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Among the different types of business time management solutions, time and attendance tracking software occupies a special position as the most long-standing and widely used one. It’s basically a modern-age alternative to punch cards where employees use a mobile or web app to clock in and out of work. And on your end, you get detailed buddy-punching-proof timesheets and reports.

Since there’s such a high demand for this software, the supply is also plentiful. This is why we’ve taken the time to review some of the most popular systems for tracking attendance and compiled a list of the 10 best time and attendance software on the market today.

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Before we dig into our final picks, here are the areas that we’ve taken into consideration and some reasons why it’s generally a good idea to pay attention to these things when choosing the right work time tracking app:

• Punch-in method: This is what your system is based on - it’s how your employees are going to clock in. This will dictate the software or hardware infrastructure that you’ll need to implement. Are you looking for secure biometric measures or just a really simple and convenient app?
• Features, reporting and analytics: Features will vary significantly depending on the software you choose. At the very least, you’ll get attendance tracking, scheduling and some form of payroll integration, but you’ll see that there’s much more that you can get.
• Ease of use: It’s really important that your time and attendance software is intuitive and that your employees can use it without problems, glitches and confusion. This is why we’ve also considered other users’ experiences when reviewing this aspect.
• Platforms: You should know which platforms and operating systems your chosen software can work on. All of the apps on this list have web, Android and iOS versions.
• Cost: You need to plan your budget and estimate whether each software is good value for money in terms of your needs. Most of these systems are charged per employee on a monthly basis, but the prices may vary significantly.
• Free trial or freemium software version: In order to really see whether an app is a good fit for your company, you should get some hands-on experience with it and see for yourself. Using a free trial (if there is one) is the best way to test it out without having to commit financially.
• Support and resources: No matter how good your software is, something can always go wrong. This is why you should look for an app that has a good support system and as many helpful resources as possible.
• User reviews: Finally, as we understand that you need a bigger picture and more perspectives, we’ve included a Capterra rating for each software. Since we tried to pick the very best, all of the apps on our list are rated more than 4 out of 5 stars.

One more thing before we begin - since we’ll be mentioning features quite a bit, it might be a good idea to explain some of the concepts here in case you’re not familiar with them. So, here’s a tiny glossary of time and attendance tracking terms:

• Alerts - this can either refer to alerting managers on policy violations (late arrivals, skipped breaks, etc.) or, more often, reminding employees of schedule changes or when it’s time to clock in or out
• Managing permissions - setting up team admins in order to protect confidential information
• Timecard - the attendance record for each employee, calculated based on their clock-ins and clock-outs
• Real-time visibility - lets you see who’s at work at any given time, all of the software on the list have this feature
• Geofencing - tracking employees’s location via GPS and only allowing them to clock in from a specific area
• Group clock-ins - the ability for multiple employees to punch in using one device
• Time clock kiosk - a designated tablet that acts as a time clock device and lets all of your employees clock in using it

Now that you understand which criteria we’ve used to review the chosen systems and what some of the common terms mean, we can jump straight on to our top 10 time and attendance tracking software list. First, we'll see top time and attendance software for 2020, with reviews and pricing; then, we'll give you more details about every software on the list.

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1. Kronos - Workforce Ready Time Keeping

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Kronos is one of the most popular time and attendance systems with many functionalities. Besides your employees being able to punch in using a web or mobile interface, Kronos also offers their own time clock device in case you want your workers to punch in physically at a designated spot (e.g. your building entrance).

It’s very versatile in the range of products and services it offers to organizations of different sizes and in different industries, but we’re focusing on Workforce Ready Time Keeping which is the time and attendance software in the sense that we’ve described in the introduction. This software has a variety of features, ranging from the basic ones like timecard management, scheduling and payroll, all the way to policy violation alerts, real-time visibility and leave policy tracking.

A good thing about Kronos is that it has offices worldwide, which is great for speedy customer support. You can find a lot of industry-related resources and multiple blogs on their website to help you stay up to date. Also, there’s a community forum you can turn to if you have any questions or problems.

The price isn’t provided on the website and is only available upon request but some sources quote the base monthly price of $40 plus $3.80 per employee which includes only the most basic features. This would make this system one of the most expensive on the list. However, we do advise you to contact Kronos in order to get a more accurate information. And there’s an option to schedule a free demo and see whether it would pay off for your company.

Kronos has a 4.1 star rating on Capterra, which is the lowest. One of the reasons is that the software can require too much customization, which can lead to it being confusing.

2. Humanity

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Humanity is a lightweight software that’s heavily based on scheduling. There’s only one punch-in method - through a mobile application, but there are many interesting features that you might find useful.

Apart from regular, auto and forecast-based scheduling (which is based on external data, such as estimated sales), Humanity offers you scheduling templates and rules, notifications, manager approvals, GPS clock-ins, customizable time-off policies, payroll integration, etc. Your employees can also apply for open time slots and trade shifts.

Humanity’s resources include help center, numerous guides and a blog, but you can also contact their support through various channels. This system is intuitive and has a clear interface, although its shift trading functionality is a bit more difficult to use.

The cost of the Starter plan is $2 per user per month and the Classic plan is $3 employee/month, but the minimum total monthly fee is $60 for either plan. However, they do have special offers for enterprises and you can enjoy their free trial for a whole month.

Humanity is rated 4.3 out of 5 stars on Capterra.

3. TimeClock Plus

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As another hugely popular time and attendance software, TimeClock Plus boasts even more functionalities than Kronos. Your employees can clock in either via a mobile app, web interface or by using one of many different time clock devices offered by TimeClock Plus. As an additional anti-time-theft measure, you can also implement biometric authentication in the form of fingerprint scanning or facial recognition.

Some of the advanced features of this software worth mentioning are: configurable geolocation and geofencing, group clock-ins, substitute staff finder, time off requests, punch approvals, automated scheduling, etc.

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Similar to Kronos, the price of TimeClock Plus is only available upon request. Although we came across the price of $24 per year per employee for a Standard cloud-based plan, it’s best you contacted the provider to ask for a quote. Unfortunately, though, there’s no free trial, only a consultation.

On Capterra, TimeClock Plus has a rating of a solid 4.5.

4. TSheets

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TSheets is one of the lightweight attendance tracking solutions but still comes with a lot of flexibility and functionalities. There are a couple of punch-in methods available, including web and mobile app, as well as a Time Clock Kiosk.

In terms of features, TSheets is much more than just timesheets as its name would suggest. Apart from the basic functionalities like scheduling, payroll and invoicing, it also allows you to manage breaks and time off, approve time, change job codes, set overtime rules, pay rates and alerts. It also offers GPS tracking and geofencing, as well as QuickBooks and other useful integrations.

TSheets is very easy to use and it features many clean insightful reports. It also has extensive resources and support, including video tutorials, webinars and a resource center.

Its price starts at $6.40 per user plus a $16 base fee per month, which is pretty costly compared to other systems, but the good news is that there’s only this one plan which means that you’ll get all of the features, so you don’t have to think about upgrading. In addition, there’s a 14-day free trial.

TSheets ranks pretty high on Capterra with a rating of 4.7 stars.

5. When I Work

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When I Work is an interesting time and attendance system because it’s the only one on the list that you can get for free. And still, you get a surprising number of different features. Among others, your employees can submit time off requests, trade shifts, get clock-out reminders, and you can share schedules, find shift replacements, etc. You also get geofencing capability, payroll integration, WorkChat (which is their own native communication functionality) and, what’s particularly useful, you can sync your schedules with Google Calendar.

Your workers have the option to punch in via a mobile app or a fixed terminal. The interface is generally user-friendly, and When I Work also puts a lot of effort into providing a vast array of helpful resources such as help center, webinars, blog, training resources for employees and managers, as well as special HR resources.

As mentioned, When I Work is a completely free app for up to 75 employees. If you have more employees or want more features, you can sign up for one of their paid plans - Basic, which is $1.50 per user per month, or Pro, which costs $2.25 per user per month. They also offer custom pricing for enterprises.

Other users seem to be happy with the app as well, since it has a 4.5-star rating on Capterra.

6. Deputy

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Deputy is an easy to use time and attendance software that specializes both in time and attendance, and scheduling.

It’s not particularly flexible in terms of punch-in methods, as it only allows clock-ins through a mobile app, but this is compensated in part by the diversity of its features. It includes manual and auto scheduling, leave management, payroll, timesheets approvals, break planning, invoicing, geofencing and facial recognition. In addition, it also has some pretty novel features that not many of its competitors have, such as document sharing and tasking (i.e. the ability to assign tasks to certain employees). One downside is that custom reporting is only available in their Premium plan.

As for the cost of this time and attendance tracking software, you can either choose between Scheduling or Time and Attendance plans (each will cost you $2.50 per employee per month), or you can get a Premium plan which includes both functionalities plus some additional ones and comes with a monthly fee of $4 per employee. Deputy also offers custom plans for enterprises and a free trial.

Finally, one other good aspect of this software is the fact you get an around-the-clock customer support with any price plan, and you can also find some useful employee guides, webinars and scheduling templates on their website.

Capterra reviews for Deputy are extremely positive, averaging 4.7 out of 5 stars.

7. Replicon

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Replicon is a rather complex and sophisticated timesheet software which lets your employees clock in using a mobile app or a tablet time clock kiosk (which is only supported on iOS). This system also has biometric facial recognition functionality as an additional layer of employee identification and buddy-punching prevention.

Some of its features include overtime tracking, timesheet approvals, GPS tracking and geofencing, payroll, time off management, as well as some specialized functionalities like labor law compliance dashboard and the ability to create and approve workflow.

Replicon is generally easy to use, but the complexity of reporting and timesheets can sometimes be overwhelming and hard to manage. There are, however, various resources at your disposal on their website, including webinars, help center and community forum, and you can contact their support in a variety of ways - by phone, email or chatbot.

This time and attendance software offers six different products of various prices, so we won’t mention all of them. The basic plan is called TimeAttend Quick Start and it costs $30 a month for up to five users and another $5 for every additional user. This isn’t cheap at all, but you can take their 14-day free trial to see whether it’s worth the price.

In any case, a lot of Capterra reviewers think it does, as it’s rating has reached 4.6.

8. Jibble

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Jibble is a time and attendance software that also has some time tracking functionalities built in. Your employees can clock in using a company-wide tablet punch clock, mobile app (with GPS geofencing and facial recognition technology) or a web application.

Apart from the basic time and attendance features, Jibble lets you handle client billing and payroll, as well as set permissions, admins and alerts. However, this software also includes some time tracking functionalities such as productivity reports and activity tracking.

Even though its interface and reports are clean and intuitive, Jibble lacks in the variety of resources when compared to other attendance tracking providers on our list. It has a help center and a blog, but not much more than that.

There are three price tiers depending on the range of features you want. Basic starts from $1.50 per employee per month, Power Lite is $2.25 user/month, and Power Pro will cost you $3 user/month. There’s also a two-week free trial.

According to Capterra reviews, Jibble is leading in terms of user satisfaction with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5.

9. eBility Time Tracker

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Time Tracker by eBility is another popular solution for attendance tracking. It lets your employees indicate their clock-ins via a mobile app or a time clock kiosk with PIN authentication and facial recognition.

This software is pretty standard in terms of features that it offers. These range from time entry approvals, break management, payroll and invoicing, GPS tracking and reminders, all the way to time roundings and the option to manage permissions, which gives this system an additional dimension of flexibility.

Customer support is available through live chat, email and phone, and if you need additional resources, you might find their help center, webinars and blog useful. The interface is simple and easy to use, although there are occasional issues when you resize the screen.

You can get the basic Time Tracker plan for a monthly fee of $4 per user plus a monthly base fee of $8, but you also have Billing plan, which is $8 per user and a fixed fee of $16 per month, and Legal, which costs $12 for each employee plus the base fee of $16. As for many other systems, there’s a 14-day free trial available.

Time Tracker has a rating of 4.3 on Capterra.

10. OnTheClock

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Finally, we have OnTheClock as another time and attendance software that has a lot of different features and lets your employees punch in either through a mobile app or on the web. As additional buddy-punching prevention, it offers both geofencing and fingerprint scanning.

Some of its features include: breaks and paid time off management, overtime tracking, scheduling, alerts and reminders, invoicing, group punching, setting time rules, etc. What’s interesting is that it also allows you to add tips, bonuses and commission to employees’ payroll.

Apart from being very easy to use and having all the standard help resources like help center, blog and video tutorials, OnTheClock also has additional tools such as calculator and templates.

This attendance tracking software has a free version, but only for up to two employees. For larger teams, the price ranges from $2.50 to $2.20 per employee per month, depending on how many employees you have, and there’s a custom price if you have more than 400 employees. Another good news is that it has a 30-day free trial so that you can test it out.

OnTheClock generally has very positive reviews on Capterra, with the average rating of 4.7.

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11. Beebole

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Beebole offers one of the most flexible and reliable timesheet solutions on the market, and it’s currently used by organizations of all sizes and industries in more than 60 countries. Beebole is available in multiple currencies and 10 different languages. Pair that with its advanced KPI reporting and dashboard settings, and it’s a dream business intelligence tool.

Beebole is a secure cloud-based app that can be used on both desktop and mobile. Employees can track their time using a one-click timer to track time for clients, projects, sub-projects, and tasks. It’s simple to log attendance, vacations, and leaves of absence, as well as upload public holidays to the team calendar. Even better yet? The approval flow option allows project managers and administrators to easily bulk review and approve timesheets, request changes, and lock time entries.

Ultimate customization allows you to easily set up billing rates, as well as costs for projects, clients, or employees. You can then run powerful reports on employee time, budget, margin, profit, and more. This data can also be used to create custom KPI dashboards that uncover powerful business intelligence insights.

Pricing is $6.99 per user per month with a 30-day free trial and no credit card required. Beebole also offers volume discounts and 10% off for NGOs and educational institutions.

Conclusion

Hopefully, we’ve helped you in getting familiar with some of the best time and attendance tracking software on the market and now you’re one step closer to choosing the right app for your company. So think about the price, features, customer support, punch-in mechanisms and, of course, don’t forget to test every software out before you buy it so that you can see whether it’s a good fit for you.

If, on the other hand, you decide that you need even more functionalities beyond attendance tracking that would allow you to track time on specific projects and get more details on employees’ performance, you might want to consider buying a system for time tracking or employee monitoring software.

In any case, you’re about to make a big step towards choosing the attendance software and improving your business, so good luck on your journey!

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