ClockIt Review

ClockIt is a time clock tool that offers traditional shift scheduling options as well as project-based time tracking.

Who is ClockIt for?

ClockIt is for any business that wants an affordable solution for keeping track of employee time and building schedules. If you're a startup that needs to manage employee time, set up vacation policies, and understand employee attendance, but you don't have a lot of money to spend on software, ClockIt is worth checking out. However, given the complexity of the system, ClockIt seems to be geared toward the tech savvy, not necessarily someone who's using scheduling or time-tracking software for the first time.

ClockIt's features

ClockIt is one of the few time clock systems I reviewed that allows you to both build schedules and track time by project and client. These capabilities mean many types of businesses could use ClockIt to track and manage employee time.

Scheduling

Instead of a drag-and-drop method, in ClockIt, you build schedules by using "time templates." You can then use these templates to create schedules for various employees. You can set up schedules that recur forever or create new schedules as you need them.

Select employee schedules from customizable time templates. Image source: Author

Time-off parameters must also be set up using a template. If your business has multiple locations, you can apply different accrual rules and recurring holidays to different sites according to each location's needs.

Enable employees to request time off in ClockIt. Image source: Author

Accountability

Employees can clock in via a web or mobile app, through an integration with Slack, via a time clock kiosk, or with a biometric time clock (which costs extra and starts at $450). In addition to clocking in and out for shifts, employees can also track time spent working on various projects and tasks. To ensure accurate clock-ins, you can set up geofences (which restrict the locations where your employees can punch in and out), capture their location from ClockIt's mobile app, and even create IP restrictions for those punching in on the web app.

As a manager, you can see who's clocked in, at what time, and via what method in real time. This attendance report is accessible from your manager dashboard and from ClockIt's mobile app.

Access attendance records from anywhere, including via ClockIt's mobile app. Image source: Author

Most reports, including an attendance audit, live on the manager dashboard and are displayed as easy-to-read stats or charts. However, you can also access more detailed reports from ClockIt's reporting tool. These data-heavy reports are largely formatted as in-system spreadsheets and can be exported or shared with colleagues.

Budgeting

By creating an employee time data report in ClockIt, you can export all relevant data to your payroll solution, ensuring accurate and fair payment that includes hours worked and time off.

Calculate and view your payroll costs by exporting data to your payroll solution. Image source: Author

Benefits of using ClockIt

ClockIt is highly customizable and gives you the opportunity to tailor schedules and time off policies according to your needs -- and according to local labor compliance laws. Whether you're managing a distributed team, employees across multiple states, or teams in different countries, ClockIt can help you keep track of everyone.

For organizations with multiple locations, the convenience of managing all employees from one centralized system is probably the biggest benefit of using ClockIt.

ClockIt pricing

For those who don't need much and have a small budget, you're in luck: ClockIt now offers a free version with unlimited users that has time and attendance features, as well as online support and mobile apps.

If you want extra features, such as GPS tracking, reporting, route planning, scheduling, document upload, and more, you'll have to pay for one of four tiers.

ClockIt offers several pricing tiers for small and large teams. Image source: Author

XS is $29/month for up to 10 users; S is $49/month for up to 20 users; M is $99/month for up to 50 users; and L is $199/month for up to 100 users. All of them offer pretty much the same features (except for M and L, which also give you API access), so you're paying for the extra users.

If you just want to try it first, ClockIt offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.

ClockIt's ease of use

With its wide range of features, ClockIt makes it possible to accomplish a lot. However, when navigating the system for the first time, it seemed that actually using all of these features to your advantage would require lots of time spent either in setup guides or on calls with customer service.

Getting started

Unlike other heavy-duty time clock systems, ClockIt's free trial didn't have the option to fill the system with dummy data. Instead, there was a brief welcome video that detailed how to add users. After that, there was almost no in-system assistance -- no setup wizard or links to self-help guides. Even the self-help portal, which was easy to find, lacked an immediately identifiable "getting started" guide for new users.

In the end, I had to dig through ClockIt's self-help articles to set up just about everything in its system. Even then, I wasn't entirely sure how everything worked or if it was set up correctly.