SlidesClockComparison
How do the attendance methods really compare?
Every method verifies something different, and each one is genuinely better than the others at something. Worth being clear about which trade you are making.
Paper register
Strength. Costs nothing to start and needs no power.
Cost. Anyone can sign for anyone. Totalling a month by hand is slow and easy to get wrong.
Spreadsheet
Strength. Flexible, and everybody already knows how to use one.
Cost. The numbers arrive by message and are typed in later, so the record is a copy of a copy.
Fingerprint terminal
Strength. Ties attendance to a body part rather than a device.
Cost. Hardware, enrolment and maintenance per site, plus a queue at shift change.
Mobile attendance app
Strength. No hardware, per-site verification policies, server-recorded times, records you can review and export.
Cost. Verifies a device and a workplace signal, not a fingerprint. Employees need a phone.