Best Time & Attendance Software in Saudi Arabia

How can companies accurately track employee Time and Attendance in the shortest possible time? Smart technological solutions, such as employee Time and Attendance management software, are the ideal choice for performing this task. They help improve work efficiency, reduce manual errors in attendance records, and enhance transparency and fairness in employee payroll and deductions.

In this article, we present a comprehensive guide to the best employee Time and Attendance management software, highlighting its key features to facilitate easier comparisons and help you choose the most suitable option.

Importance of Time & Attendance Software in Saudi Arabia

Managing employee attendance isn't just about who arrived when; as employee and branch counts grow, manually managing attendance become time-consuming and can significantly affect payroll accuracy and month-end close. Businesses may need to manually:

• Record employee attendance
• Calculate working hours
• Review overtime
• Reconcile leave balances
• Track absence and late arrivals
• Monitor early departures
• Collect attendance records from different branches
• Ensure attendance data is linked to payroll.

For our projects in the Saudi market, we worked with a company operating across several branches. At the end of each month, the HR team had to: collect attendance records from different locations, reconcile employees' working hours, review late arrivals and early departures, calculate overtime, verify attendance data was correctly linked to payroll, and review discrepancies and missing records.

Because they relied heavily on manual data entry, small discrepancies or missing records delayed the monthly close and required multiple rounds of review.

We solved the issue by implementing time-and-attendance software that centralized attendance data across branches and automated calculations based on predefined work schedules and company policies. This gave the business a consistent view of employees' attendance, working hours, overtime, absences, and leave balances.

Attendance software is even more important when a business needs to manage different working conditions throughout the year. In Saudi Arabia, work schedules change during Ramadan, while employees' annual leave and other leave types must be tracked accurately in accordance with company policies.

A reliable system can help businesses manage these changes by:

• Implementing different work schedules on request.
• Maintaining accurate attendance records throughout the year.
• Reduces the risk of calculating working hours based on outdated schedules.
• Minimizing the need of manual adjustments records when work arrangements change.

How to Choose the Time & Attendance Software?

When choosing time and attendance software, start with your actual business needs before anything else, not the number of features. You might choose a system with tons of functions, but it may not solve your company's specific attendance and payroll challenges.

Here is a list of different criteria to compare different solutions: 

1- Number of Employees and Branches 

Start by considering the business's size and structure, as a company with one location and a small team differs from one operating across multiple branches.

2- Working Schedules and Shift Management 

The software should support the company's actual working arrangements, different shifts, working hours, days off, and schedule changes.

3- Overtime and Working Hours

Ensure the system accurately calculates working hours and overtime in accordance with the company's rules. Automating these calculations simplifies payroll preparation and attendance review.

4- Leave Management

The system must track leave requests, approvals, balances, and the impact of approved leave on attendance records. Meaning, the attendance system must not be separated from leave management.

5- Payroll Integration

The system must connect employees' attendance, working hours, overtime, and leave to payroll calculations so the HR team spends less time reconciling data.

6- Multi-Branch Management

A reliable system can operate across multiple locations and allow the business owner or HR team to access consolidated data across branches.

7- Reports and Data Accuracy

A good system must provide clear reports with reliable information that support real decisions.

8- Scalability

Assess whether the software can support the business as it grows, with more employees, branches, and working arrangements.

Best Software for Managing Employee Time and Attendance

Searching for software to manage employee attendance and leave requires more thought and careful consideration in order to choose the one with the most features and the lowest subscription cost.

There are several key advantages that must be considered when choosing, including providing an accurate system for recording Time and Attendance, and reducing the time spent on managing attendance to enable employees and managers to direct their focus toward other core tasks.

It also facilitates human resources planning, assists in making informed decisions based on the data that can be extracted from Time and Attendance management software, improves work schedules to maintain and increase productivity, provides flexibility in accessing and monitoring employee attendance from anywhere, and enhances overall workforce planning efficiency, which contributes to improving the organization’s performance, maintaining its leadership, and ensuring its success.
 

Top 5 Employee Attendance Management Software

1. Daftra
2. HR-Enterprise
3. Where’s My Staff
4. ZenHR
5. Jisr HR

1- Daftra Time and Attendance software

The Daftra ERP System is the best software for enterprise resource management, integrating all applications related to human resources management. These include the employee Time and Attendance management software, the organizational structure software for defining employee and manager roles and responsibilities, the payroll and incentives software, the leave and permissions management application, and performance evaluation reports.

All of this and more is provided by Daftra’s HR management software in a single, easy-to-use control panel that saves both time and effort. One of the software’s key features is the ability to try employee Time and Attendance management on Daftra for free for 14 days, giving users the chance to explore the system’s services and how to use them. In addition, it supports both Arabic and English as primary languages.

Key Features of Daftra Employee Time and Attendance Management Software

A- Enabling Cloud Services in Time and Attendance Management

Daftra’s attendance management software automatically records employee attendance days once logs are uploaded from manual fingerprint devices in the workplace, or from the fingerprint system provided by the software, which allows electronic check-in and check-out for remote work. This helps monitor employee performance and ensure their commitment to scheduled working hours.

B- Shift Management

With Daftra’s attendance software, different work shifts can be assigned to the same employee within a single day. The system allows setting work hours, tracking lateness and absence per shift, and generating detailed reports on employee performance over any specific period. It can also issue monthly attendance reports, automatically calculate total missing hours, and compare them with the expected working hours of each employee.

C- Leave and Permission Management

The software enables companies to set clear policies for leaves and permissions and communicate approval conditions to employees. It also allows recording all official holidays throughout the year in dedicated lists. Using the Daftra ESS Attendance application, managers and employees can easily view leave and permission details. Managers can add comments on leave requests, while employees can track deducted and remaining leave balances.

Some customer feedback on the Daftra ESS Attendance application for managing employee leaves and permissions indicated that the app is simple, smart, and easy to use.

Check more users' reviews of Daftra ESS App
 

D- Integration with Payroll software

Time and Attendance results in Daftra can be linked directly to the payroll system. Any deductions or bonuses are automatically added to salaries based on lateness, early check-ins, or overtime hours.
 

E- Enforcing Restrictions on Attendance Recording

The Daftra attendance system allows for enabling restrictions, such as setting a geographic location or requiring an employee photo to confirm check-in. Employers can choose to apply all restrictions or only some, depending on their preferences.

Check our knowladge base: Attendance Restrictions Guide

Subscription Prices for Daftra software

Below is the detailed table of subscription prices for Daftra’s packages:

2- HR-Enterprise software

HR-Enterprise is a human resources and personnel management software that, through its cloud-based solutions, allows you to monitor the daily operations of each employee. One of its key modules is the employee Time and Attendance management system. Key Services:

• Automatic employee Time and Attendance registration through the software, without the need for a manual fingerprint device.
• Comparing the employee’s current location with the company’s location for accurate and reliable Time and Attendance logging.
• Displaying all check-in and check-out activities carried out during the day, including external assignments or temporary permissions.
• Allowing employees to track a monthly summary of their Time and Attendance, including missed sign-ins, early departures, late arrivals, overtime hours, and absences.
• The ability to set start and end times for shifts for each employee.
• The software allows each employee to submit only one request per day to correct a missed attendance or departure record.

Some user reviews of HR-Enterprise

Subscription Prices for HR-Enterprise:

The software does not provide any publicly available subscription pricing details. Prices can be requested by completing a quotation form.

3- Where’s My Staff software

Where’s My Staff is a software designed to track employees’ real-time Attendance, helping improve workforce management, accountability, transparency, and maintain productivity levels.
 

Key Services:

• Workforce Attendance Tracking: Eliminates manipulation or absenteeism through biometric authentication.
• Easy Check-in/Check-out: Employees can quickly and easily record their Time and Attendance by scanning QR codes anytime and anywhere using their mobile phones.
• Automated Payroll Calculations: Salaries and wages are calculated automatically, including overtime hours, deductions for lateness, permissions, and unauthorized absences.
• Manual Adjustments & Notifications: Time and Attendance records can be manually adjusted, and reminders or alerts can be activated to ensure employees log their attendance through the app.
• Customization Options: The software can be customized to fit business needs, such as adjusting work schedules, shifts, and more.

Some user reviews of Where's My Staff

Where's My Staff Subscription Prices

4- ZenHR software

ZenHR provides more automated solutions that help track employee Time and Attendance by generating accurate reports on lateness and attendance times with minimal effort, maximum efficiency, and high precision.
 

Key Services:

• Multi-Location Support: Add multiple company sites and track attendance based on the defined geographic locations.
• Break and Interruption Logging: Records all breaks and daily work interruptions to make it easier to monitor employee performance and prevent unauthorized manipulation during working hours.
• Flexible Shift Scheduling: Easily schedule work shifts according to the company’s needs, while providing employees with a simple and user-friendly experience to record Time and Attendance across different shifts.
• Device Integration: Integrates with various attendance tracking devices such as fingerprint, facial recognition, and iris scanners, as well as employee card scanners, to capture real-time attendance data.
• Policy Communication: Provides employees with a clear list of internal rules and regulations regarding repeated lateness and absences.

Some users' opinions about ZenHR

ZenHR subscription prices

The software does not specify subscription prices or even package features.
 

5- Jisr HR software

Jisr HR is a specialized digital human resources management software designed to meet the needs of Saudi companies in compliance with Saudi labor laws. The software provides the following services:

• Accurate Overtime Calculation: Precisely calculates overtime hours.
• Reliable Attendance Records: Generates accurate attendance reports that can be relied upon for payroll, deductions, and bonuses.
• Device & Location Integration: Integrates with fingerprint devices and allows defining the company’s geographic location and range so employees can record attendance properly.
• Policy Control: Provides control over internal policies for attendance registration, including managing exemptions for employees not required to log attendance during official working hours or fixed shifts.
• Payroll Integration: Automatically links Time and Attendance records with payroll processing.
• Flexible Shift Management: Enables managing Time and Attendance according to variable (non-fixed) work shifts.
• Shift Schedule Sharing: Allows sharing shift schedules with employees and ensures automatic synchronization between shift schedules, leave requests, and permissions.

Some user opinions about the Jisr HR software

Subscription Prices for Jisr HR software

The software does not disclose subscription prices publicly. To obtain pricing details for our packages, please contact the sales team directly.

Feature Comparison Table

The following table compares the top 5 attendance management software in Saudi Arabia: