Stop paying for personal phones just to track hours.
Punctual is a small, dedicated device your employees carry on the job. They clock in, take meal breaks, and clock out with a button press. You drop the phone stipend and get time records you can stand behind.
Now recruiting a small group of employers for early pilots.
Pocket-sized, with an e-paper screen that's easy to read in direct sunlight.
What phone stipends cost you
Many employers pay a monthly stipend so hourly staff can clock in on their own phones. A Punctual device is a one-time cost, with an optional service subscription.
Estimate only. Does not include device replacement or the administrative time saved chasing missed punches.
In California, an employer that requires employees to use a personal phone for work must reimburse a reasonable share of that phone's cost under Labor Code section 2802, even on unlimited plans. Several other states have similar expense-reimbursement laws. A company-issued device takes that question off the table.
Time spent starting a computer and logging in before a shift can count as hours worked. When the time clock lives on that computer, those minutes are never recorded.
Four steps from shift start to payroll
- STEP 1
Hand out devices
Each employee gets a Punctual device assigned to them. No app to install and no personal phone required.
- STEP 2
Press to punch
Employees clock in, start and end meal breaks, and clock out with physical buttons. The screen confirms every punch.
- STEP 3
Reminders on the device
The device alerts employees before a meal break is due, so breaks happen on time instead of being fixed later.
- STEP 4
Sync and export
Punches sync wirelessly when a connection is available and are stored on the device until then. Export to your payroll system.
Time records built for the audit you hope never comes
Punctual was founded by a wage-and-hour defense attorney. The recordkeeping is designed around what gets challenged in claims and audits.
Every punch is time-stamped on the device
The device's own clock records the punch the moment the button is pressed, whether or not the device has a signal.
Clock in before the computer does
When employees have to boot up a shared computer and log in before they can clock in, those minutes often go unrecorded, even though they can be compensable time. With Punctual, the punch happens the moment they arrive.
Meal-break compliance is part of the record
Meal breaks are recorded with the same care as every other punch, so you can show what happened on each shift.
Edits leave a trail
Corrections are added as new entries with who made them and why. The original punch is never overwritten.
No location tracking
Punctual records time, not where people go after hours. That is easier to explain to employees and to their representatives.
| Time | Event | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 07:58:14 | IN | Button press |
| 12:41:02 | ALERT | Meal due in 15 min |
| 12:52:37 | MEAL | Break started |
| 13:23:05 | BACK | Break ended · 30m 28s |
| 16:31:50 | OUT | Shift ended · 8h 03m |
Teams that work away from a time clock
Home healthcare
Caregivers move between client homes all day. Punctual gives them one simple way to record visits and breaks without using their own phones in a client's home.
Staffing agencies
Workers placed at client sites need consistent timekeeping, wherever they are assigned. Devices move with the worker from one placement to the next.
Nonprofits
Field and program staff often lack company phones, and stipends strain tight budgets. A one-time device cost is easier to plan for.
Help shape Punctual before it launches
We are selecting a small number of employers to use Punctual with real crews. Pilot employers get early access and direct input on features.
- A group of your hourly employees uses Punctual on real shifts.
- We work with you on setup, training, and exporting to your payroll system.
- You tell us what works and what doesn't, and we build from that.
Punctual's founder spent years defending employers in wage-and-hour class actions and built this to fix the recordkeeping problems behind many of them.