At Buddy Punch, we continually ship new features, improvements, and fixes based on what we hear from customers. Here’s a rundown of everything we’ve added to the product so far in 2026.

Groups for organizing employees

Groups let you bundle employees any way you like. You can then assign locations, departments, positions, or geofences in just a few clicks. Set it up under “Settings” → “Groups.”

Bulk employee import (CSV)

Administrators can now add many employees at once by importing a CSV file instead of adding them one at a time. Use this when you’re bringing on new hires or setting up a new location.

The import lives at “Settings” → “Import Employees.” Once the import completes, the employees are created immediately. Usernames need to be unique across all Buddy Punch users — not just your account. If a username is already in use, you’ll get an error on upload saying the username is taken.

Some employees can import while others fail. If that happens, correct the errors and re-import only the employees that failed. Send welcome emails is unchecked by default. Check it if you want new employees emailed their login details when the upload completes.

See the setup steps for importing employees.

Developer API

The Developer API is available now to customers on the Pro and Advanced plans. It lets an account connect its own software to Buddy Punch to read and manage employees, punches, time entries, time off, schedules, and more to, for example, automate data syncs or build custom reports. An administrator creates API keys from the Developer API card under “Settings” → “Integrations.”

Only administrators can create API keys. Managers and employees can’t. Each key gets read and/or write access per resource, so a tool that only needs to read data can get a key with just read access, and you can revoke a key later if it’s no longer used. Copy a new key right away and store it somewhere secure because you won’t be able to view it again.

See Getting Started with the Buddy Punch Developer API.

Dark mode

The Buddy Punch web app can now be displayed in dark mode as well as light mode. It’s a personal display preference for administrators, managers, and employees. Turning it on only changes how Buddy Punch looks for you.

Open the account menu with the person icon in the top right corner of the page, then use the “Dark Mode” toggle. The change takes effect immediately with nothing to save.

See how to enable dark mode on the web.

Default shift hours

Administrators can choose default start and end times that automatically pre-fill whenever a new shift is created on the schedule instead of adjusting the times on every shift. You’ll find default shift hours at “Settings” → “Scheduling.”

See the setup steps for default shift hours.

Annual accrual caps

Administrators can set an annual accrual cap on a time off earning code, which limits the total hours an employee can automatically accrue between January 1 and December 31 of each year. You can set a default cap for the earning code and override it for individual employees. Leave an employee’s cap at zero to use the default.

Once the cap is reached, accrual rules stop adding hours for the rest of the calendar year. Manual accrual entries and carried-over balances don’t count toward the cap. Time off used doesn’t free up room under the cap. The cap is based on the total hours earned during the year, not the current balance.

This lives at “Settings” → “Time Off,” in the “Time Off Earning Codes” section. Time off accruals need to be enabled there. See how to set up time off accruals.

Multi-factor authentication

Multi-Factor Authentication is available on every Buddy Punch account, and it is no longer limited to accounts using Buddy Punch Payroll. Administrators set an account-wide policy of “Off,” “Optional” (the default), or “Required” in the Multi-Factor Authentication section at the bottom of “Settings” → “Account Settings.” Users on accounts with Buddy Punch Payroll are always required to use MFA, regardless of what the policy is set to.

An administrator who wants every employee to sign in with a second step can set the policy to “Required” so anyone who hasn’t set it up is sent to do so at their next login. Setting the policy to “Off” stops prompting new users, but it doesn’t remove MFA from anyone already enrolled. Where SSO is enforced, your identity provider handles sign-in, so Buddy Punch hides MFA enrollment for those users.

MFA applies when signing in to the web app. The mobile apps don’t currently prompt for it. New setups use an authenticator app or a passkey, and only users who already had text message codes set up can keep using them. You can reset a user’s MFA from the “More” dropdown on their profile. See how to manage multi-factor authentication.