5 Best Web Based Time Clock Software (In-Depth Look)
In our recent post on the best ways to track employee hours, we discussed the downsides of traditional time tracking methods (such as spreadsheets or pen and paper). Specifically, there are two major issues:
- Running payroll manually takes hours and it’s prone to human error, which can lead to accidentally overpaying or underpaying employees due to inaccurate time data.
- Your employees may not be honest and report working more hours than they actually do. Over the years, those extra few minutes can add up and lead to a significant loss of money.
In this post, we’ll go over how Buddy Punch (our web based time clock software) can help you avoid these issues, and streamline the payroll process.
We will also list four other web based real-time attendance tracking solutions, to help you make a more informed decision on how to handle timekeeping.
Best Web Based Time Clock Software
Note: If you feel that Buddy Punch is the right time tracking solution for your business, you can sign up for a trial here or request a live 1-on-1 demo.
1. Buddy Punch
Buddy Punch offers several web punch features that help you:
- Increase employee accountability (i.e. restrict punches to certain locations, require photos on each punch in, and more).
- Save time on payroll (i.e. integrations with payroll providers, payroll reports on demand, time off tracking, accruals, and more).
In this section, we’ll dive into those various (1) accountability-related and (2) payroll-related features that Buddy Punch offers (while maintaining a focus on accessibility and ease of use). But first, here’s a very brief overview of how it works.
Brief Overview of How Buddy Punch Works
Employees clock in and out through our web based time tracking software (or through their mobile app).
All the information needed for payroll (i.e. number of hours worked, overtime, time off, etc.) is automatically calculated and available as an Excel export, saving you labor costs and headaches on an otherwise manual process.
In-Depth Breakdown of Accountability-Related Features
As we mentioned earlier, your employees may not be honest and report working more hours than they actually do. Over the years, those extra few minutes can add up and lead to a significant loss of money if you don’t have a solid time management solution.
We built several features into Buddy Punch to prevent this from happening. By increasing employee accountability, you’ll not only boost your bottom line, but also avoid the stress that business owners and human resource teams have while worrying about whether employees are being honest:
Photos on Punch
Photos on Punch is a webcam-enabled feature that requires employees to take a photo of themselves whenever they punch in or out (either through their smartphone or computer). This image is then recorded on their time card alongside the punch time to help ensure time theft isn’t occurring.
To verify these photo records, you can view them by employee or in a batch of all employees at once. This feature is a great companion to setting up Buddy Punch as a terminal or kiosk.
IP Address Locking
Another accountability feature of Buddy Punch is IP Address Locking. As the image above shows, this involved IP address checking to see if an employee is trying to clock in from any IP address besides one of your own choosing. This is best for in-office environments where employees typically use the same Mac or Windows devices or a shared Wi-Fi network (with a specific IP address).
If employees attempt to punch in or out without being connected to your specified IP address, they’ll receive an error message and need to try again.
Geofencing
Because employees may try to punch in outside of the job location (say, if they’re running late), there can be issues with keeping time cards accurate. And if they’re not accurate, you may be paying for time that wasn’t actually worked.
So what’s the solution?
Our Geofencing feature ties punching to a predetermined location of your choosing.
For example, say you run a construction site located at 100 Main Street. Per the above image, you’d type in that specific address, and specify a radius around that location (i.e. 500 ft) from which employees can punch in. From then on, Buddy Punch will automate location checks on-site.
If employees attempted to clock in outside of the location/radius you’ve set, they would receive an error message suggesting they try again in the correct area.
Have more than one location? No problem. Buddy Punch enables you to create multiple geofences, allowing employees to move between locations if necessary.
GPS Tracking
What if you have field employees who are out on the road and not tied to the same work locations every day? There needs to be a way to ensure employees are where they’re supposed to be, when they’re supposed to be, even if they’re not tied to an office or storefront.
While Geofencing enables punches to be tied to predetermined locations, GPS Tracking is a feature that ties punches to wherever the employee is when they punch in or out on mobile devices. This is great for a mobile sales force or traveling employees of any kind, as you’ll be able to review that they were where they said they were when clocking in.
Note that this feature only tracks the employee’s location on punch; their location is not tracked throughout the shift or at any other time besides when punching.
In-Depth Breakdown of Payroll-Related Features
Running payroll manually takes hours and it’s prone to human error, which can lead to accidentally overpaying or underpaying employees.
We built several features into Buddy Punch to save you time on payroll and ensure accuracy:
Integrations with Payroll Providers
Buddy Punch integrates with the majority of payroll systems, including QuickBooks, ADP, Gusto, Paychex, SurePayroll, and other popular payroll software.
What are the benefits of setting up a payroll integration?
Rather than manually inputting data into your payroll provider (i.e. regular hours worked per each employee, overtime, time off, etc.), it becomes as easy as:
- Exporting a file from Buddy Punch with all the information that’s needed to run payroll.
- Importing that file into your payroll provider.
What’s the end result after importing the file?
Your employee hours (and other information like overtime, PTO and time off requests, etc.) instantly populate inside your payroll provider. This is a much better use of time and resources than the alternative, which is typing in data manually. In addition, it reduces the chances of human error..
Payroll Reports on Demand
Buddy Punch also includes Payroll Reports on Demand. Because our software automatically runs calculations in the background, you can at any time download up-to-date payroll reports in Excel or CSV formats. Per the above image, these reports include info such as time off data, hours and minutes worked, location worked, and more.
Time Off Tracking
Tracking employee time off can be difficult to organize and manage. Buddy Punch was built with this in mind, as we have various Time Off Tracking features that make this process simple on both ends.
For example, within the Buddy Punch app, employees can request time off (both paid and unpaid).
Once the request is in the system, administrators (such as employers or managers) can view and then approve or reject these requests in their administrator dashboards.
Team members also have the ability to view their time-off summaries from the app, which can be valuable for seeing how much time off they have left:
Tracking Employee Hours by Job, Project, or Location
Does tracking employee hours and running payroll based on job, project, or locations apply to your business? If so, we created a video (see above) that goes over this in detail.
Accruals
With Buddy Punch, accrual rules can be customized to meet your business’ needs, based on hours worked or on a specific pay period (this also applies to annual accruals).
If this is relevant to your business, we created a help doc that provides more details.
Additional Features
So far, we’ve outlined someof Buddy Punch’s core features for increasing employee accountability and streamlining payroll. However, the best employee time clock software will have many features to accommodate different businesses, and we’re no different. We offer:
- Scheduling
- Overtime Calculations
- Adding, Editing or Deleting Punches
- Multiple Punch and Login Options
- Alerts & Notifications
- Biometric Facial Recognition
- Split Shifts at Midnight (for overnight shifts)
- Built-In Payroll Processing
- Time Card Approvals
- And more (click here to see all of Buddy Punch’s features)
Online Reviews: What Our Customers Are Saying
Buddy Punch currently has a Capterra rating of 4.8 stars (out of 5), with 789 reviews and counting! Here’s a sampling of what some of our customers have to say about their experiences with our online time clock:
Click here to read more of our reviews on Capterra.
- Click here to try our free 14-day trial. Alternatively, reach out to our customer support for any questions you may have.
- Pricing is flexible depending on workforce size and functionalities desired.
2. When I Work
At the time of writing, When I Work has 876 reviews on Capterra, with an average rating of 4.5 stars.
Their web-based time clock system offers features such as:
Like Buddy Punch, When I Work operates on web browsers as well as mobile devices. Here’s what a few of their users have to say:
Click here to see all of When I Work’s Capterra reviews.
3. Connecteam
Connecteam is an “all-in-one company app,” with the cloud-based time clock feature being one of many. They currently have 122 Capterra reviews, with an average rating of 4.8.
Connecteam’s web punch clock features include:
- Employee Time Clock
- Employee Communication
- Employee Training
- Employee Task Management
- Checklists & Forms
- And more
Their users have good things to say on Capterra:
Click here to see all of Connecteam’s Capterra reviews.
4. Timely
Timely has 207 reviews and an average rating of 4.7 stars on Capterra at the time of writing. This time clock solution has features including:
Here’s one of Timely’s reviews on Capterra:
Click here to see all of Timely’s Capterra reviews.
5. Hubstaff
Hubstaff has garnered 1159 reviews on Capterra, with an average rating of 4.6 at the time of writing.
Their web based employee time clock offers features such as:
- Automated Payroll & Invoicing
- Employee Productivity Monitoring
- GPS Location Tracking
- Online Time Reporting
- And more
This is a great employee timecard software to track work hours and job costs. This is a sample of what you can read about Hubstaff on Capterra:
Click here to see all of Hubstaff’s Capterra reviews.
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Note: If you feel that Buddy Punch is the right fit for your business, you can sign up for a trial here (no credit card required) or request a live 1-on-1 demo.
