5 Best Time Clock Kiosk Apps (In-Depth Look)

ByEric Czerwonka Last UpdatedApril 1, 2024

5 Best Time Clock Kiosk Apps (In-Depth Look)

In this article, we’ll:

Discuss how Buddy Punch (our time clock kiosk app) works. In short, your employees can punch in and out from the same device, and we offer a buffet of features to increase employee accountability and save time on payroll.

Share Buddy Punch’s customer reviews on Capterra (a popular software review site).

List four other time clock kiosk apps, alongside their key features and reviews.

Best Time Clock Kiosk Apps

Buddy Punch
ClockIt
Connecteam
Clockify
QuickBooks Time

1. Buddy Punch

Decide How You’d Like Your Employees to Punch In and Out

With Buddy Punch, multiple employees can quickly punch in and out from the same device, whether it be a tablet, phone, or computer (all depends on what you specify).

Buddy Punch works on mobile, desktop, and tablet.

If you would like employees to track time on a shared central device, we recommend either using the QR Code or PIN Punching feature (covered below). However, there are several other punch in options at your disposal, depending on the needs of your business.

If you have any questions, you can reach out via live chat or schedule a personalized one-on-one demo call.

QR Code Feature

With the QR Code punch-in option, employees hold up a QR code to the camera:

QR Code Feature in Buddy Punch

If the QR code matches the one in our system, then the punch will be deemed successful, and the employee would be shown a confirmation message:

Confirmation Message: You are now working

It typically takes less than 10 seconds for each employee to submit a QR photo capture using this option, which is great if you want to streamline multiple employees standing in line and waiting to punch in from the same device.

Note that after the QR code is scanned, you can optionally enable Buddy Punch to take a picture of the employee, and review the photos via a central dashboard (to verify that no one punched in their stead.)

For more information on the QR Code feature, visit this page.

PIN Punching Feature

With the PIN code punching option, employees enter a 4-digit PIN to punch in and out:

Enter your 4 digit pin in Buddy Punch

It’s as quick and easy as that. Once the punched is deemed successful, the employee will receive a confirmation message:

Confirmation Message: You are now working

Then, after 5 seconds, the confirmation page will be closed, and it will return to the PIN page. Let all your employees clock in or out in a quick sequence.

Just like the QR code option, this method is very fast for attendance tracking (typically less than 10 seconds per employee). In addition, after entering the PIN, you can optionally enable Buddy Punch to take a picture of the employee as it logs time data.

For more information on the PIN Punching feature, visit this page.

Increase Employee Accountability and Prevent Time Theft

With Buddy Punch, you can optionally activate a number of different accountability-related features to minimize time theft while logging employee attendance, which ultimately increases profitability. We’ll cover a few key ones below.

Geofencing

Geofencing feature in Buddy Punch

Geofencing is an intuitive feature that lets you limit employee punches to a specific location. Simply enter an address (e.g., 123 Oak Street), specify a radius around it (e.g., 500 feet), and employees will now only be able to punch in and out within 500 feet of 123 Oak Street.

If an employee attempts to submit a punch outside this area (e.g., from their home or a far away parking lot), they’ll receive an error message and be asked to try again from the assigned Geofence:

Geofence Error Message: Try again, you are not within the assigned Geofence.

IP Address Locking

Edit IP Address Lock in Buddy Punch

IP Address Locking lets you limit punches to a specific Wi-Fi network or device(s).

For example, if your employees work from an office and use the Wi-Fi network “Spectrum-G7”, then you could configure it so employees are only able to punch in and out when connected to that network.

Or, if there’s one central desktop computer that everyone uses, then you can restrict employee punches to that computer.

Photos on Punch

Take Picture and Confirm Punch In in Buddy Punch

As implied by the name, with Photos on Punch, employees take a selfie photo each time they punch in or out.

You can then review all the employee photos via a central dashboard and verify the validity of the punches:

See employees Photos on Punch

Additional Features to Increase Employee Accountability and Prevent Time Theft

Other accountability-related features include GPS Tracking, Facial Recognition Punching, Punch Limiting Rules, and more.

Note: Sign up for a free trial of Buddy Punch and/or book a one-on-one demo call.

Save Time on Payroll and Increase Profitability

Traditional payroll methods (e.g., adding up hours using Excel) are time-consuming and error prone. Buddy Punch offers several features to help you save time on payroll and increase profitability. We’ll cover a few key ones below.

On-Demand Payroll Reports

On-Demand Payroll Reports with Buddy Punch

Buddy Punch automatically calculates regular employee hours, time off, overtime, and more. At the end of each payroll period, you can filter by the relevant dates, and download a PDF or Excel report (pictured above) that contains this information.

Payroll Provider Integrations

Buddy Punch Integrates with several payroll providers, including: QuickBooks, Zapier, SurePayroll, Paychex, PayPlus, ADP Workforce Now, Paylocity, Gusto, and Workday

Save time and avoid manual entry work by integrating Buddy Punch with your payroll provider. We integrate 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

Time Off Tracking

PTO Summary with Buddy Punch

Buddy Punch offers a plethora of time off tracking features. For example:

Employees can request time off via their phone (Apple iPhone or Android), tablet, or desktop, and this can optionally be subject to an administrator’s approval.
Paid and unpaid time off hours and balance are automatically calculated. Employers and employees can access this information in a couple clicks, and you can download it via Excel or PDF.
And more. (See the complete list here.)

Accruals

Time Off Accrual Rules in Buddy Punch

Buddy Punch makes it easy to set up time off accrual rules. We cover this in more detail in this video and help doc article.

Buddy Punch Offers Many Other Features

We’ve covered just a few of Buddy Punch’s key features. Depending on the needs of your business, you may be interested in other functionality (see full list).

For example, we also offer:

Buddy Punch’s Online Reviews

As of this writing date, Buddy Punch has 4.8 out of 5 stars on Capterra (based on 698 reviews).

Buddy Punch has 698 reviews on Capterra and 4.8 out of 5 stars.

Below is a small sampling of our reviews:

“Buddy Punch is very easy to use and has several login options. Our employees can use their standard username and password, but they can also punch in faster/simpler using QR codes or a 4-digit pin. BP also organizes your timesheet well so that you can check your worked hours, PTO, etc at a glance… I’ve had to deal with several other time clock solutions at other businesses, ranging from different software to old-fashioned punch clocks to just simple sheets you filled your hours out on. Far and away, BP is the best I’ve seen yet.”
Click here to read the full review.

“It’s really easy to use. We just have an iPad set up by our front door and I printed out QR codes for all the employees. It works like a charm. The break rules are great and the overtime accrual is amazing. We love it and would really recommend it!”
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.

“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.

Explore the full list of Buddy Punch reviews here.

Try Buddy Punch for Free

Sign up for a free trial of Buddy Punch and/or book a one-on-one demo call. If you have any questions, our responsive customer support team is open to any and all inquiries.

2. ClockIt

ClockIt is a simple time clock system with various features and functionalities, including but not limited to:

It’s a solid time clock kiosk app. As of this writing date, ClockIt has 4.4 out of 5 stars on Capterra (based on 72 reviews).

“Kiosk App provides a central location for all employees to clock in on one device. Individual logins to the web portal allow employees to check their own hours for accuracy and request any corrections if there are mistakes.”
Click here to read the full review.

3. Connecteam

Connecteam offers various features and functionality, including but not limited to:

It’s one of the best time clock kiosk apps. As of this writing date, Connecteam has 4.8 out of 5 stars on Capterra (based on 190 reviews).

“Overall the Connecteam team was very helpful. We took a lot of time before deciding to invest our time into this software to take it company wide. We had several Zoom calls and emails back and forth asking questions about the features we required. Most of these features were included, in the process, or on the list to be added which we really liked.”
Click here to read the full review.

4. Clockify

Clockify offers various features and functionality, including but not limited to:

It’s a great time clock kiosk software. As of this writing date, Connecteam has 4.7 out of 5 stars on Capterra (based on 4242 reviews).

“It’s incredible! We use this every day for our employees to clock in and clock out, for the bookkeepers to create monthly reports to see which projects we are spending most of our time on, and it even has a mobile app that’s very efficient.”
Click here to read the full review.

5. QuickBooks Time

QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) offers various features and functionality, including but not limited to:

It’s a great time clock kiosk app that works with phones (iOS and Android), tablets (e.g., iPad), and computers. As of this writing date, QuickBooks Time has 4.7 out of 5 stars on Capterra (based on over 6000 reviews).

“We used to track our time on a spreadsheet that was tedious and time consuming, and a bear for our manager to compile and log at the end of each pay period. This saves everyone time and energy, and also allows us all to be more accurate logging our time because it is easier, and we won’t put it off until the end of the week.”
Click here to read all reviews.

Try Buddy Punch for Free

Sign up for a free trial of Buddy Punch and/or book a one-on-one demo call.

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Eric Czerwonka

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.