We Tested the 10 Best Remote Attendance Systems in 2024

Are your remote employees working efficiently?

Tracking your employees’ performance and attendance can be challenging in a remote working environment. I have been there. That’s why I switched to remote attendance systems to track and maximize employee productivity.

These tools have become crucial components of efficient workforce management, as they help managers like me keep track of shift schedules and review employees’ log-in hours without direct supervision.

You’re in the right place if you also want to simplify managerial tasks and improve workforce efficiency. In this blog, we’ve meticulously compared and picked the top 10 remote attendance systems based on their features, pricing, and customer reviews.

10 Best Remote Attendance Systems (2024)

What Should You Look for in Remote Attendance Systems?

As a leader, you can fall into the trap of micromanaging employees, which ultimately reduces their productivity, motivation, and engagement. Even I fell into this trap while trying out strategies to improve performance, but not anymore.

When I leveraged remote attendance tools, they helped track the working hours of remote workers without being intrusive or controlling.

If you are in the middle of choosing the best remote attendance software, start by assessing your unique needs and objectives. You should always check the software’s compatibility with your existing systems and its ease of use so it does not require extensive training to navigate.

Let us look at some essential features to consider before picking the remote attendance system for your business:

1. Automating attendance

Modern remote attendance systems can automate employee attendance markings. Opting for an automated attendance management system helps you better recognize punctual employees who diligently perform their duties and meet the organization’s expectations.

These tools also bring numerous benefits, such as accuracy, productivity, and compliance, leaving no scope for intentional or unintentional errors in employee attendance markings.

2. Notifications and reminders

A remote attendance system you select for your company should integrate with digital calendars like Microsoft Outlook, Calendly Mobile, and Google Calendars. Choosing this packaged software will inform your entire team about an individual’s ability and keep track of attendance via the shared calendar.

3. Reporting and analytics

An ideal remote attendance management software features reporting functionalities to provide a comprehensive view of your company’s operations. This includes generating insightful reports on attendance trends, patterns, and compliance with labor laws.

4. Leave management

An effective attendance system offers leave management features such as configuring leave policies based on applicable laws, raising requests, assisting employees in checking leave balances, reviewing holiday schedules, etc.

5. Timesheets

The timesheet management feature is of the utmost importance in remote attendance systems and should not be overlooked before you make a choice. It allows you to track scheduled hours for work, leaves, accruals, and adjustments for processing payrolls.

Pro tip: Ensure your remote attendance software provides flexibility to your remote workforce and gives them some leeway to complete their tasks. Ensuring this can make your employees feel more comfortable using these tools and increase productivity.

The 10 Best Remote Attendance Systems to Use in 2024

1. ClickUp: Best for tracking employee performance and productivity

As a versatile project management tool, ClickUp allows you to track time in a way that suits your needs. With ClickUp’s Project Time Tracking capabilities, you can easily monitor hours worked from any location, make adjustments when necessary, and add notes to keep track of billable hours and project-specific time.

For instance, the tool allows your employees to start and stop a timer directly within the app, on the desktop with a Chrome extension, or even add time entries manually for past work to track time across devices. ClickUp’s extensive categorization features also allow employees to organize the tracked time entries via Custom Fields and ClickUp Tags.

ClickUp Time Tracking — *Simplify your time-tracking processes with ClickUp’s time-tracking capabilities*

You can also ask your team to add notes to the time entries and filter them by various criteria to get insights into where and how time is being spent across the business.

Beyond the features, ClickUp’s ready-to-use, customizable templates make it easier to outline and implement tracking systems without missing a beat. With the ClickUp Attendance Sheet Template, you can track your employees’ attendance and absences, see when they are coming back from leave, and create flexible reminders for employees about their remote work schedules.

Use ClickUp’s Attendance Sheet Template to track attendance and analyze tasks for maximum productivity

Download This Template

Moreover, ClickUp’s HR Views are useful for overseeing employee onboarding, scheduling, and other important specifics. Establish a centralized location for employee data and private correspondence between employees and their managers. You can use this central location to monitor progress, conduct employee engagement surveys, and prepare for upcoming performance evaluations.

ClickUp best features

Time tracking: Use ClickUp Time Tracking to build and customize time sheets and view detailed reporting on your employee’s time by day, week, month, or any custom range
Seamless collaboration: Visualize the progress of your projects remotely, monitor sprints and backlogs with agile charts, and collaborate in real-time with Clickup Docs and Whiteboards
PTO Calendar: Streamline tracking of employee vacation and sick days with ClickUp PTO Calendar Template
Automate Tasks: Use ClickUp Automation, which provides you with 100+ pre-built automations to streamline workflows, project handoffs, and routine tasks
Data encryption: Ensure safety of sensitive data with AES-256 encryption which prevents unauthorized access to third parties

Use ClickUp PTO Calendar Template to build and optimize your time-off processes

Download This Template

ClickUp limitations

Its steep learning curve can make this platform difficult for new users to navigate

ClickUp pricing

Free: Forever
Unlimited: $7/month per user
Business: $12/month per user
Enterprise: Contact for pricing
ClickUp Brain: Add to any paid plan for $5 per Workspace member per month.

ClickUp ratings and reviews

G2: 4.7/5 (9500+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.6/5 (4100+ reviews)

2. ClockShark: Best for tracking on-field employees

ClockShark is another powerful tool that features GPS tracking to track real-time employee location alongside their working hours. The platform provides you with 100% accurate timesheets and reduces payroll costs with its time attendance software.

This platform also ensures that your employees take more accountability, as they know their time is being tracked. I like its additional features, such as accounting integration, activity tracking, employee scheduling, customizable reports, and much more.

ClockShark best features

Integrated payroll and accounting software solutions such as QuickBooks and QuickBooks Online, RUN Powered by ADP® and ADP Workforce Now®, Sage 100 Contractor, Xero, and 1000+ apps using Zapier
Keep accurate time records on the go of all your employees and avoid attendance issues with its Virtual Attendance Clock
Use its enhanced project management features to assign tasks, track job progress and deadlines
Eliminate timesheet rounding by letting you accurately track your labor costs

ClockShark limitations

It lacks invoicing capabilities
It does not work well with the mobile app’s GPS tracking and syncing data

ClockShark pricing

Free: 14-day trial
Standard: $40 per month
Pro: $60 per month

ClockShark ratings and reviews

G2: 4.6/5 (300+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.7/5 (1800+ reviews)

3. Gusto: Best for tracking employee productivity

Looking for an efficient tool for creating financial data reports and tracking remote attendance in real-time? Look no further than Gusto. This platform integrates with AttendanceBot to sync employee timesheets and facilitate payroll for employees and contractors.

Using Gusto, you can also track employees’ productivity and nurture the best parts of your team’s performance.

I found its time and attendance tools helpful in dealing with complex vacations and paid leave plans. The tool makes it easy to approve time off requests and sync approved leave time with your payroll and company calendars.

Gusto best features

Track employee working hours via flexible methods like Gusto Wallet app (mobile and web), web browsers, or manual entries
Make smart business decisions based on customizable reports, automatic compliance alerts, and anonymous team surveys
Get optional add-on modules such as HR management, employee onboarding, and performance review management
Automatically calculate overtime based on employee location and pre-set rules

Gusto limitations

Its Application Programming Interface (API) rate limit is currently 200 requests per minute, which is less for large organizations
It does not offer any mobile payroll app for employers; the app is limited to employees only.

Gusto pricing

Free: For contractor-only businesses for six months
Simple: $40 per month plus $6/month per user
Plus: $60 per month plus $9/month per user
Premium: Contact the sales team

Gusto ratings and reviews

G2: 4.5/5 (2000+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.6/5 (3800+ reviews)

4. Replicon: Best AI-powered platform for time tracking & attendance

Replicon is one of the best remote work tools for time and attendance tracking, labor compliance, schedule, and pay.

It’s a personal favorite of mine as it completely eliminates the need for tracking attendance manually by leveraging AI capabilities. Replicon automatically captures time spent by your workforce in more than 100+ work apps, such as Slack, Jira, Asana, Zoom, and more.

The platform also enables you to set and manage accrual policies and resets based on your business needs.

Features like enterprise time tracking and workforce management make Replicon an ideal tool for large organizations as it unifies time tracking, shift management, and workforce planning under one platform.

Replicon best features

Streamline timesheet creation with dynamic approval workflows based on real-time attendance data validations
Identify the ideal employees based on cost or skills with its AI-powered SmartSchedule
Provide intuitive time capture, around-the-clock monitoring, and regular vs. overtime hour tracking for salary and hourly staff
Offer assembled, accurate, and complete pre-filled timesheets for your employees to review and submit

Replicon limitations

Potentially tricky to set up, as there are so many features and customization options
Creating reports with custom structures can be challenging

Replicon pricing

Custom pricing based on business size and industry

Replicon ratings and reviews

G2: 4.3/5 (700+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.5/5 (500+ reviews)

5. TimeClock Plus: Best for automated employee scheduling

TimeClock Plus is a flexible time and attendance solution that offers both on-premise and cloud based solution. It enables access to live schedules and allows employees to be tracked via mobile devices.

The platform integrates well with hundreds of payroll, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and human capital management (HCM) systems, so you will not have to worry about IT snags.

As for its unique features, I found the mobile attendance app to be quite user-friendly. Employees can use it to conveniently clock in and out, view timesheets, and manage schedules directly from their phones.

When you’re on the go with a remote job, a well working mobile app like this can help save hours of manual time tracking and cross checking time entries.

TimeClock Plus best features

Allows employees to clock in and out from anywhere with an internet connection using Cloud-based time tracking
Configure payroll engine with different pay rates, shift differentials, and overtime criteria
Manage time off with a single click using its Absence Management feature
Enable seamless employee scheduling with round-the-clock shift schedules matched to your unique rotations and built-in rules

TimeClock Plus limitations

It has a less intuitive interface compared to other remote attendance systems
It may not seamlessly connect with all third-party apps or websites

TimeClock Plus pricing

Custom pricing based on business size and industry

TimeClock ratings and reviews

G2: 4.3/5 (400+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.4/5 (150+ reviews)

6. Connecteam: Best for monitoring attendance in real-time

Connecteam is an excellent platform that can do smart time tracking using automated timesheets. Using this platform, you can easily manage all daily operations, such as real-time task delegation, efficient staff scheduling, monitoring attendance in real-time, instant filed reporting with live results, and much more.

As a manager, it provides you with a clear overview of the team’s availability, qualifications, and preferences, which helps you master your scheduling process.

What I like the most about this tool is its comprehensive suite of features. Connecteam brings HR functions, communication, task management, and scheduling into a single platform, making it easy for you to have end-to-end visibility.

Designed with deskless workers in mind, it offers a single solution to keeping your employees updated on everything work related—ranging from their individual schedule to knowledge base and company updates.

Connecteam best features

Allow to set employees’ break and overtime rules as per the local, state, and federal labor laws
Embrace your hybrid work policies by recording log-in hours with the in-app time clock or on-site Kiosk app
Use in-app chat to communicate directly with employees
Use built-in reporting and analytics tools to track and optimize key management functions in daily operations and HR

Connecteam limitations

You may experience occasional lag and app freezing
It requires a lot of upgrades to access more features

Connecteam pricing

Free: Forever
Basic: $35/month
Advanced: $59/month
Expert: $119/month

Connecteam ratings and reviews

G2: 4.7/5 (200+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.8/5 (300+ reviews)

7. TimeCamp: Best for time tracking

TimeCamp is one of the best remote attendance systems that manages employee attendance, logs work hours, and creates payrolls, all using one app. It offers keyword-based time tracking which means you can set keywords to make time tracking automatic.

I tried its attendance tracking system, and it’s helpful when keeping track of working hours, vacation, and sick leaves in one place, helping to reduce the scope for error.

It also integrates with tools like Airtable, Asana and Gitlab and more, making it easier for you to track and manage project timelines more efficiently.

TimeCamp best features

Offer a geofencing feature, which is perfect for tracking always-on-the-go field workers
Generate detailed reports on time usage, project progress, and the performance of remote teams using the reporting feature
Add, edit, or delete time entries with graphical timesheets and change the view between daily and weekly views in just a few clicks.

TimeCamp limitations

It does not allow you to customize task names and interface
It offers limited reporting in export functionalities

TimeCamp pricing

Free: 14-day trial
Starter: $3.99/month
Premium: $6.99/month
Ultimate: $10.99/month
Enterprise: $14.99/month

TimeCamp ratings and reviews

G2: 4.7/5 (200+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.7/5 (500+ reviews)

8. ADP Workforce Now: Best for streamlining the remote attendance system

ADP Workforce Now is a comprehensive human resources management software that helps maintain payroll accuracy and compliance so you can invest those hours back into your business.

Its unique feature provides biometric log-in options, such as facial recognition and finger scanning, offering an extra layer of security. Personally, I prefer these over clunky password protected interfaces.

The platform’s automated time and attendance solutions track employee time off requests, approvals, and vacations and allow all your employees to punch in and out across multiple devices.

ADP Workforce Now best features

Allow employees to clock in and out, add their meal break, and transfer their time between departments, locations, or jobs
Enable managers to track and monitor attendance patterns, generate reports on employee hours, and approve time-off requests
Provide tools for training and development, aiming to support the complete employee lifecycle, starting from hiring to succession planning
Integrate well with tools like Brainier, Workday, Replicon, Wave, Oracle, Deputy, JazzHR, Xero, QuickBooks, and Greenhouse

ADP Workforce Now limitations

You may face challenges when you want to customize reports.
Integrating it with existing systems and some third-party software can sometimes be complex.

ADP Workforce Now pricing

Custom pricing based on business size and industry.

ADP Workforce Now ratings and reviews

G2: 4.1/5 (3300+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.4/5 (6400+ reviews)

9. ExakTime: Best for tracking field workers

ExakTime is designed especially for teams and employees who work offsite. It offers a simple app with easy clock-in and clock-out features. It also provides a GPS feature that allows you to track the employee’s location in real time, which can be accessed from any mobile device.

With ExakTime, you get over 40 pre-built report templates to track employee attendance and time. These reports provide real-time visibility and actionable insights required to make decisions critical to the well-being of their businesses.

I find their alerting system pretty useful. It helps me set up automated alerts for employees. As a manager, these alerts ensure that both I and my employees don’t miss critical action items like submitting leaves, providing approval, or monitoring the overtime threshold.

ExakTime best features

Track employees’ working hours, late ins, early outs, and absences
Using photo ID capture feature averts issues related to time fraud and unauthorized use of timecards or PINs
Offer Rugged Time Clocks that serve as attendance hubs when working off-site; this attendance and time data can be stored and synced to the cloud so managers can access them in the office

ExakTime limitations

You may face issues to run reports based on your worker’s schedules
It does not let your employees see their hours accrued for each pay period.

ExakTime pricing

Advanced: $9/month
Premium: Contact the sales team
Elite: Contact the sales team

ExakTime ratings and reviews

G2: 4.2/5 (50 + reviews)
Capterra: 4/5 (150+ reviews)

10. Quickbooks Time: Best for monitoring employees’ performance

Quickbooks Time offers an intuitive web dashboard, mobile app, and time kiosk that facilitates real-time monitoring of employees. Using this platform, you can track all your employee’s actions on the go and ensure they meet deadlines with project collaboration and time tracking.

This platform integrates employee scheduling and time tracking in one place.

It allows me to build schedules, share them with employees, and assign jobs and shifts. The software also offers features like PTO tracking, timesheet signatures, and mileage tracking.

Quickbooks Time best features

Track hours with accurate, automated, and easy-to-use payroll management solutions
Use geofencing technology to manage projects, schedules, and job costs and track clocked-in employees’ locations during working hours.
Helps contractors generate and send invoices using templates

Quickbooks Time limitations

Lack of custom reports
Limitations with file size and data, as well as the number of users

Quickbooks Time pricing

Free: 30-day trial
Premium: $6/month
Elite: $12/month

Quickbooks ratings and reviews

G2: 4.5/5 (1400+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.7/5 (6700+ reviews)

Manage your Remote Team Attendance with ClickUp

You can’t rely on manual calculations for attendance and spend countless hours decoding attendance sheet templates for in-office employees or remote workers. If you still do this, you must be all too familiar with the pains of cross-checking inaccuracies and timesheet tampering. You must implement an attendance tracker system to make time tracking easy and focus on your core business functions.

ClickUp helps manage a remote team, align on shared goals, track progress, and collaborate seamlessly. With its project time tracking and clear visualization of employee schedules and shifts, it ensures accurate payroll processing.

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