Written for people already running BioTime on a PC in the office. Your ZKTeco terminals stay exactly where they are — this is a software change, not a hardware one.
Switching takes one settings change on the terminal. No re-enrolment, no new hardware, no local server.
BioTime talks to your terminals over ADMS — ZKTeco's push protocol. So does ClockIt. That means the switch is one field on the device: change the server address from your local install to ClockIt's, and punches start arriving in the cloud instead.
Nobody re-enrols a fingerprint or a face. Biometric templates live on the terminal, not in BioTime, and changing where it pushes does not touch them.
BioTime is ZKTeco's own time and attendance software, sold alongside its terminals and now also branded ZKBio Time. You install it on a Windows PC or server on your own network, and it becomes the ADMS server your ZKTeco devices push their punches to. ZKTeco's own product material describes the current 9.5 release as on-premise software for organisations that want local deployment. It handles timetables, shifts, schedules and attendance reports, and on the larger licences it sits alongside ZKTeco's access-control modules.
This guide covers:
Because BioTime runs on your own hardware, the attendance system inherits every problem that PC has. If it is switched off, patched, moved, or simply fails, punches stop reaching it. Teams usually move after the first time payroll is held up by a server nobody had thought about in two years.
Reaching an on-premise install from home, from another branch or from a phone means exposing the server, running a VPN, or forwarding ports — and keeping that secure. Multi-site operators feel this first, because each site tends to end up with its own install and its own set of reports to merge by hand.
BioTime is built around the clock on the wall. Field staff, drivers, remote workers and anyone between sites are not covered by it, so they end up on a spreadsheet that has to be merged with the device data every pay run.
The software's job ends at attendance reporting. Leave balances, approval chains, timesheet sign-off and payroll-ready exports are typically handled elsewhere, which is where the manual re-keying — and the errors — come in.
Compared on structure — where the software runs, what it covers and how it is licensed. We do not quote ZKTeco prices or licence terms here, because those vary by reseller and edition and we cannot verify them for your account.
| BioTime | ClockIt | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Windows PC or server on your own network | Cloud — nothing to install or keep running |
| Your ZKTeco terminals | Push punches to your local install over ADMS | Push punches to ClockIt over the same ADMS protocol |
| Re-enrolment on switching | — | None — templates stay on the device |
| Access from outside the office | VPN, port forwarding or an exposed server | Any browser, plus iOS and Android apps |
| Static IP required | Typically, to reach the server remotely | No — the device opens the connection outward |
| Staff without a terminal | Not covered by the device software | Mobile, GPS and web clock-in on the same account |
| Multi-site | Commonly one install per site, merged manually | Every site in one account |
| Shift scheduling | Timetables and shift assignment | Scheduling with publishing, swaps and coverage |
| Leave and time off | Handled outside the attendance software | Built in, with accruals and approvals |
| Timesheet approvals | Handled outside the attendance software | Built in, with an audit trail |
| Job or cost codes on the punch | — | Keyed at the terminal, costed to Projects and Tasks |
| Payroll exports | Attendance reports to re-key | Payroll-ready exports and API |
| Licence model | Purchased per install, with device and employee tiers | $2.99 per employee per month, free plan available |
| Access control (doors) | Available in the wider ZKTeco suite | Not offered — see below |
ClockIt is a workforce management product, not an access-control system. If your ZKTeco install is also controlling doors, turnstiles, anti-passback zones or visitor management, ClockIt does not take that over and is not trying to. Plenty of sites run both: the terminal keeps doing door control through ZKTeco's own software, and ClockIt takes the attendance side. Worth knowing before you plan a cutover, because the two halves are often licensed together and people assume they move together.
Every one of these connects to ClockIt over ADMS. Pick your model for the exact menu path, or see the full ZKTeco device list.
Pull your attendance history out of the existing software as CSV or Excel before you change anything. The data lives in a database on your own PC or server, and the export is trivial while the system is running — much less so after a machine is retired or a licence lapses. Keep it regardless of whether you import it; payroll audits reach back years.
Free to start, no card. Add your employees, set your pay period, and rebuild your shift and overtime rules. If you are coming off a system that has been running for years, this is the moment to fix the rules that were always slightly wrong rather than port them across unchanged.
On the terminal, go to Menu → Comm → ADMS / Cloud Server and change the server address to ClockIt's. That is the entire switch. You are changing which server the device pushes to — you are not reflashing, resetting or re-enrolling anything.
Each terminal already stores an enrolment number against every fingerprint or face. You match those IDs to your ClockIt employee records once. Biometric templates never leave the device, so nobody re-enrols.
Run a complete pay period in ClockIt and reconcile it against the last period from your old system before you decommission the old server. Note that the terminal pushes to one server at a time, so this is a sequential check against your exported history rather than two systems running side by side.
Implementing ClockIt's biometric kiosks eliminated buddy punching overnight. The facial recognition is instant and works perfectly even in our warehouse environment. It's the most secure time tracking decision we've made.
Point one ZKTeco terminal at ClockIt and see a full day of punches arrive before you decide anything. Free to start, no card.