This article guides you through setting up Deputy when purchased through Xero. You'll learn how to connect your data, import your team, and configure your first location to get your business ready for scheduling.

Before you read

• Target audience: This article is for users with Subscriber access in your Xero organisation.
• Plan restrictions: This article is only for customers who purchased the "Rostering by Deputy with Xero" through their Xero subscription.

This article covers:

• How does the "Rostering by Deputy with Xero" experience work?
• How do I log in for the first time?
• How do I connect my Xero data?
• How do I complete the setup wizard?
• How do I set up my locations and areas?
• How do I use the onboarding checklist?
• What's next?

How does the "Rostering by Deputy with Xero" experience work?

When you add Deputy to your Xero subscription, we automatically create your account. This "Rostering by Deputy with Xero" path is a specific experience where Xero manages your billing. While you can integrate Deputy and Xero independently, this version is designed to speed up setup for Xero customers. 

To do this Deputy must be added by the Subscriber user in your Xero organisation. This is the person who manages your Xero subscription and connected apps. The welcome email goes to them, and they'll need to complete the initial connection and setup before anyone else can access Deputy.

If you're not the Subscriber user, check with whoever manages your Xero account. They'll need to complete the steps below first, then add you to Deputy afterwards.
 

How do I log in for the first time?

The Xero Subscriber will receive a welcome email after the purchase is complete.

If you're new to Deputy the email will include:

• Your email address (the same one tied to your Xero account)
• Your temporary password
• Your unique time clock PIN to use with the Deputy Kiosk or web Time Clock
• A prompt to change your password after the first login

If you've previously used Deputy inside Xero before(Rostering and Advanced Timesheets - Powered by Deputy), the email will be slightly different. You won't get a new temporary password, and you should already have Deputy credentials from the original email you received when Deputy was first set up for your Xero account. If you can't find that email or don't remember your password, use the Forgot Password? link on the login screen. The email lets you know you can now access Deputy as a standalone product on desktop and mobile, outside of the Xero interface.

To log in, click Go to Deputy in your welcome email, enter your email, and click Log in. You can also click the Xero button to log in using your Xero credentials directly.

Note: If someone else in your business tries to access Deputy before being added, they'll see a message on the login page explaining that access is managed by the Deputy administrator, which is usually the person who connected Deputy to Xero.
 

How do I connect my Xero data?

Once you log in, you must link your accounts so information can flow between Deputy and Xero.

A Welcome to Deputy screen will appear, and you will need to:

1. Click Give access to start the connection
2. Log in to Xero if prompted and select the organisation you used to purchase Deputy.
3. Review the data permissions (like team member profiles and payroll settings) and click Give access to confirm.
4. Click Continue on the Access confirmed screen to reach the setup wizard.

Note: If you see an error screen at this point, it's most likely a permissions issue. Make sure the Subscriber user in Xero is the one completing this step; they need adequate API permissions to authorise the connection. If the error persists, click Try again.

How do I complete the setup wizard?

The setup wizard runs once and collects some information about your business. It has three steps with a progress tracker on the left side of the screen.

1. Get started: Choose your industry and describe the problems you want to solve, like "paying my team accurately." If you use a specific award, select it from the list.
2. Confirm business details: Deputy pulls your address from Xero. Check that the address and timezone are correct, as these drive your shift times. If it can't be validated, you'll need to confirm or correct it manually.
3. Add team members: Select the checkboxes next to the names of the people you want to import from Xero. Keep the Invite newly added team members toggle off until you're ready for your team to log in to Deputy. You probably don't want to invite your team before you've had a chance to look around and set things up. You can also skip this step entirely and import employees later from the People page. The full import experience (covered in Import employees from Xero) includes field validation and richer data, such as pay calendars and leave balances.
   
   Note: Each employee you add counts as an active user for billing purposes. Click to learn about what counts as a user in Deputy for billing purposes?
4. After completing the wizard: Watch the short video introducing Deputy, you will then be prompted with a "Take me to my business" button.

How do I set up my locations and areas?

Once you land in Deputy for the first time, a guided pop-up appears on the Schedule page: "Let's make Deputy look like your business." It takes about 5 minutes and walks you through how Deputy organises your business into two levels: Locations and Areas.

An interactive diagram on the right side of the screen builds out as you answer each question, showing how your business structure will look in Deputy.

You will need to define:

• Locations: These are your physical sites, your shops, restaurant, warehouse, office, etc. Your first location is pre-filled from your Xero data.
• Areas: These are the roles or departments (like "Cashier" or "Sales") within each location. Deputy will suggest area names based on the industry you selected earlier. Click the ones that apply, or add your own with the Add new + option. You'll select areas for each location separately.
• Schedule Basics: Choose which day your workweek starts, and set your common shift times and break durations. 

Click Done when finished.

How do I use the onboarding checklist?

After completing the location and area setup, you'll land on the Schedule page, where an onboarding checklist appears in the bottom-right corner. It greets you by name and tracks your progress through the key steps to get Deputy fully running.

1. Set up basic scheduling rules (already completed from the previous step)
2. Create a shift
3. Publish your first roster
4. Discover the employee experience
5. Add the rest of your team
6. Set up pay rules
7. Approve timesheets

Each item has a guided walkthrough that takes you directly to the relevant part of Deputy and walks you through it, click by click, with items checking off as you complete them. This checklist will stay visible until you've worked through it, and we encourage you to complete it, as it's designed to get you to your first timesheet export, where the real value of the Deputy + Xero connection kicks in.

What's next?

Once you've completed the onboarding checklist, you'll have a working Deputy account connected to Xero with employees imported, schedules published, and timesheets flowing back to Xero Payroll.
 

Related articles

• Import employees from Xero (for "Rostering by Deputy with Xero"): full employee import with field validation
• Set up pay rates (for "Rostering by Deputy with Xero"): configure pay rates and award interpretation
• Export timesheets to Xero (for "Rostering by Deputy with Xero"): send approved timesheets to Xero Payroll
• Setting up locations (for "Rostering by Deputy with Xero"): add and configure additional locations
• Troubleshooting the Xero connection (for "Rostering by Deputy with Xero"): fix connection and sync issues