The benefits of using a clocking in app

Learn how clocking in apps can enhance productivity, ensure compliance, and simplify payroll management for your business, all while tracking employee time.

First published on Friday, May 14, 2021

Last updated on Friday, May 9, 2025

The working hours of your staff quite literally keep your business ‘ticking over’. If your staff are consistently early or late, it can have a negative impact on the rest of the day, affecting professionalism, causing morale problems, and limiting the amount of work completed.

Australian law requires employers to keep records on working time for employees who opt out of the 48-hour working time directive. While it’s easy to keep track of the daily routine with a few employees working from one location, it becomes more complicated with less routine or a remote work environment.

This guide will explain the benefits of using a clocking-in app for your organisation.

How do clocking in apps work?

Unlike traditional clocking in systems, such as time cards or punch in machines, clocking in apps work by giving your employees the freedom to clock in, indicating the start of the working day or shift, by simply using their mobile or tablet device.

By simply downloading a mobile app, staff can clock in from anywhere. It's the ideal clocking in and out solution for remote and field workers, giving you even greater oversight of your entire team's working hours. Apps may even allow staff to log their working breaks, so not only can you see that they have started work but they have taken their legally required break too. A great way to enhance employee tracking but also employee engagement and wellbeing.

Why do businesses choose clocking in apps?

Opting for a contemporary clocking in system, like a clocking in app, can really simplify and improve how you manage time and your team. By selecting an app, like Blip by BrightHR, you're not just making it easier for your staff to clock in and out; you're also unlocking a range of additional features and tools that other, more traditional, systems might lack.

The benefits of which include:

Accurate attendance information

Clock-in systems for employees help you track when your staff are working. This information is important for identifying trends that might be costing you, such as:

This data can highlight company-wide issues or individual timekeeping problems. It's also particularly useful for tracking the hours of shift workers, making it easier to keep on top of who is working and when.

Save time and increase attendance data accuracy

Attendance data helps with more than just keeping an eye on lateness. Using time clock records for payroll prevents mistakes and makes sure your staff are paid correctly each payday. This is particularly useful for shift workers and those on zero-hour contracts by providing more detailed data on employee working hours.

Clock-in apps tend to be even better, as they require less time to set up for both the employer and employee.

Simplify management of flexible working arrangements

According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), around 87% of Australian private sector employers with 100 or more employees have flexible working strategies in place, indicating a high prevalence of flexible working arrangements across the Australian workforce. As it becomes harder to not only keep track of the unique hours of each employee, but their preferred working locations as well; clock-in systems offer a simplified solution which solves both issues.

Apps are a preferable solution, as they have no restrictions as to when and where they are used, further facilitating hybrid and remote models of working.

Key features of a clocking in app

While there are a variety of clocking in systems available, the best choice for most Australian businesses is a clocking in app.

An app offers all the benefits of a standard time clock system, but with added enhancements and extra perks. Plus, digital technology that traditional techniques such as old-school punch cards and paper options would never be able to provide.

The key features include:

Real-time monitoring and geolocation tracking

The best clocking in apps will offer real-time monitoring, allowing employers to see who is clocked in at any given moment. This feature is particularly useful for managing remote teams.

Additionally, some apps provide geolocation tracking, verifying employee clock in locations when they clock in or out, which is essential information for businesses with remote or field-based staff.

Apps with geofence features balance privacy concerns with usability by only tracking employees in a radius of the expected work premises for the day. This is great for uptake, as it respects the autonomy and privacy of your team.

Compliance with employment laws

Using a clocking-in app helps businesses comply with employment laws such as the Fair Work Act 2009 and Fair Work Regulations 2009 by accurately recording work hours, helping you avoid legal issues and ensuring fair treatment of your employees. Better compliance, less legwork!

Cost-effective solution

Using clocking-in apps can cut costs when compared with traditional timekeeping methods, which often come with errors from manual recording. Regular clock-in systems often need pricey hardware, but apps can work on almost any smartphone.

This cost-effectiveness makes it an attractive option for small business owners, (SMEs). It also reduces manual input from the employee, so they aren’t fiddling around with systems too much on their own time.

Improve Employee Accountability

Clocking in apps can improve employee accountability by providing transparent records of work hours. This transparency helps in building trust and ensuring that employees are adhering to their schedules. Apps also put ownership of hours in the hands of the employee, which can be a positive for everyone. It may even remove the need for so many different timesheets, particularly if, in the past, you have required your staff to track their weekly working hours.

Keep track of overtime hours

An additional benefit of a clock in app, or any clocking in system, for that matter, is the ability it provides to keep track of overtime. If an employee is working over their usual working hours, you can easily see this with your clocking in app data. Making it easier to not only get their overtime pay correct but to ensure their wellbeing. If an employee is regularly working overtime, without an ask, it may be a good idea to check in with them, to make sure they are managing their workload and taking the breaks they need from work.

If overtime is a common occurrence for your employees, you may also wish to consider an overtime tracker.

Choose a clocking in app with BrightHR

Keeping track of employees’ working hours has never been an easy task, and the rise in hybrid and flexible working models has made it even more complicated. Though keeping accurate attendance figures is essential not only for compliance, but for keeping productivity high and making sure your payroll runs like clockwork.

Using a clock-in app like Blip can help ensure your attendance records are precise —whether your team are working remotely or on-site. Blip by BrightHR is one of the best clocking-in apps for small business owners, as it makes it easy for employees to log their hours from anywhere, anytime, using just their phone.

It’s loaded with features that address the challenges faced by both small business owners and their teams, making it the ultimate clocking-in app.

Plus, did we mention that Blip is also available on our web-based platform? So, if an employee’s phone dies, they can still clock in and out on their computer.

Ready to discover Blip and even more of our digital HR solutions for contemporary people management? Book a free demo with the BrightHR team today! 


Al Brown

Chief Technology Officer

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