The 9 Best Time and Attendance Software Solutions in the UK

With remote and hybrid working still common in Britain, a reliable time and attendance solution is critical to ensure you're on top of your staff's pay and working hours. Just over a quarter (28%) of UK workers carried out their jobs from home and another workplace in the final quarter of 2022, according to the ONS.

Based on our meticulous research, we've found that Factorial is the best time and attendance solution for UK businesses. Its intuitive and user-friendly interface makes it easy to stay on top of hours, working locations, overtime, and more, while its employee app enables your team to clock in and out, and track breaks, from remote locations.

Top 7 Time and Attendance Software Solutions in the UK

  1. Factorial – Best overall time and attendance system
  2. Blip by BrightHR – Best for flexible clocking-in options
  3. Kelio by Bodet  Best for its range of versatile products
  4. Planday Best for employee collaboration
  5. Advanced  Best for employee self-service tools
  6. Actin Time  Best for integrating with external software
  7. TimeTrex Best open-source time and attendance software
  8. Replicon  Best for ease of use
  9. Chronicle Computing  Best for data visualisation and reporting

These are the providers we recommend based on our research. Use our comparison tool to find the best service for your business.

In addition to Factorial, we were also impressed by eight other providers in our market analysis one of which may serve you better depending on your needs. In this article, you'll find out all of our top picks, ranked – complete with pros, cons, and pricing information. You'll then be equipped to choose the one most suited to your business.

The best time and attendance software for UK businesses

We compared the leading time and attendance software solutions on the market, analysing the features and the benefits.

Our top nine time and attendance software providers are Factorial, Blip by BrightHR, Kelio by Bodet, Planday, Advanced, Actin Time, TimeTrex, Replicon, and Chronicle Computing.

Swipe right to see more
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Bodet

Planday

Advanced

Actin Time

TimeTrex

Replicon

Chronicle Computing

Price

From £34.50/month

Price

Free for BrightHR users

Price

Bespoke

Price

£2.49/user/month – Bespoke

Price

Bespoke

Price

Bespoke

Price

Bespoke

Price

USD$30/month for up to 5 users – Bespoke

Price

£1.25/user/month

You’ll find our top time and attendance software reviews below, which include the pros and cons, key functionalities, unique selling points (USPs), and pricing info (where it was publicly available).

If you’re short on time, you can start comparing time and attendance quotes with us – right here, right now. Our free 30-second questionnaire lets us get to know your exact software requirements, which we'll use to pair you with one or more leading time and attendance system suppliers.

Once you're matched, those providers will be in touch, offering tailored time and attendance software quotes and advice. Again, our form is free, and takes less than a minute – ideal if you just want to get straight down to business. Hit one of the buttons below to dive in!

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What is time and attendance software?

Time and attendance software tracks your employees’ hours as they arrive at and leave work. It's one of the best pieces of workforce management software available to businesses, allowing you to streamline your time-keeping and absence pay processes.

The data that your time and attendance software collects feeds straight into your payroll and HR systems. This ensures you’re paying staff the right amount and eases the organisation of your rota. Time and attendance software also enables you to stay on top of employee taxes and holiday pay, and avoid unwanted employee absenteeism costs.

Time and attendance software is usually cloud-based, meaning it’s accessible from your browser, rather than on a pre-installed system. This makes the software super mobile – you can manage staff records and juggle shift patterns anywhere you have internet access.

For a complete time and attendance system, you’ll also want to consider what a clocking-in device can do for you. It’s a machine that allows your staff to physically check in, using either a card, fob, or their own biometric data. The best facial recognition attendance systems fall under this category, as do fingerprint clocking-in machines.

In this article, we won't focus on the hardware side of the system. Instead, we'll dive deep into the pros and cons of the best time and attendance software.

1. Factorial

Best overall time and attendance system

Factorial logo
Factorial
Pricing From £34.50 per month
Strengths

Easy to use interface and mobile app

Free trial available

Comes as part of a wider HR software suite

Weaknesses

More expensive than Chronicle Computing

Factorial's time tracking system is modern and adaptable to flexible working. Its employee portal is an intuitive smartphone app that your team can use to clock in and out remotely (you'll receive a notification when they do), log breaks, and edit their records for accuracy – all of which you can monitor on the go. To enable your employees to clock in and out, you can simply generate and print QR codes to place at your workplace for your team to scan with their phones – in other words, there's no need for potentially pricey clocking in machines.

Helpfully, instead of treating your team members like one homogeneous group, you can use Factorial to customise each individual's time tracking experience. You can create custom groups and assign different permissions to each one, build unique policies for people with different working patterns (such as those who work hybrid or from home), and monitor clock-ins/outs at different working locations. We also like Factorial's data-driven reports, which enable you to compare each person's real hours to their expected hours, and check out overtime hours (which can be instantly reflected in your payroll).

What's essential to understand is that Factorial's time tracking platform is only available in combination with its wider HR packages, so if you already have HR software that you're not keen to switch from, you'll be better off considering a standalone time and attendance product such as Actin Time or Timetrex (though we'd encourage you to ensure it can integrate smoothly with your existing HR setup).

Factorial pricing

The cheapest way to use Factorial time and attendance is to choose Factorial's cheapest base HR plan, Business, and add the Time Tracking module – altogether, this starts at £34.50 per month for ten users (plus £3.45 for each additional user).

Alternatively, you could opt for Factorial's Operations Hub on the Business plan, which includes time tracking along with other HR processes including payroll. This starts at £41 per month for ten users.

2. Blip by BrightHR

Best for flexible clocking in options

BrightHR logo
Blip by BrightHR
Pricing Free for BrightHR users
Strengths

Free and easy to set up if you're already with BrightHR

Purely app-based - no expensive devices needed

Automated notifications for forgetful staff

Weaknesses

BrightHR pricing isn't transparent

Like Factorial, BrightHR's time and attendance platform – named Blip – is purely app-based, so you won't need to invest in clocking in machines. It offers a few ways to clock in and out, namely QR code scanning at your premises, geofencing at remote locations, and photographing at unregistered locations. With geofencing, you set up a virtual GPS barrier around your known work spots, and your team members receive automated reminders to clock in or out via the app when they enter or leave one of these areas. With photographing, your team members simply clock in and send a snapshot of today's workplace, giving them the flexibility to work in places you're not familiar with.

Blip's real-time updates are super handy, enabling you to see who's in, who's not working, and who's on a break at any given moment. You can also ask it to send automated notifications to those staff members who tend to be a little forgetful, reminding them to log their hours.

Also like Factorial, Blip isn't available as a standalone product – it comes exclusively as part of BrightHR's wider HR software suite. However, if you are a BrightHR user, it's very easy to set Blip up: simply download the app and log in using your BrightHR account.

Blip by BrightHR pricing

While we do know that Blip itself is free, it's only free for those who use BrightHR. We can't advise on how much BrightHR costs because the company prefers to offer personalised quotes to each potential user, rather than advertise set price plans.

3. Kelio by Bodet

Best for its range of versatile products

kelio by bodet logo
Kelio by Bodet
Strengths

Excellent customer reviews

Payroll and other reporting functions integrate with your existing software UK-based support

GDPR compliant

Weaknesses

Rates aren’t transparent

Not as customisable as some of the other time and attendance software providers here

Bodet’s flagship time and attendance software, ‘Kelio’, has spent about three decades being fine-tuned and perfected – and it shows. Kelio’s user-friendly and intuitive interface underpins the software’s versatility. Besides time tracking, Kelio also takes care of job costing, planning, and personnel administration, too. Reporting is pretty straightforward, while you can customise pretty much everything to your business’ setup.

With Kelio by Bodet's “digital badge” feature, you can replace physical swipe cards with a secure email linked to an employee. Workers can easily clock in and out using NFC or BLE (technologies also used for contactless payments) on their smartphones. This is convenient if your workforce is prone to losing key cards or you regularly hire external personnel.

Also, through its X7 machine, employees can also effectively clock in with their hands  its efficiency helped Bodet top our best fingerprint clocking-in machines list. For a thorough look into Kelio, head to our Bodet review.

Kelio by Bodet pricing

Bodet’s pricing isn’t transparent, so it’s tough to know exactly what your ongoing costs for Kelio will be, which could potentially be expensive. However, if you want a service that won't stretch your wallet, we'd recommend taking a look at Planday.

4. Planday

Best for employee collaboration

Strengths

30-day free trial

Interface is easy to read

Convenient in-app messaging protects data privacy

Range of price plans depending on your needs

Weaknesses

Can't auto-populate rotas on Starter or Plus

Unlike most of the other time and attendance software solutions here, Planday doesn’t require a physical clocking-in machine to operate. Rather, your staff can simply check in for work via their smartphones, using Planday’s slick, user-friendly app. Shift planning is a breeze, with colour-coded, drag-and-drop rotas helping you stop up any gaps in the staff calendar.

Planday's reporting features will help you drill down into the metrics that matter, while a chat tool will let you keep in touch with your employees and connect them with each other. This helps staff let management know about any lateness or absence.

However, the sad bit is that it doesn't let you auto-populate rotas, so if you're looking for a supplier that covers this, we'd encourage you to direct your gaze towards Advanced, which has a feature known as Auto-Rostering.

Planday time and attendance software interface on a smartphone, punch clock functionality

Planday’s geofencing technology allows your staff to sign in for work when they get close, and add notes to inform of any issues or lateness

Planday pricing

Starter

Plus

Pro

Enterprise 

£2.49 per user, per month£49.90 per month

Includes 10 users

Starts at £304.50 per month

Includes 50 users

Bespoke

You should be aware the Plus plan is billed annually because contracts are a minimum of 12 months. On the other hand, you can buy Starter month-to-month, and cancel at any time.

In addition to the features on the Starter plan, the Plus plan gives you:

  • Staff management features, such as contracted hours and scheduled leave
  • Kiosk iPad app (Punch Clock station)
  • Revenue reporting (including labour costs)

If you're not sure whether Planday is suited to your needs, you could try the software  for free with a 30-day free trial on the cheapest two plans.

Did You Know?

Almost half (43%) of employees admitted to stealing time from their organisations. Therefore, having a robust time and attendance software is crucial!

5. Advanced

Best for employee self-service tools

Strengths

Excellent customer reviews

Payroll and other reporting functions integrate with your existing software UK-based support

GDPR compliant

Weaknesses

Rates aren’t transparent

Not as customisable as some of the other time and attendance software providers here

Advanced (formerly Mitrefinch) works with you to understand your business’ needs, and tailor a software package that's a snug fit for the size and nature of your workforce. You can adapt Advanced’s time and attendance software in almost limitless ways, with a variety of scheduling and rota functions. You can avoid having too many employees away on holiday simultaneously, and track unusual shift patterns with ease.

Advanced's range of software products – including HR, payroll, and modules for workforce and absence management – are all split out, so you’ll only pay for the specific features you need. Its tailored solutions helped it rank highly in our best clocking-in systems list.

With its Auto-Rostering tool, you'll get access to roster templates, skills mapping, and an employee trade board, which can help you save time and money. The provider also empowers your employees to take their calendars into their own hands – they’ll have the ability to view their data and request time off in real time. You can read more about it in our Advanced Time and Attendance System Review.

Advanced pricing

Advanced (like many other providers) isn't transparent about its rate, so if you want a solution that you know is cheap and user-friendly, we'd recommend looking into Planday.

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6. Actin Time

Best for integrating with external software

Strengths

Great range of compatible external software, like Pegasus and Sage

Wide range of experience in multiple industries

Solid customer support

Weaknesses

Rates aren’t transparent

Steep initial learning curve

Actin Time is a great option if you're looking for a workforce management system that can double as an army knife for integrations. It can be easily integrated with softwares like Sage, Pegasus, Earnier, IRIS, ADP, CIPHR, MoorePay, and more. Therefore, it's likely Actin Time will melt seamlessly with your pre-existing payroll software infrastructure, which not only saves you headaches but also money.

Actin Time is compatibile with several systems, which means its likely to merge seamlessly with your pre-existing payroll software. This is great news as it reduces the chances of you having to spend money signing up with a different payroll provider.

It also has generous customer support. It offers free time and attendance advice, and 100% hand-holding experience from the offset. However, the initial set up and customisation can be a bit clunky at the start, so if you're looking for a provider that is known for a sleek interface, we'd say to look at Kelio by Bodet or Replicon.

Actin Time pricing

Like many of its competitors, Actin Time only provides prices via quotation, so you'll need to contact its sales team to find out how much you'd pay for it.

7. TimeTrex

Best open source time and attendance software

Strengths

Sufficient (albeit basic) mobile app

Free demo available

Deployable as both a cloud-based and on-premise solution

Weaknesses

Feature-wise, TimeTrex lags behind the other suppliers here

TimeTrex’s (fairly rudimentary) interface lacks polish

Prices aren't transparent

The best thing about TimeTrex is completely open source. This means you can mess around with the code, using it as a blank cheque upon which to write the unique requirements of your team. You’ll need to be fairly tech-savvy, of course – but, for the right type of business, the flexibility that open source time and attendance software provides is truly liberating.

TimeTrex's industrious, no-frills approach means it's easy to grasp, massively speeding up the onboarding process. TimeTrex should tick most of the boxes for small UK businesses because it offers all the essential payroll, scheduling, and leave management functions you’d expect. The downside is that TimeTrex lacks a polished interface, so if this is a definite for you, Replicon or Kelio might be the answer.

TimeTrex pricing

As it is open source software, TimeTrex is provided free of charge.

8. Replicon

Easiest time and attendance software to use

Strengths

24/7 support

Free 14-day trial available

Replicon provides regular live and on-demand webinars

Weaknesses

Expensive

Reporting features could be better

Replicon’s smooth user experience (UX), industry-specific feature roll, and litany of effusive customer reviews make it one of our top time and attendance software picks. Having said that, Replicon is quite expensive, so if you want something more affordable, take a look at Planday.

Replicon packs a wide range of time and attendance software products and pricing plans. Because of this, it offers benefits for businesses of most sizes and industries. Its prices are a little tough to get your head around initially (see below for what we mean here!), but at least you’ll know exactly what you can expect to pay from the get-go.

Replicon pricing

TimeAttend Quick StartTimeAttend PlusWorkforce ManagementTime Off PlusTime Off Enterprise
$30 per month for up to 5 users, $5 per additional user$12 per user per month$19 per user per month$6 per user per month$8 per user per month

Replicon is slightly pricier than the other options analysed on this list. Its cheapest plan allows you to work an operation of five users for $30 per user, per month, having to put down an extra $5 per additional user (keep in mind, its prices are only advertised in USD).

You can choose to upgrade to TimeAttend Plus ($12 per user per month) or Workforce Management ($19 per user, per month), which tend to be the most popular options due to a larger suite of features.

Overall, we'd recommend the TimeAttend Plus package for small businesses because it provides the most value for money. With it, you'll get a fair share of features, including Automatic Timesheet Routing and TimeOff Booking, without having to shell out for the more expensive Workforce Management.

Replicon also offers two separate tools that are designed for monitoring employee absence, TimeOff Plus and TimeOff Enterprise, which cost $6 per user per month and $8 per user per month, respectively.

9. Chronicle Computing

Best for data visualisation and reporting

chronicle computing logo
Chronicle Computing
Strengths

Free demo available

Completely UK-based customer support

Works with a wide selection of clocking-in hardware

Includes a WhatsApp live chat feature for convenience

Weaknesses

Not as customisable as some of the other time and attendance software solutions here

Chronicle Computing's savvy software solution lets you track time and attendance data in real time, while you can generate hour and payroll reports – and stay on top of wage bills – in a matter of clicks. Crunching your business’s key data is simple, and the engaging graphs and charts this software produces are as simple to export as they are to understand.

Chronicle Computing is completely cloud-based, allowing you to access information about your staff from anywhere in the world. It also works with any app, in any browser – all you need is an internet connection. This helps you stay on top of your staff's attendance patterns and avoid unwanted employee absenteeism costs.

The down side is that Chronicle Computing's programs are not as customisable as other providers, so if you want a time and attendance solution that you can set to your very specific set of needs, Replicon or Actin Time are likely to suit you better.

Did You Know?

Chronicle claims it can save you a tidy 5% a year on your staffing bills. However, we can’t tell you how because its prices aren't made public.

Chronicle Computing pricing

Chronicle Online

Smart Phone Clocking

Chronicle HR

Super User Access

£1.25 per month per employee£1.25 per month per employee£1.25 per month per employee

£16 per user per month

Verdict

Based on our first-hand research and insights, we think the best time and attendance software is Factorial. Its user-friendly and intuitive interface offers needed flexibility, while its wider HR packages can bring all-important efficiency to other areas of your business.

If you're still unsure about which time and attendance software to go for, our free quote comparison tool can help you reach a verdict. Answer a few questions about your business and its needs, and we'll quickly match you with trusted providers. They'll reach out to you with bespoke, obligation-free quotes for you to compare.

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FAQs

What's the difference between time and attendance software and timesheet software?
Both are different options for tracking employee attendance and are often mistakenly used interchangeably. Timesheet software is a budget friendly option for businesses and has very basic features, usually only offering rota organization and payroll processing. 

Time and attendance software encompasses a much broader range of functions. This includes workforce management, HR integration, and access control – not to mention seamless interactivity with the clocking-in terminals and business security systems you’ll want installed on your premises.  

To learn more about what time and attendance software’s stripped-back alternative can do for your business – and explore top UK providers – head to our guide for the best timesheet software.

What is open source time and attendance software?
‘Open source' refers to software solutions that make their source code freely available. This means that others can redistribute and change it – you can view, copy, and tweak the code to produce an application that’s expertly tailored to the specific requirements of your business.

Open source time and attendance software is typically very easy to get hold of via the internet and, in many cases, it’s free!

Of course, taking a fairly complex piece of source code and turning it into a fully-functioning business application isn’t the easiest thing in the world. However, if done well, you’ll get a system that’s infinitely more scalable than a typical, off-the-shelf time and attendance software solution.

What is cloud-based time and attendance software?
Most – if not all – time and attendance software these days is cloud-based. 

Put simply, this means that your business’ time and attendance data is stored ‘in the cloud’ – on the servers of your software provider, rather than in a data storage facility housed on your business’ own premises.

This means you’re not restricted to managing the system from  a single computer, or from a set of devices in a fixed location. You can view, update, and share data in real time.

How much does time and attendance software cost?
Time and attendance software costs vary between providers. Some, such as Planday, start at £2 per user, per month, while most don’t advertise their prices at all. This is usually because time and attendance software prices are bespoke, and will typically be tailored to your business’s team size, along with the features you require.

Like other Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products, time and attendance software is leased. This means that – unlike with the hardware you’ll purchase outright – you’ll pay a monthly license fee to use the software.

For a full rundown of what you can expect to pay when you invest in a time and attendance system, explore our guide to time and attendance prices.

Of course, the easiest (and quickest) way to get acquainted with the most accurate time and attendance software quotes is through our free questionnaire.

Written by:
Rob Binns
Rob writes mainly about the payments industry, but also brings to the table industry-specific knowledge of CRM software, business loans, fulfilment, and invoice finance. When not exasperating his editor with bad puns, he can be found relaxing in a sunny (socially-distanced) corner, with a beer and a battered copy of Dostoevsky.
Reviewed by:
Maïté Bouhali
Maite began her career with Expert Market nearly four years ago as a writer. She quickly developed a passion for the challenges faced by small businesses and now endeavours to help them make informed decisions for their future. In her current position as Business Software Editor, Maite works closely with writers to ensure that each article is informative, well-researched, engaging, and actionable for readers. With extensive knowledge of CRM, vehicle tracking devices, and fuel cards, she is meticulous in her review of each article and provides detailed feedback before publication. Whether you're seeking to stay informed on the latest trends in business software or need guidance in selecting the most appropriate software for your organisation's needs, Maite is here to help. With her sharp eye for detail and commitment to quality, she is dedicated to supporting businesses in achieving their goals.