busybusy vs Arcoro Time

• Clocking in: busybusy lists individual, supervisor crew and kiosk clock-in, a Required Onsite setting that blocks clock-in outside the project boundary, location-based reminders when workers arrive and leave, GPS breadcrumbing and yes-or-no sign-in questions. Arcoro Time lists geofences that limit clock-ins to a job site, breadcrumb tracking, perimeter control for clock-in and out, meal-break tracking and a tablet kiosk option; its FAQ says GPS is active only while an employee is on the clock.
• Beyond hours: busybusy lists cost codes, budgets vs actuals, equipment hours with GPS and optional hour meters, GPS- and time-stamped photos, documents, scheduling, signed digital time cards and a daily injury sign-off, plus daily project reports it says can pull weather, job costing, equipment, photos, injury reports and hours on site. Arcoro Time lists project and cost-code hours, tool and equipment tracking with incident and repair notes, a daily employee work report across job sites, regular and overtime hours by site, custom forms, alerts to employees, and on the higher plans job-assignment scheduling and PTO administration.
• Payroll: Arcoro Time connects to Arcoro Payroll or another provider and names QuickBooks, Sage, ADP, Acumatica, Foundation and Viewpoint; its Time + Payroll plan pays employees through Arcoro Payroll. busybusy says its time and job-costing data flows into many project management and accounting products and lists an Add Payroll option on Pro.
• AI: busybusy's only described AI is kiosk facial recognition that alerts the office to buddy punching; its daily report is assembled from captured data. Arcoro mentions AI only for its support tools; the time product is not described as AI. Both are tagged Not AI-first here.
• Offline and support: busybusy lists an offline mode and free in-app chat support. Arcoro lists a dedicated implementation team, Arcoro Learning tutorials and office hours, and Support Central by chat, web form or phone.
• Pricing (checked Oct 22, 2026): busybusy has a Free plan ($0, GPS time tracking, job costing, equipment tracking, unlimited users), Pro at $11.99 per user per month billed monthly or $9.99 billed annually and Premium at $17.99 or $14.99, each plus a $40 admin license (first user included), with a 14-day trial and no credit card. Arcoro Time lists Time Essential from $9, Time Professional from $12 and Time + Payroll from $20 per employee per month with an annual contract and annual payment terms, monthly and quarterly terms also available, volume pricing for 200+ employees and a free trial. The bases differ (per user plus an admin license vs per employee on an annual contract), so the figures are not like-for-like.
• Not used here: busybusy's rankings, customer quotes and hours-tracked counts, and Arcoro's payroll-loss calculator figures (American Payroll Association estimates) and customer quotes (vendor material). Neither tool has been tested by Means & Methods Lab.

Paraphrased from the sources listed above. Vendor claims are reported as claims.