Key takeaway
Choose TimeKeeper if you need GPS or kiosk clock-ins, job costing and payroll hours with no vetting or welfare duties. Choose ShiftTracker if BS 7858 screening, SIA licence records, check calls or agency cover sit inside your contracts. Test both with your own shift pattern before you decide.
ShiftTracker vs TimeKeeper: which fits a cleaning or security team?
ShiftTracker and TimeKeeper handle rotas, clock-ins and timesheets, but are built for different work. TimeKeeper's own site describes a time and attendance app for construction and field service teams, with cleaning as one of its industry pages. ShiftTracker is built for UK security and cleaning operations, with BS 7858 screening records, SIA licence records, check calls and agency cover. On price, TimeKeeper lists £3.33 per employee per month on Core and £5 on Pro, both excluding VAT, with a 14-day trial and no card. ShiftTracker lists £49 a month plus £3 per active employee, with a 30-day trial and no card. Choose TimeKeeper if your workforce needs clock-ins, job costing and payroll hours, with no vetting or welfare duties. Choose ShiftTracker if screening evidence, check calls or agency cover sit inside your contracts. It compares what each company states on its own website and flags what we could not confirm.
Which platform fits your operation?
Choose TimeKeeper if your main need is GPS or kiosk clock-ins, job costing and hours for payroll, and your staff have no vetting or welfare obligations. Choose ShiftTracker if BS 7858 screening, SIA licence records, check calls or agency coordination are part of your contracts. Neither product fits every firm, so test your own shift pattern before you decide.
The table below sets out what each company states on its own site. Where a feature was not stated on the pages we read, the cell says so rather than guessing.
| Area | ShiftTracker | TimeKeeper |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £49 a month per account plus £3 per active employee; Professional adds £1.50 per active employee; no VAT added | Core £3.33 and Pro £5 per employee per month, excluding VAT; annual billing saves two months |
| Free trial | 30 days, no card required | 14 days, no credit card required |
| Clock-in | Book-on and check calls in the app, with a personal PIN required by default | Mobile app with GPS, a shared kiosk with a 4-digit PIN, and facial recognition |
| Live attendance | Check Calls board showing overdue, due and missed events | Who's In live report showing each worker's latest clock-in location, for roll calls |
| Scheduling | Rota with patterns and Working Time checks on each assignment | Rota planner on Core; job scheduler on Pro |
| BS 7858 screening | Screening tab with a 5 or 10 year window, gaps of 31 days or more flagged, and consent before references | Not stated on the pages we read |
| SIA licences | Recorded with expiry alerts and a link to the public register; not checked against it | Not stated on the pages we read |
| Check calls and lone working | Missed calls alert staff; no call is placed to the worker | Not stated on the pages we read |
| Payroll export | Sage 50 timesheet file or a generic hours file; Xero push listed on Professional | Integrations with Xero, Sage, MoneySoft and BrightPay, plus CSV and Excel export |
| Company | Founded 2025; based in Leighton Buzzard | Founded 2018, according to its own site |
What does each platform cost for a team of 25?
ShiftTracker charges £49 plus £3 for each active employee, and staff who did no work in the month cost nothing. TimeKeeper charges per employee and lists no base fee. For a team of 25, our arithmetic at list price is £124 a month on ShiftTracker, £83.25 on TimeKeeper Core and £125 on TimeKeeper Pro, excluding VAT where it applies.
The two models count people differently. ShiftTracker counts only active employees, meaning anyone with a recorded book-on, check call, form or clock-in that month. TimeKeeper's pricing page says per employee and does not define how archived or inactive staff are billed. Ask TimeKeeper to confirm that point in writing before you compare totals.
ShiftTracker's trial is 30 days with no card. TimeKeeper's pages state a 14-day trial with no card required. Both publish monthly pricing, and TimeKeeper also lists an annual option.
How do clock-ins and welfare checks compare?
TimeKeeper is stronger on attendance records for on-site staff. Its app and kiosk record location and show a live list of who is on site, which helps with roll calls. ShiftTracker is stronger on welfare checks, because it schedules check calls, verifies them and alerts your team when one is missed.
On ShiftTracker you set the interval, the call window and escalation, and what proves a call: a personal PIN, the site ID or GPS. A missed call alerts staff in the app and by push and email. An Escalate button raises the alert sooner, and the documentation states that no call is placed to the worker and no cover is arranged automatically.
TimeKeeper describes its live attendance view as a way to check who is in and where. Its pages do not describe scheduled welfare calls, missed-call alerts or escalation to a manager. If those features are part of your contract, ask TimeKeeper for them in writing.
How do BS 7858 and SIA records compare?
ShiftTracker holds BS 7858 screening records in a dedicated workflow and records SIA licences with expiry alerts. TimeKeeper's pages we read do not describe vetting or SIA licence records. ShiftTracker does not check an SIA licence against the register, and its documentation says so plainly.
The Screening tab keeps a five or ten year vetting window, the jobs and other periods that cover it, and the applicant's consent. It flags any uncovered span of 31 days or more and sends references only after consent is signed. A record can be marked complete once one employment and two character references are in. These are ShiftTracker's defaults, and each organisation can choose to run its own screening policy.
For SIA licences, ShiftTracker stores the typed licence details and expiry date, and its SIA licence verification page explains that the compliance report links to the public register. A licence shows as valid only until the typed expiry date has passed. It does not confirm that the licence exists or has not been suspended, so a manual check against the register is still needed.
How do scheduling and payroll exports compare?
Both products cover rotas, clock-ins and hours. ShiftTracker builds recurring patterns site by site and checks each assignment against Working Time limits. TimeKeeper's rota planner is included in Core, and its job scheduler is part of Pro. For a cleaning firm that bills clients by job, TimeKeeper's job costing is the more developed feature on its own pages.
ShiftTracker checks each assignment against the 48-hour average over a 17-week reference period and 11 hours of rest, along with overlaps and approved leave. Overlaps are refused, and Working Time warnings need a reason before they can be overridden. Its documentation states that night-work limits are not checked.
On payroll, ShiftTracker's Payroll Export builds a Sage 50 timesheet file or a generic hours file from approved hours. Its pricing page lists a Xero timesheet and invoice push on Professional, but the documentation does not describe it, so confirm it in a demo. TimeKeeper lists direct integrations with Xero, Sage, MoneySoft and BrightPay, and CSV and Excel exports, on its cleaning page.
Where does TimeKeeper have the advantage?
TimeKeeper is the simpler product for a team that needs clock-ins and hours. It offers a shared kiosk, facial recognition, a live on-site list and geofenced job clock-ins on Pro, with a lower per-employee price on Core. Its cleaning page names four payroll packages.
TimeKeeper also has the longer record, with a founding date of 2018 on its own site. ShiftTracker was founded in 2025, so buyers who want a long track record may weigh that more heavily.
Where does ShiftTracker still fall short?
ShiftTracker's documentation lists several limits to test before you sign. The Lone Worker module is described as in build, so check calls are the live welfare tool. SIA licences are recorded, not verified. Night-work limits are not checked. The pricing page lists NFC patrols and a panic button that the documentation does not describe, so ask for a demo.
Its Xero push appears on the pricing page for Professional, but the documentation does not describe it. Confirm the exact payroll and accounting links you need before you commit.
How we checked this comparison
We read TimeKeeper's pricing, cleaning and Who's In pages, and ShiftTracker's pricing page and documentation. Where a feature was not stated on the pages we read, we say so. Before you choose, run one shift pattern through both products, test one missed check call end to end, and get each vendor's payroll links in writing.
