Should I trust feature lists?

Use them to make a shortlist, then test. The things that cause trouble later, like missed clock-outs, corrections, outages and exports, are usually in help articles rather than on the feature page.

Is a free time clock enough?

Sometimes. Check what's limited on the free plan: people, locations, history, exports or location checks. Then price the plan you'd actually need at your size, including add-ons.

Time Clock Buying Checklist for a Small Business

Download the scorecard

Buying scorecard and test script(XLSX)

Give each of ten areas a weight from 0 (doesn't matter) to 3 (must have), then score up to three products from your own testing. The sheet gives a weighted score out of 100 and counts the must-haves each product misses. A second sheet has the ten-step test script. We checked the formulas in LibreOffice Calc.

Start with how your team works

Common situations and what they mean for a time clock.
If your team…	Look closely at
Works at one counter or front door	A shared tablet with PINs, and what happens when it's offline
Works at client sites or moves around	Phone clock-in with location checks per site
Has people without a smartphone, or on Android	Browser and shared-device options
Is sensitive about tracking	Exactly when location is read and what's stored
Uses an existing payroll provider	Export columns, and whether a real file imports cleanly

Common situations and what they mean for a time clock.

A one-week test

Add three real people and one site.
Have each clock in the way they would on a normal day.
Clock in once from outside the site, on purpose.
Leave one clock-out missing until the next day.
Punch a break and check how unpaid time is counted.
Correct a punch as a manager and check the reason is recorded.
Turn off Wi-Fi on the shared device and try a punch.
Export the week and check it against what your payroll system expects.
Ask what location data is collected and when, and compare it with what you saw.
Price a year at your real headcount and sites, with every add-on you'd need.

Questions to ask any vendor

Is location read only at a punch, or also during a shift? Can I turn location off?
What does an employee see when a punch is refused, and how do they get it approved?
How is a missed clock-out shown, and does it affect the export before I fix it?
Do you connect to my payroll provider, or do I upload a file? Can I see a sample file?
What's limited on each plan: people, managers, locations, history?

For brand-by-brand differences, see the comparison pages. Check the dates on any comparison, including ours, against each vendor's current pricing page.

How Zchedule answers them

As of November 9, 2026, checked against Zchedule's code unless noted:

Zchedule's answers to the checklist questions.
Question	Zchedule
Punch methods	iPhone app, any browser, or a shared tablet with PINs. No native Android app; Android users use the browser.
Location	Read only at clock-in, clock-out and an override request. Nothing between punches. Nothing stored when no zone applies. The tablet reads no location.
Zone rules	Off, warn, review or block, per zone. A blocked employee can ask a manager to approve the punch.
Exports	A CSV with scheduled times, punches, breaks, worked, paid and overtime hours. No payroll-provider connections.
Price	Free scheduling for new teams of up to 5 people; the time clock is on Starter, $19.99 a month per team for up to 30 people.

Zchedule's answers to the checklist questions.

Small-business time clock buying checklist