8 Best Time and Attendance Apps for 2023 (In-Depth Comparison)
Time attendance apps allow you to easily track exact employee work hours and time off so that you can confidently pay your staff accurately – so no more buddy punching, time theft, or costly timesheet errors. Check out these top attendance apps and find the one that best suits you.
Without the right tools, tracking your employee’s work hours can be a complete hassle, to say the least. From endless piles of paperwork, tracking down an employee to remember when they started their shift last Tuesday, getting agitated (and actually losing lots of money) with staff rounding off their work hours or sneaking in a few extra minutes here and there.
If this sounds familiar, you’re definitely not alone!
Time attendance apps allow you to automate and precisely track your team’s time, enabling you to stay assured that you pay them exactly what they deserve.
We’ve lined up 8 of the best attendance apps out there to help you find the one that best fits your company’s needs and budget. Let’s take a look!
If you don’t have the time to read through our research, jump down to our quick comparison table.
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Our Top Picks
Best all-in-one time and attendance app for the deskless workforce.
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Good for monitoring team performance in terms of key metrics.
Good for automated payments.
What to Look For in a Time and Attendance App
When looking for the best attendance app for your business, keep an eye out for the following aspects and features:
- Ease of use: The time attendance app is easy to set up and offers an intuitive user experience.
- Customizability: It’s customizable to suit your team structures and shift types.
- Quick login: It lets your employees log in quickly and easily to clock in and out on the spot.
- Clocking in and out: It allows your employees to clock in and out of their shifts.
- Automated alerts and reminders: It sends admins and employees automated alerts for various events in the app. The time attendance app for instance notifies when an employee is working overtime or when a leave request is approved or rejected.
- Absences management: Beyond what the name “time and attendance app” suggests, it should also track when your employees are absent.
- Payroll management: It allows you to export data for payroll or integrate with payroll software.
- Price: It is cost-friendly and suits your budget.
- Support: It comes with good customer support to help you with any issues.
The 8 Best Time and Attendance Apps of 2023
Connecteam — All-in-one time and attendance app for the deskless workforce
Available on
Web
iOS
Android
Connecteam is the best online time and attendance app that lets you track your employees’ work hours and manage timesheets accurately with complete ease and efficiency from anywhere. It offers a single-touch time clock, GPS tracking, job-specific time tracking options, automated timesheets, absence and time off management, streamlined payroll processing, and more.
In addition, Connecteam has exceptional customer service, a user-friendly interface, additional employee management features, and a highly customizable platform that can be adjusted to suit your unique business needs.
To better understand Connecteam’s time and attendance tracking capabilities, we’ve detailed how you can use these to enhance your workforce management below.
GPS tracking
Connecteam offers several GPS tracking features to ensure your team is exactly where they should be while clocked in.
With your preferred settings, you can choose to log your employees’ exact location when they clock in and out or track their real-time location throughout their workday. It is also possible to set up a digital geofence around your workplaces is also possible to limit the area from which your staff can clock in and out.
This allows you to prevent employees from clocking in before starting their shifts and eliminate potential time theft.
Job-specific time tracking options
As an admin, you can decide what to track time for. For instance, you can record work hours spent on specific jobs, locations, or clients.
You can use different viewing options from your admin dashboard and see exactly how much time is spent on a specific project or client. This way, you can further gain valuable insights into how you’re allocating your resources. This data is also particularly useful for billing and invoicing purposes.
Automated timesheets
The app automatically logs all tracked time on a digital timesheet. From here, you can view and review all recorded data, such as total hours worked per day and during a set payroll period, overtime, time off, and breaks. The app also makes it easy to spot and correct potentially costly payroll mistakes by highlighting discrepancies.
You can also set up pay rates for each one of your employees or jobs and calculate work hours, breaks, and overtime automatically.
Through the same app on their mobile phones, your staff can review their personal timesheets, request any edits, and submit their approval before you process payroll.
Absence & time off management
With the time off feature, you can set up your company’s time off policies for any type of absence – paid or unpaid – and manage employee time off requests submitted through the app accordingly.
The app will then automatically calculate and process the absence based on your predefined policies, notify the relevant employee of the status of their request, and keep a record of the process. This spares you unnecessary back-and-forth, manual calculations, or scattered processes.
Streamlined payroll processing
When ready for payroll, you can directly export employee timesheets to your preferred payroll software or use one of Connecteam’s payroll integrations: QuickBooks and Gusto. This way, you can skip the whole manual process and save valuable time and effort.
For Whom?
Connecteam is the best employee time attendance app for both large organizations and small business owners with frontline and non-desk employees. Connecteam serves more than 90 industries, including construction, healthcare, F&B, cleaning, field service, and retail.
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Key Features
One-touch clock in & out
Job, project, or client-specific time tracking options
Automated timesheets
Real-time location tracking
Time off management
Payroll integrations
Pros
Intuitive and easy to use
All-in-one solution
Great customer support
Budget-friendly
Cons
More integrations in development
Pricing
Free-for-life plan availablePremium plans start at $29/month for 30 users
The Best Attendance App For Your Business
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Timely — Best for: Monitoring team performance in terms of key metrics
Available on
Web
iOS
Android
With Timely, you are able to track your team’s time and performance in a single dashboard. With real KPI tracking, you can monitor team performance in terms of key metrics such as capacity. Create a customizable tagging system to know how time is spent. Easily spot missing hours and notify whoever needs to log their hours. The Timely time and attendance app integrates seamlessly with many solutions like Asana, Toggl, Freshservice, Todoist, Trello, Wrike, and more.
For Whom?
Timely is a good solution for salon and spa businesses.
Learn more about Timely
Key Features
- Overtime documentation
- Timesheet sharing
- Payroll
- Performance reviews
- Invoicing
Pros
- Easy to use
- Desktop and mobile access
- Good customer service
Cons
- Rather basic capabilities
- Text and SMS not included in pricing
- App is only available in English
Pricing
Starts at $8/user/month
Trial: Yes — 14-day
Free Plan: NoHubstaff — Best for: Automated payments
Available on
Web
iOS
Android
Windows
Mac
Hubstaff prides itself on offering time tracking with screenshots, reporting, and automated payments. Plus, you’re able to track hours with a real-time GPS location, payroll, invoicing, and more. If an employee loses service, the hours are tracked offline and will sync back up once a connection is restored.
For whom?
Hubstaff is a good fit for the field service industry and remote workers.
Learn more about Hubstaff
Key Features
- Detailed reports
- Online timesheets
- Geofencing
- Time off and holidays
- Expense tracking
- A central Kiosk app if needed
Pros
- Productivity management
- Appealing user interface
- Good reporting feature
Cons
- Limited payroll options
- Lack of customization options
- Productivity tracker has some bugs
Pricing
Starts at $583/user/month for more than 1 user
Trial: Yes — 14-day
Free Plan: Yes — For a single user
Harvest — Best for: Flexibility of tracking time per project or task
Available on
Web
iOS
Android
Windows
Mac
Harvest offers start and stop timers so you can work as needed and all hours are entered into a timesheet at once. With Harvest, time tracking is suited to your needs and preferences. It’s also easy to track time for specific clients, projects, and tasks. Additionally, you can add notes to the time clock. In addition, Harvest integrates with some great solutions like Trello, Zendesk, Slack, Asana, Xero, and more.
For Whom?
Harvest is a good fit for the client services industry as well as freelancers.
Learn more about Harvest
Key Features
- Track expenses
- Track billable hours
- Easy editing
- Timesheet approval
- Automatic reminders
Pros
- Good invoicing capabilities
- Easy to use
Cons
- Not many customizable features
- Poor customer support
- Interface looks dated
Pricing
$10.8/user/month
Trial: Yes — 30-day
Free Plan: Yes — For a single user
QuickBooks Time — Best for: Many integrations with other 3rd party platforms
Available on
Web
iOS
Android
Windows
Mac
TSheets is a popular solutionTSheets, now known as QuickBooks, is a popular solution to track hours, projects, or even labor estimates. At its core, TSheets boasts of payroll reports, detailed timesheets, workforce visibility, and more. Additionally, QuickBooks integrates with solutions like Xero, Square, Dropbox, Salesforce, and more. to track hours, projects, or even labor estimates. At its core, TSheets boasts of payroll reports, detailed timesheets, workforce visibility, and more.
For Whom?
TSheets, now known as QuickBooks, is ideal for small businesses.
Learn more about QuickBooks Time
Key Features
- Available on desktop, mobile, and as a Kiosk
- GPS time stamps
- Geofencing capabilities
- View employee locations with “Who’s Working”
- Alerts and approvals
- Team management
- Real-time reports
Pros
- Detailed reporting
- User friendly
Cons
- Poor customer service
- Advanced features can be difficult to use
Pricing
Starts at $8.5/user/month
Trial: Yes — 30-day
Free Plan: No
Avaza — Best for: Distinguishing between billable and nonbillable worked time
Available on
Web
iOS
Android
Get started with Avaza by inviting your employees to track time per project or per-user rates. There is a start and stop timer so you can track work projects on the go. Avaza also offers easy billing and reporting. Easily copy or import timesheets as needed.
For Whom?
Avaza is a good fit for small to medium sized businesses in the client services industry.
Learn more about Avaza
Key Features
- Set billable and nonbillable hours
- Assign cost rates per project
- Timesheet approvals
- Expense tracking
Pros
- Easy invoicing
- Integrated project management
Cons
- Difficult to edit multiple projects
- No contract feature
Pricing
Starts at $11.95/month + $7/user/month for more than 2 users
Trial: No
Free Plan: Yes — For a single user
Toggl — Best for: Robust reporting tools
Available on
Web
iOS
Android
Toggl is capable of simple time tracking and powerful reporting. Its basic features include one-click timers, tracking reminders, over 100 integrations with other software solutions, a project dashboard, billable rates, and can be set up on any device.
For Whom?
Toggle is ideal for large businesses and corporations.
Learn more about Toggl
Key Features
- Estimates and team planning
- Budget projections
Pros
- Lock old reports to keep your data accurate
- Clean up reports with Time Audits
- Easy to use
Cons
- The Toggle mobile app is difficult to use
- Unable to pause time clock
Pricing
Starts at $10/user/month
Trial: Yes
Free Plan: Yes
ClickTime — Best for: Spotting timesheet errors
Available on
Web
iOS
Android
Windows
Mac
ClickTime is a good solution for companies looking to reduce costs made on timesheet errors, track employee hours, and more effectively budget. In addition, you can also estimate project costs and set up budgeting respectively. With ClickTime you can also create custom reports to make more data driven decisions. In addition, they provide several different integrations including QuickBooks, Slack, and ADP.
For Whom?
ClickTime is a good fit for any business size looking to accurately track employee hours.
Learn more about ClickTime
Key Features
- Time tracking
- Project budgeting
- Expense management
- Reporting
- Overtime management
Pros
- Extensive reporting capabilities
- Easy to use
Cons
- No recurring tasks
- The mobile app could use additional features
- Can get pricey for large teams
Pricing
Starts at $10/user/month
Trial: Yes — 14-day
Free Plan: No
Compare the Best Time and Attendance Apps
Topic
Reviews
4.8
4.7
4.6
4.6
4.7
4.6
4.7
4.6
Pricing
Starts at just $29/month for the first 30 users
Starts at $8/user/month
Starts at $583/user/month for more than 1 user
$10.8/user/month
Starts at $8.5/user/month
Starts at $11.95/month + $7/user/month for more than 2 users
Starts at $10/user/month
Starts at $10/user/month
Free Trial
yes
14-day
yes
14-day
yes
14-day
yes
30-day
yes
30-day
no
yes
yes
14-day
Free Plan
yes
Free Up to 10 users
no
yes
For a single user
yes
For a single user
no
yes
For a single user
yes
no
What Is a Time and Attendance App?
A time and attendance app is a software that is used to keep track of employee hours. It helps organizations better manage the time their employees are spending at work, ensuring accuracy and efficiency in the payroll process.
Time and Attendance apps can allow for flexible time tracking, enabling employers to make sure employees are clocking in and out properly, as well as reporting any overtime or lateness.
It also allows managers to quickly see who is where in the organization at any given moment. With its cloud-based technology, it offers employers greater visibility into employee activity and easier financial management.
Most modern attendance tracking apps allow businesses to:
- Digitally and accurately track employee hours and attendance
- Ensure employees are clocked in at the right location with a GPS timestamp
- Manage overtime and time limitations with alerts and notifications
- Quickly tackle payroll
- Manage employee absence and PTO requests
How Does a Time and Attendance App Work?
Time and Attendance apps utilize a variety of technologies to accurately track employee hours. This typically includes using a digital clock-in system or biometric scanning. Employees will log in with a unique ID, such as their name or badge number, then clock out upon leaving work.
The software then automatically compiles the data into an easy-to-read report that managers and business owners can use for payroll purposes. Additionally, some time and attendance apps offer additional features such as scheduling capabilities, shift tracking, geo-fencing and even GPS tracking.
In addition to tracking employee hours, many applications allow for easier communication between employees and employers by offering automated notifications when shifts are changed or canceled. This can help reduce confusion and ensure employees are notified when necessary.
Time and Attendance apps also usually come with comprehensive reporting tools that enable employers to gain insight into productivity levels, absenteeism trends, labor costs analysis and more.
What Are The Benefits of a Time and Attendance App?
It reduces manual errors
Reducing manual errors saves your company time and money. With time tracking and attendance software, you can send accurate invoices to clients. In addition, with accurate and exact payroll, you increase employee satisfaction and productivity.
It ensures regulatory compliance
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires businesses to keep accurate records and an automated time tracking and attendance app allows businesses to easily and efficiently keep track of all data. Gone are the days of lost or misplaced paperwork; now everything can be stored on the app.
It gives you complete oversight
A robust time attendance app will give managers and businesses the ability to have complete oversight of their employees. This includes time tracking, project management, and even reporting. With real-time data and reporting, business owners can make better, more informed decisions.
It helps eliminate buddy-punching and time theft
With a time attendance app, you can easily curb overtime with automatic notifications and reminders. In addition, employees can no longer clock in for their friends. If the time attendance app you choose has geofencing capabilities, then employees can’t even clock into their job unless they’re in the designated location. Surprisingly, a survey found 43% of employees commit time theft but a time attendance app curbs the possibility of this due to real-time GPS stamps.
FAQs
Is it possible to cheat an attendance app?
While we’d like to think the answer is no, it is possible. Some time attendance apps that do not have a GPS location stamp or geofencing capabilities allow employees to have the ability to clock in before they have actually reached the job.
If you are concerned about time theft and want to reduce these costs, it would be beneficial to sign up for a time attendance app that has these features, even if it may be an additional cost. For example, with Connecteam, if you have the Geofencing capability as part of your plan, then it would be impossible for an employee to clock in before reaching the designated location of the job.
How much should an attendance app cost?
While this question depends on what other features you may be looking for in a time attendance app, the short answer is anywhere between free and $20. With Connecteam, you can sign up for the free plan and easily track up to 50 employee attendances!
Remember, one of the benefits of attendance apps is that they help you save money, so even the very best attendance app should be affordable!
Why should I invest in an attendance app?
As mentioned above, the benefits of accurately tracking your employees hours are endless. From reducing costs from manual errors to increasing employee productivity and satisfaction — a time attendance app is the best solution. What business owner wouldn’t want clear and complete oversight on their employee hours, attendance, and payroll? Lastly, making sure your business is in compliance with all laws and regulations regarding overtime is made extremely easy with a time tracking and attendance app.
The Bottom Line on Time and Attendance Software
Regardless of industry type and company size, the benefits of time attendance softwares are endless and when there are many affordable time attendance apps, it’s a bit of a no-brainer.
Review the features included in the time attendance app you’re looking for, run a test trial, and see if the time attendance app really is easy for you and your team to use. It’ll be the best business decision you’ll make!
