Time clock

A time clock, sometimes known as a clock card machine, punch clock, or time recorder, is a device that records start and end times for <a href="/facts/Hourly_worker/9IrygwV1">hourly</a> employees (or those on <a href="/facts/Flexi-time/z4ENW3wm">flexi-time</a>) at a place of business.
In mechanical time clocks, this was accomplished by inserting a heavy paper <a href="/facts/Card_stock/fyxp6Bzy">card</a>, called a time card, into a slot on the time clock. When the time card hit a contact at the rear of the slot, the machine would print day and time information (a <a href="/facts/Timestamp/6lApANE6">timestamp</a>) on the card. One or more time cards could serve as a <a href="/facts/Timesheet/NMnsKtvD">timesheet</a> or provide the data to fill one. This allowed a <a href="/facts/Timekeeper/VRe41Is3">timekeeper</a> to have an official record of the hours an employee worked to calculate the pay owed an employee.
The terms bundy clock, or just bundy have been used in <a href="/facts/Australian_English/S1qgz29t">Australian English</a> for time clocks. The term comes from brothers Willard and Harlow Bundy.

Time clock open-in-new

Time clock