BambooHR vs. Buddy Punch

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
BambooHR
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
BambooHR is an on-line human resources solution that provides onboarding, payroll, and benefits management. It also offers automated time-off management and employee self-service.
$250
per month
Buddy Punch
Score 7.0 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
Buddy Punch is an online time tracking and scheduling application. Track time, time off, locations, and jobs. The solution aims to help punching in & out intuitive for employees & easy for users to view & export time. Employees can clock in using a browser or the Buddy Punch Google, iOS, & Android apps. Users can view who's working, their GPS position or even limit where they can punch. The solution integrates with QuickBooks, ADP, Paychex, & SurePayroll while also offering Excel exports. …
$3.49
per month per user
Pricing
BambooHRBuddy Punch
Editions & Modules
Core
$250
per month
Pro
$250
per month
Time & Attendance
$3.49
per month per user
Time & Attendance + Scheduling
$4.49
per month per user
Enterprise
$9.49
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BambooHRBuddy Punch
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsNo matter what HR looks like at your company, we have the perfect plan for you!We offer three plans, each with a monthly or annual payment option. Each plan has a per user price and a base fee of $19. There are no startup, cancellation, support, or additional fees of any kind.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BambooHRBuddy Punch
Considered Both Products
BambooHR

No answer on this topic

Buddy Punch
Chose Buddy Punch
I did not use a system prior to Buddy, but when comparing they were the best price and had all the features I needed.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
BambooHRBuddy Punch
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.1
123 Ratings
3% above category average
Buddy Punch
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data7.7104 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history8.7112 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration8.4109 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.8.296 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting7.1108 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management8.099 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)8.659 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.1
79 Ratings
1% above category average
Buddy Punch
-
Ratings
Pay calculation8.253 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.245 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.031 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.860 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.460 Ratings00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.063 Ratings00 Ratings
Reimbursement management6.731 Ratings00 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.8
107 Ratings
8% above category average
Buddy Punch
-
Ratings
Approval workflow9.1105 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details8.998 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment8.488 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.7
118 Ratings
7% above category average
Buddy Punch
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information7.972 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information9.2117 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation8.997 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee recognition8.678 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history9.0110 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.8
48 Ratings
1% above category average
Buddy Punch
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets7.848 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.7
94 Ratings
1% above category average
Buddy Punch
-
Ratings
Report builder8.190 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.788 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data7.463 Ratings00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.7
97 Ratings
8% above category average
Buddy Punch
-
Ratings
New hire portal8.793 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools8.684 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.2
61 Ratings
0% above category average
Buddy Punch
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting8.246 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting8.259 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility8.246 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking8.155 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.9
67 Ratings
1% below category average
Buddy Punch
-
Ratings
Performance plans7.660 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans8.054 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking7.961 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders8.262 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency7.858 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.1
46 Ratings
11% below category average
Buddy Punch
-
Ratings
Create succession plans/pools5.831 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking7.738 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search7.140 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate development7.936 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.1
80 Ratings
4% above category average
Buddy Punch
-
Ratings
Job Requisition Management8.056 Ratings00 Ratings
Company Website Posting8.363 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media8.257 Ratings00 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting8.260 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention7.454 Ratings00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking8.270 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts8.673 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BambooHRBuddy Punch
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Traqq
Traqq
Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
TimeCamp
TimeCamp
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BambooHRBuddy Punch
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(127 ratings)
9.0
(21 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.2
(10 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(54 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.3
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.7
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.5
(51 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.2
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.6
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.6
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
8.3
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.9
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Professional Services
9.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.9
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BambooHRBuddy Punch
Likelihood to Recommend
BambooHR
There is an easy-to-use central place to store all employee documents and a way to share them with the employee when appropriate. The reminder of anniversary dates is a great motivational tool for the company. Sometimes, applicants who try to send a resume by phone are an issue. It needs to be more phone-friendly.
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Buddy Punch
I think that is very convenient as far as tracking your employees when they are punching in or out to ensure they are physically at the location they are supposed to be for that shift. I also think that the option to download this app to your personal phone is amazing, it makes it more convenient to punch in or out when you aren't near a laptop or a residence to use one. The feature of being able to attach a note with your punches explaining possible late punchers or absences is very beneficial to the employee allows show proof if needed.
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Pros
BambooHR
  • Customer Service - The customer service is consistent and the team is always eager to help. They are polite, patient, and there are never terrible interactions.
  • Communication - BambooHR communication channels are simple. There are many different ways to communicate with the team. I prefer e-mail because it helps me keep track of the conversations and they respond within the appropriate time. Also, the e-mail reminders or notifications help tremendously and it's not overbearing.
  • User Interface - It's simple and easy to use!
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Buddy Punch
  • Their customer service is second to none. We have requested several changes over the years for the web interface and app; I think all the requests we've made were implemented by this point. I only wish this was the case with other companies we utilize.
  • They allow you to set different pay rates based on department which allows us to pay employees more for the skilled jobs they perform versus the more basic work they perform. This is a huge benefit to a small company as it encourages employees to strive for more skilled work and they keep moving up the ladder to become even better assets to the company.
  • The reports you can run are very thorough and work very well for us when it comes time to enter payroll.
  • Having the ability to set alerts has allowed us to cut back on unnecessary overtime as employees can get reminders prior to going over. We can also set reminders for employees to punch in/out for the ones that have a tendency to forget.
Read full review
Cons
BambooHR
  • Reporting - I wish that you could choose a timeframe for all reports. There are times when I need to run a report for information at a point in time, but there is no functionality to complete this (maybe this is an add-on, but seems like it should be a basic function.)
  • ATS - Customizable notifications and making it easier to figure out how to change notification/email settings. I figured it out, but it was difficult to find. I wish you could choose to notify managers of candidates 1/week instead of every time someone applies.
  • Custom Holidays - being able to set up 2 different Holiday policies for different working groups. Some of our team gets a floating holiday, but we can't set that up without doing it for the entire company.
  • Being able to intercept a form that was signed by an employee but not the 2nd signer. We can't access onboarding forms that new hires signed after the 2nd signer left the company. Now we have to have our team resign all their onboarding forms because we cannot access the one with their signature.
  • Delegation for approvals - being able to delegate this when someone is on leave or time away so that Admins don't have to manage.
  • Org chart - being able to customize this feature
  • More broad or customizable EEO categories
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Buddy Punch
  • Sometimes I need to check back to be sure I'm still punched in.
  • The indicator between punched in and out is not very indicative of if I am or not.
  • I want to total hours not just by the week but by pay periods 1-15 days, 16-end of [the] month.
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Likelihood to Renew
BambooHR
Overall we have not had any reason to discontinue our use of BambooHR. We have not found a better solution, and there is no pressing reason that we would want to move away from the product. If they should fail to continue to improve their features over time, I could see this changing down the road, but for now I would say we are very satisfied with them. We would definitely like to see continued growth of their product however.
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Buddy Punch
No answers on this topic
Usability
BambooHR
It is a very easy page to manage for people that are not used to computers or technology in general. That is one of the main reasons Hermosillo chose this service. It has a very friendly UI for every employee to understand, and that is really important because, in the end, we want our employees to feel comfortable looking at their information.
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Buddy Punch
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
BambooHR
Yes, there is a huge team in the back of the online platform or it looks like it because I have never been left without an answer when I have a question or waiting from a response on my chat .... There must be a huge team, this is so great and I always seem to have someone that is very knowledgeable too. So many times in the past I had to leave with customer service that would connect you with someone else because of the expertise, here everyone seems to be some kind of an expert in the HR function.
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Buddy Punch
No answers on this topic
Performance
BambooHR
I love BambooHR. Reports are easy to run and download and it usually covers any types of requests I get from the management team. You get excel or .csv downloads/reports and it is fast and simple, not too crowded so it is easy to read through. We don't integrate the tool yet but again, soon we will. we just did not had the time to utilize it yet but that's the plan.
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Buddy Punch
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
BambooHR
The support is good, they can respond, however the chat sometimes has line to wait, and sometimes you miss your window because you have to keep working. However, they do respond to inquiries and help you to navigate and solve your problems in a timely manner. So, I don't have complaints on that.
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Buddy Punch
No answers on this topic
In-Person Training
BambooHR
I didn't have in-person training besides teaching my managers how to use the program. However, I couldn't omit this question (maybe a system glitch).
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Buddy Punch
No answers on this topic
Online Training
BambooHR
As far as I can recall, everything went well with doing it online and got questions answered. Was thankful to work with a dummy file to get used to some practices prior to getting our own domain within bamboo to then place our personnel information in the system, this helped a lot!
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Buddy Punch
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
BambooHR
It was some work involved in moving all of our documents from a drive over to the correct folders and creating the system of what folders were needed and what got placed where
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Buddy Punch
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
BambooHR
Although there are many products in the marketplace, there is no perfect system. BambooHR is the most economical HRIS for a small business, start-up, or business that has never had HR software. BambooHR was selected for its affordable functionality. However, if they continue to ingore the lack of functionality the pretty package will no longer have any value.
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Buddy Punch
We originally scheduled and ran payroll through Homebase, but in the last few months the software became very buggy, customer service was slow and when they did respond, was not helpful. When we cancelled our account they didn't even try to make things right. We are so happy that Buddy Punch is like us--taking care of their clients and really invested in their success!
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
BambooHR
Since my organization has dropped with employees, I always find ways to reduce costs. I thought there would be a cheaper option, but I was glad that my package included a lot for the price, and downgrading would cost more. The rep could have let me downgraded and taken me to a higher package. I am thankful that didn't happen.
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Buddy Punch
No answers on this topic
Scalability
BambooHR
There is so much you can do with this platform, it is incredible and so welcoming. We don't utilize it 100% yet just because we are growing and the HR team has not been able to concentrate on other areas offered to us but but we will soon. Which is also why we got the product, specifically because what BambooHR can do to help us meet our growing business needs.
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Buddy Punch
No answers on this topic
Professional Services
BambooHR
VERY professional!
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Buddy Punch
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
BambooHR
  • Self Service is great to free up time for Admin.
  • Self-Service/ Tracked PTO and sick days are easy to use and track very well. This frees up Admin time and is transparent for all employees.
  • Easy to use Job postings with very trackable sourcing reports.
  • Easy to use. Easy to onboard and user friendly interface. Requires minimal training.
Read full review
Buddy Punch
  • Efficiency has definitely gone up switching to Buddy Punch. Ive never quantified specific hours or time lapse it has given to my personal managerial efficiency. But it has without doubt.
  • I can see a better overview of the employees I need to be concerned with and not have to filter out others not concerning me.
  • Ease of use has decreased mental stress and angst in maneuvering employee time cards.
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ScreenShots

BambooHR Screenshots

Screenshot of BambooHR's Reporting

Buddy Punch Screenshots

Screenshot of The Administrator's DashboardScreenshot of Time Off CalendarScreenshot of Schedule View