Managing payroll is often cited as one of the biggest headaches for small business owners — and with good reason. Even with dedicated attention, manually tracking employee hours and calculating wages takes up valuable time and mistakes result in costly errors.

As a small business owner, you juggle countless responsibilities. Modern time and attendance tracking software can optimize this tedious manual process with automated time cards, integrated payroll processing, and data-driven insights. 

Instead of wrestling with Excel or double-checking errors, you can make strategic decisions based on real-time data to budget better and optimize productivity to improve your bottom line directly. 

This article provides an overview of the top seven time and attendance tracking software options on the market right now. We'll explore the standout capabilities of each, ideal use cases, and potential drawbacks to consider.

Advantages of Time and Attendance Tracking Software 

Instead of wrestling with spreadsheets, time and attendance software takes the guesswork out of payroll to give you an accurate picture of actual hours worked. Features like automated time tracking, geo-fencing to register clock ins/outs, and custom pay rules help generate timesheets, calculate wages, and process payroll seamlessly.

Beyond payroll, the data and reporting capabilities give visibility into project costs and productivity metrics. This visibility helps you make more strategic decisions about resources, budgets, and your actual operational costs. 

As your business grows, it’s essential to have an integrated tech stack that lets your back-office operations keep up with your growing team. Time and attendance software integrates seamlessly with these other necessary systems like accounting, Human Capital Management (HCM) platforms, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, etc.

At ConnectPay, our time and attendance tools are loved by hundreds of small businesses! And our team of payroll experts have got years of experience optimizing time-tracking and payroll processes for small businesses across every industry. We can help you too!

Looking to simplify time and attendance processes for your business? Schedule your free payroll tax and compliance review! 

7 Time and Attendance Tracking Software to Consider This Year 

1. BuddyPunch

   BuddyPunch takes the guesswork and manual effort out of tracking employee hours and preventing payroll errors for small businesses. It can confirm remote employees' locations, cut back on timesheet inaccuracies, and monitor overtime. BuddyPunch also provides data-driven insights to control labor costs more effectively.

   Many of these capabilities are possible with Buddypunch’s unique GPS tracking and webcam images. The platform also automates overtime monitoring and notifications to help control unexpected cost surges that hurt productivity and the bottom line. One user shares,

   “It's an easy and convenient way to track payroll, approve timesheets, and publish schedules! Employees can make adjustments themselves and request time off or even get a shift covered with just a few clicks. Highly recommend all in one service for businesses!"

   While webcam monitoring is a lead selling point for some teams, it can be invasive. If you choose to use BuddyPunch for your time and attendance tracking software, set clear expectations and boundaries around exactly how the tool will be used to put your team at ease.

2. Clockify

   For lean small businesses that want to ditch spreadsheets, Clockify allows you to start automating time-tracking without a big upfront software cost. It’s simple, easy to use, and meets the basic needs of early-stage startups and small teams on a budget.

   Standout Clockify features include automated timesheets, calendar integration, and reporting, providing helpful visibility into where teams spend their hours. One user shares,

   “Very nice, easy to use time tracking! I have my several team members there on a free plan, everything runs smoothly and quick!”

3. Rippling

   Rippling is an HR software that also offers built-in time-tracking capabilities. Beyond punch clocks and timesheets, it gives unified visibility into your employee data to simplify how you manage your workforce.

   Key features are automated time tracking with geofencing (an integrated geolocation and timecard automation) that saves small businesses from relying on error-prone manual tracking systems. This visibility gives you more oversight and control over remote or multi-site team members.

   Rippling also has custom pay and attendance policies, granular permissions, real-time reports, and quick access to employee insights. It also integrates with popular workplace apps like Slack to fit into your tech stacks and unify your systems. One user shares,

   “I use Rippling on a daily basis to clock in and out for work and keep track of my schedule and hours. Rippling is super user friendly and stays up to date with my hours worked, vacation time used and what's still available so that I can schedule my appointments and time off.”

4. PayCor

   PayCor is a helpful time and attendance software for large companies. Helpful features include mobile punching in/out, facial recognition capabilities, and integration with popular calendar apps.

   While the advanced features let growing businesses scale complex processes efficiently at a scalable price point, nearly every TrustPilot review highlights that Paycor’s customer service is a noticeable weak point. One user shares,

   “The software itself has some great features. However, the lack of an assigned rep for your own account is the biggest issue when something is wrong.”

5. PayCom

   Paycom is an all-in-one platform geared towards larger businesses–offering payroll, timekeeping, talent management, and other critical HR needs.

   PayCom offers automated compliance tracking as employment laws evolve, configurable approval workflows you can edit to match your business's unique policies, real-time reporting, and payroll processing across a single database. One user shares,

   “Working in the Paycom system has been smooth and easy to learn and I enjoy the employee self-service interface. Our managers have had positive things to say and are all excited about the changes we have been able to make to our organization due to Paycom being implemented.”

6. QuickBooks Time 

   If you’re already using QuickBooks as the accounting backbone for your small business, QuickBooks Time neatly solves time tracking and payroll processing needs and keeps your data connected to make it easy to review crucial information in one spot.

   QuickBooks Time’s integrated add-on streamlines time and attendance tracking to avoid confusing data entry across mismatched platforms. One user shares,

   “QB Time is a relatively robust time-tracking system that we integrate with QuickBooks. I like the flexibility to create specific jobs/projects and can assign groups of employees to that project. [....] If you run multiple projects as we do at a construction firm, you can easily filter reports to narrow down what you what to look at.”

7. ConnectPay 

   At ConnectPay, our solution blends reliable payroll processing with powerfully simple time and attendance tools–creating a unified solution for small and growing businesses.

   And we’ve got payroll experts ready to support your business in seconds–during business hours, we’re always available to answer questions. Our digital time and attendance software is easy-to-use for both you and your employees. One happy user shares,

   “My old time clock was limited to only a single workstation, and employees never had insight into how many hours they worked until they saw it on their pay stub. Your Web Clock changed all of this. The system is flexible, so I can easily make edits for missed punches."

Choosing Your Best Time and Attendance Tracking Software 

Before evaluating various time and attendance tracking systems, it’s important to assess your unique needs—both current and future. Ask key questions to hone in on your full business picture and the needs your time and attendance tracking software will support.

These questions might include:

• Do you need monitoring capabilities across multiple locations or for remote employees?
• What other systems should your time and attendance tracking software integrate with?
• Is a single on-site kiosk enough for your team to punch in/out with? 
• Can your existing payroll process scale with these changes?

If managing payroll gives you headaches as your company grows, it might help you consolidate systems through a unified platform like ConnectPay. Our free Payroll Tax & Compliance Review can assess gaps in your current payroll and time-tracking systems to provide tailored solutions and support your strategic growth. Schedule yours today.