Time clock comparison: paper, swipe card, fingerprint or a phone app with QR and GPS

The short answer

The full comparison table

Any of the four can meet the record-keeping rules. In the UK, the Working Time Regulations require records adequate to show compliance with working time limits, kept for two years; National Minimum Wage records must be kept for at least six. In Ireland, the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 requires hours worked to be recorded and kept for three years. In the EU, the CJEU (case C-55/18) requires an objective, reliable and accessible system measuring daily working time. None prescribes a format. More in working time records in the UK and Ireland.

1. Paper timesheets and Excel

Pros: free, everyone understands it, needs no power or internet. For two or three office staff it may be enough.

Cons: often filled in at the end of the week from memory. Colleagues can sign for each other. Hours are added up by hand and mistakes go straight into payroll. With several sites, sheets have to be collected and merged.

Best for: micro-businesses with one office and fixed hours.

2. Swipe card or fob clock

Pros: fast at the door, staff don't need a phone, no biometric data.

Cons: a card can be handed to a colleague, so buddy punching is still possible. You need a device at each entrance, installation and spare cards. On a building site or at a client's premises a card clock doesn't help.

Best for: factories and warehouses with a single entrance that is supervised.

3. Fingerprint or facial recognition terminal

Pros: hard to fool; the punch is personal.

Cons: fingerprints and face templates are biometric data, a special category under Article 9 of the GDPR and UK GDPR. You need a valid condition, you must show the purpose can't be achieved less intrusively, and employee consent is hard to rely on because staff aren't free to refuse. A data protection impact assessment is generally expected. Add a device per site, enrolling each employee, and dirty or cut fingers on site.

In February 2024 the UK ICO ordered Serco Leisure and associated trusts to stop using facial recognition and fingerprint scanning to monitor staff attendance, noting that less intrusive options such as ID cards or fobs were available.

Best for: rarely justified just for attendance. If you want a biometric check, use Face ID or the fingerprint on the employee's own phone, where the check stays on the device. The three-year cost comparison is in employee time clock.

4. Phone app with QR codes and GPS

Pros: no hardware to buy. Employees scan the site's QR code or clock in inside the GPS zone, and you see who is at work in real time. It works across sites, including sites with no signal: the punch is saved on the phone and sent when the connection returns. Hours, breaks and overtime are calculated automatically.

Cons: employees need a smartphone (or an entrance tablet), and location at clock-in needs explaining to staff. There's a monthly fee.

Best for: multi-site businesses, shift work, field teams, construction, hospitality, retail, cleaning and security. More on the methods: QR code time clock and GPS time clock.

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Cost example: 15 employees, 2 sites, 3 years

The hidden cost of paper and Excel is time: someone adds up hours, checks signatures and fixes mistakes every month. The hidden cost of biometric clocks is data protection compliance. QRtimetrack prices are on the pricing page.

How to choose: 5 questions

1. How many sites? With one, any system works. From two upwards, devices multiply; an app doesn't.
2. Do your staff have smartphones? If not all of them, combine the app with an entrance tablet (PIN, printed badge or personal code).
3. How big is the buddy punching risk? If you've had problems, avoid paper and cards. See how to stop buddy punching.
4. Field work or no internet? You need an app that works offline.
5. Want to avoid biometric data? Choose QR, GPS or Face ID on the phone, not a company fingerprint reader.

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