The 7 Best Clocking-In Machines in 2025

This is a chapter in our ultimate guide to clocking in and out for employers. To continue learning after you finish this post, use the links on the left (desktop) or bottom (tablet/mobile) to navigate to the other chapters.

Shopping for a clocking-in machine can be a nightmare. There are thousands of options that all sound like they do the same thing. Some hide their costs, not making it clear that you have to pay for the machine and an additional software subscription. And a lot of them are low-quality, meaning they have to be replaced often.

To help you find the right option for your business, we’ve put together this list of seven high-quality clocking in machines, all with unique features to fit the way your employees work.

Do you actually need a clocking-in machine?

Most modern clock-in clock-out apps can actually be used as a time clock kiosk, which is essentially the same thing as a clocking-in machine. The way it works is that you download the app onto an Apple or Android tablet, then put it in a central location where all employees can access it to clock in and out.

Using a clock-in clock-out app like Buddy Punch as a kiosk, you also get access to helpful features like facial recognition — which speeds up the queue for clocking in and out — and punch rounding, which rounds employees’ in/out times up or down to account for long lines at the time clock kiosk.

Other clock-in clock-out apps, like Homebase, can integrate with an existing point-of-sale (POS) system, turning your POS into a time clock that employees can use to clock in and out of work.

It may be worth investigating what’s available on the clock-in clock-out app market before spending hundreds of dollars on a clocking-in machine.

Most apps provide more features and more flexibility than their physical machine counterparts. Plus, most clocking-in machines these days also have a software subscription cost in addition to the cost of the equipment, so it’s often cheaper to use a time clock app as a kiosk instead.

The 7 best clocking-in machines

Here are a variety of great clocking-in machines to choose from depending on what types of features you need and what your budget is.

1. Acroprint M150

If what you’re looking for is a simple, inexpensive clocking-in machine that functions like a mechanical punch clock, you can’t go wrong with the Acroprint M150. It’s small, can be portable if needed, and it does one thing: print dates and times onto punch cards.

The nice thing about the M150 is that it doesn’t have any confusing features you have to learn how to use, and it doesn’t require any software to operate. Your only ongoing expenses will be for the timecards you’ll use with it and ink ribbon replacements for when you run out of ink.

Price: $299.99 per machine, $14 per ink ribbon, $59.99 for 250 punch cards.

2. Lathem’s 700E

Lathem’s 700E is another mechanical punch clock like the Acroprint M150 above, but it comes with an incredibly valuable feature that will save you a lot of time when getting ready for payroll — it calculates the hours an employee worked and prints the total on their timecard.

Employees can clock in and out multiple times a day and on multiple days, and the punch clock will keep a running count of the total hours that employee worked, printing the new total on the timecard every time the employee clocks out.

Price: $399 per machine, $15 per ink ribbon cartridge, $14 for 100 timecards.

3. ADP’s Mounted Kiosk

ADP’s mounted kiosk lets employees clock in and out, and it has built-in facial and fingerprint recognition to help you prevent time theft. It can only be used in conjunction with ADP’s time and attendance software, so as far as costs go, you’ll have to buy the machines and pay the annual cost for a software subscription.

ADP is a great option for large businesses with lots of employees looking for a sophisticated system for clocking in and out, payroll, benefits administration, and other workforce management tasks. However, it’s probably more than what you need if you’re just looking for a time-tracking solution for your small business.

Price: Contact ADP for a quote.

4. Smartbarrell

Smartbarrell’s mountable (via screws or a built-in magnet) clocking-in machine is designed for construction businesses. It’s waterproof, doesn’t require an internet connection, doesn’t have to be plugged in to an outlet, and it connects your timesheet data directly to payroll providers like Procore, CMiC, and PowerBI.

Employees clock in and out by typing in their phone numbers. When they do so, the machine uses it camera to take a picture of the employee, which is compared to pictures taken on previous days to validate that it’s the right employee clocking in. Employees get a confirmation text message after they successfully clock in/out.

Price: Contact Smartbarrell for a quote.

5. AMGtime’s iFace FR-1000

If you’re looking for a clocking-in machine that lets employees clock in and out with their work ID badges, AMGtime has lots of options. However, we like the iFace FR-1000 model the most because of its reasonable cost and flexible features.

Employees can clock in and out using multiple methods: their ID badges, facial recognition, fingerprint recognition, and PIN/password. For facial recognition, you can store photos for 200 employees. For fingerprints, you can store 1,000 fingerprint templates. And for badges, you can use it for up to 1,000 employee IDs.

Price: $395 per machine, $2.99 per ID badge, software for $1 per employee per month plus a $15 per month base fee.

6. ExakTime’s JobClock® Hornet

If you’re looking for a portable and durable time clock, ExakTime’s JobClock® Hornet might be just what you need. It can handle temps as low as -10 degrees Fahrenheit and as high as 170 degrees. It doesn’t need to be plugged into a power source, and its rechargeable battery lasts as long as 21 days before needing to be recharged.

With JobClock® Hornet, employees clock in and out using key fobs. The system sends your clock-in and out data to the cloud every hour (if you don’t have internet service, it uploads when you have internet access again), and administrators can access timesheets at any time using ExakTime’s web portal.

Price: ExakTime’s software starts at $9 per employee per month. Contact ExakTime for a quote on the cost of its portable time clock machines.

7. uAttend DR2000

If you don’t want germs spread around your office by having all employees touching your clock-in machine multiple times per day, uAttend’s touch-free clocking-in machine could be right for you. It can be turned on by voice, then the employee just places their face in the camera view for facial recognition to clock them in/out.

You do also have to pay for a software subscription to use the uAttend machines, but one nice thing about the subscription is that you can get free upgrades and replacements for your machines for as long as you’re a subscriber.

Price: $299.99 per machine, software starts at $27 per month for 1-9 employees.

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What you’ve just read is only a single chapter in an entire guide to clocking in and out for employers. If you want more tips, use the links on the left (desktop) or bottom (tablet/mobile) to navigate to the other chapters and continue learning everything you need to know to set up an effective time-tracking system for your business.