• By Admin
  • 06 Jun, 2025
  • 56 Reading

Time Tracking Software vs. Traditional Punch Cards: Which Is Better for Employee Efficiency?

Time tracking software for employees is a much more practical option than the traditional punch cards for various reasons, which requires a detailed understanding. The time tracking software handles both remote and in-office employees, while the punch card only tracks the employees working in the office.

The employee tracking will be impossible without the intervention of the tracking. Managing employees is a full-time job that gets difficult for remote employees without suitable time-tracking software. The tracking software helps in monitoring the entire activity and productivity during the stipulated period of work, both in the case of remote and in-office, but punch cards only work in in-office attendance.

Let’s find out the key reasons which is better for employee efficiency among the time tracking software vs. traditional punch cards.

Accuracy Check

Time tracking software has the utmost accuracy in recording the data for logins and logouts. Other data related to productivity, website visits, screenshots, etc, can be recorded for the regular and close monitoring of the employees. The employee will have a structure for their recorded data, which is crucial for the evaluation of productivity.

The traditional punch cards can be manipulated, which is why time tracking software for employees is much more relevant and suitable for company employee tracking.

Convenient for Use

In case of travelling or any other device tracking, the traditional punch cards are useless, whereas time tracking software has a range of options to record and navigate productivity in the most relevant ways. There is consistent monitoring through this time tracking software for the employees, which enables the user to track the employees effortlessly at any given location or device. It provides the login details along with tracking of calls, chats, emails, location, and every activity when the software is running. But the punch cards can’t provide the convenience of using this feature anywhere outside the office, which makes it impossible to track the employees.

Real-time Tracking

The real-time employees help the employees track attendance in real time while working on the tracking software for employees, whereas time tracking software for office-going employees uses traditional punch cards, which makes it impossible to track real-time data. It can only track punch-ins and punch-outs, apart from that, it cannot track efficiency, which is a major drawback of real-time tracking. This is not internet-dependent, unlike the time tracking software, which makes it work independently without any kind of restrictions of technology.

Security Measures

Security measures are properly checked to ensure an adequate level of employee productivity while ensuring the right measures for security. Time tracking software has strict access controls so that no employee can manipulate the system to meet their purpose. But the employees with punch cards can log in with malpractices, which is a threat to the organization. There is barely any way that an employee will be monitored like software in punch cards. Punch cards are easy and cost-effective to install in companies, but for the employees working remotely, travelling, or handling calls, time tracking software is the best-suited choice.

Worthy Investment

Although the time tracking software for employees is a more costly way of tracking employees, but it is a more effective way of tracking employees than a mere punch card, which doesn’t ensure utmost employee productivity. The software can be a significant investment, yet it is worth it when employee productivity is at par with the company's requirements. Employee motivation is best boosted with the time tracking software, where productivity can be best measured, and not with any punch card tracking.

Data -Loaded

Time tracking software for employees is data loaded with the necessary information for the company. Managers can track the remotely working or travelling employees to boost the growth of the employees to further push the growth of the company. There is a significant growth of the company with this data loaded tracking software, where more than logins and logouts, information like productivity, website visits, screenshots, application installed, etc, are recorded for the best knowledge of the managers.

The traditional punch cards can’t record a single information beyond login and logouts, which makes it backdated and barely suited for the purpose of record keeping of the employees for the company. The companies prefer to use a time tracking software, no matter how costly it gets to provide access, it drives the best results for the company.

Conclusion

Thus, the time tracking software for employees is much more beneficial than the traditional punch cards, which makes the process inaccurate along with several restrictions. The traditional punch cards are still suited for the in-office employees but for the remote employees or travelling employees, these cards are of no use.