Top 7 Employee Time Clock Software for 2026

Your last payroll likely included wages for hours nobody actually worked. Employees across the country clock in from parking lots before starting work, ask coworkers to clock them in when running late, or add a few extra minutes to their timesheets.  According to Business.com‘s 2025 survey of 1,000 American workers, 24 percent admitted to time card fraud, and these workers added an average of 4.5 hours per week they didn’t actually work.

An employee padding their timesheet by just 10 minutes daily steals 43 hours annually, which costs over $1,200 at average wages. Traditional paper timesheets can’t catch this because they operate on trust. Managers would need to verify every punch by calling job sites or checking with supervisors, which isn’t realistic as it takes too much time. Modern employee time clock software replaces this trust-based system with automatic verification.

What Is Employee Time Clock Software?

An employee time clock software is a digital system used to track the attendance and number of hours employees work. Workers clock in through computers, mobile phones, tablets, or physical time clocks at job sites and the time clock software calculates their total hours and accurate wages. 

The 7 Best Employee Time Clock Software

Platform	Starting Price	Best For	Free Trial	G2 Rating
Buddy Punch	$4.49/user/month + $19 base	Overall value and ease of use	14 days	4.8/5
Clockify	Free	Unlimited free tracking	No trial needed	4.5/5
QuickBooks Time	$10/user/month + $20 base	QuickBooks integration	30 days	4.5/5
Toggl Track	Free (up to 5)	Simplicity	30 days	4.6/5
Connecteam	Free (up to 10)	Mobile-first teams	14 days	4.6/5
Deputy	$5/user/month	Schedule integration	31 days	4.6/5
TimeClock Plus	Custom	Enterprise complexity	Available	4.3/5

1. Buddy Punch – Best Overall Value

Starting Price: $4.49/user/month + $19 base fee
Free Trial: 14 days (no credit card required)
G2 Rating: 4.8/5 based on 340 reviews

Buddy punching refers to coworkers clocking in for an employee who is late or absent, which is how the company got its name. It was founded in 2013 and specifically created to address the problem of monitoring time worked by employees.

Today, Buddy Punch helps over 10,000 organizations track time and prevent time theft. The platform combines enterprise-level verification tools with pricing that small businesses can afford.

Buddy Punch Core Features

GPS Tracking and Location Verification

GPS tracking captures coordinates automatically with every clock in and clock out. This location data appears on timesheets so managers can verify field workers were actually at job sites when they punched in. They can view all punch locations on a map instead of constantly calling to check on them.

Another location verification method Buddy Punch uses is real-time GPS tracking. It creates a live map view and a breadcrumb trail that shows movement throughout the shift, and not just start and end locations. This live location feature helps when you need to dispatch the nearest available worker to an urgent job. Tracking only happens while employees are clocked in, so their personal time outside work hours stays private.

Geofencing

Geofencing creates virtual boundaries around work locations by letting you draw custom perimeters with radii from 50 to 1,500 meters. The system automatically blocks clock-ins from outside these zones. So when employees try punching in from home or other unauthorized locations, they receive error messages that prevent them from working. This stops location-based time theft without requiring managers to manually check every punch location.

Biometric and Photo Verification

Facial recognition scans employee faces during clock in and matches them against stored photos in your database. When faces don’t match assigned profiles, the system rejects punch attempts, consequently stopping buddy punching.

Moreover, photo on punch works by capturing a selfie each time employees clock in or out. These photos attach directly to time entries and create a visual record managers can review later if they need to verify who actually clocked in. Unlike facial recognition that verifies identity instantly, photo on punch simply documents who clocked in without blocking punches.

Automatic Timesheet Creation

When employees clock in and out, Buddy Punch creates digital timesheets that display total hours worked during each pay period. The system also uses the timesheets to calculate overtime and track breaks. 

Overtime calculations happen based on your rules, whether that’s daily overtime, weekly overtime, or state-specific requirements like California’s double-time. Supervisors get notifications alert when employees approach overtime thresholds. These alerts give you time to adjust schedules before overtime accumulates to ensure employees don’t work more hours than scheduled.

Some states require meal and rest periods at specific intervals. Break tracking records when employees clock out for breaks and when they return. You can set up rules that enforce mandatory breaks, which prevents employees from skipping rest periods and protects your company from violations during labor audits. 

Payroll Integration

Buddy Punch connects directly with over 20 major payroll providers including QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, Gusto, ADP RUN, ADP Workforce Now, Paychex Flex, Paycor, Paylocity, Rippling, SurePayroll, Workday, TriNet, and Justworks. After managers approve timesheets, they can transfer all the data to their payroll system with a single click. The export includes regular work hours, overtime, job codes, and employee identifiers. This process eliminates mistakes such as typos that happen when you copy numbers from one system to another.

Read more on how Buddy Punch can help navigate your payroll needs.  

Job Costing Capabilities

Buddy punch’s job costing feature tracks employee hours by job, project, or task using job codes. Administrators create job codes with names and assign them to employees based on their specific responsibilities.

When employees clock in, they select the job code for the task they are working on, which links their time directly to that job. If an employee moves to a different task during the day, they select a new job code before continuing to track time. This keeps hours separated by job instead of combining unrelated work.

Job codes can also be linked to specific locations to allow time to be tracked by both job and worksite. Managers can view and download reports that show total hours and labor costs by job over selected time periods.These reports help inform labor cost and time estimates for similar jobs in the future.

Scheduling Integration

Buddy Punch’s scheduling tool helps you create and distribute work schedules, set up repeating shifts, allow employees to submit shift trade requests, and assign employees to specific jobs and locations. Integration between scheduling and time tracking ensures you compare employee scheduled hours against actual hours worked.

Pricing Structure

Buddy Punch pricing starts at $4.49 per user per month with annual billing, plus a $19 monthly base fee that covers all administrative users. Plans scale by feature set, with higher tiers adding tools like employee scheduling, location controls, and advanced tracking. Optional add-ons such as Real-Time GPS Tracking are available for an additional cost and every plan includes a 14-day free trial with full access and no credit card required. [View detailed pricing and compare features →]

Real Customer Quotes

“Overall, great product, very useful and easy to use. Ease of not having to hand write. Time tracking is helpful for payroll.”

“For me, I think it’s easy to use, very accessible, user friendly. Theres not a ton of different screens to go to clock in or out. You just log in and clock in. Simple!!”

“My overall experience with Buddy Punch has been really good. It’s fast, easy to use, and fits perfectly into my daily routine. Clocking in and out is simple, and everything is laid out clearly. I like that it keeps my hours organized without any hassle…”

Check out our quick start guide for a simple, step-by-step process to get started with Buddy Punch today.

2. Clockify – Best Free Option

Starting Price: Free (unlimited users)
Paid Plans: From $3.99/user/month
G2 Rating: 4.5/5

Clockify offers the only truly unlimited free plan time tracking in this list. Any number of users can track unlimited hours without hitting paywalls, time limits, or needing a credit card.

Clockify uses two ways to track time.In timer mode, users click start when they begin a task and click stop when they finish, and the system records the total hours. Alternatively, users can skip the timer and type in the hours at the end of the day. This second option works if you forget to start timers or simply prefer filling out your timesheet once daily.

Free Plan Features:

• Mobile apps (iOS and Android) with automatic sync
• Browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, Edge)
• Calendar view displaying weeks as colored blocks
• Basic reports showing hours by project or person

Paid Plans Add:

• Timesheet approvals: $3.99/user/month
• GPS tracking on clock in: $7.99/user/month
• Labor cost calculations: $3.99/user/month

3. QuickBooks Time – Best for QuickBooks Users

Starting Price: $10/user/month + $20 base fee
Requirements: Active QuickBooks Online subscription
G2 Rating: 4.5/5

QuickBooks Time suits businesses that already use QuickBooks for payroll, invoicing, or job costing.
Hours recorded in QuickBooks Time can be assigned to specific customers or jobs and marked as billable. Those billable hours are then pulled directly onto the invoice created in QuickBooks.

Before hours reach payroll or invoices, managers review and approve timesheets. If something looks off, such as a missed punch or time logged to the wrong job, it can be corrected before payroll runs or invoices go out. It’s crucial to catch errors at this stage because correcting payroll or invoices later is much harder than adjusting a timesheet.

QuickBooks Time also includes additional tools such as mileage tracking and custom reporting. Mileage tracking records work-related travel distance so travel time and costs can be accounted for alongside labor. Custom reports then group hours, labor costs, and mileage by job or project to give businesses a clearer view of where time and money are spent.

4. Toggl Track – Best for Simplicity

Starting Price: Free (up to 5 users)
Paid Plans: From $9/user/month
G2 Rating: 4.6/5

Most time tracking tools fail because they force employees to select projects, fill out descriptions, and choose categories before the timer even starts. Workers may avoid systems that interrupt their work time, which leaves you with incomplete time data entries. Toggl Track removes such barriers to time tracking through a one-click system. Employees click start when work begins and stop when finished. All other fields are optional and you can add those details after the hours are already recorded.

Apart from its simplicity, Toggl Track also ensures your work hours are always accurate and accessible. The timer syncs across devices, so you can start tracking on a desktop and stop on a phone, with all hours updated seamlessly between devices. The data saves even when you are offline, then updates automatically once your connection returns. This reliability gives remote teams consistent tracking without interruptions.

5. Connecteam – Best for Mobile Teams

Starting Price: Free (up to 10 users)
Paid Plans: From $29/month for up to 30 users
G2 Rating: 4.6/5

Connecteam is designed for field teams that work outdoors or move between job sites throughout the day. The mobile app uses large, high-contrast controls that work with gloves and are visible in bright sunlight. In addition, when employees move between locations, they can switch jobs inside the app without clocking out, which prevents fragmented time entries and missed hours.

Key Features:

• Custom fields to track equipment, materials, or completed tasks
  
• Photo attachments for documenting work
  
• Live map showing clocked-in employees

Connecteam charges for every employee added to the account, even if some never track time, which can increase costs for larger teams.

6. Deputy – Best Schedule Integration

Starting Price: $5/user/month
G2 Rating: 4.6/5

Deputy has auto-scheduling tools that help managers build schedules faster. Instead of placing every shift manually, schedules can be generated using rules such as employee availability, roles, and expected staffing needs. This reduces the time spent creating schedules and helps avoid common issues like understaffing or assigning the wrong employee to a shift.

Deputy also supports open shifts and shift swapping. Employees can offer shifts they cannot work or request swaps with coworkers through the app. Managers approve the changes, which keeps schedules accurate while reducing last-minute callouts and manual coordination.

Additional Features:

• GPS location capture 
• Geofencing 
• Reports comparing scheduled vs actual labor costs
• Export to ADP, Paychex, Gusto, or CSV

7. TimeClock Plus – Best for Enterprise

Starting Price: Custom pricing
G2 Rating: 4.3/5

TimeClock Plus provides multiple ways to track hours, including physical time clocks installed on site, mobile devices, and browser clocks. On-site employees use a PIN, badge swipe, barcode, or biometric reader, while remote work is recorded through mobile or browser access. This ensures every shift is captured accurately, no matter where your employees work.

Other than tracking hours, TimeClock Plus manages leave and time off so schedules stay organized. You can view schedules in calendar or list format and filter by employee or leave type. When leave or time-off requests are submitted, the system sends notifications for approvals or denials to keep the current and prevent conflicts.

How to Choose the Best Employee Time Clock Software

1. Identify Your Required Features

Start by listing must-have features based on your specific business needs. Do you need GPS verification to confirm employees are at job sites? Biometric authentication to prevent buddy punching? Integration with your specific payroll provider? Remove platforms that don’t offer these essential features.

2. Calculate Total Costs

Look at pricing to remove options exceeding your budget. Calculate total costs including base fees and per-user charges to understand what you’ll actually pay. 

3. Test With Free Trials

Start free trials of your final 2 to 3 contenders to test how they work in practice. Bring in employees and managers to test them because they’re the ones who will use it daily. Verify that the apps are easy to use without extensive training and accurately capture time and location data.

4. Evaluate Customer Support

Contact each provider’s support team to gauge responsiveness and helpfulness. When all other factors look equal, the ability to get quick support matters because payroll depends on accurate timesheets.

Choose Buddy Punch for the Best Time Clock Software

If you’re looking for a time clock platform that’s easy to use, and most importantly accurately tracks employee hours, you can trust Buddy Punch. The platform prevents time theft through GPS verification and facial recognition while keeping costs low compared to other solutions. Start your free 14-day free trial today with no credit card required.