Business owners on the hunt for an effective GPS time clock may know that, unlike regular time tracking tools, apps with geolocation technology produce more precise data and can show exactly where employees punch into work. They can also:
- Prevent buddy punching and time theft
- Track employee mileage to and from job sites
- Monitor freelancer and contractor locations throughout the day
GPS time clocks are powerful tools that can simplify time tracking and foster greater trust and accountability between managers and employees. But not all solutions provide the same features, ease of use, and built-in tools for managing and communicating with team members.
The last thing you want is to settle for a GPS time tracker that’s a hassle to use and doesn’t have the features your small business needs. That’s why we reviewed and compared the six best GPS time clock solutions of 2024 and broke each one down by use case, top features, pros and cons, and pricing.
Key features to look for in GPS time clocks
GPS technology has made modern-day time clocks more accurate than they were in the past, but not all apps use it in the same way. On top of that, some GPS time clocks come with extra (costly!) features that may not necessarily be relevant to your business. The most effective time clocks offer:
- Wide accessibility — Late clock ins and clock outs sometimes happen because of a limited number of punch in options. But if you download a GPS time tracker that can be accessed from any device, your team’s phones, tablets, and computers transform into easy-to-access time clocks.
- Time theft prevention — GPS timestamps show managers where employees clock in and out, allowing them to follow up if team members sign in from anywhere unusual. As an extra security measure, many time clocks offer geofencing, which restricts team members from punching in until they arrive at work.
- Reminders and alerts — Mobile app notifications can save you from issues like accidental overtime or no shows. Platforms like Homebase can send you alerts when an employee is late. They’ll also remind staff about upcoming shifts and let them know when they’ve forgotten to clock out — all without you having to interfere.
- Timesheets and payroll — Why export time tracking data to third-party platforms if you don’t have to? Solutions like Homebase instantly convert employee hours into time cards and take care of wage calculations for you. They also let you run payroll and pay employees directly from your phone, saving you hours of work every payday.
- Team management tools — Interconnected staff management features for team communication, scheduling, employee happiness, and HR and compliance make running a busy small business easier. With everything in one place, you’ll stay more organized and feel less scattered. Plus, you’ll avoid spending money on multiple apps.
- Free or affordable plans — Most time tracking apps have a free plan that offers basic capabilities, but you may not be able to use the GPS tools until you upgrade to a more advanced plan. Still, it’s possible to find solutions with budget-friendly premium pricing. And as long as you opt for software with per-location rather than per-user pricing, your subscription cost won’t go up as you hire more team members.
Our top pick for GPS time clocks in 2024 (+ the rest compared)
Homebase is the most comprehensive GPS time clock solution on this list, which is why it’s an obvious champion. Its easy-to-use features for GPS time tracking and geofencing integrate with full-service payroll, team chat, hiring and onboarding, and HR and compliance tools to cut down on your need for excess software. Our platform is affordable, too — the per-location pricing means your subscription stays the same even as your team grows.
Still, no two businesses have the same goals, which is why you may find other options on this list more relevant to your own circumstances. For example, if you’re looking for enhanced time theft prevention measures, you may find Buddy Punch a better fit. Or, you might opt for QuickBooks Time, which syncs with QuickBooks accounting software and lets you monitor your multi-location mobile teams in real time.
To make your research less overwhelming, we’ve sorted our recommendations based on best use case:
- Homebase: Best all-in-one solution
- Buddy Punch: Best for time theft prevention
- QuickBooks Time: Best for moving teams and work crews
- Connecteam: Best for employee safety
- Hubstaff: Best for monitoring productivity
- Clockify: Best for tracking billable hours
Comparison chart: Top 6 GPS time clocks in 2024
|
Software |
Pricing | Free plan | Mobile app | GPS time clock | Time tracking | Scheduling |
Payroll |
 |
Plans range from free to $99.95 per location per month.
Save 20% on all plans if you sign up for annual billing. |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
✓ |
 |
Plans range from $3.49/month per user to $4.49/month per user, plus a base fee of $19/month. | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
✗ |
 |
Plans range from $30/month to $200/month. | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
✗ |
 |
Plans range from free to $119/month. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
✗ |
 |
Plans range from free to $15 per user per month. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
✓ |
 |
Plans range from free to $14.99 per user per month. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
✓ — reports only |
A breakdown of the 6 best GPS time clocks
1. Best all-in-one solution: Homebase
Homebase is an all-in-one team management and HR solution built for small business owners with hourly employees. And our app puts the power of GPS in your hands with our free mobile time clock, which offers both timestamping and geofencing functions.
All in all, Homebase can act as your central small business command hub, providing all the tools you need for scheduling, hiring, team communication, and HR and compliance.
Top features
- GPS time clock for tracking where employees punch into work
- Geofencing to restrict clock in areas
- No show, late clock in, and late clock out alerts for managers
- Built-in team messaging so managers can follow up after late sign ins
- User-friendly schedule builder with auto-scheduling and template tools
- Hiring and onboarding templates, dashboards, and workflows
- An extensive library of HR templates, guides, and training materials
- Native, full-service payroll
Pros and cons
Homebase users love how simple the platform makes timekeeping, allowing them to easily transition from manual time tracking systems or on-premise devices. And when employees clock into work, the app takes a GPS timestamp to make sure they’re starting their shifts at the right location. This is useful for busy managers and business owners who spend a lot of time offsite, and it’s perfect for multi-location businesses and remote teams as well.
Unlike many GPS time tracking apps, you can access almost all of Homebase’s features from your mobile device. This means managers can create and publish team schedules, communicate with staff, recruit and screen job applicants, and pay employees without having to stop by the office.
And although Homebase doesn’t offer mileage tracking for team members who commute, our time clock notifies managers when an employee is late or forgets to clock out, preventing unexpected overtime and labor leakage.
Pricing
Homebase offers basic scheduling, time tracking, and messaging features for free for up to 20 employees at one business location. Otherwise, paid plans include:
- Essentials — Advanced scheduling, time tracking, and communication tools for $24.95 per month per location.
- Plus — Hiring, time off controls, and departments and permissions for $59.95 per month per location.
- All-in-one — Employee onboarding, labor cost management, and HR and compliance for $99.95 per month per location.
You can add payroll tools for an extra $39 per month plus $6 per employee. And right now, you can save 20% on all plans if you sign up for annual billing.
2. Best for time theft prevention: Buddy Punch
Buddy Punch is a time tracking solution with a variety of tools designed to give business owners more control over time theft and productivity gaps. Besides GPS-enabled time tracking, Buddy Punch is equipped with tools like geofencing, webcam selfies, and IP address locks to keep mobile teams focused and accountable.
Additionally, the platform offers features for employee scheduling and full-service payroll so managers can keep all of their time, attendance, and pay data in the same place.
Top features
- GPS timestamping
- Geofencing and webcam clock ins to make sure the right people are signing in at the right work locations
- IP address locks to prevent employees from logging in from the wrong device
- Time card maps to give an overview of GPS clock ins for a specific time period
- Drag-and-drop schedule builder
- PTO accrual management
- Full-service payroll
Pros and cons
When employees clock in with Buddy Punch, their GPS coordinates immediately appear on their time cards so managers can review them later. Consolidating clock in data is also handy because it allows management to spot and address unwanted attendance trends before they get out of control.
Buddy Punch customers also appreciate additional time theft prevention tools like webcam selfies and IP address locks, which are features that stop employees from using specific devices to sign in.
And although some users find Buddy Punch’s mobile customization options limited, they still appreciate how straightforward it is to track time from any device or location.
Pricing
Buddy Punch scheduling is $3.49 per month per user, and it’s $4.49 per month per user to add scheduling. Both plans have a base fee of $19 per month.
3. Best for moving teams and work crews: QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets)
QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) is a practical option for business owners who are already familiar with the Intuit and QuickBooks family of products for accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll. As a time tracking solution, it has GPS time tracking, scheduling, and timesheets for payroll preparation in one convenient platform.
Top features
- GPS location tracking
- GPS mileage tracking
- Geofencing functions
- Scheduling capabilities
- Mobile time tracking app
- Integrates with the QuickBooks suite of tools for business accounting
Pros and cons
One of QuickBooks Time’s most notable features is its automatic GPS mileage tracking for tracking travel distances, which is handy for teams that spend a significant amount of time on the road.
It’s also a useful platform for landscaping and contracting businesses, where employees often move between job sites. Once staff punch in with QuickBooks Time, the time clock records their locations and updates them throughout the day, so supervisors can always keep track of their teams.
QuickBooks users also say they benefit from tracking time for projects, tasks, and subtasks because it gives them more granular timekeeping data and helps them improve efficiency for the future.
One downside is that QuickBooks doesn’t have a free plan. You have to pay per user to access basic time and attendance features, which may not be feasible for every small business’s budget.
Pricing
Quickbooks has a free 30-day trial. After that, the paid plans include:
- Premium — Time and attendance features for $20 per month and $8 per user per month.
- Elite — Project tracking and geofencing for $40 per month and $10 per user per month.
4. Best for employee safety: Connecteam
Connecteam gives managers access to tools for scheduling, time tracking, communication, and labor compliance from their mobile devices, which helps them keep field-based and frontline teams on the same page. And with its GPS time tracking tools, supervisors can make sure their employees are where they should be at any time of the day.
Top features
- GPS-enabled time tracking
- Geofencing and time theft prevention
- Shift reminders and alerts
- Schedule builder with shift duplication and template tools
- Task management with forms and checklists
- Team messaging
- Labor and compliance tools
- Team member information and document storage
- Employee surveys
Pros and cons
Like Homebase, Connecteam lets you set up a geofenced radius around job sites to restrict off-site clock ins. The platform also uses Breadcrumbs GPS tracking technology to monitor employee locations throughout the day, a feature that uses less battery and cell phone data than geofencing, which monitors workers constantly.
You may prefer Connecteam for those times when team members are left to hold down the fort alone. With alerts letting you know when staff step out of the geofenced work zone, you can always check in via messaging to make sure they’re okay.
However, unlike other GPS time clocks, Connecteam doesn’t have built-in payroll. That means you’ll need additional software to calculate wages and pay your team.
Pricing
Connecteam has three “hub” packages: Operations, Communications, and HR & Skills.
The Operations hub offers scheduling, time tracking, and task management features, and its plans include:
- Small Business — Free for up to ten users.
- Basic — $29 per month for up to 30 users. Extra users are $0.50 per month.
- Advanced — Everything in Basic, plus extra features like time tracking tasks. $49 per month for 30 users. Extra users are $1.50 per month.
- Expert — Everything in Advanced, plus GPS features and automation. $99 per month for 30 users. Extra users are $3 per month.
5. Best for monitoring productivity: Hubstaff
Business owners may opt for a platform like Hubstaff if they have complex projects or client work that require accurate time and productivity tracking. In addition to its GPS time tracking and geofencing tools, Hubstaff includes employee monitoring and project management software among its wide range of features, making it a unique alternative to other solutions on this list.
Top features
- GPS location tracking
- Geofence time tracking
- Online timesheets for payroll preparation
- Employee activity and productivity monitoring tools
- Agile project management tools and workflows
- Full-service payroll and invoicing
Pros and cons
Hubstaff’s GPS location tracking allows for more accurate timekeeping data, and its geofencing tools automatically punch employees in and out of work so you never have to follow up on late clock ins.
And while some team members may find it invasive, Hubstaff’s employee monitoring tools let managers track staff’s keyboard and mouse activity to determine productivity levels. They can even activate the screenshots tool to get a glimpse of how people spend their time at work.
Keep in mind: Get consent from team members before tracking their activity and make sure you’re clear about how you’ll use the data. If employees feel uncomfortable about being monitored remotely, this may not be the right fit for you.
Pricing
Hubstaff has three subscription packages, each with its own range of plans: Hubstaff Time, Hubstaff Desk, and Hubstaff Field.
Hubstaff Time offers basic time tracking and reporting and Hubstaff Desk offers employee monitoring features, advanced time tracking, and time management.
Only Hubstaff Field has GPS time tracking features and the paid plans include:
- Field Pro — Advanced time tracking and GPS mobile monitoring for $12 per user per month.
- Desk Field — Everything in Field Pro, plus advanced employee monitoring tools for $15 per user per month.
6. Best for tracking billable hours: Clockify
With its in-depth tools for online time and project tracking, Clockify is well-suited to desk-based teams, especially those that need to keep tabs on their billable hours. Its simple design also makes it easy to navigate when you compare it with other well-known project management software.
Top features
- Time and project tracking
- Scheduling
- GPS activity monitoring
- Reporting and analytics dashboards
- Expense and invoice management
- Timesheets and payroll reports
- Integrates with QuickBooks, Slack, Trello, Asana, and dozens of other tools
Pros and cons
Clockify customers say it’s easy to use and helps keep client projects organized. The platform makes tracking team productivity simpler, too — when employees punch into work with Clockify, managers can see their locations and timestamps on the map throughout the day. And similar to Hubstaff, Clockify can take screenshots of people’s devices at certain intervals to track the sites they visit.
One drawback, though, is that Clockify doesn’t offer free scheduling — you have to upgrade to a paid plan to access those features. And it lacks full-service payroll, which forces users to rely on a QuickBooks integration to pay employees.
Pricing
Clockify’s free plan has basic time tracking capabilities, but you can upgrade for more advanced features. Plans include:
- Basic — Time off management, invoicing, and timesheets for $6.99 per user per month.
- Pro — Scheduling and labor forecasting and budgeting for $9.99 per user per month.
- Enterprise — Advanced control and security for $14.99 per user per month.
Simple, precise time tracking is at your fingertips with Homebase
GPS time clocks are meant to make your life easier — customizing and setting them up shouldn’t become a job on its own. And while every platform has its own way of harnessing the power of geotracking and geofencing, they won’t all be right for your business.
Homebase integrates easy-to-use GPS time tracking technology with feature-rich team management tools, making it our number one pick in 2024. Try our free plan first to test basic scheduling, time tracking, and messaging features for up to 20 employees at one business location. Then, you can upgrade to get access to GPS timestamping and geofencing.
Once you have one of our affordable paid plans, you’ll be able to enjoy our other tools for hiring and onboarding, team communication, and HR and compliance — all of which make Homebase ideal for motivated small business owners with wage-earning employees looking to grow and thrive.
**The information above is based on our research on GPS time clocks. All user feedback referenced in the text has been sourced from independent software review platforms, such as G2 and Capterra.
Remember: This is not legal advice. If you have questions about your particular situation, please consult a lawyer, CPA, or other appropriate professional advisor or agency.
