ClockShark vs When I Work
time & attendance head-to-head for ERP teams: evidenced capabilities, published pricing, and which ERPs each actually integrates with.
| Starting price | Tiered per-user subscription (Standard, Pro) | From $2.50/user/mo (published) |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud |
| Company size | SMB, Mid-market | SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Stated ERP integrations | QuickBooks, Xero | QuickBooks |
| Vendor | ClockShark | When I Work |
Our take
Where ClockShark leads
- Stronger evidenced coverage on 9 of the 29 capabilities where they differ (led by offline clock-in with later sync and live crew location map).
- Stated Xero integration the alternative doesn't list.
Where When I Work leads
- Stronger evidenced coverage on 20 of the 29 capabilities where they differ (led by buddy-punching prevention controls and ai-assisted auto-scheduling).
- Published pricing where the alternative quotes.
Where they differ
The 29 capabilities (of 54 in the time & attendance taxonomy) where the evidence separates them, biggest gaps first. “Not evidenced” means our research found no public documentation of this capability — the vendor may still offer it. Confirm on a demo.
| Capability | ||
|---|---|---|
| Offline clock-in with later syncTime Capture & Punch Methods | Core strength Offline time tracking with a Sync Queue for low-signal areas | Not evidenced |
| Live crew location mapLocation & Fraud Prevention | Core strength "Who's Working Now" live crew map | Not evidenced |
| Buddy-punching prevention controlsLocation & Fraud Prevention | Not evidenced | Core strength Photo verification at clock-in explicitly to prevent buddy punching |
| AI-assisted auto-schedulingScheduling | Not evidenced | Core strength One-click auto scheduling based on availability and eligibility |
| Reusable shift templatesScheduling | Not evidenced | Core strength Reusable schedule templates applied to any week |
| Labor cost & budget forecastingScheduling | Not evidenced | Core strength Real-time scheduled-vs-budgeted hours comparison; Labor Share |
| Leave request & approval workflowLeave & Absence Management | Not evidenced | Core strength Time-off request submission and manager approval |
| Team messaging / shift communicationEmployee Experience | Not evidenced | Core strength WorkChat one-on-one, group and all-staff messaging |
| Kiosk / shared-device clock-inTime Capture & Punch Methods | Supported Kiosk and crew clock-in modes | Not evidenced |
| Photo capture at punchTime Capture & Punch Methods | Partial Photo and note attachments on jobs; not documented as an identity check at punch | Core strength Photo verification at clock-in to prevent buddy punching |
| Overtime & premium pay calculationTimesheets & Pay Rules | Not evidenced | Supported Real-time overtime alerts and max-hours warnings |
| Automatic break deduction rulesTimesheets & Pay Rules | Not evidenced | Supported Break tracking and scheduling around required breaks |
| Drag-and-drop schedule builderScheduling | Core strength | Partial One-click auto scheduling; no explicit drag-and-drop builder documented |
| Demand-based / forecasted schedulingScheduling | Not evidenced | Supported Custom unit forecasting (Pro and Premium plans) |
| Absence & attendance analyticsLeave & Absence Management | Not evidenced | Supported 24-hour callout reporting (Pro and Premium plans) |
| Audit trail & policy-violation logsCompliance & Labor Law | Not evidenced | Supported Digital timesheets with edit logs |
| Multilingual employee appEmployee Experience | Supported Spanish-language app support | Not evidenced |
| Public API & webhooksPlatform & Integrations | Not evidenced | Supported API key access and webhooks on the Premium plan |
| SSO & identity provisioningPlatform & Integrations | Not evidenced | Supported SAML/SSO on the Premium plan |
| Automatic timesheet calculationTimesheets & Pay Rules | Supported | Core strength Digital timesheets with edit logs |
| Timesheet submission & approval workflowTimesheets & Pay Rules | Supported Manager roles and timesheet approvals | Partial Edit logs on digital timesheets imply review; no explicit approval workflow documented |
| Exception detection & alertsTimesheets & Pay Rules | Supported Out-of-bounds clock-in detection with manager alerts | Core strength Real-time overtime and max-hours warnings |
| Shift swap & open-shift self-serviceScheduling | Supported Employee shift-swap and availability visibility | Core strength Shift trades and OpenShifts for self-service pickup |
| Multi-location / multi-department schedulingScheduling | Supported Job-based and employee-based schedule views; multi-office controls on Pro plan | Core strength Multi-location and multi-week scheduling |
| PTO accrual trackingLeave & Absence Management | Supported Custom accrual policies | Partial Time-off request submission documented; accrual-rule handling not detailed |
| Job / task / project cost codingLabor Costing & Job Tracking | Core strength Job and task selection at clock-in feeding real-time labor-cost reporting by customer/job/task | Supported Labor cost reporting by job, role or location |
| Meal & rest break enforcementCompliance & Labor Law | Partial Shift wrap-up and compliance forms at clock-out; not specific meal/rest rule enforcement | Supported Scheduling around required breaks |
| Employee self-service portal / appEmployee Experience | Supported | Core strength Mobile availability, shift pickup and time-off requests |
| ERP general ledger postingPlatform & Integrations | Partial Sage 100 Contractor export covers job costing, billing and payroll but is a file export, not live GL posting | Not evidenced |
Both grade identically on the other 25 capabilities — see each product's full profile: ClockShark, When I Work.
ClockShark vs When I Work — FAQs
Is ClockShark or When I Work better for ERP integration?
Both state integrations with QuickBooks. ClockShark additionally lists Xero. Always verify the connector against your ERP version with a reference customer.
Which is cheaper, ClockShark or When I Work?
When I Work publishes a starting rate ($2.5/user/mo); ClockShark prices by quote, so a like-for-like number requires asking both.
Get pricing for both
Tell us your ERP, seat count and must-haves and we'll come back with an independent view of what ClockShark and When I Work should each cost you — and whether a third option belongs on your shortlist.