Choosing a time tracking system without going down a blind alley
A time tracking system is more than a clock-in button: it holds target hours, calculates balances, checks against the Working Hours Act, manages roles and delivers the report for payroll. The choice usually turns on three questions, not on the feature list.
- One price per person, no module surcharges
- No minimum term, cancellable monthly
- Data export as Excel and CSV, at any time
Last checked on 4 September 2026
Lena H.
Tobias K.
Aylin D.
Mehmet Y.
Sophie B.
Mara W.Leave, 3 daysAylin Demir · 28–30 OctTraining, 1 dayTobias Krüger · 22 Oct
Leave, 3 daysNadia Schulz · 22–24 DecReview
Month endSeptember · Krämer payroll officeDone- Made in GermanyDeveloped and hosted in Germany
- Certified data centreISO 27001, located in Germany
- Web, app and terminalBrowser, iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows
- GDPR compliantServers in Nuremberg and Falkenstein
The three questions it turns on
Feature lists are long and differ less than they look. What actually stops a business buying, or annoys it six months later, is almost always the same three points.
- How do the people without a computer in front of them clock in? Without an answer to that, part of the business stays outside.
- What happens at the month end, and who does it? If the answer is "somebody types it up", the main problem is unsolved.
- What does it really cost? The price per person is rarely the whole price.
Eight criteria, judged by the same definition
These eight points can be checked against any offer before a demo happens. Six of them are in the comparison overview for 23 providers; two are commercial and sit in the contract.
What to check an offer against
| Criterion | What you ask | Why it counts |
|---|---|---|
| Ways of recording | app, browser and terminal, or only one of them? | decides whether everybody can take part |
| Personal device | does anybody have to use their private phone? | the most common objection from the staff |
| Checking under the ArbZG | does the system warn as you enter, or only afterwards? | found afterwards, the breach has already happened |
| Month end | what exactly does payroll receive, and in what format? | this is where the time saving comes from, or does not |
| Locking the period | can a closed month be locked? | otherwise figures move after the handover |
| Server location | in Germany, and who operates the servers? | two different questions, often only one answered |
| Price components | base fee, modules, setup, support, minimum quantity? | 2 € per person quickly becomes 8 € |
| Getting out | term, notice period, data export? | decides how expensive a mistake becomes |
Ways of recording
- What you ask
- app, browser and terminal, or only one of them?
- Why it counts
- decides whether everybody can take part
Personal device
- What you ask
- does anybody have to use their private phone?
- Why it counts
- the most common objection from the staff
Checking under the ArbZG
- What you ask
- does the system warn as you enter, or only afterwards?
- Why it counts
- found afterwards, the breach has already happened
Month end
- What you ask
- what exactly does payroll receive, and in what format?
- Why it counts
- this is where the time saving comes from, or does not
Locking the period
- What you ask
- can a closed month be locked?
- Why it counts
- otherwise figures move after the handover
Server location
- What you ask
- in Germany, and who operates the servers?
- Why it counts
- two different questions, often only one answered
Price components
- What you ask
- base fee, modules, setup, support, minimum quantity?
- Why it counts
- 2 € per person quickly becomes 8 €
Getting out
- What you ask
- term, notice period, data export?
- Why it counts
- decides how expensive a mistake becomes
What a system costs
List prices in the German market sit roughly between 2 € and 13 € per person a month. The range says little while the components are missing: base fees per site, surcharges for rotas or absences, one-off setup fees, minimum purchases of ten or twenty licences.
MetronHR costs 5 € per person a month on the Team plan and 10 € on the Professional plan, with no setup fee and no minimum term. The number of licences can be adjusted up and down every month, which makes the difference for seasonal businesses.
Monthly price at MetronHR, with no extra costs
| Employees | Team, 5 € per person | Professional, 10 € per person |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 25 € | 50 € |
| 10 | 50 € | 100 € |
| 20 | 100 € | 200 € |
| 50 | 250 € | 500 € |
As of 4 September 2026, prices exclusive of VAT. Shift and duty planning belong to the Professional plan, time tracking and absences to the Team plan.
5
- Team, 5 € per person
- 25 €
- Professional, 10 € per person
- 50 €
10
- Team, 5 € per person
- 50 €
- Professional, 10 € per person
- 100 €
20
- Team, 5 € per person
- 100 €
- Professional, 10 € per person
- 200 €
50
- Team, 5 € per person
- 250 €
- Professional, 10 € per person
- 500 €
As of 4 September 2026, prices exclusive of VAT. Shift and duty planning belong to the Professional plan, time tracking and absences to the Team plan.
The rollout, in four steps
For a business with ten people that is an afternoon, with no training and no consulting day. Anyone planning to use a terminal should add the delivery time for the cards.
- Create the people, with a start date and weekly hours.
- Assign a working time model: fixed hours, flexitime, part time or shifts.
- Choose a way of recording per person; mixing is allowed.
- Set the go-live date, usually the first of a month. Before it, everything stays as it was.
Related
Where to go from here, and what waits for you there.
Frequent questions
What we are asked most often about Choosing a system.
Question not answered here? Every step is explained in the help centre.
Send us a messageWhat belongs to a time tracking system?
Recording (clocking or typing in), target hours from a working time model, a time account with a balance, corrections with approval, the check against the Working Hours Act, roles and permissions, and a report for payroll. If one of those parts is missing, manual work is left over.
Cloud or your own server?
MetronHR runs as a cloud service on servers in Germany, in data centres in Nuremberg and Falkenstein. There is no on-premises installation. Anyone who absolutely needs one is in the wrong place with MetronHR, and we say so before the trial rather than after it.
How long does the rollout take?
For ten people, an afternoon: create the people, assign a working time model, choose a way of recording. There is no compulsory training and no paid setup day. With a terminal it takes as long as the cards take.
Can the system be connected to our payroll program?
Through the file, which is the route every accountant knows: MetronHR creates a payroll file for DATEV LODAS or DATEV Lohn und Gehalt with the accountant's wage types, which they import. For payroll software without DATEV there is the monthly summary per person as Excel or CSV, with target, actual, balance, premium hours and vacation and sick days. In both cases the values are already calculated. A separate login for the accountant is deliberately not offered, because it raises questions about roles and data processing that outweigh its use.
What happens to our data if we cancel?
The export as Excel and CSV is available throughout, not only at the end. There is no minimum term, and cancellation is monthly. Leaving therefore costs nothing but the time for the export.
See the system running in the business for a month.
Try it free for 14 days, no credit card and no minimum term afterwards.
- No credit card required
- Ready quickly
- Cancel monthly
- Full access to every feature
No credit card, cancel any time