Replacing your Pyramid Time Systems
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 Pyramid 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 Pyramid 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 Pyramid 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 Pyramid is
Pyramid Time Systems makes affordable small-business time clocks — auto-aligning card punches, proximity-badge terminals and the TimeTrax line with accompanying desktop or cloud software. It is typically the first real time clock a small business buys.
This guide covers:
Why teams move off Pyramid
Cards, ribbons and consumables
Card-based models carry a small permanent running cost and a recurring errand. It is minor until you total it across a few years and add the time spent adding cards up.
The software tier is basic
Pyramid does what it says on the box. Teams wanting scheduling, leave tracking, mobile punching or a payroll export that matches their provider tend to reach the edge of it fairly quickly.
Badge punching is easy to abuse
A proximity badge can be handed to a colleague. That is precisely what biometric verification removes, and it is usually why a growing business upgrades.
What replaces what
| Your Pyramid setup | With ClockIt |
|---|---|
| Card punch or proximity badge terminal | Biometric terminal — the punch has to be the actual person |
| Cards, ribbons and consumables | No consumables at all |
| Basic desktop or cloud reporting | Scheduling, leave, overtime rules and payroll export included |
| Manual totalling each pay period | Totals calculated continuously |
The terminal you need
Time Clock X990 FP+RFID WiFi
The X990 is the industry-standard biometric workhorse, now upgraded for the cloud era. Designed for high-traffic environments like factories, warehouses, and large offices, it combines a rugged hardware build with lightning-fast fingerprint verification (<0.5s).
$500
- 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.
Pyramid migration questions
Can ClockIt use my Pyramid terminal?
No. Pyramid terminals pair with their own software and do not support ADMS push, so the terminal is replaced.
Is biometric overkill for a business our size?
It depends on why you are looking. If cards keep getting lost or you suspect buddy punching, biometric solves precisely that and pays for itself quickly. If neither is a problem, the honest answer is that our free plan with the web clock may be all you need — you can start there and add a terminal later.
How do I keep our old punch records?
Export to CSV from your TimeTrax software before retiring it. Desktop installs keep the data on that PC, so do it before the machine changes hands.
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 Pyramid?
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.