Buddy Punch review

Buddy Punch is time clock software for businesses with hourly employees across multiple locations, as well as salaried workers. Employees can clock in and out on computers, phones, or a time clock kiosk. The software turns those punches into timesheets and tracks attendance, schedules, and paid time off.

Managers can create recurring shifts, assign employees to roles or locations, and notify staff about schedule changes. PTO tools cover accrual rules, balances, and time-off requests, with updates to schedules and timesheets. Overtime policies, alerts, break reminders, and automatic break deductions are also available.

For payroll, Buddy Punch can produce formatted reports, connect with payroll software, or provide payroll through its own service. Its GPS and geofencing tools are meant to help track employees while they are on the clock and prevent punches from outside approved locations. Which controls are included depends on the plan.

Buddy Punch covers the main time-and-attendance workflow in one product: clock-ins, timesheets, scheduling, PTO, overtime, and breaks. That can reduce the need to manage schedules and time-off requests in separate tools. Employees can punch in from a computer, phone, or kiosk, which gives businesses a choice of clocking setup.

The plan differences are fairly clear, according to the pricing details:

• Starter is $5.99 per user monthly or $4.99 with annual billing. It includes GPS on punches, time-off tracking, unlimited free administrator users, and one group.
• Pro is $7.99 monthly or $6.99 with annual billing. It adds scheduling, offline mode, basic geofencing, and up to three groups.
• Advanced is $13.99 monthly or $12.99 with annual billing. It includes unlimited groups, real-time GPS, and advanced reporting.

All plans also have a $19 monthly base fee. For teams that need scheduling or real-time location controls, the included features may make Pro or Advanced easier to price than assembling the same capabilities as add-ons.

The per-user price is not the full bill. Every plan adds a $19 monthly base fee, and some features require paid add-ons unless they are included in a higher tier. Scheduling costs $1 per user monthly outside Pro and Advanced; real-time GPS costs $2 per user monthly outside Advanced. Advanced reporting is $2 per user monthly outside Advanced. Onboarding, offboarding, and tasks cost $4 per user monthly, while data retention is $24 per user per year.

Payroll is another separate cost: $8 per user monthly plus a $49 monthly base fee. A business choosing Buddy Punch payroll should account for that on top of the plan charges.

There is no free plan; the listed trial lasts 14 days. The group caps are also worth checking: Starter allows one group and Pro allows three, while Advanced has unlimited groups. The published pricing details do not specify employee-seat caps, so confirm any workforce limits before switching. Starter also lacks the listed scheduling and geofencing inclusions found on Pro.

Buddy Punch has three paid plans and no free plan. According to the published pricing details, Starter costs $5.99 per user per month billed monthly, or $4.99 with annual billing. Pro is $7.99 monthly or $6.99 annually; Advanced is $13.99 monthly or $12.99 annually. Every plan also adds a $19 monthly base fee, so the per-user rate is not your whole bill.

The tier jumps are $2 per user per month from Starter to Pro and $6 from Pro to Advanced, before the base fee. Starter includes GPS on punches and time-off tracking, but not scheduling: that costs an extra $1 per user per month. Real-Time GPS costs $2 per user per month, and Advanced Reporting costs $2 per user per month; both are included with Advanced. Onboarding, offboarding and tasks cost $4 per user per month, also included with Advanced. Data retention is $24 per user per year. Payroll adds $8 per user per month plus a separate $49 monthly base fee. A 14-day free trial is available. Check which add-ons you need before comparing plans.

The published materials don't specify a migration process, import tools, setup assistance or how long a switch takes. Before moving, confirm how employee records, schedules, PTO balances and historical time data would transfer. Buddy Punch supports downloadable payroll-formatted reports, but that does not establish that you can export a complete account history in a format another system can import. Full export options and cancellation terms are not specified here.

The $19 monthly base fee applies to each plan, and add-ons can change the total, so compare your actual needs and headcount with the replacement's full bill before switching. If leaving Buddy Punch, download the reports and records you need and verify their contents before ending service. The published material includes no Reddit posts or comments, so we can't responsibly say what users report as reasons for leaving. Treat migration support, data portability and any payroll handoff as questions to confirm with Buddy Punch and your next provider before committing.