Real punches, not memory
Employees clock in on their phone or the tablet at the door. Each punch carries a time and, with GPS and geofencing on, a location, so you are not approving numbers someone remembered later.
Time and attendance
Time and attendance software that pays for the hours people worked
Workzenly records every clock-in by phone or a shared tablet at the door, works out breaks, lateness and overtime for you, and lets managers approve a whole week of timesheets in one tap. Approved hours go straight into payroll, so nobody types them twice.
- Phone or shared tablet
- GPS and geofencing
- Hours flow into payroll
Attendance
Northfield Coffee · Austin, TX · Wed, Nov 11
6 / 8On shift now
1Late todaySam, 14 min
1Out on PTOChris
214.5Hours this weekof 236 scheduled
Hours by dayWorkedScheduled
Needs a look3
Missed clock-out
Jordan Lee · MonNear 40 hours
Emily Carter · 37.5 hOutside geofence
Tyler N. · Tue| Employee | Role | In | Status | This week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTMaya Torres | Front counter | 8:58 AM | On shift | 26.4 h |
| JLJordan Lee | Barista | 7:01 AM | On shift | 29.1 h |
| SRSam Rivera | Kitchen | 9:14 AM | Late 14 min | 22.8 h |
| CWChris Walker | Barista | – | On PTO | 16.0 h |
3 timesheets ready for approval
Week of Nov 8 · overtime and breaks already worked outBuilt for teams that work in shifts
- Restaurants and cafés
- Retail stores
- Clinics
- Home care
- Job sites
- Warehouses
- Offices
Somebody writes Tuesday’s hours on Friday, a manager guesses at the missing clock-out, and payroll retypes the lot.
Capture the hours once, where the work happens
Time and attendance software replaces paper time cards, punch clocks and timesheet spreadsheets with one record. The punch an employee makes at 8:58 AM is the same number the manager approves and the same number on the pay stub.
What changes in the first pay period
Fewer corrections, cleaner payroll, no Friday reconciliation
Problems surface before payday
Missed clock-outs, late arrivals and people getting close to 40 hours show up on the dashboard during the week, while there is still time to fix the schedule or the record.
A week of timesheets in one tap
Breaks, overtime and late arrivals are worked out from the punches. Managers review the exceptions, then approve the whole team’s week at once instead of signing paper cards one by one.
Hours that land in payroll as-is
Approved regular hours, overtime and PTO flow into the pay run. Every number on a pay stub traces back to a shift someone actually worked.
How it works
Four parts of one attendance record
Clocking in, the timesheet, the exceptions and the payroll hand-off live in the same place, so a change in one shows up in the others.
Clock in where the work is
Each employee clocks in from the Workzenly app on their phone. For floors where phones stay in lockers, a shared tablet at the door works as a time clock kiosk.
- GPS and geofencing confirm the punch came from the right site
- Today’s shift is on screen, so people know when they are due
- Breaks are clocked the same way and counted for you
Good morning
Maya Torres
Front counter · Northfield Coffee
8:58 AM
Today’s shift 9:00 AM–5:30 PM
Inside geofence
Not clocked in yet
This week
26.4 of 40 hoursTimesheets that build themselves
Punches become a timesheet as they happen. Unpaid meal breaks come off, short rest breaks stay paid, and the week totals regular and overtime hours separately.
- Daily and weekly totals in hours and minutes
- Edits keep the original punch alongside the change
- Approve one person or the whole team’s week
| Day | In | Out | Break | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, Nov 8 | 7:00 AM | 4:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 |
| Mon, Nov 9 | 7:00 AM | 4:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 7:00 AM | 4:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 7:00 AM | 4:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 7:00 AM | 5:30 PM | 30 min | 10:00 |
| Week total | 46:00 |
40:00 regular · 6:00 overtime
6 × $28.50 (1.5 × $19.00) = $171.00 overtimeExceptions, not every row
Most punches are fine. Workzenly puts the ones that are not in front of the manager: a forgotten clock-out, a late start, a punch outside the geofence, someone about to cross 40 hours.
- See who is in, who is late and who is out today
- Fix a missed punch with a note on why
- Spot overtime early enough to change the schedule
Jordan Lee forgot to clock out
Mon, Nov 9 · scheduled out 3:30 PMSam Rivera started 14 minutes late
Wed, Nov 11 · in at 9:14 AMSam Rivera is at 32.0 hours
Saturday shift would take him to 40.5Tyler N. clocked in outside the geofence
Tue, Nov 10 · 0.4 mi from the storeFrom approved hours to the pay run
Approved regular hours, overtime and PTO move into payroll together, and every employee sees their pay stub in the app on payday.
- Overtime arrives as overtime, at the right rate
- Approved PTO lands as PTO, not as a note
- Payroll sees what is still waiting for approval
| Employee | Regular | Overtime | PTO | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emily Carter | 72.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 | Approved |
| Jordan Lee | 80.0 | 2.5 | – | Approved |
| Maya Torres | 76.0 | – | – | Approved |
| Sam Rivera | 64.0 | – | – | Waiting |
1 timesheet still waiting
Sam Rivera · approve to send to payrollLocation you can trust
Know the punch came from the job site
With GPS and geofencing on, a clock-in records where it happened and whether it was inside the area you drew around the store, clinic or site. Punches from the parking lot or the other side of town show up as exceptions instead of quietly becoming pay.
- Draw a geofence around each location
- Crews on the move clock in at the site they are working
- Tell employees what is recorded and when, in plain words
Maya Torres · 8:58 AM
Inside geofenceTyler N. · Tue 6:52 AM
0.4 mi from the storeOvertime and breaks
Overtime you see coming, not on the pay stub
Federal law requires time and a half for non-exempt employees after 40 hours in a workweek. Workzenly totals each person’s week as it goes, warns you when a scheduled shift would push someone over, and pays approved overtime at the right rate. Unpaid meal breaks are deducted and short rest breaks stay paid.
- Weekly totals split into regular and overtime
- Warnings before a shift crosses 40 hours
- State rules such as California daily overtime to check
Hours this week vs 40Projected with today’s schedule
Sam Rivera32.0 → 40.5 h
Jordan Lee29.1 → 39.1 h
Maya Torres26.4 → 34.4 h
Dana Brooks18.0 → 26.0 h
Sam’s Saturday shift adds 0.5 overtime hours
Dana Brooks is free Saturday and under 40Records for the long run
Attendance records you can hand over
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to keep hours worked each day and each week for non-exempt staff, keep payroll records for 3 years and keep time cards for 2. Workzenly keeps every punch, edit and approval in each person’s record, ready to export when an auditor, a lawyer or the employee asks.
- Original punch kept next to any correction
- Who approved what, and when
- Employees see their own hours in the app
Clocked in 7:01 AM
Phone · inside geofenceNo clock-out recorded
Flagged at 4:30 PMClock-out set to 3:34 PM
By Marcus (manager) · “Confirmed with Jordan, left after close-out”Week approved
By Marcus · Mon, Nov 16, 9:12 AMWho uses it
One attendance record, four people who rely on it
Role
Employees
Replaces
Paper time cards and texting the manager
They use it to
Clock in and out, see this week’s hours and fix a missed punch with a request
What they notice
Pay stubs that match the hours they worked
Role
Managers
Replaces
Walking the floor with a clipboard
They use it to
See who is in, late or out, catch overtime early and approve the week in one tap
What they notice
Minutes, not an afternoon, to close the week
Role
Payroll
Replaces
Retyping hours from cards and spreadsheets
They use it to
Run payroll from approved regular, overtime and PTO hours
What they notice
Fewer corrections after payday
Role
Owners
Replaces
Guessing at labor cost until the bank statement
They use it to
Compare hours worked against the schedule and keep records ready for an audit
What they notice
Labor hours they can trust week to week
Access you control
Everyone sees what they need, and nothing else
Employees see their own
Each person sees their own hours, timesheets, PTO and pay stubs, never a coworker’s.
Managers see their team
Managers see their team’s shifts, attendance and time off, and approve their team’s timesheets.
Pay stays with payroll
Pay rates and pay stubs are visible only to the people you give payroll access to.
Connected
Attendance that talks to the rest of the workday
Employee time clock app
Clock in and out from a phone, with today’s shift on screen.
Time clock →Employee scheduling
Build the week, then compare who showed up against who was scheduled.
Scheduling →Timesheet app
Timesheets built from punches and approved a week at a time.
Timesheets →Time clock kiosk
A shared tablet at the door for teams without phones on the floor.
Kiosk →PTO tracking
Time off requests, balances and who else is out, in one calendar.
PTO →Payroll
Approved hours, overtime and PTO become pay stubs in the app.
Payroll →Send payroll hours somebody actually worked
See your own team’s week in Workzenly. We set up a demo workspace with your company name before the call.
The buyer’s guide to time and attendance software
Most small employers start with paper time cards or a shared spreadsheet, and it works until the team grows past a dozen people or a second location. This guide covers what time and attendance software does, what US law requires you to record, the types of systems on the market and how to pick one for an hourly team.
What time and attendance software does
A time and attendance system records when employees start and stop work, tracks breaks and absences, totals hours by day and workweek, and produces timesheets for approval. Good systems also flag the things that cost money: missed punches, late arrivals, overtime and punches from the wrong place. The approved hours then go to payroll, either by export or, in a connected setup like Workzenly, directly into the pay run.
It sits between two other tools. Employee scheduling software decides who should work. Time and attendance records who did. Payroll pays for it. The fewer hand-offs between the three, the fewer errors.
What US law requires you to record
The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require a time clock or any particular method. It does require employers to keep accurate records for non-exempt employees, including:
- Hours worked each workday and total hours each workweek
- The day and time the workweek begins
- Regular hourly rate, overtime earnings and total wages for each pay period
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, payroll records must be kept for at least 3 years and time cards and wage calculation records for at least 2. Federal rules allow rounding punches to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth of an hour or quarter hour only when it averages out so employees are paid for all time actually worked. Our guide to how to calculate overtime walks through the regular rate, and the time card calculator shows how breaks and minutes add up.
Types of time and attendance systems
| System | How people clock in | Good fit | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper time cards | Write times by hand | One location, a handful of staff | Rounding by memory, retyping into payroll |
| Punch clock | Card into a wall clock | A single entrance | Buddy punching, cards still retyped |
| Spreadsheet | Typed by the employee or manager | Small salaried teams | No record of who changed what |
| Biometric terminal | Fingerprint or face scan | Large single sites | State biometric privacy laws, hardware cost |
| Mobile app with GPS | Employee’s phone, with location | Several sites, crews on the move | Location notice and phone policies |
| Shared tablet kiosk | A tablet at the door | Floors where phones stay in lockers | Keeping each person’s PIN private |
Workzenly covers the last two: each employee can clock in on their own phone, and a shared tablet at the door works as a time clock kiosk where phones are not allowed. If you need biometric scanning, ask about it on the demo call and check your state’s biometric privacy rules first.
Features that matter for hourly teams
- Clock-in that fits the floor. Phone, tablet or both, with today’s shift on screen.
- Location checks. GPS and geofencing for multi-site and field teams, with clear notice to employees. Read what a geofence is before you turn it on.
- Breaks and overtime worked out for you. Unpaid meal breaks deducted, paid rest breaks kept, weekly overtime split out.
- Exceptions, not raw rows. Missed punches, lateness and overtime risk surfaced during the week.
- Edit history. The original punch kept next to every correction, with who made it.
- One-tap approvals. Approve the team’s week, not one card at a time.
- A payroll hand-off. Approved hours, overtime and PTO in the pay run without retyping.
- An employee view. People see their own hours and pay, which cuts “was I paid right?” questions.
Comparing vendors? Our list of the best time and attendance software covers the main options neutrally, and the attendance tracker templates are a free starting point if you are not ready for software yet.
State rules to plan for
Federal law sets the floor. Several states add rules your system needs to handle:
- Daily overtime. California pays overtime after 8 hours in a day and double time after 12, on top of the weekly rule. See our guide to California overtime law.
- Meal and rest breaks. States such as California, Washington and Oregon require breaks at set points in a shift, and some charge a premium when one is missed.
- Scheduling notice. Oregon and cities including New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and Philadelphia have fair workweek laws for some employers that tie attendance to the posted schedule.
- Paid sick leave. Many states and cities bar counting protected sick time against attendance. Our attendance policy guide explains how to write a policy that respects it.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check your state labor department or an employment lawyer for your situation.
Switching from paper or spreadsheets
- Pick a start date at the beginning of a workweek, so no week is split across two systems.
- Import your employee list and PTO balances. Workzenly does this during setup from a spreadsheet.
- Set up locations and geofences, and decide whether each site uses phones, a tablet or both.
- Write down your break, rounding and overtime rules in your employee handbook and tell employees what location data is recorded.
- Run the first week alongside your old method, compare totals, then switch fully for the next pay period.
How to choose
Run one real week through every system you are considering. Take last week’s schedule and punches, including a missed clock-out, a late start and someone who went over 40 hours, and see which tool turns them into a correct pay stub with the fewest manual steps. Ask each vendor how they handle location notice, edit history, overtime rules for your state and the hand-off to payroll. Then check what employees see on their phones, because a tool people avoid using produces the same bad data as paper.
If you want to see that week in Workzenly, book a demo and we will set up a workspace with your company name before the call.
FAQ
Questions about time and attendance software
Something else on your mind? Write to [email protected].
What is time and attendance software?
Time and attendance software records when employees start and stop work, tracks breaks, absences, lateness and overtime, and turns those records into timesheets a manager can approve. Most systems then send approved hours to payroll. Workzenly does all of that and gives each employee an app to clock in, see their hours and request time off.
Does federal law require a time clock?
No. The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require any particular timekeeping method. It does require employers to keep accurate records of hours worked each day and each week for non-exempt employees, and to keep payroll records for 3 years and time cards for 2 years. Software is simply the easiest way to meet that rule.
Can employees clock in from their own phones?
Yes. Each person has their own Workzenly account and can clock in from their phone, with GPS and geofencing confirming they are at the right site. For workplaces where phones stay in lockers, a shared tablet at the door works as a time clock kiosk instead.
How does time and attendance software handle overtime?
It totals hours by workweek and flags anything over 40 for non-exempt staff, which is the federal overtime rule. Workzenly works out overtime and breaks from the actual punches, so approved overtime reaches payroll at the right rate instead of being added by hand. States such as California also have daily overtime rules to check.
Is it legal to round employee punches?
Federal rules allow rounding to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth of an hour or quarter hour, but only if it averages out so employees are paid for all the time they actually work. Rounding that always favors the employer is not allowed. Many employers simply pay the exact punched minutes to avoid the question.
How long does it take to set up?
Most small teams are clocking in within a week. Send us your employee list and current PTO balances as a spreadsheet and we import them during setup, then we walk you through your first timesheet approval and stay with you for the first pay run.