Yes, speaking with experience from a public K-12, timeclocks and timekeeping is an industry where $$ gets you something that claims to do everything but actually does nothing but fail or cause problems, $$$ gets you something that's stripped down total crap that can be made to work after modest concessions, and $$$$$$$$$ gets you something that does what you want reliably.

It's not hard, but everyone who can do it well has noticed what their competition is charging and followed suit.