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Deputy alternative

Urhere vs Deputy in New Zealand

Both tools roster staff, record attendance and produce payroll-ready timesheets. For a New Zealand team the practical questions are how you are billed — per site or per user — and whether approved hours reach Xero Payroll NZ without re-keying. Every Deputy claim below carries the source and the date we checked it.

Urhere is $20 AUD (ex GST) per location, per month · 14-day free trial

Weekly roster

Mila's Moonshine · 12–18 May

Staff
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Jamie M.
9–5
9–5
9–5
9–3
Sam R.
2–10
2–10
2–10
Kim L.
Annual leave
Tom P.
10–6
10–6
10–4
4 staff · 12 shifts · Draft Preview before publishing →
Quick verdict

Urhere vs Deputy for a New Zealand team

Urhere is best for

New Zealand businesses running one or more sites who want rostering, attendance, timesheet approval, leave and payroll-ready exports in one subscription priced per site.

The alternative is best for

Teams that need Deputy's deeper scheduling automation — demand forecasting, labour optimisation, pay centres, SSO — and accept per-user pricing plus add-ons.

Principal difference

Urhere covers the roster-to-payroll workflow in one plan. Deputy sells a tiered platform with payroll, HR, messaging and analytics as separately priced modules.

Pricing model

Per site versus per user. Both are billed in AUD for New Zealand customers, but Urhere's bill only moves when you open a site.

Suitability in New Zealand

Urhere supports Xero Payroll NZ export on New Zealand accounts, switched on per account. Leave is not part of that export in the initial rollout.

Feature comparison

Urhere and Deputy for a New Zealand team

Competitor details are taken from the vendor's own published pages on the date shown. Where a vendor does not publish a detail we mark it Not confirmed rather than claiming it is missing.

Pricing

Pricing model

Urhere

Per-location

One flat price per site, per month, billed in AUD. Every employee at that site is included.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Deputy

Per-user

Charged per user per month across three plans (Lite, Core, Pro). Deputy states that customers in New Zealand are billed in Australian dollars.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Minimum spend

Urhere

Included

No minimum team size and no minimum monthly spend — a single-site business pays for one site.

Deputy

Requires configuration

A minimum monthly spend per invoice applies to monthly Lite, Core and Pro plans (stated as effective from September 2025).

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Paid add-on modules

Urhere

Included

No add-on modules. Rostering, attendance, timesheets, leave, employee records and payroll exports are part of the same subscription.

Deputy

Add-on

Payroll, HR, Messaging+ and Analytics+ are priced separately per user per month; Messaging+ and Analytics+ are included in the Pro plan.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Free trial

Urhere

Included

14-day free trial. No credit card required.

Deputy

Not confirmed

Deputy offers a free trial. The trial length is not stated on its pricing page, so we have not published a figure.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Rostering

Rostering across sites

Urhere

Included

Roster several sites from one account, with role and area views per site and site-scoped manager access.

Deputy

Plan-dependent

Scheduling is on every plan; location hierarchies and pay centres are listed as Pro-plan features.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Availability and clash checks

Urhere

Included

Employees submit availability and unavailability; the roster flags clashes and double-bookings before you publish.

Deputy

Available

Leave and availability management is listed on all plans.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Shift swaps, offers and open-shift claims

Urhere

Included

Employees request a swap, accept an offered shift or claim an open shift. Every request needs manager approval before the roster changes.

Deputy

Available

Shift swap and find-replacement are listed on all plans.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Time & attendance

Mobile clock-in

Urhere

Included

Employees clock in and out from the iOS or Android app.

Deputy

Available

Clock-in apps for tablet, mobile, web and watch are listed on all plans.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Shared kiosk and QR clock-in

Urhere

Included

A shared tablet kiosk records on-site clock-ins, and QR-first check-in can be required at a site.

Deputy

Plan-dependent

Basic time clocking is listed on all plans; biometric kiosk clocking with face-unlock is listed from the Core plan.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

GPS and geofenced clock-in

Urhere

Requires configuration

Area geofencing is a feature-gated option enabled per workspace, then configured per site or area.

Deputy

Plan-dependent

Geofencing appears in the plan comparison table; the pricing page does not state which plans include it.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Timesheet review and approval

Urhere

Included

Recorded times land in a timesheet inbox. A manager adjusts and approves them before anything can be exported to payroll.

Deputy

Plan-dependent

Timesheets are on all plans; timesheet auto-approval is listed from Core and advanced timesheets from Pro.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Payroll & integrations

Xero Payroll NZ export

Urhere

Requires configuration

Xero Payroll NZ export is available on NZ accounts. It is switched on per account and set up with us, and leave is not exported in the initial New Zealand rollout.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Deputy

Not confirmed

Deputy lists payroll integrations generally but does not set out its New Zealand payroll support on its pricing page. Ask the vendor to confirm for your Xero organisation.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Other payroll export targets

Urhere

Included

Excel exports are available on every account, and Xero Payroll, MYOB and Pronto exports are available where they suit your payroll setup.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Deputy

Add-on

Deputy also sells its own Payroll module as a paid per-user add-on. Availability by country is not set out on the pricing page.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Penalty, overtime and allowance rates

Urhere

Requires configuration

Pay rate templates for penalties, overtime and allowances are configured with you during setup, and produce a per-shift cost ledger.

Checked 4 Aug 2026

Deputy

Not confirmed

Deputy publishes pay-rule interpretation features per plan, but not how they apply to New Zealand pay rules. Ask the vendor.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Employee management

Leave requests and approvals

Urhere

Included

Employees request leave in the app and managers approve it against the roster. Leave is recorded in Urhere; it is not exported to Xero Payroll NZ in the initial rollout.

Deputy

Available

Leave and availability management is listed on all plans.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Employee records and onboarding documents

Urhere

Included

Employee profiles, pay details and onboarding document collection are part of the subscription.

Deputy

Add-on

Paperless onboarding, document management and a career hub are part of the paid HR add-on.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Reporting

Hours and cost reporting

Urhere

Included

Hours and cost per shift, per area and per site, with exports for finance.

Deputy

Plan-dependent

Basic reporting is on Lite; Analytics+ is a paid add-on and is included in Pro.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Support & implementation

Implementation and onboarding help

Urhere

Included

Guided setup with the Urhere team — sites, areas, roles, pay rules and payroll mapping configured with you, including the Xero Payroll NZ connection.

Deputy

Plan-dependent

Self-serve onboarding is listed on Lite, a customer success manager from Core, and a dedicated customer success manager on Pro.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Support channels

Urhere

Included

Email support and the Urhere help centre for every customer, in an Australia/New Zealand timezone.

Deputy

Plan-dependent

24/7 live chat is listed on the Pro plan.

Source · checked 4 Aug 2026

Pricing model

Per site or per user

Both products bill New Zealand customers in Australian dollars, so the comparison comes down to the unit you are charged on.

Urhere — per site

$20 AUD ex GST per location, per month

All prices are exclusive of GST.

One price per active site per month, whatever the headcount at that site. No add-on modules and no minimum team size, so hiring for a busy season does not change the bill.

Deputy — per user, plus add-ons

Three per-user plans (Lite, Core, Pro), with Payroll, HR, Messaging+ and Analytics+ priced separately per user per month and a minimum monthly spend on monthly plans. Deputy states New Zealand customers are billed in Australian dollars.

Vendor pricing page · checked 4 Aug 2026

Deputy figures are taken from its published pricing page on the date shown and exclude applicable taxes. Vendor pricing changes — check the current page before deciding. We do not publish a savings figure because it depends on your headcount per site.

In the product

What the workflow looks like in Urhere

Illustrative views of a normal week — rostering, clock-in, timesheet approval and payroll export.

Weekly roster

Mila's Moonshine · 12–18 May

Staff
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Jamie M.
9–5
9–5
9–5
9–3
Sam R.
2–10
2–10
2–10
Kim L.
Annual leave
Tom P.
10–6
10–6
10–4
4 staff · 12 shifts · Draft Preview before publishing →
Build the roster per site, with roles and areas, then publish it to the team.
2:04 PM

Mon 11 May

Clock in — Bar staff

Mila's Moonshine

Your shift today

Start

2:00 PM

Finish

6:00 PM

Break

30 min

Role

Bar staff

Clocked in

2:04 PM · Manager notified

Employees clock in from the app, or on a shared tablet kiosk at the site.

Timesheet approval

Pay period: 5–11 May

3 pending

Jamie M.

38.5 hrs · 5 shifts

Approved

Sam R.

32 hrs · 4 shifts

Pending

Kim L.

1 exception to review

Exception

Tom P.

Missing clock-in — Wed shift

Review

Alex L.

16 hrs · 2 shifts

Pending
1 of 5 approved Review all timesheets →
Recorded times arrive in the timesheet inbox for a manager to adjust and approve.

Payroll export

Pay period: 5–11 May · Xero Payroll

Ready
Timesheets approved 5 of 5
Total hours 143.5 hrs
Pay items mapped All mapped
Destination Xero Payroll
Manual re-entry required None
Approved timesheets export to Xero Payroll NZ on New Zealand accounts, or to Excel.
End-to-end workflow

Roster to payroll export, in one system

The same five steps every pay period — nothing is re-keyed between them.

  1. 1

    Roster

    Build and publish the roster per site, checking availability and clashes as you go.

  2. 2

    Attendance

    Employees clock in from the app, a shared kiosk or a QR check-in at the site.

  3. 3

    Review

    A manager reviews recorded times against the roster and adjusts exceptions.

  4. 4

    Approved timesheet

    Approval is an explicit step — nothing reaches payroll until a manager signs it off.

  5. 5

    Payroll export

    Approved hours export to Xero Payroll NZ (available on NZ accounts) or to Excel.

Switching

Moving from Deputy to Urhere

We configure the workspace with you, including the Xero Payroll NZ connection, rather than handing over an empty account.

Step 1

Set up sites and areas

Your sites, areas and roles are created to match how each site actually runs.

Step 2

Bring employees across

Employee records are imported, including pay details and the documents you need on file.

Step 3

Connect Xero Payroll NZ

We switch on the New Zealand export for your account, connect your Xero organisation and map earnings rates with you.

Step 4

Run a parallel pay period

Roster a week in Urhere alongside your current system and compare the approved timesheet before switching.

Is it the right fit?

Where each option fits

An honest read, so you do not spend a trial finding out the hard way.

Urhere is a good fit when

  • You run one or more New Zealand sites with hourly or casual staff and want a predictable bill as headcount moves.
  • You want rostering, attendance, timesheet approval and a payroll export in one place, not four modules.
  • You run payroll in Xero Payroll NZ, or you are happy with an Excel export.
  • You want the setup done with you, including the payroll connection and earnings-rate mapping.

Deputy may fit better when

  • You need demand forecasting, auto-scheduling or labour optimisation as a core part of how you roster.
  • You want SSO, custom access levels, pay centres or a sandbox environment.
  • You want payroll processing and an HR suite from the same vendor and accept per-user add-on pricing.
  • You have a small team where per-user pricing works out lower than a per-site price.

Worth raising with us first

  • Xero Payroll NZ export — it is switched on per account, and leave is not exported in the initial New Zealand rollout.
  • Geofenced clock-in — a feature-gated option we enable per workspace, so tell us if you need it.
  • Your pay rules for penalties, overtime and allowances, so we can configure and test them before you commit.

Common questions from New Zealand teams switching from Deputy

Urhere charges one flat price per active site per month, with every employee at that site included. Deputy charges per user per month across Lite, Core and Pro and prices Payroll, HR, Messaging+ and Analytics+ separately. Deputy states that New Zealand customers are billed in Australian dollars, as Urhere's New Zealand pricing is. Which works out cheaper depends on how many people work at each of your sites.
Yes — Xero Payroll NZ export is available on New Zealand accounts. We switch it on for your account, connect your Xero organisation and map earnings rates with you. Leave is not part of the New Zealand export in the initial rollout, so leave is recorded in Urhere and entered in Xero separately for now.
Yes. New Zealand customers use the same Urhere application as Australian customers and are billed in Australian dollars. Your sites, staff and payroll connection are set up for New Zealand.
Pay rate templates for penalties, overtime and allowances are configured with you during setup, and Urhere produces a cost ledger per shift so you can see labour cost as you roster. We set these up against your own pay rules.
Yes. Employee records are imported during onboarding, along with the pay details and documents you need on file. Tell us what you hold in Deputy today and we will confirm what can be carried over before you start.
Urhere records clock-in and clock-out times, breaks, adjustments and who approved each timesheet, and keeps that history against the shift. That is the data your payroll process is built on — it is not a substitute for advice on your obligations as an employer.

Roster your New Zealand sites in Urhere

One price per site, per month. Rostering, attendance, timesheet approval and Xero Payroll NZ export on New Zealand accounts. Try it free for 14 days.

One plan, priced per location.

Rostering, time and attendance, timesheets and payroll-ready exports — one simple plan per location. No per-user fees, no add-ons, no lock-in. Try free for 14 days.