Traditional punch cards and paper timesheets have become a thing of the past. Like the vast majority of other business and HR functions, logging employee hours have gone digital.
Time clock software makes it easier for employers to track and manage how long their staff works every day.
Your employees will enjoy the benefits of a digital time clock as well. In addition to the standard clock-in and clock-out functions, time clock software provides features like employee scheduling and PTO management.
Time clock software resolves issues related to time-tracking for remote employees, field service workers, and other industry-specific use cases.
Plus, your bookkeeper or HR staff won’t have to manually add up hours on time cards anymore—which can lead to human error and pay discrepancies. Overall, time clock software improves HR inefficiencies and simplifies time tracking.
The Top 8 Best Time Clock Software
This guide contains in-depth reviews on the eight best time clock software solutions on the market today. We’ll cover the features, benefits, pricing, use cases, and potential drawbacks of each software on the list.
#1 – OnTheClock — Best Overall Time Clock Software
• Free for 2 employees
• Starts at $2.50
• Payroll integrations
• GPS time clock
• 30 Day Free Trial
OnTheClock is our top recommendation in this category. It’s a web-based time clock software, so you and your staff can access it from anywhere.
More than 9,000 companies trust OnTheClock for tracking employee hours and managing compliance.
Getting started is simple. Just open an account, and onboard your employees. Once your staff has received an invitation to join, they can start using the time clock right away from any approved device.
OnTheClock seamlessly integrates with payroll software like Paychex, ADP, Gusto, Sage, QuickBooks, and more. This allows you to accurately run payroll without having to worry about human error entering numbers.
You’ll also have the ability to leverage a GPS employee time clock. This allows you to hold remote employees accountable for their actual location. Use this feature to set up geo-fenced locations to be sure your staff is actually at work when they punch in or out.
The software also lets you manage PTO hours, scheduling, alerts, employee reminders, and more.
Pricing is based on the number of employees. It’s free for up to two employees. Paid plans start at $2.50 per employee for businesses with ten or fewer staff members. The more employees you have, the lower your per employee rate will be.
OnTheClock offers discounts for government organizations, educational institutions, churches, and nonprofits. Try it free for 30 days.
#2 – Homebase — Best Free Time Clock Software
• Free for unlimited employees
• Track breaks
• Works on POS systems
• Manage compliance
• Start For Free
Homebase is one of the most feature-rich time clock solutions on the market today. It’s trusted by 100,000+ businesses large and small across industries like retail, food and beverage, health and beauty, professional services, and more.
The best part about Homebase? The software is 100%.
Some of the top features and benefits of Homebase’s time clock software include:
- Clock-in and out from mobile devices, computers, and POS systems
- Employee-specific PINs
- Track breaks
- Stay compliant with state, federal, and local regulations
- Timesheet records and FLSA compliance
- Track hours, tips, and overtime
- Automatically identify missed breaks or clockouts
- Payroll software integrations
In addition to time clock software, Homebase offers tools for job postings, application tracking, and employee scheduling—all for free.
Advanced features like health and safety screening, remote and field work management, time-off policies, employee onboarding, and e-signatures require a paid plan:
- Essentials — $14 per month per location
- Plus — $35 per month per location
- All-In-One — $70 per month per location
Try any paid plan free for 14 days; no credit card required.
#3 – ClockInEasy — Best Simple Time Clock Software
• $4 per employee
• GPS enabled clock-ins
• Facial recognition biometrics
• Customer overtime rules and rounding
• 14 Day Free Trial
ClockInEasy is a cloud-based employee time clock solution. The software can be accessed via mobile app, web browser, or tablet devices.
I like ClockInEasy because it’s so simple. You’ll benefit from basic and advanced features without feeling overwhelmed. You can track employee hours to the very minute to streamline your digital timesheets.
With TimeClockEasy, you’ll benefit from features like:
- Payroll reporting and one-click exports
- Labor compliance
- GPS-backed clock-ins
- Biometrics facial recognition
- Custom policies and settings
The software makes it easy for you to configure things like custom overtime rules, time-off, rounding, and more. Turn any tablet device into an on-site punch clock for in-person attendance with unique employee PINs.
TimeClockEasy is free forever for managing one employee. It costs $4 per month for small to medium businesses with up to 99 employees. For 100+ users, contact TimeClockEasy for enterprise pricing.
Try it free for 14 days.
#4 – Time Clock Wizard — Best Unlimited Users Plan
• Free for unlimited users
• Starts at $14.95
• Employee scheduling
• Payroll reporting
• 14 Day Free Trial
Time Clock Wizard is trusted by 100,000+ businesses of all shapes and sizes. It’s used by more than one million employees and has tracked over 300 million hours.
Well-known brands like Allstate, Hallmark, Mercedes Benz, T-Mobile, and Century 21 use Time Clock Wizard for tracking employee hours.
The software has an outstanding dashboard with user permissions for every level, including employees and administrators. It’s an all-in-one solution for time tracking, employee scheduling, task management, and payroll reporting.
Top features of Time Clock Wizard include:
- Remote employee tracking
- PTO tracking
- Payroll sync
- Expense reimbursement
- Employee shift planning
- iOS and Android mobile apps
- Enterprise-grade security
- GPS locations
Time Clock Wizard does offer a free plan for unlimited users. However, the plan is extremely basic and doesn’t even come with the ability to access the software via mobile apps.
Here’s a quick look at paid plans from Time Clock Wizard:
- Value — $14.95 per month
- Pro — $29.95 per month
- Enterprise — $99.95 per month
The Value and Enterprise plans both support unlimited users, whereas the Pro plan accommodates up to 50 users. If you’re on a tight budget, the Value plan offers everything you need for basic time clock management. But you’ll need to choose a higher tier for features like GPS, time-off management, payroll reporting, and employee scheduling.
Try Time Clock Wizard free for 14 days.
#5 – TimeClockPlus — Best Time Clock Software For Large Employers
• Starts at $2.50
• 300+ integrations
• Employee scheduling
• Time clock hardware available
• Get 2 Months Free
TimeClockPlus is an all-in-one time and attendance system. In addition to time clocks and time clock software, the platform has features for workforce scheduling and absence management.
It’s an excellent solution for larger organizations that need to manage employees at scale across multiple locations.
If you’re in the market for physical time clock devices combined with time clock software, TimeClockPlus will be a top choice for you to consider.
You’ll benefit from in-depth reports and at-a-glance visuals to help you gain a better understanding of your workforce. This time clock software is fully customizable to meet the unique needs of every organization. It supports end-to-end time and attendance workflows.
Use TimeClockPlus for features like:
- Maximizing workforce efficiency
- Labor costing
- Automated validation
- Leave accrual compliance
- FMLA compliance
- Time off requests and approvals
- Employee scheduling with employee-initiated swaps
- Overtime calculations
- Geolocation
TimeClockPlus integrates with 300+ third-party tools for payroll, ERP, and HCM systems, including ADP, Oracle, Namely, Paychex, QuickBooks, and more.
The software starts at $2.50 per employee per month, which comes with all of the time and attendance essentials. For workforce management, scheduling, and payroll export, plans start at $5 per employee per month.
Get two months free with annual billing.
#6 – ClockShark — Best Time Clock Software For Field Service Employees
• $3 per employee
• Geofencing technology
• Mobile workforce management
• Employee scheduling
• 14 Day Free Trial
ClockShark is unique compared to some of the other solutions on our list. This software is designed specifically for construction and field service industries that are making the switch from paper timesheets.
With ClockShark, you’ll be able to automate time tracking on job sites with GPS technology and custom geofencing capabilities.
Set up clock out questions for back-office purposes related to things like expense reimbursement, breaks, injuries, and more.
Keep track of your mobile workforce and field service crews as they are constantly on the go to different sites. You’ll have a complete map view of where everyone is at all times to hold employees accountable while improving daily route operations.
Other top features of ClockShark include:
- Desktop and mobile clock-ins
- Employee scheduling
- Robust mobile apps
- Quick reporting
- Payroll and accounting sync
- PTO management
ClockShark is great for franchises managing employees, multiple locations, and job sites in different areas.
There are three different plans for you to choose from:
- Basic — $15 base + $3 per employee per month
- Standard — $25 base + $6 per employee per month
- Pro — $45 base + $8 per employee per month
Get two months free when you sign up for an annual contract. Try any ClockShark plan free for 14 days to test it out.
#7 – uAttend — Best Time Clock Software For Small Business
• Starts at $20
• Employee scheduling
• Overtime alerts
• PTO management
• Free Demo
If you’re looking for a simple cloud-based time clock software, uAttend should be at the top of your list. The solution is perfect for small businesses seeking an all-in-one solution for scheduling and time management.
In addition to the cloud software, you can also get physical time clocks from uAttend for in-person time tracking.
Top features and benefits of uAttend’s time clock software include:
- Punch restricting lockouts
- Punch rounding
- Department transfers
- Overtime alerts
- Geofencing
- PTO management
- Payroll exports
- Time-off requests
You and your employees can access the software from anywhere via the web or from the iOS and Android mobile apps. It’s easy to set up and onboard your staff as well.
Pricing is based on the number of employees you have. The rates are affordable for small businesses:
- 1-9 employees — $20 per month
- 10-19 employees — $34 per month
- 20-49 employees — $59 per month
- 50-99 employees — $94 per month
- 100+ employees — $119 per month
Request a free demo to get started.
#8 – 7shifts — Best Time Clock Software For Restaurants
• Free for 10 employees
• Starts at $17.99
• Employee scheduling
• POS integrations
• 60 Day Free Trial
7shifts is another industry-specific time clock solution. This software is made specifically for restaurants.
Trusted by 300,000+ restaurants worldwide, 7shifts one of the most popular solutions for employee scheduling in the foodservice industry. While the shift-scheduling aspect of this software is its primary focus, 7shifts also has time clock functionalities.
With 7shifts, your restaurant will benefit from features like:
- Manage compliance risks
- Track punch edits
- Monitor time and attendance trends
- Payroll reporting
- Break reminders
- Overtime alerts
- POS integrations
- Prevent unauthorized clock-ins
- Punch verification
You’ll also get to use all of the employee scheduling and team communication tools that 7shifts is known for. From managing team-wide announcements to shift feedback and KPI tracking, 7shifts has it all.
Here’s a look at the 7shifts plans and pricing:
- Comp — Free (for up to 10 employees)
- Appetizer — $17.99 per month per location
- Entrée — $39.99 per month per location
- The Works — $69.99 per month per location
The Appetizer plan supports up to 20 employees. Unlimited employees begin at the Entrée level. You can try 7shifts free for 60 days.
How to Find the Best Time Clock Software For You
Finding the best time clock software for your business can be challenging if you don’t know what to look for. I’ll explain the methodology that we used to pick the winners in this guide.
Every time clock software will have basic features for onboarding employees, clock-ins, clock-outs, and admin controls. But you should also keep an eye on the following:
Mobile Access
The best time clock software will offer mobile app access for iOS and Android. Employees, managers, and owners alike can use the app for punching in, punching out, managing requests, and tracking hours, and more.
Don’t assume that every time clock software comes with an app. There are some free solutions out there that don’t offer app access. So in some instances, you’ll need to upgrade to a certain plan to use the mobile app features.
Apps make clock-ins and clock-outs much more convenient for everyone.
GPS and Geofencing
Without GPS and geofencing technology, employees could theoretically clock-in from anywhere, even if they aren’t at work. These features are crucial for field-service industries and managing a mobile workforce.
How will you know if a contractor or field-service worker is actually on a job site when they punch in? By drawing a custom geofence around that location, punch-ins and punch-outs will only work if an employee enters that area. So someone can’t be sitting on their couch claiming they’re at work.
Integrations
Make sure the software you choose integrates with other tools that you’re already using—specifically for payroll, HR, and point-of-sales.
If the software doesn’t sync with your payroll solution, you’ll have to manually enter the data associated with the hours tracked. This process is tedious and susceptible to errors.
Some businesses want their employees to clock in at the POS system. If you fall into that category, make sure the software is compatible with whatever you’re using.
Employee Scheduling
Employee scheduling goes hand in hand with time tracking. Time clock software allows you and your staff to manage all of this from a single source of truth.
Some solutions will alert employees about shifts. As the owner or manager, you can get notifications related to overtime. Scheduling features can help you remain compliant with labor laws and even prevent unauthorized clock-ins. So this is definitely a feature that you should be looking for.
Conclusion
What’s the best time clock software? We recommend OnTheClock. Its features, benefits, pricing, and use cases make it the most versatile solution on our list.
But that’s not the only option to consider.
For free time clock software, use Homebase. ClockInEasy and Time Clock Wizard are both ideal for those of you who prioritize simplicity. TimeClockPlus is the best option for large businesses, and uAttend is our top pick for small businesses. We recommend 7shifts for restaurants and ClockShark for field service industries.
Regardless of your business size and industry, the best time clock software for you can be found on our list.
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