Track time and location in one affordable app

Buddy Punch is an affordable GPS time tracking app that’s built for deskless teams working in construction, field services, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and more.

It lets employees record their hours from anywhere they’re working and gives managers tools to make sure employees were where they were supposed to be while billing time.

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The #1 GPS Time Tracking App

Make sure your employees are at the right place at the right time

GPS timestamps

GPS on punch

With GPS on punch, Buddy Punch captures employees’ locations when they clock in and out and adds that data to their timesheets.

Included in all Buddy Punch plans, this feature lets you validate that employees were on site when they were logging time and ensure that they selected the right job code for the site.

Real-time employee location tracking

Real-time location tracking

Buddy Punch’s real-time GPS tracking feature lets you track employees’ locations in real-time the whole time they’re on the clock.

You’ll be able to see where everyone is located at any given moment on a map — great for dispatching — and view breadcrumb trails of their travels across the entire workday.

Affordable Geofence

Geofencing

Create geofences — virtual perimeters around your job sites — to prevent offsite punches entirely. If employees aren’t on site, the system prevents them from clocking in or out.

Geofences can also be tied to job codes so the right project is automatically selected for an employee when they clock in.

Privacy-first tracking

Privacy-first tracking

Buddy Punch only collects location data while employees are clocked in. It stops monitoring locations as soon as they punch out.

This protects your employees’ privacy and keeps you compliant with federal and state location-tracking laws.

Customizable settings

Customizable settings

All of the location-tracking features in Buddy Punch are fully customizable.

Make location tracking required for all employees, optional for all employees, or required only for employees you specify. Set it up to work exactly how you need it to.

Customer reviews of our GPS tracking features

  • Features like geofencing and GPS tracking give me peace of mind by showing exactly where my team is when they clock in, and the map visualizations make managing multiple sites a breeze.
    Buddy Punch Customer
    Healthcare
  • Our customers have confidence they know who is on the job via the GPS capability. The whole integration and set up was easy, and our employees were able to get started right away.
    Buddy Punch Customer
    Construction
  • When you work for a company with team members working in stores all over the country, you need a tool to help you know where everyone is during their work hours. Buddy Punch gives me a concrete time using GPS, so I know the location/time for each employee is accurate.
    Buddy Punch Customer
    Retail
  • We have over 20 jobs going at one time. All the guys can easily punch in and out on their phones. If they are in the field, they use GPS, and we know where they are: at the supply store, on the job-site etc.
    Tammy M.
    Construction
  • Buddy Punch is extremely easy to use and navigate. The use of the mobile app allows employees to clock in at multiple locations but can also show GPS coordinates if you’re questioning an employee’s whereabouts at the time the punch was entered.
    Erin C.
    Billing System Specialist
  • Completely simplified payroll for my hourly employees. I went from chasing down manual timesheets to printing a one-page recap for the pay period. I also love the GPS function to verify employees’ locations when punching in and out.
    Buddy Punch Customer
    Wholesale
  • Very easy for employees and administrators alike to track time and edit if necessary. Provides accountability for our employees with the location settings such as GPS and geofencing.
    Katie B.
    Facilities Services
  • I like that it shows me where employees were when they clocked in. In particular, if they meant to select a different job and picked one by accident, we can narrow it down by GPS.
    Kim H.
    Construction
  • I like that I can turn the GPS tracker on and off. I like the ability to track where employees are because prior to this app we had an employee who was being dishonest about where they were, and it cost us money when it came to billing customers.
    Mia G.
    Construction
  • We use the GPS feature to track where our employees clock in and out since they do so at a remote site. The feature is accurate and easy to use on our employees’ phones.
    Josh H.
    Electrical Manufacturing
  • We love that there is a map feature. This is allowing our employees to create GPS timestamps at our clients homes so there is no disputing where they were when. Game changer!
    Natalie S.
    Janitorial Services
  • There are several reports we use, including the location worked, PTO, and the location of clocking in or out. We had staff that would clock in or out from their cars on their phones when they were supposed to clock in and out on the computer. We were able to monitor that and re-instruct the staff.
    Connie M.
    Individual & Family Services
  • The option to punch in and out with geolocation included was a big step forward. We configured the solution and employees and deployed the system in two days for 40 employees.
    Luis B.
    Aviation
  • I like that you can require a photo and location for your employees when clocking in and can monitor them pretty easily. It is really easy to set up, and you can put extra data in your employee files to have it all in one place.
    Susan I.
    Food and Beverage
  • My employees can clock in and out from the app on their phones, and I can limit that ability by IP address and location.
    Solomon C.
    Healthcare
  • We have been impressed with the ability to select different locations that employees can punch in/out of. We have multiple locations, and it is helpful know where people are physically.
    Sarah S.
    Healthcare

Why choose Buddy Punch for GPS tracking?

GPS tracking accuracy

Data accuracy

Depend on precise location tracking to manage your workforce more effectively.

Minimal battery drain

Minimal battery drain

Buddy Punch runs in the background to minimize its drain on phone batteries.

Timesheet approvals

Timesheet approvals

Managers and supervisors can review and approve their team’s timesheets before payroll is run.

How Buddy Punch compares to other GPS time tracking apps

Platform G2 Rating Starting Price
Buddy Punch 4.8 out of 5 $4.99/user/month
QuickBooks Time 4.5 out of 5 $10/user/month
Hubstaff 4.4 out of 5 $13.33/user/month
Timeero 4.8 out of 5 $5/user/month for up to 10 users
$7.50/user/month for 10+ users
Workyard 4.7 out of 5 $6/user/month
ClockShark 4.6 out of 5 $9/user/month

Buddy Punch goes beyond GPS tracking

FLSA compliant time tracking

FLSA-compliant time tracking

Track employee hours, automatically identify overtime hours, and track and enforce state-mandated meal and rest breaks.

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Location-based scheduling

Location-based scheduling

Create work schedules in minutes. Add locations to schedules so everyone knows exactly where they’re supposed to be.

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PTO tracking

PTO tracking

Set PTO accrual rules, review and approve PTO requests, and automatically add taken PTO to timesheets to ensure employees get paid.

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GPS-payroll-integrations

Payroll integrations

Instantly transfer your time data to payroll providers like QuickBooks, ADP, Gusto, Paychex, SurePayroll, PayPlus, and more.

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Built-in payroll

Built-in payroll

Save time, reduce errors, and run payroll in a few clicks with Buddy Punch Payroll. We handle the calculations, direct deposits, and tax filings.

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Multi-platform GPS time clock

Multiple options for clocking in/out

Employees can clock in and out on the web, using their mobile phones, or on a tablet used as a time clock kiosk.

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FAQs about GPS tracking in Buddy Punch

Yes. When using real-time GPS tracking, location tracking is only enabled when employees are clocked in; the system stops recording locations as soon as employees clock out. When using GPS on punch, locations are only captured when employees clock in and out.

While we don’t have a formal feature for tracking mileage, employees can enter a note whenever they punch in/out, switch between jobs, or start/end a break. These notes will appear on the employee’s time card and some of our reporting options like the In/Out Activity Report. You could potentially use that for whatever your business needs are.

We also have something called Department Codes that might help you here as well. If you create Department Codes and assign them to employees, whenever they punch in, they have to choose which Department Code they are punching into (as long as they are assigned two or more codes).

Potentially, you could create two Department Codes, one called Regular Time and another called Mileage. An employee would start the day under Regular Time and switch to Mileage while on the road. When you run reports, you can see the time spent under Mileage, along with any notes entered.

Yes. You can create geofenced zones around job sites to restrict clock-ins and outs. If an employee tries to punch in outside the allowed area, their entry is blocked. You also can view reports showing all offsite punching attempts.

Yes. With our real-time GPS feature, managers can view employees’ locations on a live map and see breadcrumb trails of their movements across the workday.

Yes. Buddy Punch’s mobile apps for iOS and Android devices support GPS tracking and geofencing. Employees can easily clock in from the field with location validation.

It’s up to you. You can require GPS tracking for all punches, require it only for specific employees, make it optional, or turn it off entirely. It’s completely customizable to fit the exact needs of your business.

If GPS data isn’t captured due to a weak signal or disabled mobile GPS permissions, Buddy Punch will flag the punch for review. You’ll still see the timestamp and can decide whether to accept or reject the entry.

Yes. Employees will have to give the Buddy Punch app permission to collect GPS data. However, we strongly recommend distributing a GPS tracking policy to all of your employees to make sure you’re compliant with state laws and regulations.

Need more technical details? For advanced setup guides, troubleshooting tips, device permissions, and real-time tracking instructions, check out our GPS support documentation.