Time Tracking Software Checklist: What to Look For Before You Buy
Before you buy time tracking software, check eight things: accurate records, overtime rules, approvals and audit trail, privacy, scheduling and leave, reports and exports, ease of use, and the contract. A tool can look good in a demo and still fail the first time a payroll deadline or a wage claim arrives.
This checklist turns each area into questions you can ask a vendor and test in a trial. It is general information, not legal advice. Because requirements differ by state and industry, run the questions past counsel or your payroll provider if your situation is complex.
1. Does it produce a complete FLSA record?
For nonexempt employees, the record must show hours worked each workday and each workweek, along with the regular rate, straight-time earnings, overtime premium, deductions, total wages and pay period (29 CFR Part 516). The FLSA does not require a specific method, so the question is whether the tool is complete and accurate.
Test it: create a sample week and see whether you can print daily and weekly hours per employee. Ask how long the records stay available. You need payroll records for 3 years and time cards for 2 years at minimum, and your state may require more. See FLSA timekeeping requirements.
2. Does it calculate overtime correctly?
Federal overtime is 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a fixed workweek. Some states add daily overtime, such as California over 8 hours, and the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses and shift differentials. Ask how the tool handles each, and test with a week that includes a differential.
Also confirm you can set the workweek start and the pay period separately. A system that cannot do that will mis-split weeks. Read how to calculate the regular rate and overtime and compare the results to your own math.
3. Rounding, edits and the audit trail
Rounding to the nearest 5, 6 or 15 minutes is allowed only if it is neutral over time (29 CFR 785.48(b)). Prefer a tool that stores the actual punch and shows any rounding separately. In California, rounding meal period punches is barred, so check state rules too.
Every edit should record who changed it, when, the old value and the reason. This is what an investigator or opposing counsel will ask for. Also check approval flows: can managers approve in bulk, and can employees confirm corrections? See missed punches and timesheet corrections.
4. Privacy, location and security
Ask what data is collected, where it is stored, who can access it and what happens when you leave. Biometric collection in Illinois requires written notice, a written release and a public retention policy under BIPA, and Texas and Washington also regulate biometric identifiers. If you do not need biometrics, you can skip that risk.
Location capture should be limited and disclosed. Capturing GPS only at clock-in and clock-out is far less intrusive than continuous tracking, and New York requires written notice of electronic monitoring. Make sure the tool lets you describe in your policy what it collects. See GPS tracking of employees.
5. Scheduling, leave and breaks
If you schedule shifts, check that the tool handles shift changes, employee-specific schedules and alerts for late arrivals. If predictive scheduling applies, you need a record of schedule posting and changes. For leave, ask about PTO accrual, paid sick leave rules and absence tracking.
Test the break rules you actually have: unpaid meal periods, paid rest breaks, and any state premium. Federal law has no meal or rest break requirement, but states such as California do. A tool that cannot flag a missed meal period will leave you to find it by hand.
Ask to see an audit-ready report: hours by employee with edits shown, so you can answer the questions in a DOL visit. Also check whether employees can view their own hours, since transparency prevents disputes. See DOL wage and hour audit for what investigators request.
6. Reports, exports and payroll
Look for custom reports and dashboards by employee, department, location and period. Ask for a sample export and compare it to what your payroll provider needs. Do not assume an integration exists: ask which payroll providers are supported, how the data moves and what it costs. Many payroll processors accept a standard file even without a direct connection.
Check how approved timesheets become payroll totals. A clear closing step, with locked periods after approval, prevents edits that change numbers after the checks go out. See payroll closing.
Run a two-week pilot with a small group before you roll out. Choose employees with different needs: a field worker, a shift worker, an office employee and a manager who approves time. Ask each what slowed them down. The checklist tells you what to look for, and the pilot shows whether it works with your people.
Add a final test for the worst day: forget to clock out, work past midnight, change a schedule at the last minute, and run a report for a past period. These are the situations that break systems, and a short trial with them tells you more than a feature list.
If your business has a seasonal peak, run the test at the same scale. A tool that works for 10 people in a demo may feel slow with 60 clocking in at 7:00 a.m. Ask the vendor how it handles peak load and what you should expect on a busy morning.
7. Ease of use, support and the contract
Ask frontline employees to try it. If a clock-in takes more than a few seconds, they will find a workaround. Check iOS and Android support, web access and what happens when the phone has no signal. Ask what support is included and the hours it is available.
On the contract, look for term length, auto-renewal, cancellation, price increases and data export on exit. A free trial with no contract lets you test with real employees. Compare the total cost at your size, as explained in how much time tracking software costs.
How SimpleWorkshift Helps You Pass the Checklist
SimpleWorkshift is built around FLSA compliance. Employees clock in and out from the iOS or Android app or the web, with GPS location captured with each entry. Managers see time entries and exceptions in real time, manage schedules and shift changes, and rely on automatic overtime calculations, including night shift differentials.
Time bank, PTO tracking, absence tracking, custom reports, dashboards and payroll closing are in one place. You can try it with your own team for 30 days, with no contracts and cancel anytime, at simpleworkshift.com.
