When an employee is running late, they typically have a few options. The preferred choice for most employers is a quick text or call to notify a supervisor. However, in an attempt to avoid disciplinary action or appearing tardy, some employees take a different route: they ask a coworker to clock them in before they arrive. This practice is known as buddy punching, and it’s a widespread issue that impacts businesses of all sizes across every industry.
In this post, we’ll break down what buddy punching is, how it affects your clients’ bottom line, and how you can provide a solution that eliminates it.
Buddy Punching: An Overview
Buddy punching happens when one employee clocks in or out on behalf of another. The goal is to make it appear as though the employee is at work when they are not. Sometimes it’s just a matter of covering a few minutes of tardiness. But in more serious cases, buddy punching results in substantial losses of time—and money.
For instance, if an employee consistently asks a coworker to clock them in five minutes early three times a week, that adds up to over 13 hours of paid but unworked time in a year. It’s a form of wage theft, and even small, repeated offenses can have a significant financial impact on your clients.
The Cost of Buddy Punching for Your Clients
Studies show that nearly half of employees in the US admit to time theft, including buddy punching. It costs between $1,400 and $6,000 per worker, per year, amounting to a staggering cost of $22 billion across the nation.
The direct costs are obvious—inflated payroll expenses—but the ripple effects are far-reaching:
- Reduced productivity
- Lower profit margins
- Decreased ROI
- Fewer resources for employee benefits
The Hidden Consequences of Buddy Punching
Buddy punching doesn’t just cost your clients money; it also creates a series of operational and cultural challenges within the workplace.
Misleading Productivity Metrics
When employees are on the clock but not actually working, productivity data becomes skewed. Managers may set performance expectations based on inaccurate hours worked, leading to unrealistic goals and unnecessary pressure.
Lower Employee Engagement
Employees who engage in buddy punching often lack motivation and loyalty. Research from Gallup shows that highly engaged teams are 21 percent more profitable than those with low engagement. Disengagement can also be contagious, lowering morale across entire teams.
Poor Customer Experience
If the buddy-punched employee works in a customer-facing role, their absence can directly affect service quality. Customers expect consistent service, and when staff are unavailable, satisfaction drops. Coworkers often have to pick up the slack, leading to frustration and burnout.
Help Your Clients Put an End to Buddy Punching for Good
Outdated systems make it easy for employees to game the system. Consider these more secure options:
- Biometric Time Clocks: Using unique biological identifiers, like finger scans or facial recognition, these clocks make buddy punching nearly impossible. Swipeclock technology restricts data from being reverse engineered for enhanced security.
- Proximity Swipe Cards: These require the employee’s presence at the clock-in location and are less likely to be shared casually.
- Geofence and GPS-Based Systems: The punch data with this type of system includes the location where the punch was made, adding another layer of accountability.
The Partnership You Need to Deliver Robust Tools
A Swipeclock partnership can help you provide the tools needed to eliminate this practice. Our solutions offer robust workforce management solutions tailored to small businesses, including:
- Time tracking
- Scheduling
- HR management
- Applicant tracking
As a Swipeclock partner, you can deliver these solutions to your clients and help them say goodbye to buddy punching while taking control of their time and attendance. Explore our flexible partner programs and find out how partnering with us allows you to grow your business and keep clients for longer. Contact us at [email protected] to get started.
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