Buyer’s guide · 10 minute read

The best time and attendance software in the UK (2026): an honest comparison

By Ash Pearson, Managing Director, Computime · Prices and features checked 30 October 2026

The short answer

There is no single best system. If your staff mainly clock in at a site and you want a published UK price, look at Syncro Connect or Chronicle Online. If rotas are the hard part of your week, Deputy and Planday are built around scheduling. If you already use BrightHR for HR, its Blip app is the obvious add-on. Larger, multi-site organisations with complex rostering tend to shortlist OneAdvanced or Kelio.

Who wrote this. We make Syncro Connect, so weigh our view accordingly. Every other product here was checked on its own website on 30 October 2026, and we have only stated what those sites say. Where a supplier does not publish a price or a detail, we say so rather than guess. If you spot anything out of date, call us on 0113 350 9043 and we will correct it.

In this guide

Best picks by situation
How we compared
Side by side
The eight systems
When Syncro Connect is not the right choice
What it should cost
Questions

Best picks by situation

If you are	Shortlist	Why
A UK small or medium business that clocks in on site	Syncro Connect, Chronicle Online	Both offer clocking terminals as well as phone and browser clocking. Syncro Connect publishes its price.
Already using BrightHR for HR	BrightHR Blip	BrightHR says Blip is free for BrightHR users and sits inside the same system.
Running shift rotas in hospitality or retail	Deputy, Planday	Both are built around scheduling first, with time tracking alongside.
Looking for an HR suite with time tracking added	Factorial	HR first, with a separate time tracking product.
A large or multi-site organisation with complex rostering	OneAdvanced, Kelio	Both offer rules-based scheduling, their own terminals and enterprise-scale deployments.

How we compared

We looked at the things that decide whether a system works for a UK employer day to day:

How staff clock in. Terminal, phone app, browser, or a mix. Sites with a factory floor or a front door usually want a terminal; mobile teams need an app.
Pay rules and payroll. Whether the system works out overtime and breaks by your rules, and how hours get into payroll.
Rotas. Whether scheduling is part of the product or a separate add-on.
Price you can see. Whether the supplier publishes a price, or you need a quote.
Trial. Whether you can try it before you commit.

For a fuller walk through the buying decision, see our guide on how to choose a clocking in system. If you run a factory, our manufacturing time and attendance systems comparison goes into more detail.

Side by side

Prices exclude VAT and were taken from each supplier’s website on 30 October 2026. “Not published” means the supplier asks you to request a quote.
System	Published starting price	How staff clock in	Rotas	Trial
Syncro Connect	£2 per employee per month; £3 with the app	Face, palm, fingerprint or card and fob terminal, web browser, phone app	Not yet; due later	14 days, no card needed
BrightHR Blip	Not published; Blip is free for BrightHR users	Phone app with GPS geofences, QR codes, work computer	Separate BrightHR product	Not stated
Deputy	From $5 per user per month, billed in pounds in the UK; £20 monthly minimum	Phone app and kiosk	Yes, a core strength	Not stated on the pricing page
Planday	From £2.99 per user per month; minimum 5 users	Time tracking within the scheduling app	Yes, a core strength	30 days, no card needed
Kelio	Not published	Own terminals and remote clocking	Yes, staff planning	Demo
Chronicle Online	Not published on its homepage	Face, fingerprint and proximity terminals, smartphone, web	Yes	Free trial offered
OneAdvanced	Not published	Biometric terminals, mobile app, desktop	Yes, rules-based	Demo
Factorial	From £5.40 per user per month	Time tracking product with geolocation and QR codes	Not checked	Demo

The eight systems

Syncro Connect

Web-based, made by Computime in Leeds. Our product.

Syncro Connect is built around clocking. Staff clock in on a face, palm or fingerprint terminal, with a card or fob, in the web software on any computer, or on their own phone with the Syncro Connect app. Managers see one live list of who is in. Hours go into a ready-made payroll export for Sage, Xero, QuickBooks, BrightPay, IRIS, ADP or Pegasus. Add-on modules run from the same staff list: holiday and absence (Leave Connect), HR records (HR Connect), fire roll call, visitor sign-in and door access.

Suits: UK businesses with staff on site, from a handful of people upwards, who want terminals and an app in one system.
Strengths: Published price, no setup fee, UK-hosted data, phone support from our Leeds team, terminals from £395 for face or palm and £495 for fingerprint.
Limits: No rota scheduling yet; it is due later. No direct payroll integration, only ready-made exports. No job costing.
Price: £2 per employee per month, or £3 with the app, excluding VAT, billed annually or monthly if you prefer. Full pricing.

BrightHR Blip

Clocking app inside the BrightHR platform.

Blip is BrightHR’s clock-in app. BrightHR says staff can clock in on the app, be prompted by GPS geofences when they arrive or leave, scan a QR code in the workplace, or clock in from a work computer. It records hours, breaks and overtime.

Suits: Businesses already using BrightHR for HR, or that want HR and clocking from one supplier.
Strengths: Free for BrightHR users, according to BrightHR, and fully joined up with its HR tools.
Limits: BrightHR’s Blip page does not mention clocking terminals, and rotas are a separate BrightHR product.
Price: Not published; BrightHR gives prices online on request.

Deputy

Scheduling and time tracking, used internationally.

Deputy is strongest on rotas: building shifts, filling gaps and sharing schedules with staff. Time tracking sits alongside, through the app and a kiosk.

Suits: Hospitality, retail and care businesses where the rota changes every week.
Strengths: Mature scheduling, published prices.
Limits: Prices are listed in US dollars and billed in pounds for UK accounts, so check the sterling figure. Admins and managers count as users, and there is a £20 monthly minimum on monthly plans.
Price: Lite from $5, Core $6.50 and Pro $9 per user per month.

Planday

Rota-first workforce scheduling.

Planday is a scheduling tool with time tracking, leave and absence, and payroll reporting built in. Its pricing page leads with the rota.

Suits: Shift-based teams of five or more, especially in hospitality and retail.
Strengths: Low entry price and a 30 day free trial without a card.
Limits: Minimum of five users on the Starter plan. The top plan is priced on request.
Price: From £2.99 per user per month.

Kelio

Time, scheduling and access control from Bodet.

Kelio makes its own clocking terminals and access readers, and offers staff planning that works within rest-time and maximum-hours rules. It also handles access control alongside other security systems.

Suits: Multi-site, retail, public sector and manufacturing organisations, from small business to enterprise.
Strengths: Hardware, scheduling and access control from one supplier.
Limits: No published prices; you book a demonstration.
Price: Not published.

Chronicle Online

Cloud time and attendance from Swindon.

Chronicle Online offers face, fingerprint and proximity terminals, including a waterproof model, plus smartphone and web clocking. It also covers scheduling, absence and job costing.

Suits: UK small and medium businesses, especially those that want job costing in a cloud system.
Strengths: UK supplier with a wide terminal range and a free trial.
Limits: Prices are not shown on its homepage.
Price: Not published on its homepage.

OneAdvanced

Enterprise time and attendance within a wider software group.

OneAdvanced offers biometric clocks with face, fingerprint and proximity, plus mobile and desktop clocking. Rotas are rules-based around skills, preferences and labour law, and approved timesheets go to payroll.

Suits: Larger organisations in logistics, manufacturing, retail, social care and the public sector.
Strengths: Depth of rostering and pay rules, and a large customer base.
Limits: No published prices; you contact sales or book a demo.
Price: Not published.

Factorial

HR software with a time tracking product.

Factorial is an HR platform covering staff records, payslip distribution and payroll support. Time tracking is a separate product with geolocation, QR code clocking and overtime handling.

Suits: Businesses that want an HR system first and time tracking second.
Strengths: Broad HR features in one place.
Limits: Its pricing page says plans are tailored and quoted, and does not confirm whether time tracking is in the starting price.
Price: From £5.40 per user per month.

When Syncro Connect is not the right choice

We would rather you buy the right system than ours. Syncro Connect is probably not your best fit if:

Rotas are your main problem. Rota scheduling is not live in Syncro Connect yet. Deputy or Planday will serve you better today.
You want a full HR suite first. HR Connect covers staff records, documents and appraisals, but a business looking mainly for HR may prefer BrightHR or Factorial.
You need job costing. Syncro Connect does not record hours against jobs. Our installed product, Realtime, does, and so does Chronicle Online.
You need a direct payroll integration. Syncro Connect produces ready-made payroll exports rather than a live link.

What it should cost

Where suppliers publish prices, software runs from about £2 to £9 per person per month. Larger systems are quoted. Clocking terminals are a one-off cost, usually a few hundred pounds each. Watch for setup fees, minimum user numbers, monthly minimums and whether managers count as paid users. Our clocking in system pricing guide breaks this down, and our guide to clocking systems for small businesses covers the hardware side.

Want to see Syncro Connect against your shortlist?

Book A Free Demo Talk To Our Team

Or call the Leeds team on 0113 350 9043

Frequently asked questions

What is the best time and attendance software in the UK?

It depends on what you need it to do. For clocking on site with a published UK price, Syncro Connect and Chronicle Online are worth a look. For rota-heavy businesses, Deputy and Planday are built around scheduling. BrightHR users can add its Blip app, and larger multi-site organisations often shortlist OneAdvanced or Kelio.

Is free time and attendance software good enough?

For a very small team on fixed hours, a free app or a spreadsheet can be enough. Once you have shifts, overtime rules, more than one site or a payroll export to produce every week, the time spent checking and correcting hours usually costs more than a paid system.

Do I need a clocking machine, or is an app enough?

If staff work away from a site, an app is the practical choice. If everyone starts at the same door or factory floor, a terminal is quicker at shift change and a face, palm or fingerprint terminal makes it far harder for one person to clock in for another. Many businesses use both.

How much does time and attendance software cost in the UK?

Where suppliers publish prices, software runs from about £2 to £9 per person per month, excluding VAT. Larger systems are quoted. Clocking terminals are a one-off purchase, usually a few hundred pounds each. Check for setup fees, minimum users and monthly minimums.

Which system suits a business with around 20 staff?

At that size, look for a published price, no setup fee and a free trial, so you can test it with real shifts. If staff clock in on site, choose a system that offers terminals as well as an app. If your rota changes weekly, put scheduling near the top of your list.

Can time and attendance software stop buddy punching?

Not completely, and we would be wary of any supplier who says otherwise. Biometric terminals and GPS-recorded app clockings make it far harder for one person to clock in for another, and leave a record when someone tries.

Will it work with my payroll?

Most systems either export hours in your payroll package’s format or offer a direct integration. Ask which payroll packages the supplier has a tested export for, and whether overtime and absence come through in the same file.

How long does it take to set up?

A cloud system can be used from day one. Getting pay rules, shifts and staff details right usually takes a couple of weeks, and running alongside your old method for one pay period is the safest way to check the figures.

How do I switch from my current system?

Check your notice period, export your staff list and recent hours, and run the new system alongside the old one for a pay period before you switch off. Our guide to switching time and attendance provider covers the steps.

Is cloud or installed software better?

Cloud software suits most small and medium businesses because there is no server to look after and updates are automatic. Installed software can suit organisations that need data kept on their own servers or very specific integrations.