Employee time clock or app? Fingerprint vs card vs tablet vs QR
A fingerprint time clock looks like the cheapest option for one office. Over three years, with more sites and the GDPR rules on biometric data, the sums change. Here we compare fingerprint and card time clocks with an entrance tablet and QR clock-in from the employee's phone.
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Quick answer: what fits your business
| Your situation | Best fit |
|---|---|
| One site, everyone uses the same door | Entrance tablet or a QR code. A card clock works if you accept the buddy punching risk. |
| Several shops or branches | QR clock-in on the phone, one code per site, all in one account. |
| Construction sites or field teams | QR + GPS on the phone, working offline. |
| Staff without smartphones | Entrance tablet with a personal PIN or printed badge. |
| You want a biometric check | Face ID or fingerprint on the employee's own phone via passkeys – not a company fingerprint reader. |
3-year cost: time clock machine vs app
The device price is only part of the cost. Count three years: hardware, installation, software, extra sites, and the time spent turning punches into a timesheet. Example for 15 employees:
| Option | What you pay | Est. 3 years, 1 site | Est. 3 years, 3 sites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fingerprint time clock | Device, installation, often software | €100–1,000 | €300–2,500 |
| Card / badge time clock | Reader, cards, often software | €100–800 | €300–2,000 |
| Entrance tablet + QRtimetrack | Tablet + €29.85/month | Tablet + €1,074.60 | Tablets + €1,074.60 |
| QRtimetrack on phones only (QR + GPS) | €29.85/month | €1,074.60 | €1,074.60 |
To be fair: for one site, a cheap time clock can cost less on the invoice. The difference comes from costs that don't appear there:
- Month-end admin. Many clocks export a raw list of punches. Someone still has to build the timesheet and work out breaks and overtime.
- Every new site needs a new device, installation and power.
- GDPR for fingerprints: impact assessment, privacy notice, an alternative for staff who refuse.
- Breakdowns. A reader that stops recognising fingers means missing punches and manual fixes.
QRtimetrack costs €9.95/month for up to 5 active employees, then €1.99 per active employee per month, excl. VAT. See the time tracking app for all features.
Fingerprint time clocks and GDPR
A biometric time clock processes special category data under Article 9 of the GDPR and UK GDPR. You need a valid exception, you must show the purpose can't be achieved less intrusively, and employee consent is hard to rely on because staff are not free to refuse their employer. Large-scale biometric processing generally requires a data protection impact assessment.
In February 2024 the UK Information Commissioner ordered Serco Leisure and associated trusts to stop using facial recognition and fingerprint scanning for staff attendance at 38 leisure facilities, because less intrusive options such as ID cards or fobs were available.
If you want a biometric check without the risk, use Face ID or the fingerprint on the employee's own phone. The check happens on the phone through passkeys; QRtimetrack only receives the confirmation. The employer stores no fingerprints and no face templates. More in our guide to electronic time tracking.
Stopping buddy punching without biometrics
Buddy punching – clocking in for a colleague who is late or absent – is trivial with a paper sheet or a shared card. A fingerprint reader stops it, but brings the GDPR issues above. A well-designed app gets the same result:
- One phone per employee. To clock in for someone, you'd need their unlocked phone; a new phone needs manager approval.
- Rotating QR code on a screen, changing every 15 seconds – a photo sent on WhatsApp doesn't work.
- GPS zone around the site – you can't clock in for the site from home.
- Risk traffic light on suspicious punches, which you approve or reject.
- Optional selfie at clock-in, deleted automatically after 30 days.
Several sites and construction
Time clocks were designed for a factory with one gate. On a construction site there's no stable power at first, the device must be protected from dust and rain, and it has to be moved when the job ends. Three sites mean three devices and three exports.
With an app, each site gets a printed QR code and a GPS radius. Stick the code on the gate or the site cabin and you're done. Clock-ins work without signal and sync later. Site managers see only their own people in the team-lead app. More on construction site time tracking and the GPS time clock.
Tablet time clock: how the entrance kiosk works
If you want a fixed clock-in point like a time clock but without a dedicated machine, put a tablet at the entrance in kiosk mode. It suits factories, kitchens, warehouses and teams where not everyone has a smartphone.
- Mount an ordinary tablet near the entrance and open kiosk mode from your company account.
- Employees with a smartphone show their personal code, which changes every 30 seconds; the tablet reads it.
- Employees without a phone type a PIN or show a printed badge.
- The punch appears at once in the dashboard, with the same schedule, late-arrival and break rules as phone clock-ins.
The tablet can also show a QR code that changes every 15 seconds, which employees scan with their phones – no queue at shift change. Kiosk mode is included in the Standard plan. More on the QR code time clock.
Special offer: a Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ tablet, 3 months of QRtimetrack free for your whole team and a step-by-step setup guide – you set it up yourself in about 10 minutes – for €299 outside Romania. Limited stock of 100 systems. See the offer.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a fingerprint time clock cost?
Basic devices start at around a hundred euros; networked models with software cost several hundred, plus installation. Prices vary widely. Add the cost per extra site and the GDPR work needed for biometric data before comparing with an app.
Are fingerprint time clocks legal in the UK and EU?
They are not automatically banned, but they are hard to justify. Fingerprints are special category data under the GDPR and UK GDPR: you need a legal basis, proof the purpose can't be met less intrusively, usually a DPIA, and an alternative for staff. The ICO has ordered an employer to stop biometric attendance checks.
Can I use a tablet instead of a time clock?
Yes. An ordinary tablet in kiosk mode replaces the time clock. Employees show a personal rotating code, type a PIN or show a printed badge. The hours go straight into the app with late arrivals, breaks and overtime calculated – no exports from a device.
What do I do with my existing time clock?
Switch gradually: run the app in parallel at one site for a month, compare the hours, then decide. If the old clock used fingerprints, ask your data protection adviser about deleting the stored templates once you stop using it.
How do I stop buddy punching without fingerprints?
Combine several checks: one phone per employee, a QR code that changes every few seconds, a GPS zone around the site and alerts on suspicious punches. Optionally add a selfie or Face ID on the employee's own phone – no biometric data is stored by you.
Does phone clock-in work without internet?
Yes. The punch is saved on the phone with the real time and location and sent automatically when the signal returns. The server also checks whether the phone's clock was changed.