Buddy Punch vs Timesheets.com
One thing we learned while managing 20 employees at 3 different locations is that it can be tough to find a singular time clock software that meets your every need. In some cases, business owners find themselves settling for a tool that has most of their desired features, rather than all. But that’s only because they grow fatigued looking through all the options on the market.
That’s why we’ve taken to making comparison posts so you can make a more informed decision between our software and other options. By showcasing differences in pricing, features, and service, we arm customers with the knowledge they need to feel comfortable with whatever they pick, rather than feeling like they’re settling. In this post we’re going to provide a quick summary of how our time tracking software stacks up against another employee monitoring tool: Timesheets.com.
The Basics
Buddy Punch is a cloud-based time clock software that was created to be an all-in-one solution for anything workforce management. As such, it has time tracking, employee scheduling, and even payroll functions available. This, plus a focus on ease of use in both function and intuitive design, is why Buddy Punch has grown to become one of the more popular time clock software choices on the market.
Timesheets.com is a time tracking service that provides online time, expense, and HR systems for employees and contractors. The service includes options such as Time Tracking, PTO, Scheduling, Mileage & Expense, Human Resources, and Reporting functions. Additionally, they work directly with ProPartners, allowing them to pair business owners with accounting professionals.
Time Tracking Functions
Both Buddy Punch and Timesheets.com share the same employee time tracking functions when looked at from afar. Both allow the on-site and off-site tracking of employees through GPS Tracking, both have functions for taking photos on timestamps to reduce time theft, both tools let you use IP addresses to lock clock ins to certain locations, and both work across all devices (Windows and Mac Desktops, Android or iOS smartphones, tablets). This ensures time cards are accurate for billing and invoicing no matter where your time is clocking in. However, Buddy Punch’s time tracking features go a little deeper.
For example, Buddy Punch doesn’t just allow webcam photos/screenshots on punch, but also has usage of Facial Recognition to ensure that employees are who they say they are automatically. This helps guarantee that billable hours are accurate without requiring you to verify them. Additionally, Buddy Punch takes GPS tracking a step further with the use of Geofencing. This feature allows you to create a radius on an interactive map, known as a Geofence. Whenever employees attempt to begin logging time while outside of this designated area, Buddy Punch will deny them and send an error notification. This tool ensures that all your remote workers are where they say they’ll be, and can be used to manage multiple remote job sites.
There are even more options Buddy Punch includes that Timesheets.com lacks, such as QR Codes, Automatic Breaks, and Single Sign On (SSO). Considering that Buddy Punch has all the same time tracking options as Timesheets.com, but Timesheets.com lacks many of the ones Buddy Punch includes, this is an easy decision.
The winner of the time tracking category is Buddy Punch.
Employee Scheduling Functions
There’s definitive overlap in both of the scheduling options these tools come with. Both Buddy Punch and Timesheets.com allow you to quickly create employee schedules. Both use drag & drop functionality to make this process simple and visual. Both make use of real-time updates so show active changes in the schedule. Buddy Punch has Department and Job Codes, Timesheets.com has Account Codes to achieve the equivalent.
However, when you look closer, Buddy Punch begins to pull ahead of Timesheets.com thanks to its scheduling offerings. When you’re done scheduling, Buddy Punch sends an automatic notification to all relevant team members, a feature Timesheets.com currently seems to lack. Buddy Punch allows team members to swap shifts without any additional oversight on your part. Also, if an employee wants to punch in despite not being scheduled, you can allow them that freedom.
Because of these flexible options, we believe Buddy Punch is a stronger option for employee scheduling.
PTO Functions
Buddy Punch lets you track time off balances, review usage history, and run time off reports. You can also set up PTO accruals rules (on a per-employee basis). These are all features that Timesheets.com has as well.
But there’s one specific offering Buddy Punch includes that Timesheets.com doesn’t: employee self-service.
If you activate this feature in Buddy Punch, you can grant permissions to your employees to allow them to be automatically approved when they request time off. This allows trusted employees to make use of their time off quickly and easily (and still sends you notifications of such activity so you’re kept aware).
Because of this, we believe Buddy Punch to be the better tool when it comes to Paid Time Off management.
Payroll Functions
Here’s another category where both tools drastically deviate. While both Buddy Punch and Timesheets.com have the option to use API integrations to connect with your favorite payroll providers (such as QuickBooks or Paychex), only Buddy Punch takes it to the next level. If you purchase the paid addon, you can make use of Buddy Punch’s Built-in Payroll rather than relying on third party tools.
Buddy Punch’s Built-In Payroll comes with features such as:
- Unlimited Payroll Runs
- Integrated Timesheets
- W-2s and 1099s
- Automated Payroll Payments
- Employee Self-onboarding
- And More.
Click here to learn about Buddy Punch’s Payroll.
Considering the vast array of options you have here, we’re awarding the edge in payroll to Buddy Punch.
Pricing
Buddy Punch, if you’re paying the annual pricing, has a cheaper monthly price for standard and pro pricing than Timesheets.com, though you have to consider the $19 base fee. Buddy Punch’s monthly price exceeds Timesheets.com when you spring for the premium plan, but that comes at the benefit of all Buddy Punch’s extra features.
There’s also Buddy Punch’s (optional) Built-In Payroll to consider. Though we can’t compare this to Timesheets.com (since it doesn’t have a payroll feature at all) you have to compare it to your payroll provider directly. Make sure you’re not just considering price, but also how being able to streamline management of your employees’ data in one place will benefit your business operations (as well as your sanity).
Customer Reviews
Let’s look over at popular software review site Capterra to see how these timekeeping tools are received by customers.
As of this post’s writing, Buddy Punch has a score of 4.8 out of 5 stars on Capterra, based on 961 user reviews. This is slightly better than Timesheets.com, which has a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars and 816 reviews. Make no mistake, both of these scores are fantastic.
Capterra provides a further breakdown of reviews, so we can see that while Buddy Punch’s score is uniform across the board (4.8/5 in the categories of ease of use, customer service, and value for money), Timesheets.com ebbs and flows a bit. Their Customer Service is valued at 4.9, even higher than Buddy Punch, which might be in part due to them pairing business owners with accountants. Their Value for Money is slightly below Buddy Punch, being rated 4.7/5. Their Ease of Use is their biggest dip, falling down to a 4.6.
Since Buddy Punch is the time management tool with the higher rating and most consistency in different categories, we’re going to give Buddy Punch the edge here as well.
Bottom Line: Buddy Punch vs Timesheets.com, Which Tool is Better?
Even though we’ve determined that Buddy Punch has more options and a better reception across all categories, ultimately which tool is “best” for you will come down to your business needs and the unique challenges of your workforce. This means taking into account your budget, business operations (are you a small business or an enterprise? Remote workers or one location?), and more for your ideal experience.
As we’ve highlighted above, Buddy Punch is superior to Timesheets.com in almost every category: time tracking, employee scheduling, PTO, and payroll. However, you are paying slightly more per/month for this advantage. For that reason alone, some business owners might choose Timesheets.com instead. Nonprofits especially might prefer it since they get a slight discount on pricing.
Buddy Punch is an All-in-One Time Tracking Solution
In our opinion, Buddy Punch’s slight price increase is a small price to pay for the number of attendance tracking, employee scheduling, and payroll options it gives you. Maintaining a diverse array of features while being customizable and intuitive means that almost anyone, employer or employee, can easily use it to manage work hours.
If you’ve been convinced by this showcase and want to give Buddy Punch a try, you can sign up for a 14-day free trial here, no credit card required. You can also view a demo video here or click here to request your own one-on-one walkthrough. Buddy Punch works as both a web app and a mobile app, meaning it can be used on site (or as a Kiosk) or through mobile devices.
If you ever have a question while using our tool, you can reach our 24/7 customer support through the Help Desk. You can also access the Buddy Punch Doc Center for plenty of helpful information on how to use our software.
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Other Comparisons
Buddy Punch continues to be the market leader in offering time clock software solutions. View this link to see how Buddy Punch compares to other products.