Replacing your NOVAtime
What happens to your punch history, which terminal replaces yours, and what it costs. Written for people who already own the hardware — not a sales comparison.
Most teams replacing a NOVAtime are around 20 people and set themselves up in under an hour. Past 100, book a call — the terminal count and site layout are worth working through first.
Your NOVAtime will not connect to ClockIt
We would rather lead with that than waste your time. ClockIt reads terminals that speak the ADMS push protocol — that means ZKTeco and eSSL devices. A NOVAtime does not, and no amount of configuration changes it.
So this is a hardware replacement, not an integration. The rest of this page is about what that actually involves and what it costs, including the parts people usually discover too late.
What a NOVAtime is
NOVAtime is an enterprise-oriented time-and-attendance platform sold with its own NT and NC series terminals, widely deployed in staffing, manufacturing and healthcare, and frequently reached through payroll partners.
This guide covers:
Why teams move off NOVAtime
Enterprise depth at small-business scale
NOVAtime is built for large, rule-heavy workforces. Smaller teams inherit that complexity in the interface and the setup without needing what it buys.
Terminals are platform-specific
NT and NC series clocks are provisioned for NOVAtime. Any move off the platform is also a hardware decision.
Partner-mediated support
Where the deployment came through a payroll partner, questions route through that partner, which slows down small changes.
What replaces what
| Your NOVAtime setup | With ClockIt |
|---|---|
| NT/NC series terminal | ZKTeco terminal, one-time $450–$650 |
| Enterprise platform licence | $2.99/user/month, published |
| Partner-mediated support | Direct account, direct support |
| Configured during implementation | Self-serve settings |
The terminal you need
Face Recognition Time Clock – U350
High-performance multi-biometric terminal with face, fingerprint, RFID, and PIN. Recognizes employees in under 1 second—even in low-light conditions.
$650
- Free worldwide shipping
- Arrives pre-configured for your ClockIt account
- Yours outright — no lease, no per-clock licence
How the migration actually goes
- 1
Export your history before you unplug anything
Pull your punch history out of the existing software as CSV while the system is still running. This is the step people skip and regret — once a terminal is decommissioned or a licence lapses, historical punches stored on-device or in a local database can become very hard to reach. Keep the export regardless of whether you import it; payroll audits reach back years.
- 2
Create your ClockIt account
Free to start, no card. Add your employees, set your pay period, and configure overtime rules to match what your old system was doing. Most teams have this done in well under an hour.
- 3
Plug in the new terminal
Your ClockIt device arrives pre-configured for your account. It connects over WiFi or Ethernet and pushes punches to the cloud using built-in ADMS — no local server, no static IP, no port forwarding, no software to install on a PC in the back office.
- 4
Enrol employees and run both in parallel
Enrol fingerprints or faces on the new terminal — a few seconds per person. Run the old clock alongside the new one for one full pay period so you can reconcile the two before you retire the old hardware. Nobody should cut over blind on payday.
- 5
Retire the old terminal
Once a pay period reconciles cleanly, decommission the old clock. Keep the CSV export from step one in your records.
The integration capabilities of this mobile time clock app are outstanding. It seamlessly connects with our existing HR and payroll systems, creating a streamlined workflow that has significantly reduced errors and improved our overall efficiency.
NOVAtime migration questions
Can we keep our NT8000 terminals?
No. NOVAtime terminals are provisioned for their platform and do not support the ADMS push protocol ClockIt uses.
How do we export NOVAtime history?
Export punch and accrual data to CSV before access ends. If a payroll partner administers the account, ask them directly and confirm the cut-off date in writing.
Is ClockIt appropriate for a staffing agency?
It depends on scale. For a few dozen to a couple of hundred workers across sites, yes — terminals per site, mobile punching with GPS for field staff. For thousands of placements with client-level billing rules, NOVAtime is doing things ClockIt does not.
Does ClockIt integrate with my existing terminal?
Almost certainly not, and we would rather say so plainly than waste your time. ClockIt connects to terminals that support the ADMS push protocol — that means ZKTeco and eSSL devices. Hand-geometry readers, proximity-card clocks and most access-control terminals do not speak it. If your device is not a ZKTeco or eSSL, the honest answer is that you need new hardware, which is why we sell it pre-configured rather than pretending a connector exists.
How much does the hardware cost?
Terminals in our shop run $450–$650 with free worldwide shipping, and they arrive already configured for your ClockIt account. That is a one-time purchase, not a lease, and there is no per-clock software licence on top of it.
What does the software cost after that?
ClockIt is $2.99 per user per month. There is a free plan to start on and no setup fee, no per-terminal licence, and no annual contract required.
We have 100+ employees. Can we talk to someone first?
Yes — book a call. Once you are past roughly 100 people the questions get specific to your setup: how many terminals across how many sites, how shifts and overtime rules are structured, and how punches need to reach payroll. That is a conversation, not a signup form.
Replacing something else?
Ready to retire the NOVAtime?
Start free and set your account up today — the terminal can follow once you know it fits. Under 100 employees, most teams do this without talking to anyone.