How The Cat Doctors Replaced Deputy and WhatsApp with One Platform Built for Their Whole Team

“It’s cheaper than Deputy and has more features. From a financial perspective, it’s also really beneficial for us.”

Jenna Howell, Practice Management Manager

Key Results

• One platform replaced Deputy, WhatsApp, and scattered emails, giving the whole team a single place to work from
• Scheduling that was manual and slow is now faster to build, with shift templates and copy-paste tools that save real time
• Every staff update is logged and searchable, so nothing gets lost when not everyone works the same day

The Challenge: Too Many Apps, Too Much Left to Chance

The Cat Doctors grew quickly over 12 months, moved into new premises, and found that their existing tools could not keep up. With a rotating part-time workforce across six days, communication was fragmented and scheduling took far longer than it should have.

• Rostering was managed in Deputy, communications ran through WhatsApp and emails, and critical operational updates were sent through separate channels with no central log
• Staff worked different days, which meant word-of-mouth communication failed regularly. Updates would not reach the right people at the right time
• Deputy lacked built-in chat and communication features, forcing the team to manage multiple apps just to keep daily operations running

“People don’t have to have an app for their roster and their time sheets and then download another app for communications and then another thing for onboarding. We just want to consolidate all of our systems into one.”

Jenna Howell, Practice Management Manager

How The Cat Doctors Use Connecteam to Run a More Connected Team

The practice adopted Connecteam to bring scheduling, time tracking, payroll sync, and communication into one place. The rollout started with the reception team, with plans to expand across all 26 staff over the coming months.

• Scheduling is built using shift templates with copy-paste functionality, making it faster to assign rotating staff across variable daily hours
• Team chat and the Updates feature replaced WhatsApp and email, giving leadership a single channel for announcements, policy changes, and shift updates
• Time sheets are being trialed with the reception team and synced with Xero, with the full payroll rollout planned once pay rules are confirmed for each staff member

“With the scheduling, I can build out the template and then select the shifts and fill people into those shifts. It’s actually much quicker to do in Connecteam. It’s been a good timesaver for me.”

Jenna Howell, Practice Management Manager

Results That Affect The Cat Doctors’ Bottom Line

A Platform That Costs Less and Does More

• Connecteam replaced Deputy at a lower cost while delivering features Deputy did not offer, including built-in chat, announcements, and onboarding tools
• The practice is consolidating from three separate tools (Deputy, WhatsApp, and email) into one, reducing complexity and management overhead
• The free trial gave the team confidence before committing, with no pressure to set up all 26 users before the platform proved its value

Support That Keeps the Team Moving

• Connecteam’s AI support bot resolved setup questions in real time, including a permissions issue that was diagnosed and fixed without waiting for a human agent
• The availability of on-demand help videos and the option to book live setup sessions reduced the burden on the practice manager during an already busy transition period
• Australia’s Right to Disconnect laws are supported by Connecteam’s notification settings, allowing staff to opt out of alerts on days off

“The bot was just there, sending the correct information all the time, so I could just keep moving with everything. I found that to be incredible because I’ve used chatbots before and half the time they don’t give you the right answer.”

Jenna Howell, Practice Management Manager

Before vs. After Connecteam

Why Connecteam Was the Right Move

Connecteam replaced multiple disconnected tools like Deputy, WhatsApp, and email with one centralized platform that improved scheduling, communication, payroll syncing, and onboarding, while also reducing costs and saving time for a growing part-time workforce.