Punch In and Out Apps: Best Options for Small Businesses in 2024

Time clocks are so yesterday. Well, okay, not entirely—they have their place. But a punch in and out app—especially one with add-ons that make it far more than just a time clock—can make all the difference in how you run your small business.

Punch in and out apps can help you pay your employees. They can also help you reduce time theft. And all without adding any burden on your team.

Interested in hearing more? We thought so! Below, we discuss the best punch in and out apps and what they can offer your business. We discuss payroll functionality and how mobile GPS can help you track your team on the move.

By the time we’re done, you’ll know everything you need to choose the right punch in and out app for your needs! Let’s get into it.

The 7 best punch in and out apps for your small business.

As a small business owner, you’re likely wearing more hats than you’d like. Managing a punch clock shouldn’t be something you have to lose sleep over. Fortunately, the right punch in and out app can help you manage employee time with ease—and free up your own valuable time, too!

Here are some of our favorites. We’ll talk perks, pitfalls, and pricing for your personnel’s punctual punch-ins.

1. Homebase

First up on our list is Homebase.

Homebase’s suite of robust employee management tools are trusted by over 100,000 small businesses.Here are some of the most notable features of Homebase’s punch in and out app.

Turn your mobile device or POS into a time clock

Your time clock should be as versatile as your team—and Homebase makes clocking in from anywhere a breeze. Homebase’s app can be used on most iOS, Android, and POS devices.

Whether it’s an employee’s personal mobile device, the shared team tablet, or that point-of-sale system you already love, the Homebase time clock meets you where you work.

Built-in scheduling and shift swapping

Homebase makes employee scheduling seamless with templates that optimize your team’s schedule based on their availability, sales forecasts, and even your labor targets.

With Homebase, you can even message individuals or the entire team to find alternative coverage right within the app. Employees can even self-manage their schedules by communicating with each other to trade or pick up shifts—with your approval, of course.

Homebase’s punch in and punch out app’s scheduling features means keeping track of your team’s hours, shifts, and finding last-minute shift coverage just got easier.

Push notifications and error alerts for employees and employers

Homebase notifications help you and your team stay on track with hours and everything else with alerts to make sure you never miss a thing.

Employees can get notifications when:

• They forget to clock out
• They have new shifts scheduled
• Their break is almost over

Managers can get alerts when:

• Employees try to clock in early
• Employees forget to clock out
• Employees are late
• Employees are close to overtime
• Timesheets have potential errors

The best part? Everyone can customize their settings to get notifications by email, app, or even text message.

Employee happiness and perks

Homebase knows that happy employees are more productive and better for your business. That’s why the time clock is designed with all the necessary bells and whistles to especially set your team up for success.

With Homebase’s punch in and out app, you can offer easy access to schedules, wages, and PTO accruals. The team communication features help build a stronger team culture, too.

One of the features that stands out? Homebase Cash Out—a perk that provides your employees with access to their earnings early, so they can meet their financial goals without the stress. (P.S. It comes at no cost to you.)

Tools to help you stay compliant

Because Homebase isn’t just a time clock, they also have features that help you stay on top of labor laws. Homebase’s HR and compliance features help you:

• Set up PTO policies that meet the time off requirements in your state
• Track and pay overtime accurately
• Get notified when labor laws change at the state or federal level

But compliance can get tricky. So if you need more support, they have a team of expert HR pros who can answer any compliance-related questions you might have.

From time tracking to payroll and HR, Homebase is the ultimate all-in-one solution for employee management. No more time spent flipping between spreadsheets and different software. Instead, you’ll have your team up and running in minutes.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface for employees and managers
• Integrations with industry-leading small business tools
• All-in-one app means you can save time switching between tools to manage your team and small business
• Can be used to manage multiple locations and remote teams
• Employee pay advances at no cost to you
• Unlimited employees to help you scale your business on all paid plans

Cons:

• Advanced employee management features may require a plan upgrade

Pricing: Homebase’s time clock app is 100% free for up to 20 employees. Paid plans start as low as $20 a month. A great solution for small growing businesses who need a robust punch in punch out solution—without having to pay an arm and a leg.

2. Buddy Punch

Not to be confused with buddy punching of the time theft variety, Buddy Punch is another popular punch in and out app. Built with time tracking in mind, Buddy Punch is a great cloud-based solution for keeping tabs on employee working hours and suited for remote and digital teams.

Pros:

• Simple payroll integrations
• Facial recognition features to prevent time theft
• Unlimited managers included with all plans
• Cloud-based software

Cons:

• Employee scheduling and shift-swapping features require a plan upgrade
• Limited feature available in mobile app
• Limited HR and other employee management tools

Pricing: Buddy Punch starts at $19 a month, plus $2.99 per user. They do offer a free trial for new users and an Enterprise solution for established businesses that need more custom solutions.

3. QuickBooks Time

QuickBooks, leading small business accounting platform, recently rebranded their time tracking solution, TSheets, into QuickBooks Time. Because QuickBooks Time is embedded directly into the QuickBooks platform, it’s a great solution for companies that already use them for accounting and client invoicing.

Pros:

• Seamlessly integrates into QuickBooks
• Easy to adjust billable rates by the user

Cons:

• Limited employee management features beyond time tracking
• Additional admin roles come at a cost

Pricing: QuickBooks Time is one of the more expensive options on this list with a $30 monthly base fee and $10 per user. They do offer a free 30-day trial.

4. Connecteam

Connecteam is an employee management software that provides tools from time tracking to payroll. The benefit of all-in-one apps is that they eliminate the need to switch between several different tools.

Connecteam is a good solution if you’re looking to implement an overall employee management experience, but it doesn’t necessarily stand out as a time-tracking tool.

Pros:

• Freemium version for teams smaller than 10
• Access to several employee management features all within one app
• Paid plans include GPS and other time-theft prevention tools

Cons:

• Free plan includes very limited features
• Users have reported that the app tends to crash frequently
• Additional fees for teams larger than 30 employees

Pricing: Connecteam offers a free option for up to 10 users. However, if you need basic features such as shift swapping, you’ll need to upgrade to one of the paid plans that start at $29 per month.

5. Sling

Sling is an employee scheduling tool that was acquired in 2022 by restaurant POS software company Toast. They position themselves as an employee shift scheduling tool. However, they do also offer a time clock and other time-tracking tools.

Like other apps, Sling is a good choice if you’re primarily looking for a tool to improve your scheduling processes, but also want to add a punch in and punch out app. Businesses that already use Toast will also appreciate the integration between the two platforms.

Pros:

• Pay-per-user pricing model is great for small teams
• Fremium version to test out shift scheduling features

Cons:

• Pay-per-user pricing model can get expensive for larger teams
• Time clock features only available on paid plans
• Limited integrations

Pricing: Sling uses a pay-per-user pricing model, which can be helpful for growing teams since you’re only paying for the seats you’re using. Each user starts at $2.00 if you pay monthly. They also offer a free  plan, but you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan to unlock time-tracking.

6. Harvest

Harvest’s punch in and out app is designed to help employees make better use of their time and help businesses unlock time-related insights.

Harvest is best for teams that need to track time on a project basis.

Pros:

• Robust reporting and insight tools
• Free plan unlocks access to almost all features

Cons:

• Free plan only includes one seat
• Limited features to support desk-less teams

Pricing: Harvest’s free plan only includes one seat and two projects, which can be challenging for teams. They also offer a Pro plan for $12 per-seat per-month.

7. Replicon

Replicon is a robust workflow management solution that helps enterprises work smarter. Their punch in and out app helps track everything from employee attendance to project time tracking.

Replicon is a good fit for established businesses that need to track time, but also want to keep tabs on hours for client billing and invoicing.

Pros:

• Integrates with many industry-leading HR and payroll platforms
• Offers compliance features, like PTO tracking
• Easy to turn hours into invoices for clients

Cons:

• Not the best fit for small businesses
• Features and tools can be complicated to navigate

Pricing: Replicon’s Time and Attendance tools start at $6 a month and the Project Time Management tools start at $12 a month. There is also a free trial.

The best punch in and punch out app on the market is free. (Yes—you read that right)

Homebase’s free punch in and out time clock packs a punch. Track employee hours, prep for payroll, and control labor costs—all in one place. Get started today.

What to look for in a punch in and out app.

There’s no getting around punching in and out as an integral part of your team’s workflow. When looking for a punch in and out app, don’t just roll with the punches.

Several features can make the difference between an app that works and an app that’s perfect for your business. Here are a just a few of the things to keep an eye out for, regardless of your business, when finding that accurate time tracking solution.

Automatic timesheets

Timesheets record the information from your time punch app so you can easily review and use that information for scheduling or payroll.

Ditch the data entry by looking for a punch in and out app that automatically creates human error-free timesheets on your behalf. Automatic timesheets can take one more thing off your plate as you focus on mastering the time clock and moving on.

Time theft prevention features

Time theft and buddy punching are unfortunately common among businesses of all shapes and sizes. It’s been reported that time theft costs employers in the U.S. almost $400 million a year.

Fortunately, a punch in and out app with the right features can help keep time theft at bay.

Some of our favorite features that help minimize time theft are:

• Geo-fencing to make sure employees only clock in at work
• GPS snapshots help you keep track of where employees are punching in and when

Payroll integration

Payroll integration can help you save time and make sure your team gets what they’re owed. When your time punch app fits seamlessly into your payday process, you’ll even save time on prep and avoid those pesky payroll errors.

Just think of all the hours you spend inputting hours into a separate application. If you can do it all in one app that calculates payroll automatically, think of the time you’ll free up!

Employee scheduling

Before employees can punch in, they need to know when they’re expected at work. When your punch in and out app can sync to your employee schedules, your employees will get alerts for their upcoming shift.

You can even set reminders for your team to clock out and clock back in for their breaks. You’ll get notified if they’re running late—and if they’re working overtime—so you can stay on top of both staffing and costs.

Reporting and analytics

Labor costs can add up. Reporting and analytics features can help you avoid overspending while ensuring your team is utilized to the fullest.

With labor reports, you can identify areas where you’re overspending—especially if those reports also tabulate your sales data. Imagine if you could see all your business’s numbers in one place! It might just be possible if you know where to look.

Overtime alerts and error notifications

Did you intend to schedule that employee for 50 hours this week? Don’t worry! Notifications can alert you to scheduling snafus before they happen.

Or are your employees working overtime when they’re not supposed to? You can set up an overtime alert for that too. These features can help you avoid unpleasant labor cost surprises without spending too much time obsessing over the clock.

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Punch in and out app FAQs

How can employees punch in and out at work?

Employees can punch in and out at work in a few different ways, including:

• Physical punch clock or time clock: This is a device that’s typically placed in a common area of the workplace. Employees will enter their ID or information to punch in at the start and end of their shifts and the clock will record the time.
• Time clock app: Also known as a punch in and out app, a time clock app is similar to a punch clock, but it’s 100% digital. It’s often used on mobile devices, tablets, or POS systems.
• Manual tracking: This is the least common form of employee time tracking. This requires employees to manually input their start and end times in a time-tracking spreadsheet or on a paper sign-in sheet.

What’s the difference between a time clock and a punch in and out app?

A time clock and a punch in and out app are very similar. Both apps are designed to help employees and businesses track working hours. Whether they use a time clock or a punch in and out app, employees will clock in (or punch in) when they start their shift and clock out (or punch out) when they finish.

A time clock can also apply to a physical time clocking device, but digital time clock apps are more common in modern small businesses.

What are the benefits of using a punch in and out system?

Using employee punch in and out systems offer many benefits to small businesses. For example:

• They make it easier to track employee hours accurately
• They streamline the payroll process and reduce the risk of errors
• They offer transparency around pay and scheduling for your employees
• They reduce time theft and buddy punching
• They help you stay compliant with overtime requirements and other labor laws.

Using a punch in and out system or a time clock helps you spend less time managing employee hours and more time growing your business.