Best Time Tracking Software in Malaysia for SMEs (2026 Guide)

Malaysia’s SMEs employ 8.1 million people and contribute RM 652.4 billion in value-added, which is 48.7% of total employment and 39.5% of GDP (DOSM, MSMEs Performance 2024). The RM 1,700 national minimum wage took effect 1 February 2025 for employers with at least five workers, and became universal on 1 August 2025 when the small-employer exemption ended (Malay Mail, citing the Human Resources Ministry, 2025). Combined with the EA 1955 amendment capping work at 45 hours per week and the SOCSO/EIS ceiling jumping to RM 6,000, the cost of getting attendance wrong has climbed sharply. This guide compares the 9 best time tracking software options for Malaysia SMEs in 2026, with honest pricing, EPF/SOCSO/EIS fit, and EA 1955 overtime tradeoffs.

At a glance

How we picked

The Malaysian SERP for time tracking and attendance software is dominated by vendor-owned content. We built the shortlist by triangulating three independent-leaning roundups: factoHR’s Top 10 HR Software in Malaysia for 2026, Rockbell’s 2025 attendance systems review, and HavaHR’s 2026 SME shortlist. Then we layered in the field-focused pure time trackers (ShiftFlow, Connecteam) that the Malaysian HR-suite listicles tend to overlook.

Tools earned a slot if they cleared at least four of these criteria:

• Native mobile clock-in on iOS and Android
• GPS or geofencing as a base feature, not a paid add-on
• Either native LHDN e-filing for EPF, SOCSO, EIS, and PCB, or a clean CSV export to a Malaysian payroll system (PayrollPanda, Kakitangan, SQL Payroll, Info-Tech)
• A configurable overtime engine that can handle EA 1955’s 45-hour weekly cap and 104-hour monthly OT ceiling
• Either a free plan or a published per-employee price (no sales-quote-only)
• A real customer base in Malaysia, not just brand presence

We evaluated seven of the nine through free plans, free trials, or live sandboxes, running through GPS, kiosk, scheduling, and CSV export paths on each. Kakitangan and BrioHR were assessed against vendor demos, published documentation, and third-party reviews because both are sales-led with limited public sandboxes. Pricing and feature claims were verified against the vendor pages cited at the bottom of this post in May 2026. Verify before purchase. Plans change.

1. ShiftFlow

ShiftFlow charges RM 14.9 per seat per month on a single plan with no base fee and no per-location charge. GPS clock-in, selfie verification, kiosk mode, scheduling, overtime rules configurable to EA 1955, and CSV payroll export are all included. A 20-person F&B chain pays RM 298 per month and that is the entire bill. The catch is that ShiftFlow does not run EPF, SOCSO, EIS, or PCB filings inside the app. You export a CSV and feed it into PayrollPanda (free), Kakitangan, SQL Payroll, or Info-Tech, depending on what already handles your statutory reporting. For a restaurant group rotating staff across three outlets in KL, a security firm placing 25 guards across PJ commercial sites, or a cleaning contractor working seven condos in Mont Kiara, the flat per-seat math is the cleanest pick on this list.

Pricing

Free trial: 14 days, no credit card.

Ratings

• Apple App Store: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.8/5
• Google Play: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.8/5

2. Jibble

Headquartered in Petaling Jaya, Jibble is the only company on this list with a real free-forever plan that includes facial recognition, GPS, kiosk mode, automated timesheets, and unlimited users. Premium at $3.99 per user per month (≈RM 18) unlocks geofencing beyond two locations, advanced scheduling, and detailed reports. Same parent company as PayrollPanda, so the integration into Malaysian statutory payroll (EPF, SOCSO, EIS, PCB, LHDN e-filing) is the tightest in this category if you run both. Jibble is a time tracker, not an HRIS. Leave types beyond the basics, claims, performance reviews, and onboarding all sit outside the product. The free tier also caps geofencing at two locations, which gets tight fast for a cleaning contractor servicing six client sites. For Malaysian small businesses under 20 staff, Jibble plus PayrollPanda is the strongest cost-zero stack available.

Pricing

Free trial: Free plan is permanent.

Ratings

• Apple App Store: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.8/5 (1,200+ ratings)
• Google Play: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.8/5 (4,000+ reviews)
• G2: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.8/5 (331 reviews)

3. Kakitangan

Kakitangan has been the Malaysian-built HR platform of choice since 2015. The attendance product (Hadir) is one module inside a broader suite that handles EPF, SOCSO, EIS, PCB, HRDF, EA Form, and LHDN e-filing natively. Pricing is modular and starts from around RM 50 per month, scaling with headcount and module selection rather than per-employee. Mobile GPS clocking, geofencing, and a bundled HR advisory service round out the offer. Where it shows its age, called out repeatedly in factoHR and HavaHR reviews, is the dated interface and the manual workarounds required for late claims, retro adjustments, and edge-case payroll changes. For Malaysian SMEs of 20 to 200 that want one vendor doing payroll filings and attendance, Kakitangan is the safer institutional pick. Smaller teams under 15 typically find it overbuilt.

Pricing

Free trial: Demo on request.

Ratings

• factoHR: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5/5

4. BrioHR

BrioHR is the Malaysian-founded HR platform that competes with Kakitangan on statutory coverage (EPF, SOCSO, EIS, PCB, HRDF, LHDN) and beats it on the broader HR modules. Applicant tracking, structured onboarding, performance reviews, learning. Modular pricing starts at around RM 3 per employee per month with a roughly RM 200 monthly minimum, and module-level pricing means smaller teams pay only for what they use. The catch is sales-led pricing opacity and slower implementation than a focused time tracker. Expect two to four weeks to go live with payroll and attendance, versus an hour for ShiftFlow or Jibble. For Malaysian SMEs that are actively hiring, running formal reviews, and growing past 30 staff, BrioHR earns its higher floor. For a 12-person shop just trying to log shifts, it is overbuilt.

Pricing

Free trial: Demo on request.

Ratings

• factoHR: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.8/5

5. PayrollPanda

PayrollPanda is listed on MIA’s privileges directory, Malaysian-built, and free for unlimited employees on its payroll plan. Unusual in this market. EPF, SOCSO, EIS, PCB, and LHDN e-filing are all automated, with rate updates pushed whenever the statutory rate changes. Attendance is handled via the bundled Jibble integration (same parent company), which keeps time data and payroll data on a single rail. PayrollPanda is payroll-first, not HR-first. Leave management is basic. Claims and performance reviews are minimal. There is no recruitment module. Paid upgrades exist for HR features but the pricing is not openly published. For a 10 to 40-person Malaysian SME that wants statutory payroll done correctly at zero cost, PayrollPanda plus Jibble Premium is hard to beat on total cost of ownership.

Pricing

Free trial: Free plan is permanent.

Ratings

• factoHR: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.3/5

6. altHR

CelcomDigi owns altHR (the telco group formed by the 2022 Celcom–Digi merger, which incubated altHR under the Digi brand). It is a local mobile super-app for HR. The Lite plan starts at RM 8 per user per month on the 10-user package and includes leaves, expenses, check-ins, documents, onboarding, calendar, time tracking, rostering, and checklists. Pro at RM 20 per user per month adds broader HR coverage, and add-on modules run from RM 1 per module per employee. A 30-day free trial is available. There is no permanent free tier anymore. altHR’s payroll edge cases (mid-month adjustments, retroactive OT) are less battle-tested than Kakitangan or BrioHR, and the shift and OT rules engine is shallower than a dedicated time clock. For Malaysian SMEs that want a telco-backed staff app with strong mobile UX, altHR earns a serious look. Validate payroll on a parallel run before cutting over.

Pricing

Free trial: 30 days on the full suite.

Ratings

• factoHR: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0/5

7. Swingvy

Swingvy is the mobile-first Malaysian HR platform that pairs GPS clock-in and geofencing with native EPF, SOCSO, EIS, PCB, HRDF, and LHDN filing. Priced from RM 99 a month for up to 20 employees plus RM 7 per additional employee. Mid-month payroll runs are supported, which is unusual at this price band and useful for shops that pay weekly or bi-monthly. Two real annoyances, flagged in factoHR’s 3.5/5 review. Performance bugs at peak times (typically the first three days of the month when most companies are running payroll), and higher add-on costs once you scale past the base modules. For a 15 to 50-person Malaysian SME that needs mobile-first attendance plus statutory payroll without paying the BrioHR or Kakitangan minimums, Swingvy is the middle-tier option that often gets shortlisted but rarely wins outright.

Pricing

Free trial: Demo on request.

Ratings

• factoHR: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 3.5/5

8. HReasily

HReasily is the SEA-wide HR platform (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong) that handles EPF, SOCSO, EIS, and PCB for the Malaysian leg while running parallel statutory engines for each neighboring country. Pricing starts at RM 8 per employee per month, with a free plan for teams up to 10 users. Facial recognition clock-in, shift scheduling, leave, and claims are all in scope. SEA-wide focus dilutes MY-specific support depth. factoHR rates it 4.3/5 with the comment that advanced features are difficult and the platform gets expensive for smaller SMBs as add-ons accumulate. For a Malaysian business that already operates a Singapore or Thailand outlet, HReasily removes the per-country payroll fragmentation other vendors create.

Pricing

Free trial: Free tier is permanent.

Ratings

• factoHR: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.3/5

9. Connecteam

Connecteam is the global field-team app that bundles time clock, GPS, geofencing, scheduling, chat, tasks, training, and forms onto a single mobile-first product, with a real free tier for teams of 10 or fewer. Above 10, pricing jumps to a flat $29 per month (≈RM 130) for the Basic plan, fixed for up to 30 users before going per-seat. For a Malaysian security firm running 25 guards across three malls, or a cleaning company juggling 22 staff and three account managers, the team chat and broadcast features are the lever Malaysian-built HR suites don’t really compete on. Four real annoyances in the Malaysian context. Zero EPF, SOCSO, EIS, or PCB native filing. No Bahasa Malaysia UI. USD pricing. Customer support hours that don’t line up well with peninsular Malaysia time. Pair with PayrollPanda or Kakitangan for statutory.

Pricing

Free trial: Free plan is permanent for teams under 10.

Ratings

• G2: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.7/5
• Capterra: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.7/5

How to choose the best time tracking software for Malaysia SMEs

Three real questions decide this. How much statutory payroll work needs to happen inside the time tracking app. Whether your team is desk-based or field-based. And whether you are confident on EA 1955 overtime configuration.

Statutory filing inside or outside the app. If EPF, SOCSO, EIS, PCB, and LHDN e-filing currently live with a bookkeeper, an accounting firm, or a system you do not want to touch, a focused time tracker (ShiftFlow, Jibble, Connecteam) keeps the scope tight and the monthly cost predictable. If statutory filing is a problem you would rather solve once, a Malaysian-built HR suite (Kakitangan, BrioHR, Swingvy, altHR) earns its higher monthly cost. PayrollPanda paired with Jibble is the cost-zero variant of the second path. Time tracking software that works alongside Malaysian payroll (Kakitangan, SQL, Info-Tech) walks through both setups in detail.

Desk versus field. Office-based teams in KL or Cyberjaya can run on a kiosk or a desktop punch and be done with it. Field teams in F&B, retail, construction, security, cleaning, or healthcare need GPS or geofencing on the base plan, not as a paid add-on. ShiftFlow, Jibble, Swingvy, HReasily, and Connecteam all clear that bar. Attendance management for SMEs in Malaysia: a practical guide covers field-team setup specifics.

EA 1955 overtime configurability. The 45-hour weekly cap, the 104-hour monthly OT ceiling, the 1.5x ordinary-day rate, the 2x rest-day excess rate, and the 30-minute rest after five consecutive hours all need to be expressible in your tool’s rules engine. Malaysian-built suites do this natively. Pure international time trackers (Connecteam, Clockify, Toggl) typically require you to build the rules yourself. Fine if you know the law. Dangerous if you do not. How to track attendance for compliance with Malaysian labour law (EA 1955, EPF, SOCSO) is the deep-dive reference.

Get ShiftFlow on iOS or Android

Real monthly bill for 20 employees

USD-billed competitor prices (Connecteam) converted at ≈RM 4.5/USD. PayrollPanda’s free tier means a 20-person team can run statutory payroll plus Jibble-free attendance at RM 0. The lowest credible total cost in this market.

Best by use case

• Best overall for Malaysian SMEs: Jibble (free) or ShiftFlow (paid)
• Best Malaysian-built HR suite with statutory: Kakitangan
• Best for SMEs that need ATS plus payroll: BrioHR
• Best free Malaysian payroll: PayrollPanda
• Best telco-backed mobile super-app: altHR
• Best mobile-first MY HR at mid price: Swingvy
• Best for multi-country SEA operators: HReasily
• Best for field teams under 30 with chat: Connecteam
• Best flat per-seat for hourly SMEs: ShiftFlow
• Best for F&B and retail chains: ShiftFlow
• Best for hybrid office and remote teams: Jibble
• Best free pick for small Malaysian SMEs: Jibble

Final recommendation

Best overall: Jibble + PayrollPanda. Free forever, both Malaysian-built, full EPF/SOCSO/EIS/PCB filing. Best for cost-sensitive MY SMEs under 30.

Best paid per-seat pick: ShiftFlow. Flat RM 14.9 / seat with no base fee, GPS, kiosk, scheduling. Pair with PayrollPanda for statutory. Best for MY field and hourly SMEs of 5 to 50.

Best Malaysian-built HR suite: Kakitangan. Native statutory filing plus attendance in one product. From ≈RM 50 / month.

Try ShiftFlow free on mobile

Frequently asked questions

Which time tracking software is actually built in Malaysia?

Jibble (Petaling Jaya), Kakitangan, BrioHR, PayrollPanda, and altHR (CelcomDigi-owned) are all Malaysian-built or Malaysian-headquartered. Swingvy is regional but with deep MY localization. Among standalone time trackers, Jibble is the clearest local heavyweight. Among HR suites with attendance built in, Kakitangan and BrioHR are the two most-cited shortlist picks. Why Malaysian businesses are switching from manual attendance tracking has more context on the local landscape.

Does ShiftFlow handle EPF, SOCSO, EIS, and PCB filing for me?

No. ShiftFlow tracks hours, calculates overtime against EA 1955 rules, exports a payroll-ready CSV, and stops there. The CSV plugs into PayrollPanda (free), Kakitangan, SQL Payroll, Info-Tech, or whichever Malaysian payroll system already handles your statutory filings. If you want filings done inside the same app, Kakitangan, BrioHR, Swingvy, or PayrollPanda are the closer fits.

How does EA 1955 overtime work in practice?

The Employment Act 1955 (Amendment) 2022 caps standard working hours at 45 per week and 8 per day from 1 January 2023. Overtime is paid at no less than 1.5x the hourly rate on ordinary days, and 2x for hours worked beyond the normal day on rest days. Monthly overtime cannot exceed 104 hours. A 30-minute rest after five consecutive hours is mandatory. Non-compliance carries fines of up to RM 50,000 per offence. Your time tracking app needs to enforce these rules in the timesheet calculation, not flag them after payroll has run.

What changed with the SOCSO and EIS contribution ceiling in 2024?

Effective October 2024, the wage ceiling for SOCSO and EIS contributions rose from RM 5,000 to RM 6,000. Employer SOCSO contributions for the Employment Injury Scheme and Invalidity Scheme are calculated against the higher ceiling, which materially raises per-employee statutory cost for higher-paid staff. EIS remains at 0.2% employer plus 0.2% employee. Foreign workers became required to contribute to EPF at 2% employer and 2% employee from October 2025.

What about the RM 1,700 minimum wage?

The RM 1,700 national minimum wage took effect 1 February 2025 for employers with at least five workers, and became universal on 1 August 2025 when the small-employer exemption was removed. Non-compliance fines reach RM 10,000 per affected employee, plus arrears. Combined with the SOCSO and EIS ceiling rise, the cost of a payroll miscalculation is higher in 2026 than it has been in any prior year. How to choose an attendance system for Malaysian SMEs walks through how to factor this into a vendor decision.

Can I run a Malaysian SME on a free time tracking stack?

Yes. Jibble Free plus PayrollPanda Free covers attendance, EPF, SOCSO, EIS, PCB calculation, and LHDN e-filing at zero monthly cost for any team size. The tradeoff is feature scope: leave management, claims, performance reviews, and onboarding all sit outside the free tier. Once you cross 20-30 staff, the case for paying for an HR suite (Kakitangan, BrioHR, Swingvy) usually clears within a quarter.

What does hybrid work mean for time tracking in Malaysia?

The Malaysian Employers Federation reported in 2025 that more than 70% of Malaysian companies have increased adoption of flexible work routines post-pandemic (The Star, MEF, 2025). Hybrid attendance requires GPS-or-no-GPS rule logic (some shifts in-office, some at home), which the focused time trackers (ShiftFlow, Jibble) handle cleanly and the legacy biometric-only systems do not. How Malaysian companies manage hybrid work attendance covers the setup in detail.

For most Malaysian SMEs of 5 to 50 hourly or field staff, the cleanest entry point is either Jibble Free plus PayrollPanda Free (RM 0 stack, Malaysian-built) or ShiftFlow at RM 14.9 per seat for a single flat plan with no per-location surprise. If you want EPF, SOCSO, EIS, and PCB filing inside the same app, Kakitangan or BrioHR is the Malaysian-built path. If your team is heavy on field work with multiple shifts, ShiftFlow plus PayrollPanda is the lightest stack that clears EA 1955 overtime configurability.

Sources

Statistics and regulation:

• DOSM MSMEs Performance 2024 for the 48.7% employment and RM 652.4B value-added figures
• Employment Act 1955 (Akta Kerja, PDF from MoHR) for the 45-hour weekly cap, 104-hour OT ceiling, and RM 50,000 fine
• Malay Mail on the RM 1,700 minimum wage from 1 Aug 2025 for the nationwide enforcement order
• The Star on Malaysian Employers Federation hybrid work data for the 70%+ flexible-work adoption figure
• Foundingbird guide to EPF, SOCSO, and EIS in 2026 and QuickHR mandatory payroll deductions reference for contribution rates and the RM 6,000 ceiling
• PayrollPanda SOCSO contribution rates page for SOCSO and EIS rate detail
• KWSP (EPF) and PERKESO (SOCSO) for official statutory rate tables

Vendor pricing and product pages:

• ShiftFlow pricing, Jibble pricing, Kakitangan attendance, BrioHR best HR software MY, PayrollPanda, altHR pricing, Swingvy top 5 MY HR, HReasily pricing, Connecteam pricing

Reference roundups:

• factoHR: Top 10 HR Software in Malaysia for 2026
• Rockbell: Malaysia’s Best Time and Attendance Systems in 2025
• HavaHR: 10 Best HR Software for Malaysia (2026)