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Time clocks

Time clocks and the records the law requires

A time clock records when people start and stop work. The law cares about the record, not the machine, so choose the clock that makes an accurate record easy to keep.

What you have to record

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to keep records of hours worked each workday and workweek for non-exempt employees (29 CFR Part 516). Payroll records must be kept for at least three years, and the time cards or other records that wages are computed from for at least two. Many states add their own rules on meal breaks and retention.

Types of clock

  • Punch card. Stamps a paper card. Cheap and simple, but someone has to add up the hours by hand, and a friend can punch in for a colleague.
  • PIN or badge. Each employee keys a PIN or taps a card, and the clock totals the hours and exports them to payroll. Badges can still be shared.
  • Biometric. A fingerprint or face scan ends buddy punching. It also brings legal obligations that the other types do not.
  • App or web clock. Employees clock in on a phone or computer, often with location checks. Suits staff who move between sites.

What else to check

  • How it exports to your payroll system.
  • How many employees it holds.
  • Whether it rounds punches, and to what; rounding must not consistently favor the employer.
  • Battery backup, so an outage does not lose the day's records.

Time clocks

Affiliate links

Punch-card clocks and biometric terminals. The Fair Labor Standards Act needs records of hours worked, however you collect them.

uPunch

uPunch HN1500 Starter Time Clock Bundle for Small Business: Employee Punch Clock System with 100 Time Cards, Card Rack, and Ribbon

$119.99

Pyramid Time Systems

Pyramid Time Systems 2500 Auto-Aligning Time Clock Bundle [2500K1]

$119.85

uPunch

uPunch CR1000 Digital Time Clock and Date Stamp for Small Business: Complete Employee Time Tracking System with 50 Time Cards, Ribbon & Keys

$149.99

uAttend

uAttend JR2000 Biometric Fingerprint, RFID, PIN Time Clock for Small Business - Cloud-Based Attendance System with Optional Payroll Integration - All-in-One System

$159.99

Prices retrieved from Amazon on 2026-09-29 and may since have changed; the price on Amazon at the time of purchase is the one that applies. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. No manufacturer pays for a place in this list.