Each person clocks in as themselves
Everyone uses their own PIN at the tablet, so a punch is tied to one employee and one timesheet, not to a card in a rack anyone can grab.
Time clock kiosk
A time clock kiosk for floors where phones stay in lockers
Workzenly turns a shared tablet at the door into a time clock kiosk. Each person clocks in, takes breaks and clocks out under their own PIN, and every kiosk punch lands in the same timesheet as phone punches, ready for one-tap approval and payroll.
- One tablet, each person’s own PIN
- Same timesheet as phone punches
- No fingerprint scanner needed
Northfield Coffee
Back door tablet · Austin, TX
10:58 AM
Wednesday, Nov 11
Enter your PIN
Today’s crew4 in · 2 due
EC
Emily Carter
Kitchen · in 7:00 AMInJL
Jordan Lee
Barista · in 7:01 AMOn breakMT
Maya Torres
Front counter · in 8:58 AMInSR
Sam Rivera
Kitchen · in 9:14 AMLate 14 minDB
Dana Brooks
Barista · shift 11:00 AMDueHi, Dana. Your shift is 11:00 AM to 7:30 PM.
PIN accepted · punch goes to your timesheetBuilt for floors where phones stay put
- Restaurant kitchens
- Cafés and bakeries
- Warehouses
- Clinics
- Retail stockrooms
- Production floors
Phones live in the locker, the punch clock eats a card, and someone signs Sam in because he was “right behind me.”
One shared time clock, every punch still personal
A tablet by the door gives the whole crew one place to clock in, without asking anyone to carry a phone onto a food-safe line or a warehouse floor. Each punch belongs to one person and goes straight into their timesheet, next to anything they clocked from a phone.
What changes in the first week
A shared time clock that doesn’t make a second set of records
No phones on the floor
Kitchens, clean rooms, patient areas and loading docks keep their phone rules. Staff clock in at the door and leave the phone in the locker.
Kiosk and phone in one timesheet
A barista who clocks in at the tablet and a manager who clocks in from a phone end up in the same weekly timesheet, approved in one tap.
Hours that reach payroll as-is
Breaks, overtime and late arrivals are worked out from the kiosk punches, and approved hours flow into the pay run with nothing retyped.
How it works
How the Workzenly kiosk time clock app works
The tablet at the door, the list of who is in, the manager’s timesheet and the location setup are parts of one record, so a punch at the kiosk shows up everywhere it should.
Clock in at the door in a few seconds
An employee walks in, enters their PIN and sees their own name and today’s shift before they tap. If they are late, they see that too, and so does the manager.
- Clock in, start and end a break, clock out
- Today’s shift on screen before the punch
- Late starts recorded against the schedule
Back door tablet
Hi, Sam Rivera
9:14 AM
Today’s shiftKitchen · Wed, Nov 11
9:00 AM – 5:30 PM
14 min after shift start
Ready to clock in
Not you? Tap Cancel and enter your own PINWho’s clocked in, right on the kiosk
The tablet shows the crew for today, who is on the clock, who is on break and who is still due. People can check they are actually clocked in before they tie on an apron.
- On the clock, on break and not in yet
- Fewer “did my punch go through?” questions
- Managers see the same list on their phone
Who’s in
Northfield Coffee · 10:58 AM
| Name | Shift | In | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emily Carter | 7:00 AM – 3:30 PM | 7:00 AM | On the clock |
| Jordan Lee | 7:00 AM – 3:30 PM | 7:01 AM | Break since 10:40 |
| Maya Torres | 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 8:58 AM | On the clock |
| Sam Rivera | 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 9:14 AM | Late 14 min |
| Dana Brooks | 11:00 AM – 7:30 PM | 10:58 AM | On the clock |
| Tyler N. | 2:00 PM – 10:00 PM | – | Not in yet |
Kiosk and phone punches in one timesheet
Managers see every punch with where it came from: the shared tablet or a phone inside the geofence. There is no separate kiosk report to reconcile at the end of the week.
- Each punch shows its source
- Late starts and missed clock-outs flagged either way
- Approve the whole team’s week in one tap
5Clocked in
4From the kiosk
1From a phone
1Late todaySam, 14 min
| Employee | In | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emily Carter | 7:00 AM | Kiosk · back door | On shift |
| Jordan Lee | 7:01 AM | Kiosk · back door | On break |
| Maya Torres | 8:58 AM | Phone · inside geofence | On shift |
| Sam Rivera | 9:14 AM | Kiosk · back door | Late 14 min |
| Dana Brooks | 10:58 AM | Kiosk · back door | On shift |
Set up a tablet for each location
Add the location, decide whether people there clock in on the tablet, their phones or both, and sign the tablet in as that location’s kiosk. We help with all of it during setup.
- Kiosk, phone or both, per location
- Geofence for the phone punches at the same site
- Employee list imported from a spreadsheet
Northfield Coffee
Austin, TX · workweek starts Sunday
Shared tablet: back door
Kitchen and baristas clock in herePhone clock-in
Front counter and managers · 150 ft geofenceBreaks
30 min unpaid meal break, clocked at the kiosk or phoneEmployees at this location
8 people imported from a spreadsheetTablet ready to sign in as the kiosk
Signed in by Marcus (manager)Breaks and overtime
Breaks clocked at the same tablet
People start and end their meal break at the kiosk just like a clock-in. Workzenly deducts the unpaid meal break, keeps short rest breaks paid, totals the day and the week, and warns you when someone is heading past 40 hours.
- Every punch of the day in order
- Daily and weekly totals worked out for you
- Overtime split out before it reaches payroll
Clocked in 9:00 AM
Kiosk · back doorMeal break 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Kiosk · back door · unpaidClocked out 5:30 PM
Kiosk · back door8:00 hours worked
8:30 on the clock minus a 30 min unpaid breakMissed punches
A forgotten clock-out doesn’t become a guess
Someone leaves in a rush and walks past the tablet. Workzenly flags the missed clock-out, the employee asks for a fix from the app, and the manager approves it. The original kiosk punch stays in the history next to the correction and the name of who made it.
- Missed clock-outs flagged the same day
- Employees request the fix themselves
- Original punch kept beside every edit
Clocked in 11:00 AM
Kiosk · back doorNo clock-out recorded
Flagged at 8:30 PMFix requested: out at 7:32 PM
By Dana in the app · “Walked out with the trash, forgot the tablet”Approve the 7:32 PM clock-out?
The original record stays in the historyPayroll
Kiosk hours go to payroll like any others
At the end of the pay period, payroll sees approved regular hours, overtime and PTO per person, whatever device the punches came from. Employees check their pay stub in the app on payday.
- Kiosk and phone hours add into one total
- Overtime arrives as overtime
- Approved PTO lands as PTO
| Employee | Kiosk | Phone | Regular | OT | PTO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emily Carter | 78.0 | – | 72.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 |
| Jordan Lee | 82.5 | – | 80.0 | 2.5 | – |
| Maya Torres | 70.5 | 5.5 | 76.0 | – | – |
| Sam Rivera | 64.0 | – | 64.0 | – | – |
| Total | 295.0 | 5.5 | 292.0 | 8.5 | 8.0 |
300.5 hours worked · 8.0 PTO
Overtime at 1.5×, e.g. Emily at $28.50 an hourWho uses it
One tablet at the door, four people who rely on it
Role
Floor staff
Replaces
Punch cards and writing times on a sheet by the door
They use it to
Clock in, take breaks and clock out with their own PIN, and check they are on the list
What they notice
No phone needed on the floor
Role
Managers
Replaces
Collecting cards and guessing at missed punches
They use it to
See who is in, late or out from their phone, approve fixes and approve the week in one tap
What they notice
One timesheet, whatever device people used
Role
Payroll
Replaces
Adding up cards and typing them in
They use it to
Run payroll from approved regular, overtime and PTO hours
What they notice
Fewer corrections after payday
Role
Owners
Replaces
Buying and servicing a wall punch clock
They use it to
Run a tablet time clock at each location and keep records ready if anyone asks
What they notice
Labor hours they can trust
Access you control
A shared device, private records
Employees see their own
Each person sees their own hours, timesheets, PTO and pay stubs in the app, 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, and never on the kiosk.
Connected
The kiosk is one door into the same workday
Employee time clock app
Clock in and out from a phone, with today’s shift on screen.
Time clock →GPS time tracking
Geofenced phone punches for staff who start away from the tablet.
GPS →Timesheet app
Timesheets built from punches and approved a week at a time.
Timesheets →Employee scheduling
The shift people see on the kiosk comes from the schedule you built.
Scheduling →Overtime tracking
See who is getting close to 40 hours before the next shift.
Overtime →Payroll
Approved hours, overtime and PTO become pay stubs in the app.
Payroll →Put a time clock kiosk by your door this month
On the demo we clock in a test shift on a tablet and a phone and follow both punches into one timesheet.
The buyer’s guide to a time clock kiosk
A time clock kiosk is the simplest answer for a crew that can’t or won’t clock in on personal phones: one device by the entrance, and everyone punches there. This guide covers when a shared time clock beats phones, how it compares with other clocks, buddy punching, placement and choosing an app.
When a kiosk beats phones
Phone clock-in costs nothing in hardware and suits staff who start at different sites. A tablet at the door wins when:
- Phones aren’t allowed on the floor. Commercial kitchens, food production, warehouses with forklifts, clinics and some retail stockrooms keep phones in lockers for safety, hygiene or patient privacy.
- Some people don’t have, or don’t want to use, a smartphone. Requiring a personal phone to get paid is a poor policy. A shared tablet gives everyone a way to clock in.
- Everyone starts at the same door. If the whole crew comes in one entrance, one device there is easier to supervise than a dozen phones.
Most teams end up with both. Floor staff use the kiosk, while managers, drivers and anyone who starts off-site clock in from the employee time clock app with GPS and geofencing. The GPS time clock app guide covers the phone side.
Kiosk vs punch clock vs biometric terminal
These are the three shared time clock options most small employers weigh. The full picture, including paper and spreadsheets, is in our guide to time and attendance tracking.
| Tablet kiosk | Wall punch clock | Biometric terminal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How people clock in | Own PIN on a shared tablet | Stamp a paper card | Fingerprint, face or hand scan |
| Hardware | A tablet, a mount and power | The clock, cards and a rack | A dedicated terminal |
| Getting hours to payroll | Punches go straight into timesheets | Cards added up and typed in | Depends on the vendor’s software |
| Breaks and overtime | Worked out from the punches | Worked out by hand | Depends on the vendor’s software |
| Buddy punching | Own PINs, a visible spot, reviews | Easy: anyone can stamp a card | Hardest to fake |
| Legal care needed | Normal record-keeping | Normal record-keeping | State biometric privacy laws |
| Good fit | Kitchens, warehouses, clinics, shops | One small site with stable shifts | Large single sites with strict audit needs |
A tablet time clock runs on ordinary hardware and its punches never need retyping. A biometric terminal is harder to fake but brings legal paperwork most small teams would rather skip.
Biometric time clocks and state privacy laws
Fingerprint and face-scan clocks collect biometric identifiers, and several states regulate that closely. Illinois is the best known. Under the Biometric Information Privacy Act (740 ILCS 14), a private entity must tell people in writing that it is collecting biometric data, state the purpose and how long it will keep it, and get a written release first. It must also publish a written retention schedule and destroy the data once the purpose is met or within 3 years of the person’s last interaction, whichever comes first. BIPA also lets individuals sue.
Texas and Washington have their own biometric laws, New York limits requiring fingerprints as a condition of employment, and more states and cities add privacy rules most years. If you are considering a biometric terminal, read the current law in each state you operate in before you buy. Workzenly’s kiosk works with each person’s own PIN, so no fingerprint scanner is needed.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Biometric and privacy laws change often, so check your state’s current statute or an employment lawyer for your situation.
Preventing buddy punching without biometrics
Buddy punching, one employee clocking in for another, is the main worry with any shared time clock. You can make it rare without scanning anyone’s finger:
- One PIN per person, never shared. Treat a PIN like a key to the building. Ask people to cover the pad and to tell a manager if theirs has been seen.
- Write it into policy. Your handbook should say that clocking in for someone else is not allowed and what happens if it does. Our attendance policy guide has wording to start from.
- Put the tablet where a manager can see it. Near the manager’s station or the line, not in a back hallway nobody walks through.
- Compare punches with the floor. Workzenly shows who is in, late or out against the schedule. If the list says five people are working and you can count four, you know where to look.
- Review the exceptions every week. Missed clock-outs, late starts and people close to 40 hours are flagged, and the edit history keeps the original punch next to any change.
Placement and setup
Where the tablet sits matters as much as the app on it:
- At the entrance staff actually use. Usually the back or staff door, so people clock in before they start work and clock out after they finish. Time spent working before a punch still counts as hours worked.
- Mounted and plugged in. A wall mount or locking stand with a charger keeps the kiosk where it belongs and stops it running flat mid-shift.
- On reliable Wi-Fi. Test the signal at the exact spot before you drill holes.
- Out of the way of steam, grease and forklifts. A case helps in kitchens and on loading docks.
Any current iPad or Android tablet that stays at the door is the usual choice for an iPad time clock or Android kiosk; confirm the device you plan to use on your demo call. Then send us your employee list as a spreadsheet. We import it, help you set up the location and the kiosk, and most small teams are clocking in within a week.
Records the law expects
The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require a time clock. The U.S. Department of Labor says employers may use any timekeeping method they choose, as long as it is complete and accurate. For non-exempt employees you need hours worked each day and each week, and you must keep payroll records for at least 3 years and time cards for at least 2. A kiosk that writes every punch, break and edit into each person’s record covers that without a filing cabinet.
If you still work from paper, the attendance tracker templates are a free stopgap, and the time card calculator shows how punches, breaks and overtime add up for a week.
Choosing a kiosk time clock app
Run a real week through each app on your shortlist, on the tablet you would actually mount. Check these:
- Does each person clock in under their own account, and can they see their shift before they punch?
- Do kiosk punches and phone punches land in the same timesheet, or in two reports you reconcile?
- Are breaks, overtime and late arrivals worked out from the punches?
- Can an employee request a fix for a missed punch, and does the history keep the original?
- Do approved hours flow into payroll without an export and re-import?
- What does it collect? If biometrics, what notice, consent and retention does your state require?
Our neutral comparison of the best employee time clock apps covers the main options. If you want to see the kiosk in Workzenly, book a demo and we will clock in a test shift on a tablet and a phone and show you both in one timesheet.
What is a time clock kiosk?
A time clock kiosk is a shared device, usually a tablet mounted by the entrance, where employees clock in and out instead of using their own phones or a punch card. In Workzenly each person clocks in at the kiosk under their own account, and the punch goes into the same timesheet as any phone punch.
Can some employees use the kiosk and others use their phones?
Yes. Many teams mix the two: the kitchen or warehouse floor clocks in at the tablet by the door, while managers and staff who work off-site clock in from the Workzenly app on their phones, with GPS and geofencing. Every punch lands in the same timesheet, so the manager approves one week, not two.
How do you stop buddy punching on a shared tablet?
Give every employee their own PIN and a written rule that punching for someone else is not allowed, put the tablet where a manager can see it, and review punches against the schedule. Workzenly shows who is in, late or out and flags missed clock-outs and late starts, so a punch that does not match the floor stands out.
Are biometric time clock kiosks legal?
In most states, yes, but some regulate them closely. Illinois, under the Biometric Information Privacy Act, requires written notice, a written release and a public retention and destruction policy before an employer collects fingerprints or face scans, and Texas and Washington have their own biometric laws. Check your state before buying one. Workzenly's kiosk does not use biometrics.
Does federal law require a time clock?
No. The U.S. Department of Labor says employers may use any timekeeping method they choose, as long as it is complete and accurate. Employers must keep payroll records for at least 3 years and time cards for at least 2 years. A kiosk is one way to keep those records without paper cards.
What do I need to set up a tablet time clock?
A tablet, a stand or wall mount near the entrance, a power outlet and a reliable Wi-Fi connection. Send us your employee list as a spreadsheet and we import it during setup. Most small teams are clocking in within a week, and we stay with you through the first pay run.