Kelio Time and Attendance Review: Is it Right for Your Business?

Kelio represents time and attendance software at its finest… but is it right for your business?

There’s both good news, and bad news.

The bad news is , as your business grows, it’ll become increasingly harder to manage your staff. You’ll need to know who’s coming and going, monitor any absences, and potentially control access to your business premises – all while staying on top of HR and payroll. 

The good news, then? Kelio’s time and attendance system does all this, and more. With intuitive, feature-rich software and a range of innovative clocking-in devices, Kelio is (quite literally) is up there with the best time and attendance software. 

Let’s take a look at what Kelio offers, what its customers are saying, and – most importantly – if it’s well-suited to cater for the unique needs of your business.

What does Kelio do?

Bodet, Kelio’s parent company, provides a range of software and hardware solutions for a plethora of businesses and industries. From scoreboards and PA systems in the UK to clock installations in France’s oldest towers, it’s fair to say that Bodet has its fingers in a lot of pies. 

The only slice we’re looking at today, though, is Bodet’s time and attendance system, now run by it’s subsidiary, Kelio. Broadly, this is made up of two parts. On the one hand, you have Kelio’s software. With Kelio, you can manage staff records and attendance, reduce admin, and increase workplace productivity. In fact, its efficiency helped it top our best time and attendance software list.

The hardware, on the other hand, is what captures that data. The hardware you’ll be most interested in is a clocking-in device – it’s how your staff will physically register for their shift, when arriving at or leaving your premises. 

‘Clocking in’ can be done either with a key fob (pictured), or with the employee’s own biometric data. And, depending on whether you want access control installed, it’s where your staff will need to identify themselves to enter the building, or enter specific rooms with restricted access.

Kelio’s plentiful solutions – including its industry-leading Kelio X7 – actually make it one of the best clocking-in systems currently in the market.

What are Kelio’s features and benefits?

✔ Pick ‘n’ mix

We all love a good deal – and they don’t get much sweeter than this. Why? Because Kelio’s time and attendance systems are entirely modular. You can select just the features you really need, without having your budget weighed down by a package that’s swollen with offerings irrelevant to your business.

That said, you may struggle to find a feature that you don’t need. Here’s a list of some of the modules Kelio’s time and attendance software offers:

• Absence management: Easily view and export staff absence data, allowing you spot potential employee absenteeism cases
• Job costing: Make informed labour choices, and better manage project finances
• Staff planning (pictured): Streamline your task and employee scheduling efforts
• HR decision making: Create and analyse HR data with ease
• Employee self-service: Empower your staff (and lighten your own workload) with a self-service portal for employees

Kelio’s staff management interface: Slick, stylish, and seamless

✔ Flexibility

While we can’t tell you exactly how much Kelio’s time and attendance system costs, we can tell you that its payment terms are entirely flexible. Whether you’re looking to buy your time and attendance hardware outright, or just rent it and pay monthly, Kelio has you covered.

Even away from the money side of things, Kelio offers flexibility in plenty of other areas. For one, it can be deployed either as an on-premise or cloud-based solution. Basically, you can either host the data on your own platforms, or let Kelio handle it. 

What that means is that Kelio’s time and attendance system is made to scale with your business. So, even though your staff count may be increasing, the burden on your IT resources needn’t follow suit. 

✔ Tailored to your industry

For things to work, you need your time and attendance system to be as dynamic and fast-moving as your industry is. But to do that, you’ll also need a supplier (and solution) that understands and appreciates the intricacies of your industry.

Kelio does all this, and more – it’s actually harder to find an industry it doesn’t offer a specific time and attendance system for. Call centres, care homes, and construction sites have all found a friend in Kelio’s tailored technology, as have bars, restaurants, and hospitals. 

And, if this wasn’t enough, Kelio offers solutions for the manufacturing, logistics, retail, and public services industries, too. Why settle for a ‘one size fits all’ approach, when you have all that?

✔ Clever clocking-in devices

Time and attendance software alone isn’t going to keep your business running – you’ll need the right hardware, too. It’s fortunate, then, that Kelio’s clocking-in devices are some of the best on the market.

They’re also some of the most simple, too, letting your team clock in with a straightforward keyring fob, a smartphone or computer, or even their own biometric data, via a fingerprint clocking-in machine.

Kelio’s facial recognition clocking-in systems are also some of the best around, and are ideal for helping you proof your workplace against COVID-19.

✔ Slick mobile app

Kelio’s time and attendance software is available both on desktop and as a mobile app, compatible with both Android and iOS. Not only is the app smooth, intuitive, and easy on the eye, but there’s one for both employees and managers.

Employees can use the app to clock in when they get close to your building, access self-service tools (such as viewing hours worked), or request further info. 

Meanwhile, you and your management team can use it to manage absences and lateness. Better still, you can easily leverage data through the app, to better reward and recognise the staff who’re going the extra mile.

How much does Kelio’s time and attendance system cost?

Somewhat frustratingly, Kelio isn’t transparent about the costs of its time and attendance solutions. This is sort of understandable – after all, its solutions are tailored to your business’ size, industry, and specific requirements. 

What you’ll pay also depends on whether or not you lease or buy your clocking-in terminals. It’ll either be a one-off fee when you get started, or an ongoing cost. 

As with most SaaS (software as a service) products, Kelio’s software is leased, and will likely be a monthly cost you’ll have to factor into your business’ budget. That said, we can’t tell you exactly how much you can expect to pay. 

What we can do, though, is help you get in touch with some of the UK’s leading time and attendance system suppliers. Simply provide us with a few details about your business – this includes size, industry, the number of employees your system will need to handle, and how soon you’d want it installed.

We don’t ask for loads of information – only what we need in order to find you the right suppliers.

When you’ve finished the form, you’ll receive quotes tailored to your business, from top time and attendance system providers. The right devices, the right software, and the right service to help your business grow – right when you need it.

Is Kelio right for my business?

Kelio’s flexibility and features mean it’s well-suited to a wide range of SMEs. But, as with blue cheese, brussels sprouts, and black licorice, Kelio might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Here are the answers to some of the questions we’re often asked by business owners looking to buy.

“I want to restrict access rights to certain rooms at my business’ premises.”

Fair enough! And, fortunately enough, Kelio’s access control solution is excellent. Available as an ‘add-on’ module to Kelio’s time and attendance systems, it gives you ultimate control over who’s allowed where.

Sounds a bit Big Brother-y, right? Not at all – in fact, access control is for protecting your employees, not controlling them. With access control, you can stop unauthorised people coming and going, and help prevent theft from your workplace. 

As well as improved security, Kelio’s access control module also brings plenty of convenience to the table. It works in tandem with the time and attendance software, meaning that if a staff member’s schedule changes, their access rights will automatically update. Frankly, it’s… pretty cool.

“I already use separate software to do my payroll. Will it work with a Kelio system?”

Most probably, yes. Kelio’s Kelio Paylink boasts compatibility with more than 140 payroll software applications. And, with a little tinkering, you can automate the exporting of data from your time and attendance system to your existing payroll software. In other words, you can sit back and let Kelio do the legwork.

What do Kelio’s customer reviews say?

We’re nearly at the end of this review, and no time and attendance system review would be worth its salt without looking at… well, more reviews! Let’s hear what Kelio’s customers have to say…

Admittedly, there isn’t much Kelio feedback here, because there isn’t a huge amount of it on the web – not even in the savage, saturated online software review space. 

Based on what we’ve seen and read, though, we think Kelio’s worth recommending. And who knows? The next review up here could be yours…

What other time and attendance systems could I consider?

If you’ve got this far but aren’t yet sold on Kelio’s time and attendance system, then, well… you’re a lost cause. 

Just kidding!

All it means is that you haven’t found the right time and attendance solution for your business just yet. Dive into the table below, and we can help change that.

Expert verdict

Kelio is part of the Bodet group, which has been around for more than one and a half centuries. Granted, it wasn’t in the software business back in 1868, but still – it must be doing something right. 

And, as we’ve seen here, it really is. Offering flexibility in its deployment and with its pricing, Kelio is suitable for a vast array of different businesses and industries. Kelio’s modular plan means it should suit even the pickiest of business owners, while its features offer more than enough to keep even the most tech-hungry among us safely satiated.

Granted, its pricing plans are a bit unclear… so allow us to help. Simply complete our free quote-finding form with some brief details about your business – we’ll match you with select time and attendance suppliers, who’ll then provide you with bespoke quotes to help your business grow.