An attendance management system is a system that manages employee attendance information such as attendance, leave, overtime, etc. By introducing it, you can gain benefits such as improved accuracy and efficiency of labor management, and cost reduction. In particular, attendance management systems that are available for free are attractive because they can streamline operations while keeping costs down.
So in this article,We will thoroughly compare and introduce seven attendance management systems that you can continue to use for free.We also explain the advantages and disadvantages of attendance management systems, points to consider when choosing one, and points to be aware of when implementing one, and we also answer frequently asked questions, so please take a look.
Attendance management system comparison list
The following products areAn attendance management system that you can continue to use completely free of charge.It is.
| product name | Main features | Minimum price of paid version (estimated monthly price) | Cloud | On-premise | Number of people limited (Free plan) | App compatible |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chat&Messenger | (Internet) chat Web Conference Schedule Task Management Attendance management leave management PC operation log | On-premise 150 yen and up Cloud From 300 yen | 〇 | 〇 | 50 people | 〇 |
| harmos attendance | Attendance management attendance management overtime report leave management Attendance alert Access restrictions shift management | 100 yen~ | 〇 | – | 30 people | 〇 |
| Jobcan attendance management | Attendance management shift management leave management Paid leave management Man-hour management Alert Payroll software cooperation Shift automatic creation Automatic paid leave granted | From 200 yen | 〇 | – | 10 people | 〇 |
| Teasy | Attendance management leave management Overtime management Work schedule management Attendance management Schedule Management Data output notification Alert | 300 yen~ | 〇 | – | 5 people | – |
| Tablet time Recorder | Attendance management Dashboard video message Attendance analysis Access restrictions Payroll software cooperation Attendance record output | From 11,800 yen | – | 〇 | 3 people | 〇 *iPad only |
| Smaregi Time-card | Attendance management shift management leave management Payroll calculation labor alert Daily report management project management workflow | From 2,420 yen | 〇 | – | 30 people | 〇 *iOS only |
| Otsutome! | Attendance management Message staff management Attendance data CSV output working hours setting Time-card | No paid plan | 〇 | – | limitless | – |
What is attendance management system?
An attendance management system is a system that manages employee attendance information such as attendance, leave, overtime, etc. In the past, companies mainly managed attendance using paper or Excel, but recently there has been an increase in the number of companies using systems to manage attendance.
In particular, cloud-based systems have the advantage of being able to input, confirm, and approve attendance information anytime and anywhere from a smartphone or PC connected to the Internet. Furthermore, many products have functions such as payroll calculation and labor management, so it is possible to improve the efficiency of human resources and accounting operations.
Basic functions of attendance management system
The attendance management system has the following basic functions:
Stamp function
The stamping function is a function that records employee attendance and clocking out. Stamping methods include computers, smartphones, IC cards, and biometric authentication, each of which has its advantages and disadvantages. With the stamping function, it is possible to accurately grasp the working status of employees. It would also be useful to have an alert to prevent forgetting to clock in and a PC log management function to prevent unauthorized clocking.
Aggregation function
The aggregation function is a function that aggregates stamped attendance information and calculates working hours, overtime hours, number of working days, etc. With the aggregation function, you can streamline payroll calculations, create data necessary for labor management, and understand trends and problems in work conditions through data analysis. Additionally, since attendance information can be output as a report, it is easy to create materials based on laws and regulations and work regulations.
Leave management function
The vacation management function is a function to manage employees' holidays and paid vacations. By utilizing the leave management function, it is possible to simplify leave requests, understand the status of leave taken and the number of remaining days, and optimize leave plans. In addition, by digitizing the workflow for leave requests and approvals and understanding the data, you can improve work efficiency, encourage the use of paid leave, and optimize staffing.
Shift management function
The shift management function is a function to create and change employee work shifts. By using the shift management function, you can organize optimal shifts according to employees' wishes, abilities, workload, etc. In addition, we can expect effects such as increased efficiency in shift creation, reduction in shift creation errors, flexible shift changes, and improved shift fairness and effectiveness.
Overtime management function
Overtime management function is a function to manage overtime hours of employees. By using the overtime management function, you can simplify overtime requests, track overtime hours, set upper limits on overtime hours, and issue warnings. In addition, by aggregating and analyzing employees' reasons for overtime, overtime hours, and trends in overtime, it will be possible to consider improvement measures and reduce overtime. These efforts also help prevent overwork and health hazards.
Points to consider when choosing an attendance management system
Here are six points to check when choosing an attendance management system.
Is it available for free?
If you adopt a paid attendance management system, there will be initial costs and monthly fees. These costs vary depending on the system provision format, functions, number of employees, etc., and additional costs may be required for customization, external software integration, support, etc.
On the other hand, you can reduce costs by choosing a free attendance management system. To choose a system that fits your company's budget, consider the number of users, functions, data retention period, support system, etc., and choose a system with high cost performance.
Cloud type or on-premise type?
There are two types of attendance management systems: "on-premises" where you manage your own servers and systems, and "cloud" where the system is stored on a server on the Internet.
On-premises models have higher initial costs and maintenance costs, but they allow you to manage your own data and allow relatively free customization. On the other hand, cloud-based systems have lower initial and maintenance costs, but have the disadvantage of being dependent on the system provider for data security and backup. Choose the optimal system provision format according to your company's budget and data management policy.
Can it be linked with existing systems?
The attendance management system can improve work efficiency and centralize data by linking with other systems such as payroll calculation systems and human resources management systems. However, there are various issues with linking systems, such as differences in data formats and specifications, so care must be taken. Check whether it is possible to link with the system that your company operates, and how much cost and man-hours it will take to do so.
Is there a good support system?
When implementing an attendance management system, support such as system settings, implementation support, and education is required. Additionally, even after implementation, support may be required to deal with system problems and legal revisions. The support systems of system providers vary, including telephone, email, chat, and other methods, time slots, and costs. Check to see if they offer a support system that meets your needs.
Are the necessary functions covered?
Most attendance management systems are equipped with basic functions such as time stamping, aggregation, and leave management functions. However, whether or not you can customize or change settings to suit your company's work system and work rules varies depending on the system. In addition, useful functions such as shift management and man-hour management functions may also be available, so be sure to check whether your company has the functions you need.
Which attendance management system is better, free or paid?
When choosing an attendance management system, it is important to decide whether to choose a free or paid system. Free systems have no initial or monthly fees and have sufficient basic functionality, but may have usage restrictions and insufficient support. Paid systems do not have usage restrictions, and have extensive data storage and support, but they have the disadvantage of being expensive, and there are many cases where it is difficult to use them fully as they have too many functions.
It is a good idea to first check the usability and functionality of the free system, and consider moving to a paid plan if necessary.
7 recommended free attendance management systems
Here, we will introduce seven attendance management systems that you can continue to use for free.
Chat&Messenger
Product overview and features
Chat&Messenger is groupware that has functions such as business chat, web conferencing, and file sharing, as well as attendance management functions. The biggest feature of the attendance management function is that it uses PC logs to manage attendance and attendance in real time. This PC log-based attendance management is based on objective records and is effective in preventing fraud and false reporting. It also has basic attendance management functions such as leave management and alert notifications.
Chat&Messenger, which centralizes business chat, web conferencing, and attendance management functions, eliminates the need to install multiple systems, reducing costs.
How to use it for free
What you can do with the paid plan
Reviews and reputation
Many people praised the ease of operation, intuitiveness, and simple design.
“The design is not flashy and is suitable for business.”
“It’s so easy to use that it’s surprising that it’s free and has been available for so long”
“You can use it right away and feel the convenience right away.”
harmos attendance
Product overview and features
Harmos Attendance is a cloud-based attendance management system provided by BizReach Co., Ltd., and is used by a total of 60,000 companies, mainly small and medium-sized enterprises and venture companies. This system is packed with human resources and labor know-how, and can improve the accuracy and safety of attendance data, as well as improve operational efficiency and quality.
Characteristics of Harmos Attendance include its low cost, ready-to-use, support for a variety of stamping methods, and smooth integration with external systems. Its multi-functionality is also attractive, such as an alert function to prevent excessive overtime and visualization of attendance status.
How to use it for free
What you can do with the paid plan
Reviews and reputation
We found many reviews that praised the fact that it is free to use, has basic functions, and can be used with multiple tools.
“It's free, so the hurdles to introduction are low.”
“You can use the exact number of attendance management functions.”
“Convenient to log in from multiple tools such as smartphone, PC, and apps”
Jobcan attendance management
Product overview and features
Jobkan Attendance Management is a cloud-based attendance management system that has been installed over 200,000 times in total. Employees can clock in using a variety of methods, including smartphones, PCs, IC cards, and GPS, and managers can check their attendance status in real time.
A feature of Jobkan Attendance Management is that it can be flexibly customized to suit a company's needs, such as work formats and leave types. In addition, since it can be linked with a wide variety of external software such as payroll software, it can centrally manage data and save labor for inputting data, contributing to increased efficiency in human resources and labor affairs.
How to use it for free
What you can do with the paid plan
Reviews and reputation
Many people commented that it is simple and easy to use, and that it is convenient to link with other systems.
“Convenient to log in from multiple tools such as smartphone, PC, and apps”
“Easy to use and convenient to centrally manage attendance schedules and vacation requests.”
“Salary is automatically calculated by linking with the payroll system”
Teasy
Product overview and features
Teasy is a cloud-based attendance management service provided by Fullon Co., Ltd. Time×Easy=Teasy, so the system is designed to be easy to use for employees who clock in every day, based on the concept of zero overtime and aiming to be on time.
A feature of Teasy is that it has a wide range of functions to reduce overtime, such as understanding workload status, analyzing reasons for overtime, and overtime alert notifications. Additionally, the user-friendly UI design is attractive, with background colors changing depending on the time of day you use it, and an easy-to-understand display of the number of days left on your vacation.
How to use it for free
What you can do with the paid plan
Reviews and reputation
I couldn't find any Teasy reviews on review sites or SNS.
tablet time recorder
Product overview and features
Tablet time clock is a system that allows you to easily manage employee attendance. Just by installing a dedicated app on your iPad, you can check your attendance and departure times and shifts.
The biggest feature of the tablet time recorder is its facial recognition function, which uses a camera to photograph the employee's face to verify their identity. This facial recognition function prevents unauthorized hitting and pinch hitting. It also has a wide range of unique functions such as video messages, monitoring functions, weather forecasts, and time stamp email sending.
How to use it for free
What you can do with the paid plan
Reviews and reputation
Many people praised the ease of managing attendance using just an iPad and the simplicity of the UI.
“A simple and cool attendance management system that can be used only with an iPad”
“An easy-to-use system that can be installed with just an iPad”
“It’s an iPad app, so it’s easy to get.”
Smaregi time card
Product overview and features
SmaRegi Time Card is a system that allows you to easily manage your attendance using just your smartphone or tablet. Employees can clock in and out on their own devices, and managers can check attendance status in real time. In addition, since attendance data is saved in the cloud, it can be viewed and edited anytime and anywhere.
Features of the SmaRegi Time Card include the ability to flexibly set working hours and holidays to suit the company's needs, and a stamping method that uses facial recognition and GPS to prevent fraud.
It also has many useful functions such as CSV output of attendance data, payroll calculation, year-end adjustment, and project management.
How to use it for free
What you can do with the paid plan
Reviews and reputation
There were many opinions that praised the system's ease of implementation, low cost, and ability to prevent fraudulent stamping.
“Can be installed without purchasing expensive equipment”
“Easy for anyone to use and check attendance status at a glance”
“Since the photo is taken and stamped, false declarations cannot be made.”
Otsutome!
Product overview and features
Otsutome! is a free attendance management system that has been used for 10 years and has been used by over 2,000 companies. It can be accessed not only from a PC but also from a smartphone or tablet, so you can easily report your attendance from anywhere.
Otsutome! Its features include the fact that it can be used for free with no restrictions on the number of users, that it is simple and has the minimum functions, and that it can be easily introduced with just an email address. In addition, various data such as attendance lists can be output as CSV, so it is possible to link with external systems such as payroll software.
How to use it for free
What you can do with the paid plan
Reviews and reputation
Otsutome on review sites and SNS! I couldn't find any reviews.
Advantages of attendance management system
Attendance management systems have the following advantages over paper and manual management.
Improving labor management accuracy and compliance
Attendance management systems allow you to record employee work status objectively and accurately. This enables labor management based on laws and regulations and work regulations, such as managing overtime hours and paid holidays, and calculating extra wages. It is also effective in preventing fraudulent stamping and proxy stamping. Compliance with laws and regulations in labor management is an important issue related to a company's social responsibility and reliability, and an attendance management system will greatly contribute to solving these issues.
Improve operational efficiency and reduce costs
By using an attendance management system, you can reduce the work burden on employees and human resources personnel. Employees can easily clock in and apply for leave using devices such as smartphones and PCs, and HR personnel can eliminate manual tabulation, calculations, checks, and corrections. In addition, by linking with payroll calculation systems and attendance management systems, data can be unified and automated, improving the speed and quality of work and reducing costs such as personnel and paper costs.
Responding to diverse work styles
Attendance management systems can accommodate a variety of work styles, such as remote work, flextime, and shift work. In particular, cloud-based systems allow you to manage attendance, such as clocking in and leaving work and requesting and approving vacation time, from anywhere and at any time as long as you have an Internet connection. Additionally, by using features such as GPS and biometric authentication, you can accurately determine where and when you work. This is expected to improve employee work-life balance and productivity.
Data utilization and analysis
Attendance management systems have the advantage of accumulating employee work data and being able to utilize and analyze that data. Using the data analysis function, it is possible to visualize overtime hours, vacation acquisition status, work performance, etc. in graphs and tables, and provide feedback to employees and managers. This makes it possible to discover issues such as unbalanced labor burdens and unbalanced staffing, and to come up with ways to improve them. Furthermore, it is also possible to correlate attendance data with other data and analyze its impact on performance, sales, customer satisfaction, etc.
Responding to the latest legal revisions
Attendance management systems can easily respond to amendments to laws related to attendance management, such as the Labor Standards Act and the Industrial Safety and Health Act. In particular, with cloud-based systems, system updates occur automatically, so attendance management can always be compliant with the latest laws and regulations. Additionally, by customizing the system and changing settings, it is possible to flexibly respond to your company's work rules and systems.
Disadvantages of attendance management system
Although attendance management systems have many advantages, there are also disadvantages. Here are three disadvantages of attendance management systems.
Choosing a paid system is costly
If you use a paid attendance management system, in addition to the installation cost, you will incur monthly costs depending on the number of employees and the type of function. These costs are not incurred when using time cards or paper attendance records. To avoid cost disadvantages, it is best to choose a free system first and consider switching to a paid plan if necessary.
It takes time to implement
Introducing an attendance management system requires a lot of effort, including system selection, contracting, settings, implementation support, and employee education. In particular, customizing the system to suit your company's attendance rules and work regulations will require additional time and effort. Employees may also feel a sense of resistance or anxiety as they get used to the new system. At the time of implementation, try to gain cooperation and understanding from the entire company, including human resources personnel and employees.
There is a risk of system trouble
When using an attendance management system, you must also be careful about system troubles. If the attendance management system malfunctions or the network becomes unstable, it may become impossible to clock in or tally. Particularly with cloud-based systems, one of the disadvantages to consider is that they cannot be used without an Internet connection. Choose a system that has a proven track record and is reliable to ensure smooth operation without any trouble.
Points to note when implementing a free attendance management system
Free attendance management systems have basic functions, but advanced functions and customizability are limited. Additionally, there are limits on the number of employees and data storage capacity that can be used, making it unsuitable for large or growing companies.
Free attendance management systems have great cost advantages, but there are limitations in functionality, performance, and support systems, so it is important to choose the system that best suits your company's needs and objectives.
Frequently asked questions about attendance management system
Q. Can I really use the free attendance management system for free?
The free attendance management system can basically be used for free, but there are restrictions on some functions and support. For example, in many cases, features such as the number of users who can use the service, extension of data storage period, integration with other systems, support by phone and email, etc. are not available unless you move to a paid plan. Check whether the necessary functions and support are available according to your company's needs.
Q.Can I switch from the free attendance management system to a paid plan?
Please note that depending on the system, there are restrictions on transitioning from a free plan to a paid plan. For example, you may not be able to transfer until the free plan usage period ends, or transfer may require fees and procedures. Additionally, it may be necessary to transfer data or change settings during migration.
It is a good idea to check with the system provider in advance about the conditions and procedures for transitioning from a free plan to a paid plan.
Reduce costs and improve work efficiency with a free attendance management system
In this article, we have provided a detailed comparison of seven recommended attendance management systems that can be used for free. We also explain the advantages and disadvantages of attendance management systems, precautions to take when introducing them, and frequently asked questions, so please use them as a reference when choosing a system.
By using an attendance management system, you can easily manage employee attendance information such as attendance, departure, vacation, and overtime. In particular, free attendance management systems are recommended because they do not require any initial or monthly fees and have basic attendance management functions.
By introducing a free attendance management system, you can expect to improve operational efficiency and accuracy while reducing costs. Please refer to the attendance management systems introduced in this article and choose the product that is suitable for your company.