Buying a biometric timeclock outright instead of renting one monthly is a reasonable decision that is rarely presented as a trade. You stop paying forever and you take on everything the subscription was covering: firmware updates, a support line, off site backup of the record, and a replacement when the unit dies on a Monday.
Price five years, not the sticker
Device, mounting, a spare unit, and the hours somebody spends pulling data off it, against sixty months of subscription including support. The answer varies more by how stable your headcount and sites are than by the price of the hardware. Stable single site employers genuinely do better buying; anybody growing or moving usually does not.
Where the record lives when nobody hosts it
On the device is fine until the device is stolen, flooded or fails. Find out how the data gets off it, how often, and who does that, because on an unsubscribed unit the honest answer is usually a person with a memory stick and a reminder in a calendar. Retention duties do not pause because the vendor relationship ended.
Firmware and the day the export breaks
A clock with no update path is a clock that one day stops producing a file your payroll accepts. Ask how long updates are provided and what happens afterwards. This is the failure that arrives three years in, long after the purchase decision has been forgotten and nobody remembers the trade that was made.
Questions people ask about biometric timeclock
Do unsubscribed clocks still do biometrics?
Many match on the device itself, which is often better for data protection and makes your retention duty entirely local and entirely yours.
How do hours reach payroll?
Usually an export over the network or onto a stick. Try that round trip once before buying, because export formats are where these devices disappoint.
What happens if it fails?
With no support contract it is your problem on the day. Keeping a spare unit is the usual answer and belongs in the price comparison.