Facial recognition technology has become increasingly popular for many reasons.
Its popularity skyrocketed when Apple introduced Face ID to replace Touch ID for unlocking iPhones.
The technology has proven to be very sound and stable. Hence face recognition attendance systems have become indispensable for enforcing accountability within many businesses.
Face recognition is used in student attendance systems, tracking attendance at events, access control, and numerous other use cases.
Many facial recognition time clock apps are on the market today, so our team decided to research and save you time and effort.
We researched pure facial recognition software and hardware clocks that support facial recognition.
So, if you are here in search of a face recognition attendance app, keep on reading.
The general way face recognition attendance apps work is that users enroll by taking a baseline picture of their face - ideally, a clear picture of themselves in a well-lit environment to capture all the facial features.
Then when it’s time to clock in, the user takes a real-time photo of their face. The newly captured photo is compared to the biometric photo in the file or the baseline photo.
Using biometric technology, machine learning, and deep learning algorithms, the face detection tool can confirm whether the images match.
Timeero
Timeero is the ultimate time, mileage, and GPS tracking app with face recognition functionality. If you are looking to improve employee attendance and hold your team members accountable, Timeero is the right choice for you.
Your employees will take a baseline or registration photo of themselves. Once their baseline photo is registered in the system, the software will use it for comparison with all new photos before they clock in.
When the artificial intelligence algorithm determines that the face doesn't match the right person, it flags that time entry and sends a notification to the administrator.
The Face Recognition feature on Timeero can be turned on by configuring the settings in Timeero.
The Timeero Terminal (the kiosk version of Timeero) can be configured to support face recognition authentication. Employees are given a PIN, while the photo capture is also enabled to ensure the right person is clocking in and out.
Configuring the Timeero terminal and face recognition attendance feature is easy and straightforward.
You can assign special codes to different devices to know which device each user may punch in and out from.
Does it work on all skin tones?
Thanks to our advanced AI technology, Timeero can recognize faces regardless of skin complexion.
Verdict
Timeero is easy to use, with an intuitive user interface that works seamlessly. Besides its face recognition attendance feature, it also tracks time and location, helps with scheduling, automates timesheet creation, and much more.
With Timeero, companies can have a rounded workforce management system to track attendance and improve employee accountability and performance.
Fareclock
How it works
Fareclock comes with a set of features that allow you to track time accurately.
The mobile app runs smoothly on both iOS and Android phones.
The Fareclock interface seems very clean and organized. Once I logged in on the web dashboard, I had no problems downloading the mobile app. I found the design to be very convenient and well-thought-out.
Using an iPhone 11 Pro Max, I downloaded the iOS app and proceeded to clock in.
Once you tap on the “Employee start screen,” it pulls up a camera that can capture your face. I wasn’t sure if it was capturing my face for registration purposes or was trying to clock me in. The admin portal was not very clear on how to do that.
Next, it prompts you to take a photo of your face to ensure that you are the right person clocking in.
The other confusing part was where I needed to enter the PIN. I couldn’t find where to do that, so I had to dig into the documentation a little more to figure it out.
On the web dashboard page, when logged in as an admin, the Fareclock software allows you to approve or decline failed entries. My punch-ins were flagged as failures, probably because I did not know what PIN to enter while attempting to clock in.
Does it work on all skin tones?
It is usual for a dark-skinned person like me to wonder if face recognition will work. The Fareclock mobile app could detect my face in a well-lit location. According to Fareclock:
Our face recognition works well with any skin complexion. An essential factor in achieving successful recognition is how the employee presents him/herself to the time clock.
Verdict
I think the overall Fareclock facial recognition attendance software does what it needs to do. However, the onboarding flow could use some improvement.
Jibble
How it works
The Jibble user interface seems clean and simple, with no unnecessary clutter. To use the Jibble facial recognition, you first have to enable that feature.
Once you do that, you can go to the employees' page and upload your baseline photo. We decided to use a photo of Crystal instead, so we could experience what a false photo match looks like.
We downloaded the mobile app and logged in with our credentials.
The Jibble app gives you the option to turn the app into a terminal. On the mobile app, I jibbled in (which means to clock in). Jibbling in was very simple, and it activated the camera so I could take a photo of myself.
Shortly after, I got a notification stating that there was a possible mismatch in my photo.
Does it work on all skin tones?
According to Jibble:
You could receive unwarranted mismatches with selfies with darker skin tones photos or dark lighting, but as facial recognition improves over the months, this shortcoming will be overcome.
Verdict
Despite some confusing details, Jibble’s face recognition attendance system is easy to use and does the job.
Also, we hope the Jibble team will overcome the challenges related to recognizing darker-skinned faces accurately.
QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets)
How QuickBooks Time Face Recognition Works
The QuickBooks app works very similarly to any other app we’ve reviewed.
The biggest difference is that the QuickBooks app is built only to work on the terminal app. To use its facial recognition time clock app, you need an iPad, an Android tablet, or a desktop computer to clock in.
Setting up the QuickBooks app was reasonably straightforward.
During the configuration process, the system generates a four-digit code to enter your terminal app.
If you do not have a four-digit PIN for your account, the system will ask you to create one before you are allowed to punch in.
Like many other face recognition attendance apps, the punch-in page shows your face on the camera. It’s also worth mentioning that the QuickBooks app has a nifty little reminder if you are taking forever to clock in.
I didn’t see a place where I could register my baseline photo in this app. I would assume there are instructions on how to do that somewhere, but it wasn’t immediately clear. If the QuickBooks app does not recognize a user, an email is sent to the admin with a request to confirm whether the photo is correct or not.
Verdict
Overall we think the QuickBooks app is simple enough to use. However, it will not work out for you if your employees cannot clock in from a kiosk.
Other Useful Face Recognition Attendance App Features You May Need
Most time and attendance systems these days will do more than simply clocking in and out. We’ve listed a few of the features we think you may want to pay attention to so that you can opt for the app that suits your needs.
Live GPS Tracking
Many time and attendance tracking apps these days will capture your clock-in and clock-out locations, and all the solutions mentioned in this article can do that.
However, it’s easy to beat such a system; we’ve seen several scenarios where a person will clock in only to leave immediately to do a side job or simply slack off and then later come back to clock out.
If you want extra accountability for your facial recognition clock-in system, we recommend looking into live GPS tracking.
Live GPS tracking will track employees while they are on the clock and determine their exact location.
This can be particularly handy for companies with a mobile workforce. If your employees have to travel to different places of work, you can monitor them and ensure they’re always where they’re supposed to be while on the clock.
Scheduling
Are you still using the manual pen-and-paper approach to track your employee’s schedules?
You don’t need to because some time and attendance apps will do that for you.
Scheduling and time tracking go hand-in-hand, so look for a scheduling feature as your business or team can benefit from it.
For example, home healthcare agency managers must create weekly or monthly schedules for their employees. To create a single schedule, they must consider different client and employee preferences and parameters, complicating the process.
By using Timeero, you can save hours a week. Our scheduling feature is user-friendly, meaning that you can simply enter your employee names and desired parameters, and the app will generate a timetable in minutes.
The minute you do so, employees will receive a notification on their mobile devices, and you can even leave them the option to accept or reject a shift.
An automated system can save you loads of time and prevent common errors.
Investing in a time tracking system that handles employee time off can be very valuable.
Employees can request time off from their mobile apps and notify their administrators or supervisors about the request. This way, you won’t have to worry about overlapping shifts, scheduling conflicts, or the risk of being short-staffed.
Payroll Integrations
Many time-tracking and face-recognition attendance apps today integrate with payroll solutions and even allow a simple file export.
It's essential to select a time attendance software that can integrate with popular payroll solutions like ADP, Paychex, and Gusto to streamline your invoicing and payment process. Public API access can also come in handy.
Pricing - Face Recognition Attendance Apps
These are the different prices we’ve seen for these products. The cheapest software solution for simple face recognition is Jibble, and the most expensive is QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets).
However, the most affordable doesn’t always translate to the most cost-efficient solution.
If you want more out of your time tracking apps, such as GPS tracking, attendance management, and payroll integrations, then Timeero will be a better value for you in terms of pricing.
Check out the pricing and features for all four face recognition attendance apps presented in this article.
Not all face recognition attendance apps are built equally, and this little research hopefully helped you find the one that suits you best.
Here at Timeero, we are happy to assess your use case and needs and offer a few recommendations.
Improve Employee Attendance and Boost Workplace Accountability with Timeero.
Natasa is a writer specializing in the IT and software industry with 6+ years of experience in content writing and online marketing. During that period, she wrote more than 1,000 articles and several ebooks. She majored in English language and literature and loves cats, sneakers, and candy. When she's not working, she's probably binge-watching Netflix.
Related Articles
No items found.
Don't fall behind. Subscribe to our newsletter.
Get the latest tips on mobile workforce management sent straight to your inbox!
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
.webp)
%202.svg)
%202.svg)
