What it means
Time and attendance covers the raw record of hours worked and the rules applied to it, such as rounding, overtime and break deductions. It is narrower than workforce management, which adds scheduling, forecasting and labor budgeting on top. It also differs from time tracking, which usually assigns hours to projects or clients for billing instead of for pay.
Why it matters when you buy software
Time and attendance is often sold as an add-on or a higher plan tier instead of a base feature, so the plan matters. The useful points are payroll integration, support for local overtime rules and clock-in methods such as mobile apps or kiosks for staff who are not at desks. Gaps lead to manual corrections at pay time.
How it works in practice
An employee clocks in by app, browser, kiosk or badge. The system logs the time, applies the company's rounding and break rules, and flags missing or late entries. A manager approves the timesheet, and the approved hours pass to payroll. Leave requests usually feed the same record, so absences and worked hours appear together.
See also: Applicant tracking system, Benefits administration and the glossary index.