Buddy Punch
Easy-to-use, affordable employee time clock software
About Buddy Punch
Buddy Punch is an employee time tracking and attendance platform built for small and mid-sized businesses with hourly workers. It combines mobile, desktop, and kiosk time clocks with scheduling, GPS/geofencing, PTO management, and payroll integrations to simplify workforce management.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Exceptionally easy to learn — employees can clock in within minutes with minimal training
- Photo-on-punch and facial recognition stop buddy punching outright
- Strong GPS and geofencing make it a solid fit for field, construction, and remote crews
- Wide range of native payroll integrations (QuickBooks, Gusto, ADP, Paychex, etc.)
- Generous 14-day free trial with full feature access and no credit card required
- Responsive, US-based customer support praised consistently in G2 and Capterra reviews
Cons
- No true offline mode — field workers in dead-zone areas may lose punches
- Reporting is flexible but stops short of deep custom analytics without the paid add-on
- The $19/month base fee inflates the effective cost for very small teams (under ~10 users)
- Mobile app still lags the web dashboard on a handful of admin features
- Not HIPAA-compliant, so healthcare employers handling PHI will need to look elsewhere
Key Features
Time Tracking
Track employee hours via mobile, desktop, or kiosk-based punch options.
Employee Scheduling
Drag-and-drop schedule builder with shift assignment and notifications.
GPS & Geofencing
Capture GPS location on punches and restrict clock-ins to approved job sites.
Facial Recognition & Webcam Photos
Capture a photo on every punch to prevent buddy punching and verify identity.
QR Code & PIN Kiosk
Shared-device kiosk mode with QR code scanning or PIN entry for on-site teams.
PTO Management
Track paid time off with custom accrual rules, balances, and approval workflows.
Job & Project Costing
Assign punches to jobs or projects to track labor costs by client or task.
Payroll Integrations
Export timesheets or sync directly to QuickBooks, Gusto, ADP, Paychex, and more.
Automatic Break Tracking
Enforce paid/unpaid break rules and auto-deduct lunches for compliance.
Reporting & Alerts
Custom reports plus real-time alerts for late punches, overtime, and missed shifts.
Pricing
- Time tracking (mobile, desktop, kiosk)
- GPS on punches
- Time off tracking
- Job tracking
- Payroll integrations
- Reporting
- Alerts & reminders
- $19/month base fee (annual billing)
- Everything in Starter
- Basic geofencing
- QR code scanning
- PIN / kiosk punch
- Webcam photos on punches
- Scheduling add-on
- $19/month base fee (annual billing)
- Everything in Pro
- Dedicated enterprise support
- API access
- Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Real-time GPS add-on
- $19/month base fee (annual billing)
Best For
Field & Construction Crews
Site supervisors use GPS and geofencing to confirm crew members clocked in from the correct job site, with job-costing reports feeding directly into payroll.
Restaurants & Retail
Shared kiosk with PIN or QR code punch eliminates expensive hardware clocks, while photo capture prevents buddy punching on busy shifts.
Remote & Distributed Teams
Employees punch from the web or mobile app while managers see live status, PTO balances, and overtime alerts in one dashboard.
Small Businesses Switching from Paper Timesheets
Teams replace manual timesheet collection with automatic punches that sync to QuickBooks or Gusto for one-click payroll runs.
Professional Services & Agencies
Project-based teams track billable hours against clients/jobs, exporting reports to bill clients or analyze margins.
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Featured In
Buddy Punch vs Harvest: Which Time Tracking Tool Wins in 2026?
Best for hourly workforces — construction, restaurants, retail, field services — where verifying attendance and feeding payroll is the core job.
Best Time Tracking Software for Shift-Based Teams (2026)
Best overall for shift-based SMBs with 5-200 hourly employees who need one tool to handle clock-ins, scheduling, anti-fraud, and payroll export without training headaches.
Best Employee Time Clock Software for Small Businesses (2026)
Best overall employee time clock for small businesses — especially 5–75 hourly staff in construction, retail, home services, or restaurants that want fast setup, strong buddy-punch prevention, and one-click payroll.
Best Buddy Punch Alternatives for Time Tracking & Scheduling (2026)
Best for SMBs with on-site or field hourly workers who want a no-nonsense time clock with GPS and photo verification.
Best GPS Time Tracking Apps for Field Workers (2026)
Best overall GPS time tracking app for field workers — the sweet spot of enforcement, ease of adoption, and payroll integration for trade and field-service businesses under 200 employees.