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Pricing FAQs

Deputy Help
  • Updated
Note: From October 1st, we're introducing new plans that better reflect how our customers use Deputy: Lite, Core, and Pro. If you're an existing customer, look out for an email soon with all the details you’ll need. Learn more about the new plans and what this change means for you.

For complete pricing information, check out our Plans, Pricing and Terms and Conditions.

For additional help, visit our Billing and Payment help guide.

 

How much does each SMS cost?

SMS charges apply if the SMS message is sent via the Deputy platforms (Web app/iPad/mobile apps).

An example of this would be, publishing schedules using SMS. There is no charge for receiving SMS messages, however, employees are responsible for normal carrier fees when responding to SMS messages from Deputy.

SMS charges vary by country and apply per 160 characters:

  • US - 1c USD
  • UK - 5p GBP
  • Australia - 5c AUD
  • Rest of World - 7c USD

Please note many SMS messages sent via Deputy exceed 160 characters.

The prices above are exclusive of any applicable taxes.

To disable SMS notifications from your account, check out our help guide.

 

Is there a minimum monthly spend?

For Lite, Core & Pro plans
Yes - the following minimum monthly spends apply to Lite, Core and Pro plans.

  • Australia  - AUD $30.00 (excl. all applicable taxes), minimum 4 users on annual plan
  • US - USD $30.00 (excl. all applicable sales taxes), minimum 4 users on annual plan
  • UK - £20.00 (excl. all applicable taxes), minimum 5 users on annual plan

For Premium, Scheduling and Time & Attendance plans (discontinuing)
Yes - there is a minimum monthly spend of USD / AUD $25 and GBP £15 per month per invoice on our monthly Premium, Scheduling and Time & Attendance plans from July 1, 2022. The minimum monthly spend helps cover our upfront set-up and ongoing support and technology costs. This includes any product demonstrations, training and 24/7 help and support required.

 

What counts as a user in Deputy for billing purposes?

Deputy Lite, Core, Pro, Enterprise, Premium, Scheduling, Time and Attendance, and Flexi plans

All users will incur a charge regardless of invite status (ie. Users with the status of Not invited or invite sent or onboarding in progress will still be billed). The only users that will not incur a charge are archived users or users with Advisor access permission.

Deputy charges per calendar month for the total number of unique users in the Deputy account within the month period. A user contributes to the total when they are in the People tab and not in an archived state.

Note: Users that are archived for the whole month do not contribute to the user count but users that are archived or unarchived part way through the month will contribute to the user count for the month.

User status:

  • Hiring/Interviewing (Deputy HR): No charge until user is Hired
  • In People Tab, no invitation sent: Included in usage charge
  • In People Tab, invitation sent (not accepted): Included in usage charge
  • In People Tab, archived mid-month: Included in usage charge for the month in which the user is archived
  • In People Tab, archived for full month: Not included in usage charge

 

Why is my Analytics report for users in the account showing a different number of users than my invoice?

As Deputy looks at the total number of unique users in the People tab for the month, archived, deleted or recently hired individuals will count toward your invoice that may not be captured in your Analytics report filters.

Deputy Flexi plans

Deputy Flexi plan also charges a different price depending on whether the user is active or inactive.

A team member is considered active when any of the following occurs:

  • A shift has been published for the team member
  • A timesheet has been submitted by the team member
  • The team member has had a timesheet approved
  • The team member has performed management functions such as creating a schedule, approving timesheets or leave, exporting payroll information, managing tasks, creating journal entries or reviewing reports.

If the user has not met at least one of the above criteria in a given week, they are considered inactive.

Read more about Flexi plan FAQs.

 

How do we charge for our Lite, Core, Pro plans?

Deputy charges customers a cost per user month fee, or may choose an annual plan for Lite, Core or Pro. Annual plans are prepaid for a nominated number of users.

All active or employed users in your account will incur a charge regardless of invite status. Users with the status of Not invited or invite sent or onboarding in progress will still be billed. Any new hires you invited or onboarded or added into Deputy during the month will still be billed.

The only users that will not incur a charge are archived users or users with Advisor status.

 

How does Deputy handle monthly billing for new, archived and unarchived users?

For plans other than Flexi, when you add a new user into Deputy for the first time, you will be charged at the full monthly per user price. For example, if you add a new employee 5 days before the end of the month, you will still get charged for that user for the full month.

When you archive a user in Deputy, the same logic applies as above and you will be charged the full month. For example, if you archive an employee after 10 days of a month, you will still be charged for that user for the full month.

However, if you unarchive a previously archived user we will bill for the full per user price for that month, regardless of the time or day that they were unarchived.

 

Do I still get charged for team members with a status of "not invited"?

Yes. Any team member not in an archived state within the Deputy platform will incur a user charge, regardless of their invitation status.

 

I've subscribed to an Annual plan during the trial period. When does my billing start?

Your annual period will run from the next month of the trial end date, giving you some extra days to use Deputy for free.

For example, if you sign up for an annual plan on 25th June and your free trial was due to run out on the 5th of July, your billing period will begin on the 1st of August, giving you the rest of July at no extra cost.

You will be charged immediately depending on your payment method, but you will still get the extra days for free.

 

What is the difference between Lite, Core and Pro?

For a detailed feature comparison, see our Pricing plans article.

Lite

The Lite plan is designed for small teams starting out. It includes basic scheduling, timesheets, and compliance tools in one system, making it ideal for single-location teams just getting started with workforce management.

Core

The Core plan is built for growing teams that need more control and insight. It offers advanced scheduling, detailed reporting, team communication, and support, making it well-suited for teams with one or multiple locations looking to streamline operations as they grow.

Pro

The Pro plan is tailored for large, distributed teams with complex needs. It includes all Core features plus enterprise-grade capabilities such as custom roles and permissions, advanced analytics, premium support, and audit logs. Pro also comes with full access to the Analytics+ and Messaging+ add-ons, making it ideal for large teams across multiple locations with detailed operational requirements.

 

Can I have some users on one plan and some users on another?

No, it's not possible to have some users on Core and some users on Lite (for example). You can only sign up to one plan type at a time for each Deputy account.

 

What is our AU/US/UK Pricing? How much does each plan cost?

Pricing for Deputy is available on our pricing page: https://www.deputy.com/pricing

 

What payment methods do you currently support?

Deputy accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, direct debit (AU, UK, & US only) and PayPal payment methods.

 

Are system administrator /account owners/dummy employees included in the per user fee?

Deputy charges based on the number of people in the account. A system admin is always included in the per user fee as are any 'dummy or test' employees that are in the system.

 

Do you have annual pricing?

Annual pricing is only available for Lite, Core and Pro versions of Deputy. With annual you pre-pay for the number of users you will need in advance.

You can add more users above that amount as you go along and you will be billed for the extra users at the prorated annual rate for the amount of time remaining on your initial annual term.

eg. If you sign up for Deputy annual billing with 10 users, you will immediately be billed for 10 users for 12 months at the discounted annual rate. If you add another 5 users after 6 months you will then be billed 5 users at the annual rate for the 6 months remaining on the initial 12-month term.

Note: You can not reduce the number of users subscribed during the 12-month period once you have pre-paid for them.

 

Can I cancel my annual subscription and get a refund for the remaining months?

If you are on an annual plan, you can cancel your plan before your 12 months expires, however, there are no refunds in this instance and you will lose access to your Deputy account as soon as you cancel.

 

Is there an additional charge if I add more locations to the account?

Deputy does not charge for additional locations on the same account. You can have as many locations as needed on one account.

 

Why has my Deputy bill increased? 

As Deputy continues to grow around the world, we’re evolving how we operate locally. This means we’ll increasingly be rolling out new features and updates to meet the specific needs of UK/US businesses. Part of operating locally also means complying with local tax laws and regulations.

You may incur charges, in addition to your plan costs, for SMS notifications sent from your account.

In Australia and UK, you may incur extra charges if you utilise the optional Employee Onboarding feature.

 

Who is Deputy EMEA Limited?

Deputy EMEA Limited is the UK arm of Deputy Group, based out of the UK.

 

Who is Deputy Corporation?

Deputy Corporation is the American arm of Deputy Group, based out of the USA.

We are still all the same company, and your Deputy experience will remain the same. This is purely a change to billing practice to ensure global tax and regulatory compliance.

 

(UK customers) Will the VAT charge be included or additional to my existing Deputy bill?

The 20% VAT is an addition to the existing price, which may mean it will be an additional cost for businesses that are unable to claim back VAT. We do not have the ability to charge or remove VAT, this is a requirement from HMRC that we need to comply with.

 

(Non-UK EU only) Why do you need my VAT number?

For non-UK customers in the EU, if you provide your VAT number, then we do not need to charge you VAT. 

 

If I cancel my subscription with Deputy when do I lose access to my account?

If you cancel an annual subscription you'll lose access to your account as soon as the cancellation has been completed. This can be done at any time during the contract term, but no refunds will be given for the unused portion.

Similarly, if you cancel a monthly subscription, you will lose access to your account immediately. A final monthly invoice for that month will be produced and charged to the payment method on file when you cancel. 

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