Time and Attendance Software

What is the best Time and Attendance Software?

Time & Attendance software is a suite of tools for tracking employee hours, managing schedules, handling time off requests in one streamlined system that can be used by both employees and managers. 

Time and Attendance software is available as a stand alone system that can be used solely for logging employee hours with timeclocks, scheduling, and time off requests. However, these tools are also often incorporated into larger HR or Payroll software systems, particularly if companies have hourly employees.  

The top features of Time & Attendance software include:

  • Employee Time Tracking
  • Tracking of Overtime Hours
  • Scheduling (creating and managing employee schedules)
  • Attendance Tracking (clocking in and out, logging time)
  • Vacation and Time off Requests and Tracking
  • Dashboards
  • Employee Communication Portal
  • Employee Self-Service
  • Remote System Access
  • GPS Tracking and Biometrics
  • Document Management
  • Reporting and Analytics
  • Integrations 

The business benefits of Time & Attendance software are:

  • Enhanced cost savings through elimination of manual processes and minimized mistakes in tracking employee hours.
  • Increased productivity and efficiency in your teams.
  • Streamlined system with automations and tools to help make time tracking seamless.
  • Improved morale and employee satisfaction.
  • Enhanced scalability options as you grow your business.
  • Improved and simplified compliance with labor regulations.

While there are a variety of great time and attendance solutions that work as stand-alone offerings, many of the larger software companies that offer more robust Human Resources (HR) Management or Payroll tools have built time and attendance capabilities into their systems to provide businesses with a more streamlined approach to managing employee processes, in one centralized system. 

Companies that require physical clocking stations on-site at their work locations must implement hardware that gives employees a place to clock in and out as part of tracking their hours worked. There are various options for employee validation available, including unique PIN numbers or encoded cards that an employee must swipe in order to clock in or out. 

Many time and attendance software companies are also implementing tools for biometrics as an employee identification method to ensure that employees aren’t making mistakes or purposely clocking co-workers in and out. GPS tracking is another feature offered by many time and attendance software vendors to help identify where field employees are located and help track time spent on particular jobs or sites as part of their work each day. Biometric and GPS data can be analyzed and used to constantly improve service levels and keep employees accountable on the job. 

Choosing the right solution for your business is crucial to accurately tracking employee hours and ensuring your profitability and knowing exacting how you want to improve time tracking, schedule changes, and time off requests for hourly employees can help you identify which system will bring the most benefits for your budget. 

Top 10 Time and Attendance

uAttend / Replicon / TimeSheets.com / TrackSmart / TimeClock Plus / OpenTimeClock / TimeOut / Stratustime / Clockspot / NOVAtime

WH Score
7.9
Deputy

Deputy

2reviews
Starting Price:$3.50 / user / per month
Deputy is a comprehensive time tracking solution which aims to streamline all operations pertaining to time logging, wage calculations and labor compliance. Allow employees to request for time off from the app, and swap shifts at the tap of a button. 
WH Score
7.9
Paycom

Paycom

11reviews
Starting Price:N/A
With Paycom, streamline HR processes so that you and your team can focus on what truly matters. Alleviate busywork by giving managers and employees the autonomy to manage requests via a mobile app.
WH Score
7.9
SyncHR

SyncHR

2reviews
Starting Price:N/A
A complete enterprise HR suite, SyncHR helps companies manage all their workforce demands for smooth and efficient operations. Create a single source of truth with one centralized platform, as all data is stored and accessed within the same location.
WH Score
7.9
Viventium

Viventium

14reviews
Starting Price:N/A
Viventium is a comprehensive HR solution which pays special focus to compliance and employee productivity. Stay compliant with Viventium in all 50 states, while also giving your employees access to their salary and vacation information over a mobile app.  
WH Score
7.9
Homebase

Homebase

0reviews
Starting Price:$0 / employee / per month
Homebase offers a time tracking solution that lets employers stay on top of every detail pertaining to their employees’ daily attendance. Offer a PIN to each employee for clocking in and out, while deciding how and where they can log from. 
WH Score
7.9
APS

APS

1review
Starting Price:N/A
APS Workforce Management is a comprehensive workforce management solution for businesses of all sizes. It streamlines and automates managing employee schedules, time and attendance, and other workforce-related tasks.
WH Score
7.9
Acrotime

Acrotime

0reviews
Starting Price:N/A
Acrotime is an anytime, anywhere time and labor management suite from Acropoint. The Acrotime Workforce Management Suite provides peace of mind and enterprise-level services at a fraction of enterprise-level costs.
WH Score
7.8
Paypro

Paypro

9reviews
Starting Price:N/A
Paypro is a comprehensive workforce management platform that covers the entire HR gamut, by integrating time tracking, tax calculations, payroll, performance reviews and more.
WH Score
7.8
QuickBooks Time

QuickBooks Time

9reviews
Starting Price:$0 / user / per month
QuickBooks Time is a feature-rich time tracking solution that is scalable across small and large organizations alike – both locally and internationally. Manage timesheets on the go with the mobile app, while also obtaining insights on employee locations from the Who’s Working window.&nbs...
WH Score
7.8
SumTotal

SumTotal

5reviews
Starting Price:N/A
SumTotal Learn is an evolution of the aging, one-size-fits-all approach to learning management systems (LMS). Rather than simply throwing every possible feature into a single solution, the SumTotal team chose to focus on connecting the skills that your employees need for their careers with the measu...

Time and Attendance Topics

Learn more about Time and Attendance Software

What is Time & Attendance Software?

Time and attendance software is business tool to help track employee hours, measure how long employees spend on a job, and store data about the payments sent to employees for the work they’ve done and logged in the time and attendance system.   

How Does a Time and Attendance System Work?

Time and attendance systems work by providing modern, digital tools for tracking when employees clock in and out for their shifts. Time & Attendance software typically provide mobile apps so that remote employees, contractors, or gig workers can log hours accurately through the easy-to-use systems and tools. Time and attendance software offer different types of clocking options and are often integrated with payroll software or HR software suites to centralize all the time & attendance data along with payroll processing, benefits, time off requests, and more.  

What is the Meaning of Time and Attendance?

Time and attendance means tracking and monitoring employee hours worked, shift start and end times, breaks, missed shifts in a software system where all these details can be analyzed or integrated with other systems like Payroll software or Accounting software. 

What are the Common Features of Time & Attendance Software?

The common features of Time & Attendance software include:

  • Digital Time Clocks
  • Biometric Options for Clocking In and Out
  • Alerts for Late Clock-Ins or Missed Shifts
  • Mobile Apps
  • Calendar Integration
  • Reporting & Analytics
  • Payroll And/Or HR software Integrations
  • Overtime Tracking and Calculations
  • Scheduling and Shift Exchanges
  • Project Hour Tracking
  • Leave Management
  • Self-Service Tools

What is the Purpose of an Attendance Monitoring System?

The purpose of an attendance monitoring system to to accurately track when employees are working and how many hours they’ve worked each shift. Attendance tracking systems have tools for tracking clock-in and clock-out times, breaks, time off requests, and project or job hours worked. Accurately tracking hours and employee payments streamlines processes and gives companies insight into all of their labor costs and how employees are performing against agreed upon hours or contracts. 

What are the Benefits of Time and Attendance Software?

The benefits of time and attendance software include:

  • Enhanced cost savings through elimination of manual processes and minimized mistakes in tracking employee hours.
  • Increased productivity and efficiency in your teams.
  • Streamlined system with automations and tools to help make time tracking seamless.
  • Improved morale and employee satisfaction.
  • Enhanced scalability options as you grow your business.
  • Improved and simplified compliance with labor regulations.
  • Reduced labor costs.
  • Reduced absences and tardiness.

Who Uses Time & Attendance Software?

Those who use time and attendance software within an organization can include:

  • HR
  • Employees
  • Managers
  • Team Leaders
  • Executives
  • Hourly Employees
  • Companies with Billable Hours
  • Freelancer, Contractors, and Gig Workers

What are the Challenges with Time & Attendance?

The challenges with Time & Attendance include:

  • Manual errors
  • Inaccurate tracking of hours worked
  • Failed integrations with other business systems like Payroll and HR 
  • Noncompliance with wage and hours laws

What Do You Look for in a Time and Attendance System?

You should look for the below features and functions in a time and attendance system:

  • Employee Time Tracking
  • Tracking of Overtime Hours
  • Scheduling (creating and managing employee schedules)
  • Attendance Tracking (clocking in and out, logging time)
  • Vacation and Time off Requests and Tracking
  • Dashboards
  • Employee Communication Portal
  • Employee Self-Service
  • Remote System Access
  • GPS Tracking
  • Document Management
  • Reporting and Analytics
  • Integrations 

How Much Does Time & Attendance Software Cost?

The basic time & attendance software costs anywhere from $2 to $12 per employee each month. Time & Attendance software costs tend to vary quite a bit depending on the features and integrations included in various systems, which can all impact the pricing. 

How to Buy Time & Attendance Software

You can determine how to buy the best time and attendance software for your business by using the following checklist.

  • Focus on business needs and growth goals driving the decision to get a new or upgraded time and attendance system.
  • Plan for integrations, implementation costs, IT involvement, and any downtime that may impact ongoing employee time tracking, hours, and scheduling.
  • Make a plan to support user adoption through training.
  • Understand the time tracking and clocking processes you’re looking to streamline and automate.
  • Don’t skip the product demos offered by time and attendance software vendors to show features and functionality.
  • Understand reporting and analytics needs for monitoring time tracking in your business.
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