A wall-mounted punch clock costs money, needs cards, and still leaves you typing hours into a spreadsheet at the end of the month. A time clock app does the same job with the phones your employees already carry — and for a small team it can be completely free.
What a time clock app should do
- Record clock-in and clock-out to the minute, with no manual typing.
- Prevent buddy punching — one colleague clocking in for another.
- Handle different kinds of hours — office, field, overtime, remote.
- Show who is in right now — for managers, at a glance.
- Total the hours for payroll — per person, per month, in decimal hours.
- Work with time off — vacation, sick leave and holidays in the same calendar.
How it works in Clocknico
- Kiosk at the door. Put a tablet (or a computer with a USB QR scanner) at the entrance and open the kiosk link from HR settings.
- Personal QR code. Each employee opens My QR code in the app and picks a working time, for example Office or Overtime.
- Scan. The first scan of the day clocks them in, the next clocks them out. The kiosk greets them by name.
- Remote days. If your admin defines an Online working time, people clock in from the app without a kiosk.
The QR code changes every 30 seconds and can be used only once, so a screenshot sent to a colleague won’t work. There’s no fingerprint or face data to store. Full setup guide: QR code attendance system.
Punch clock vs time clock app
| Punch clock / badge reader | Time clock app (Clocknico) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | Device + a card per employee | A tablet or USB scanner; employees use their phones |
| Buddy punching | Cards can be lent | One-time code, changes every 30 seconds |
| Payroll | Export or retype hours | Monthly hours and payroll CSV built in |
| Time off | Separate system | Leave requests, approvals, sick leave and holidays included |
| Cost | Upfront + cards | Free for up to 5 users, then €1.50 per user per month (yearly) |
Not just a clock
Because attendance lives in the same app as projects and tasks, you can compare time at work with time tracked on projects, plan tasks into people’s free time, and bill clients from the same hours. Attendance, leave balances and the team calendar sit in one place.
Is it really free?
Yes. Clocknico is free for teams of up to 5 active users with every feature, including the QR time clock. Bigger teams pay €1.50 per user per month on the yearly plan (€2.50 monthly), and every new company starts with a 14-day Pro trial with unlimited users.
Quick start
- Create a free company account.
- Invite your team (they can sign in with Google or Microsoft).
- Create a kiosk in HR settings and open it on the tablet at the door.
- Ask everyone to install the Android app, or add the web app to the home screen on iPhone.