3 years (8-person team, 1 location)
- Deputy Time & Attendance at ~$4.90 per user per month × 8 users × 36 months = ~$1,411. Add Scheduling and you're closer to $2,800.
- Clock In Now: $89 one-time. Year 2 and year 3 are $0. Total = $89.
When Deputy is still the right choice
Pick Deputy (or Tanda) if any of these are true:
- You build weekly rosters and want staff to see and swap shifts
- Your payroll needs award interpretation applied automatically
- You manage leave requests, availability, or shift-swap approvals in the same tool
- You need a direct API push to payroll, not a CSV upload
When Clock In Now is a better fit
- Small team (2–20 staff), one or two locations
- Rosters live on paper, on a spreadsheet, or in your head
- Payroll is Xero or MYOB and a CSV upload works fine
- You resent the monthly bill for something this simple
Also see: Tanda alternative · BundyPlus & Deputy comparison · Time clock with no subscription.
Frequently asked
What's a cheaper alternative to Deputy?
For teams that just need clock-in and CSV export (not rostering), Clock In Now is the cheaper alternative — $89 once vs Deputy's $4.90+ per user per month. For teams that need rostering, awards and leave management, stay on Deputy.
Can Clock In Now do everything Deputy does?
No — and we're up-front about that. Deputy does rostering, award interpretation, leave, tasks, comms and payroll integrations. Clock In Now does facial-recognition clock-in, breaks, and CSV export. If clock-in is the only piece you actually use, we're the better value.
Can I export to the payroll systems Deputy exports to?
Clock In Now exports CSV in the format Xero, MYOB and Deputy itself accept. The export is an easy to read, accurate spreadsheet that takes a couple of minutes to input into your accounting software.
Do I need to cancel Deputy first?
No. Run both in parallel for a pay cycle if it's easier — Clock In Now on the counter, Deputy in the background — and switch once you're confident.
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Try it free for 30 days.
No credit card, no personal information. After 30 days, keep it forever for $89 — one-time, no subscription.