The best time clocks for employees without smartphones
By the TrackBadges team · Updated · 4 min read
The short answer
For crews where some workers don't have smartphones, the best time clock is one where someone else does the scanning. TrackBadges has a supervisor scan each worker's printed QR badge with any phone — free for 3 people, then $9 a month plus $1.50 per person ($19.50 for 10). Clockify and Buddy Punch offer QR kiosks, ClockShark and busybusy have foreman crew clocks, and Connecteam and Homebase have PIN kiosks.
Key takeaways
There are four ways to clock in workers without phones: supervisor-scanned badges, a shared kiosk, a foreman crew clock, or phone dial-in.
Supervisor-scanned badges are the fastest for a crew and the hardest to buddy punch.
Requiring workers to use personal phones can mean reimbursing them in California and Illinois.
Kiosks need a fixed spot; crew clocks and badge scanning work anywhere the supervisor is.
Workers carry a printed badge; the supervisor's phone scans the whole crew — no app, account or phone for workers, and every scan confirms the person is there.
A QR badge time clock for crews: a supervisor scans each employee's printed badge with any phone or tablet, and the owner gets live timesheets with overtime, ready for payroll. Best for: Crews that start the day together — construction, landscaping, cleaning, warehouses, farms and events — especially when not everyone has, or should use, a smartphone.
How employees clock in
A supervisor (or a shared tablet) scans each employee's printed QR badge. Scan once to clock in, again to clock out.
Employee needs a smartphone
No. Employees carry a printed badge.
Free plan
Free for up to 3 people, with every feature.
Pricing
Free for up to 3 people. Pro is $9 a month for your first 3 people, plus $1.50 a month for each person after that.
Team leaders scan printed QR codes or NFC cards and fobs with TimeDock's app, or workers tap in at a wall clock.
TimeDock is a New Zealand-based cloud time clock, sold in the US, UK and Australia too, where staff clock in with QR codes or NFC badges — scanned by a team leader's phone running the TimeDock app, or at a wall-mounted TimeDock clock. Best for: Businesses that want NFC cards or fobs, a wall-mounted clock at a fixed site, job and activity codes, offline scanning, or exports into many payroll systems.
How employees clock in
A team leader scans staff QR codes or NFC badges with the TimeDock app on an iPhone or Android phone, switching the app between IN and OUT; employees can also clock themselves in with the app, and a wall-mounted TimeDock clock reads cards and fobs at a fixed spot.
Employee needs a smartphone
No. Staff carry a QR badge, card or fob.
Free plan
No free plan listed on its pricing page.
Pricing
Flexible plan: $5 per active employee a month plus a $16 base fee. Bundled plans start at $23 a month for up to 5 active employees ($45 for 10, $90 for 25, $157 for 50), billed monthly in USD.
A browser kiosk where workers hold up a printed QR code, with cheap kiosk-only seats for people without email.
Clockify is a time tracker best known for project and billable-hours tracking, with a browser kiosk that supports PINs, QR codes and photo capture on paid plans. Best for: Office and project teams tracking billable hours that also need a simple kiosk for some staff.
How employees clock in
With timers and timesheets in the Clockify apps, or at a browser kiosk on any device: a PIN (Basic), a personal QR code held up to the camera (Standard), with photo capture on Pro. A manager with a Universal PIN can clock others in and out.
Employee needs a smartphone
No — the kiosk covers employees without phones, using cheaper kiosk-only seats.
Free plan
Free for a small team, but the free plan doesn't include the kiosk.
Pricing
Per seat: Basic $4.99, Standard $6.99, Pro $9.99 a month billed monthly ($3.99 / $5.49 / $7.99 annually). Kiosk-only "limited" seats are much cheaper — about $1.49 a month on Standard billed monthly ($1.19 annually).
Printable QR codes, PIN kiosks and a supervisor group punch on its Pro plan.
Buddy Punch is an online time clock with many punch methods — web, mobile app, PIN and QR code kiosks, Face ID and text — plus a supervisor "group punch". Best for: Businesses that want lots of punch options, PTO tracking and payroll integrations, and don't mind a base fee plus per-user pricing.
How employees clock in
On the web or mobile app, at a PIN or QR kiosk (from the Pro plan), with Face ID on iOS, by text message, or by a supervisor's group punch.
Employee needs a smartphone
No — kiosks and group punch cover employees without phones.
Free plan
No free plan; there's a free trial.
Pricing
A $19 monthly base fee plus a per-user fee: Starter $5.99, Pro $7.99, Advanced $13.99 per user a month billed monthly ($4.99 / $6.99 / $12.99 annually). QR and PIN kiosks start on Pro. Admins are free.
CrewClock lets a foreman clock in workers by name from their own phone, inside a construction suite.
ClockShark is a GPS time tracking and scheduling app for field service and construction, with job costing, a shared KioskClock and a CrewClock for foremen. Best for: Construction and field-service companies that want GPS tracking, job costing and scheduling, and can commit to a multi-year contract.
How employees clock in
In the ClockShark app on the employee's phone (with GPS), at a shared KioskClock with a 4-digit PIN and optional face recognition, or by a foreman using CrewClock.
Employee needs a smartphone
No — CrewClock and KioskClock cover workers without phones.
Free plan
No free plan; 14-day free trial.
Pricing
Standard is $42 a month plus $9.50 per user; Pro is $63 a month plus $11.50 per user. ClockShark's pricing page says a contract term of three years applies to all plans.
Supervisor Tools and an offline kiosk on Pro, for sites with poor signal.
busybusy is a construction time tracking and job costing app with a free GPS plan, plus a kiosk and supervisor tools on its paid tiers. Best for: Construction companies that want job costing, equipment tracking and offline GPS time tracking.
How employees clock in
In the busybusy app on the employee's phone (works offline), at a kiosk with a PIN and photo, or by a foreman using Supervisor Tools to clock in crews.
Employee needs a smartphone
Not on Pro and above, where the kiosk and Supervisor Tools cover workers without phones. On the free plan, yes.
Free plan
Free for unlimited users with GPS time tracking — but no kiosk or supervisor tools.
Pricing
Free plan for unlimited users. Pro is $11.99 per user a month billed monthly ($9.99 annually) plus a $40 admin license that includes the first user; Premium is $17.99 ($14.99).
A PIN kiosk with optional selfie on its free plan for up to 10 users.
Connecteam is an all-in-one app for deskless teams — time clock, scheduling, chat, forms and training — where employees clock in on their own phone or at a shared kiosk with a PIN. Best for: Teams where everyone has a smartphone and you want scheduling, chat and forms in the same app as the time clock.
How employees clock in
In the Connecteam app on the employee's phone (with GPS), at a shared kiosk with a 4-digit PIN and optional selfie, or by tapping NFC tags placed at a site.
Employee needs a smartphone
Not with the kiosk, which takes a PIN. Otherwise each employee uses the Connecteam app on their own phone.
Free plan
Free for up to 10 users (Small Business plan), with one time clock.
Pricing
Free for up to 10 users. Operations Hub Basic is $35 a month billed monthly ($29 annually) for the first 30 users, then $1 per user; Advanced ($59) adds auto clock-out and geofences.
The best time clocks for employees without smartphones
TrackBadges
TimeDock
Clockify
Buddy Punch
ClockShark
busybusy
Connecteam
Employee needs a smartphone
No. Employees carry a printed badge.
No. Staff carry a QR badge, card or fob.
No — the kiosk covers employees without phones, using cheaper kiosk-only seats.
No — kiosks and group punch cover employees without phones.
No — CrewClock and KioskClock cover workers without phones.
Not on Pro and above, where the kiosk and Supervisor Tools cover workers without phones. On the free plan, yes.
Not with the kiosk, which takes a PIN. Otherwise each employee uses the Connecteam app on their own phone.
One supervisor clocks in a crew
Yes — it's how it works. One phone clocks in the whole crew.
Yes — team leaders scan staff badges on arrival and departure with the mobile app.
Partly — a manager's Universal PIN can clock people in and out at the kiosk.
Yes — group punch lets a supervisor clock in several employees.
Yes — CrewClock lets one person's phone clock in several employees.
Yes — Supervisor Tools on Pro and above.
No. Per Connecteam's help center, admins can't clock someone in directly; they add the time to the timesheet instead.
Free plan
Free for up to 3 people, with every feature.
No free plan listed on its pricing page.
Free for a small team, but the free plan doesn't include the kiosk.
No free plan; there's a free trial.
No free plan; 14-day free trial.
Free for unlimited users with GPS time tracking — but no kiosk or supervisor tools.
Free for up to 10 users (Small Business plan), with one time clock.
10 people / month
$19.50/mo
$45/mo
$21.89/mo
$98.90/mo
$137/mo
$147.91/mo
Free
25 people / month
$42/mo
$90/mo
$44.24/mo
$218.75/mo
$279.50/mo
$327.76/mo
$35/mo
50 people / month
$79.50/mo
$157/mo
$81.49/mo
$418.50/mo
$517/mo
$627.51/mo
$55/mo
Monthly prices for a crew using each vendor's shared kiosk or supervisor clock-in, at list prices checked in October 2026. Each comparison page shows the exact plan used. Annual billing is cheaper with most vendors.
Even when workers have smartphones, requiring them to install a work app can create obligations. In California, employers must reimburse a reasonable share of personal phone costs when workers are required to use them for work (Labor Code 2802), and Illinois has a similar expense rule. More in can employers require personal phones.
Frequently asked questions
How do employees without smartphones clock in?
At a shared kiosk with a PIN or QR badge, by phone dial-in, or by having a supervisor clock them in. With TrackBadges, a supervisor scans each worker's printed QR badge with any phone.
What's the best time clock for workers who don't have phones?
One where someone else does the scanning. TrackBadges has the supervisor scan each worker's badge — no app or phone for workers, free for 3 people, then $9 a month plus $1.50 per person ($19.50 for 10).
Can I require employees to use their personal phones to clock in?
Generally yes under federal law, but California and Illinois require reimbursing necessary work expenses, which courts have applied to personal phones. A badge or kiosk clock avoids the question.
Print a QR badge for everyone and scan them in and out with any phone or tablet. Free for up to 3 people — try it with your real crew before you sign up.