Deputy Enterprise accounts can request access to a sandbox associated with their account to allow for testing and training without affecting the Deputy account used to run their day-to-day operations.
This article will discuss the management and limitations of using a sandbox in Deputy:
- What is a sandbox?
- How is a sandbox different from my regular Deputy account?
- How can I request a sandbox?
- Who can access a sandbox?
- How do I log in to a sandbox?
- What if I use SSO on my main Deputy account?
- How do I add a user to the sandbox?
- Sandbox testing limitations
- Refreshing a sandbox
What is a Deputy sandbox?
A Deputy sandbox is a test environment that is a copy of your regular Deputy account at a specific point in time. This 'copy' environment can then be used for testing or training without affecting your operational, day-to-day Deputy account.
How is a sandbox different from my regular Deputy account?
A sandbox is simply a copy of your regular account at a specific point in time (including the point in time when it is refreshed) and as such, any changes you make in the regular Deputy account aren't automatically synced to your sandbox in real-time. Similarly, any changes you make in your sandbox are not synced to your regular Deputy account.
Also, the following data is NOT copied from your regular Deputy account to the sandbox at any time:
- employee information such as email address, phone number or address
- sales data
- custom app data
- historical data such as timesheet history
See sandbox testing limitations.
Note: Your Deputy sandbox will look very similar to your regular account since it's a copy. If you are logged into Deputy and/or the sandbox and can't remember if you are accessing the sandbox or your regular live Deputy account please check the URL in the browser. If the URL contains the word "demo' such as sparkandco.demo.deputy.com shown below, then you know you are accessing the sandbox.
How can I request a sandbox?
System Administrators for Deputy Enterprise accounts can submit a ticket to our Support team including the following information:
- Deputy account URL
- Deputy account name
- Reason for sandbox request
- Let us know whether you currently enforce SSO on your Deputy account
Please consider which team members from your organisation will require access to your sandbox before you request one to be created. All System Administrators in your Deputy account at the time of the sandbox creation will automatically be given the ability to log into the sandbox. More users can not be added to the sandbox later without refreshing the sandbox.
Who can access a sandbox?
All users with an access level of System Administrator in your regular Deputy account will receive an email from Deputy when the sandbox is created or refreshed and will be able to log into your sandbox.
Other users in your Deputy account can also log into the sandbox provided that the user knows:
- the sandbox URL
- their username
- their password
How do I log in to a sandbox?
URL
Once a sandbox has been created, an email is sent to every System Administrator in the Deputy account notifying them of the URL to access the sandbox as well as their personal username.
- A Deputy sandbox URL takes the following format: https://account.demo.deputy.com
- e.g. a Deputy account https://sparkandco.au.deputy.com would have a sandbox account https://sparkandco.demo.deputy.com
Username
You do not use your email address to log into your sandbox - you will need to use the username supplied in the email that was sent out when the sandbox was created or refreshed
- The username will default to the first letter of the first name + last name.
- eg. Bob Smith's username will be bsmith. If another user in your account (active or archived) also has the same name 'Bob Smith' then the second username would become b2smith.
Managers with access to the People tab can inform other users of their username by reviewing their profile in the People tab. Select the Personal tab and view the Login username under the Login information section.
Password
Use the same password to access the sandbox as you use to access your regular Deputy account with the below exception:
- If a sandbox is refreshed but a user's password is changed in your regular Deputy account after the refresh then the sandbox account will still be using the old password as the user password information will only be updated the next time the sandbox is refreshed and not in real-time.
What if I use SSO on my main Deputy account?
Even if your main Deputy account enforces Single Sign On (SSO), you can not use SSO to log in to a Deputy sandbox.
You need to request a sandbox that does not enforce SSO so that you can log in with the username and password that is provided for your sandbox.
When logging into your sandbox account you will need to use a different browser or incognito mode on the browser you may currently be logged into your main Deputy account using SSO.
If you don't know your Deputy password (because you always use SSO in your main Deputy account) you can reset it at once.deputy.com and click on Forgot password to update the password, however, you will then need to contact Support as the password on the sandbox will still be the old one until it is refreshed.
How do I add a user to the sandbox?
To add another user to your sandbox you will need to add them as a System Administrator in your regular Deputy account and then reach out to Support to have your sandbox refreshed.
Note: If you have performed testing or work in your sandbox this will be lost when you refresh so it is better to ensure that all the users you need to access the sandbox are added to your Deputy account as System Administrators at the time of sandbox creation.
Sandbox testing limitations
Testing integrations
If you're doing any testing for integrations or custom apps, please be aware they may not work in a sandbox environment. This is because many integrations rely on employees' email and phone numbers to function fully and these details are not copied to the sandbox.
If you need to test an integration but don't want to use your regular Deputy account, we instead suggest creating a second Deputy trial account. Follow the instructions in Adding another business in Deputy. Note that the account you create will need to be configured as a brand new account (ie. no settings or information are duplicated from your existing account) and it will be a free trial account for a limited time so you would need to complete the testing within that time period or else reach out to apisupport@deputy.com to have the trial extended.
Notifications
Notifications are not active in a sandbox account so this aspect of Deputy needs to be tested in your regular Deputy account or a trial account.
Mobile, Kiosk or Time Clock Testing
You can't log into a Deputy sandbox to perform mobile, kiosk or time clock testing.
Refreshing a sandbox
Refreshing a sandbox is a function that is performed by Deputy upon request. You can request a sandbox refresh by raising a ticket with Support.
When a sandbox is refreshed it means a new copy of your regular Deputy account will be made, at that point in time. If you have performed any work in the sandbox since it was first created or last refreshed then this work will be lost and the sandbox will now be an exact copy of your regular Deputy account at the time of refresh with the usual exceptions.
If you need a sandbox to be refreshed please be aware:
- Sandboxes are refreshed between 8pm and 6am (in the account's local time zone) unless requested otherwise.
- Each time a sandbox is refreshed, an email is sent to every system administrator in your Deputy account with their login details and the demo account URL. Note: If a sandbox is refreshed and a user's password is changed afterwards in the regular Deputy account, the sandbox account will still be using the old password.