5 Best Online Timesheet Software (In-Depth Look)

ByEric Czerwonka Last UpdatedOctober 14, 2022

Traditional time tracking methods (e.g., paper timesheets and spreadsheets) are time-consuming and inefficient.

In this post, we’ll detail how Buddy Punch (our online timesheet software) can help you:

Increase employee accountability. For example, as employees punch in and out, you could optionally activate features such as Geofencing (restrict employee punches to a specific location), IP Address Locking (restrict employee punches to a specific device or Wi-Fi network), and more.
Save time on payroll. For example, we offer features and functionality such as On-Demand Payroll Reports (employee hours are automatically calculated), Payroll Provider Integrations (helping you bypass manual data entry work), Buddy Punch Payroll (we’ll handle direct deposits to employees, tax filings, etc.), Time Off Tracking (in-app time off requests and time off balance reports), and more.

At the end of the post, we’ll also list the features and reviews of four other online timesheet software, so you can research for yourself and have more information at hand.

Best Online Timesheet Software

Buddy Punch
Connecteam
Clockify
Hubstaff
OnTheClock

1. Buddy Punch

High-Level Overview: How Online Timesheet Software Works

At a high level, bird’s eye view, with Buddy Punch:

1. Employees can easily punch in and out via any device, whether it be a phone, tablet, or computer.

Buddy Punch on any device.

2. Each employee’s regular hours, time off, overtime (and more) are automatically calculated. You can easily pull up this information, filter by the relevant pay period, and download it in the form of a PDF or Excel (as pictured below).

Untitled

Increase Employee Accountability

Buddy Punch offers a buffet of features that help you increase employee accountability. You can optionally choose to activate them depending on the needs of your business.

If you have any questions, we can answer them via live chat. Also, if you feel that Buddy Punch fits what you are looking for, then you can try it for free and/or book a one-on-one demo call.

Geofencing

Geofencing

Geofencing lets you restrict employee punches to a certain location. It’s a useful feature to prevent time theft.

For example, if you ran a furniture store that was located at 123 Main Street, you could restrict employee punches to within 400 feet of this address.

If an employee tried to punch in outside of your designated Geofence area (e.g., while they were still at home), then they’d receive an error message and be asked to try again within the workplace.

Geofence error message

If your business has multiple locations from which employees could punch in and out, then you can set up multiple geofences.

IP Address Locking

Edit IP address lock

IP Address Locking lets you restrict employee punches to a specific device or Wi-Fi network.

For example, if you ran a kiosk with one central desktop computer, then you could limit punches to that device.

Or, if you ran a dental clinic with a Wi-Fi network called “Office-WiFi”, then employees would only be able to punch in and out when connected to this network.

This way, employees can only punch in and out when physically present at the workplace, rather than from an outside location.

Photos on Punch

Photo on punch

With Photos on Punch, each time an employee punches in or out, they’re required to take a photo (which ideally shows their face and surrounding background).

You can quickly glance through the photos via a central dashboard (pictured below), and make certain that the right employee punched in from the right place.

Photo in timesheet

Additional Features to Increase Employee Accountability

Buddy Punch’s additional accountability-related features include GPS Tracking, Facial Recognition Punching, PIN Punching, Punch Limiting Rules, and more.

Note: If you feel that Buddy Punch fits what you are looking for, then you can try it for free and/or book a one-on-one demo call.

Save Time on Payroll

Buddy Punch offers a buffet of features that help you save time on payroll, avoid manual calculations, and ensure greater accuracy of hours. Below are just a few of our most popular payroll-related features.

Payroll Reports on Demand

Exported payroll spreadsheet

As we’ve mentioned earlier, each employee’s regular hours, time off, overtime (and more) are automatically calculated. You can easily pull up this information, filter by the relevant pay period, and download it in the form of a PDF or Excel (as pictured above).

Payroll Provider Integrations

Payroll integrations.

Without setting up an integration, you’d have to manually transfer employee hours from Buddy Punch to your payroll provider. This not only takes up a great deal of time, but it’s also prone to human error.

Save time on payroll and increase accuracy by setting up an integration with:

QuickBooks Online (See setup instructions.)
QuickBooks Desktop (See setup instructions.)
Paychex (See setup instructions.)
SurePayroll (See setup instructions.)
ADP Workforce Now (See setup instructions.)
Paylocity (See setup instructions.)
Workday (See setup instructions.)
Gusto (See setup instructions.)
iSolved (See setup instructions.)
Wagepoint (See setup instructions.)
Justworks (See setup instructions.)
Payment Evolution (See setup instructions.)
And more

Buddy Punch Payroll

Auto payroll is on schedule

Traditionally, you’d have to manage payroll using 2 systems — Buddy Punch and a payroll provider. This is an inefficient process.

For example, you would download a spreadsheet from Buddy Punch with everything that’s needed for payroll (e.g., regular hours, time off, overtime, etc.), import it into your payroll provider, and then use your payroll provider to handle direct deposits, tax filings, and so on.

But instead of using 2 systems to manage payroll, you can handle the entire process through Buddy Punch.

This is far more efficient. At a very high level, here’s how it works:

Step 1: Review the payroll information (e.g., employee hours, time off, each employee’s preferred payment method, gross and net pay, and more) inside our payroll dashboard.

Edit payroll

Step 2: Once you verify the information is accurate and click on “Submit Payroll”, we’ll handle the rest. Specifically, we will:

Send direct deposits to your employees and contractors.
Provide employees with pay stubs (which they access through an easy self-service process).
Automatically pay and file your state and federal payroll taxes.
And more.

In essence, everything that’s needed for payroll can be done in one central place.

This is just a brief, high-level overview of how we can help streamline your payroll process. For more details, visit this page.

Time Off Tracking

PTO summary

Buddy Punch offers many different time off tracking features. For example:

Employees can send time off requests within our intuitive, easy-to-use app. These requests can optionally be subject to an administrator’s approval.
Paid and unpaid time off hours are automatically calculated and available for easy export via Excel or PDF.
And more.

Accruals

Time off accrual rules

Setting up time off accrual rules is easy with Buddy Punch. Learn how in this video and/or help doc article.

See All of Buddy Punch’s Features

So far, we’ve covered just a few of Buddy Punch’s most popular features. Click here to view the complete list, which includes but isn’t limited to:

Online Reviews Highlighting Buddy Punch’s Ease of Use and Great Customer Service

As of this writing date, Buddy Punch has 724 reviews and 4.8 out of 5 stars on Capterra, a popular software review site.

Buddy Punch on Capterra.

While you can click here to explore the full list, below, we’ve pulled just a few reviews that highlight Buddy Punch’s ease of use and great customer service:

“Most folks pick up on it right away. The system is intuitive and those who do have difficulty only need a quick tutorial and they are good to go.”
Click here to read the full review.

“The area I am most impressed with is with their support — they respond quickly, accurately and offer real solutions.”
Click here to read the full review.

“Minimal training for end users (employees or managers). The back end (admin) features are just as simple and intuitive. We wanted a product that was simple to use, cost friendly and allowed us to customize — all of these areas were met. Very impressed!”
Click here to read the full review.

“The team is responsive, and eager to assist. Any questions we’ve had, whether using the free trial, or after we signed up as a customer, have been answered quickly”.
Click here to read the full review.

“We signed up for the trial period, and our employees were impressed immediately. They were able to start… immediately with zero training or assistance, which was a priority for us. The system is also very easy to use from an administrator end.”
Click here to read the full review.

“Their team is knowledgeable about my organization and the way that we use the platform — I have received many helpful suggestions to how we can best leverage the Buddy Punch platform in our sometimes complicated organizational structure. We have had very few issues, but have always received immediate resolutions when anything has come up.”
Click here to read the full review.

“The software is straightforward and well-run, and was easily understood by our team of 55+ non-technical staff of all ages.”
Click here to read the full review.

Learn More About Buddy Punch and Start a Free Trial

If you’d like to explore Buddy Punch in greater depth, we invite you to:

2. Connecteam

Connecteam offers a large number of features and functionality. For example:

It’s one of the best online timesheet software. As of this writing date, Connecteam has 201 reviews and 4.8 out of 5 stars on Capterra.

“I have several old-school folks on my team. I tend to get a lot of push back when I introduce a new form of technology. We don’t have a central meeting location therefore I can’t have one time clock for everyone to punch. This app works great.”
Click here to read the full review.

3. Clockify

Clockify offers a large number of features and functionality. For example:

It’s a great online timesheet app. As of this writing date, Clockify has 4272 reviews and 4.7 out of 5 stars on Capterra.

“We can easily log in, the software always tracks what kind of task we spend time on. We can also create task names and see where we are at in its realization and time we spent on it. It can also be used in groups, as users can be linked in teams. It’s such a powerful tool at the end of day, as it allows us to see how to be more efficient in terms of time/task.”
Click here to read the full review.

4. Hubstaff

Hubstaff offers a large number of features and functionality. For example:

It’s a great timesheet online software. As of this writing date, Hubstaff has 1287 reviews and 4.6 out of 5 stars on Capterra.

“It allows us to easily calculate the hours worked by our remote team whilst ensuring the team is focused and easily shows us how much is owed at the end of the month.”
Click here to read the full review.

5. OnTheClock

OnTheClock offers a large number of features and functionality. For example:

It’s a great online timesheet software for employees. As of the writing date, OnTheClock has 516 reviews and 4.7 out of 5 stars on Capterra.

“Overall it was exactly what I needed. The tools are very simple and easy to manage. The reporting is direct and to the point.”
Click here to read the full review.

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About the author

As a prior multiple-location business owner, Eric knows all about time collection, scheduling, and everything in-between. From best practices, stories, and business experience, he'll keep you up to date on the latest trends.