iClock / ADMS
eSSL biometric integration — and an eTimeTrackLite alternative
eSSL is the most widely installed attendance hardware in India, and eTimeTrackLite is the software most of those machines shipped with. AionHRMS connects to the same terminals over the iClock/ADMS push protocol, and adds the two things a desktop-era tool cannot: cloud access and payroll.
AionHRMS is a cloud alternative to eSSL eTimeTrackLite for compatible eSSL terminals using the implemented iClock/ADMS dialect. No replacement is recommended until the exact model, firmware, server settings and a test punch are checked. Attendance is then readable from any browser, compatible iClock templates can be stored and re-pushed to format-compatible iClock terminals, confirmed devices from other supported brands can share the account, and attendance carries through to shift-based salary.
How to connect an eSSL terminal
On candidate eSSL models the setting may appear under Comm, Network or ADMS. A configurable server address is necessary evidence, but the exact model and firmware still need a successful registration and test punch.
- 1Register the terminal in AionHRMS with its serial number and select the iClock / ADMS protocol
- 2On the device, go to Menu → Comm → ADMS (wording varies by model)
- 3Enter the AionHRMS server address and port we provide
- 4Enable the server function and save; the terminal registers on its next poll
- 5Push your employee list from the browser — no keypad entry required
We confirm compatibility from your model and serial number before you commit to anything. If a terminal will not work, we say so rather than propose a workaround.
Repointing an eSSL machine in three screens
An eSSL terminal decides for itself where to send its punches, and that decision is one setting on the device. Changing it is the entire migration: nothing is installed, nothing is uninstalled, and the fingerprints already enrolled on the machine stay where they are. Three screens, a save, and a restart.
- Menu
- Comm.
- ADMS
- Server settings
- 1
Menu → Comm.
Open the communication menu
Press Menu on the terminal and sign in as an administrator. Comm. (on some firmware, Comm Settings or Network) holds everything about how the device talks to the outside world — Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and the push server. If Comm. asks for an admin and nobody knows the code, stop here and call the dealer; a factory reset to get past it also erases every enrolled finger.
- 2
Comm. → ADMS
Find the ADMS screen
ADMS is the push-server screen. Older monochrome eSSL models label it exactly that; newer colour touch models call it Cloud Server Setting, and a few say Server Settings. The fields behind all three names are the same. If your Comm. menu has none of them, that firmware cannot push at all — which is a real answer, and one worth having before you buy software.
- 3
ADMS → Save
Set the server, save, restart
Photograph this screen before you change it — whatever is filled in now is where your punches have been going, and you may want that record. Then enter the server address and port issued for your account, set the domain-name toggle to match the kind of address you were given, leave the proxy off, and save. Most eSSL firmware only reloads these settings on restart, so restart the terminal; first contact arrives within about fifteen seconds of boot.
What goes in each field
| Field on the device | Value | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Server Address | Issued with your account | We give you the address once the model is confirmed. No http:// prefix, no trailing slash, no path — the firmware appends its own. |
| Enable Domain Name | On for a hostname, off for an IP | The single most common reason a correctly typed address still will not connect. Match it to the kind of address you were given. |
| Server Port | Issued with your account | Goes in the port field, never after the address. Units ship with a port pre-filled; overwrite it rather than assuming it is right. |
| Enable Proxy Server | Off | Unless your IT team has said the LAN needs one. A proxy that is set but unreachable looks exactly like a dead internet connection from the device's side. |
| HTTPS / SSL | Follow the setting we issue | Terminals differ, and a mismatch here fails silently: the device reports itself connected while every poll dies. We confirm it for your model rather than leaving it to guesswork. |
What eTimeTrackLite does well
eTimeTrackLite is capable software and it is free with the hardware, which is a genuinely strong offer for a single-site, single-brand deployment. Most of its limitations come from being a desktop application rather than from poor design.
- Free with the device, with no recurring cost
- Mature and widely known — most Indian dealers can support it
- Perfectly adequate for one site with one brand of terminal
Where organisations outgrow it
The pattern that drives people to look for an alternative is consistent: the software lives on one PC, and everything depends on that PC surviving.
- Attendance readable from any browser instead of one machine in the accounts room
- Attendance history stored centrally; compatible iClock enrolment data can be reused only where source and target formats agree
- eSSL, ZKTeco and Realtime terminals in the same register
- Multi-site organisations in one account, with per-site administrators
- Shift-wise payroll: per-employee duty times, grace period, late penalties, paid leave, advances
- Nothing to install, back up or upgrade
When you should stay on eTimeTrackLite
There is a real case for it, and a vendor who will not say so is not worth believing on anything else.
- One site, one brand of terminal, one person who reads the register at that desk. eTimeTrackLite is free with the hardware and does that job. Paying an annual subscription to do the same job from a browser is not obviously money well spent.
- Under about ten employees. The AionHRMS free tier covers one terminal at one site up to ten people, so the comparison at that size is about capability, not cost — but a functioning desktop setup for a team that small is not a problem in need of solving.
- You need statutory filing. AionHRMS computes salary; it does not file PF, ESI or TDS returns. If the deciding requirement is filing, a payroll suite is the right category and we are not it.
- Your terminal's firmware has no ADMS or Cloud Server screen. Then it cannot push, and no software changes that from the outside. Some models take a dealer firmware update that adds it; others need replacing, and we would rather tell you that before you buy anything.
How a switch actually runs
The device-side work is a few minutes per terminal. The month is the careful part, and it is deliberately unhurried — you should not move payroll onto a new register without having watched it agree with the old one first.
- Register each terminal's serial number in AionHRMS first. A terminal that connects with a serial the server has never seen is answered politely and ignored: it shows connected on its own screen while nothing arrives.
- Repoint the device: Menu, Comm., then ADMS or Cloud Server Setting, and enter the server address and port issued for your account. The configurator on this site prints the menu path for your brand.
- Match employee IDs to the numbers the terminals already hold, then push the employee list from the browser.
- Leave eTimeTrackLite reading the terminals over the LAN for one full pay period and compare the two monthly reports for the same people. They should agree to the punch.
- Export from eTimeTrackLite what you must retain, then stop the PC. The terminal keeps working; the PC was only ever a reader.
eTimeTrackLite on a PC vs an eSSL machine reporting to the cloud
Same terminal, same fingerprints, same employees. The difference is only where the punches land and what happens to them next.
| AionHRMS cloud register | Standalone desktop software | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the software runs | Nowhere on your premises. The terminal sends its own punches over ordinary outbound internet. | One Windows PC at the site, which has to be switched on for attendance to be collected. |
| If that PC dies | There is no PC to die. Punches buffer on the terminal while the line is down and upload on reconnection. | Collection stops. The database is on that drive, so the history goes with it unless somebody had been taking backups. |
| Reading this month's register | Any browser or phone, from anywhere, by anyone you have given a login. | The machine the software is installed on, by whoever is sitting at it. |
| A second branch | Another terminal with the same server setting. One register, one login, per-site administrators. | Another PC, another install, another person, and a monthly merge in Excel. |
| Adding an employee to the terminal | Created once in the browser and pushed to the device on its next poll. | At the keypad, or through the application on the PC that owns that device. |
| Mixed hardware brands | Confirmed eSSL, ZKTeco and Realtime terminals report into the same register. | Manufacturer software understands its manufacturer's terminals. |
| From attendance to salary | Duty times, grace period, late threshold and penalty are configured once and applied by the server every month. | Export the month, then apply the rules by hand in a spreadsheet. |
| Cost | A flat annual subscription by headcount band, invoiced only after the devices are live. | Free with the hardware — genuinely the better deal for one site with one brand of terminal. |
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a free alternative to eTimeTrackLite?
- eTimeTrackLite itself is the free option, and for one site with one brand of terminal it is hard to beat on price. AionHRMS is a paid cloud product, and it is worth the cost specifically when you have multiple sites, mixed hardware brands, or you want attendance to produce a salary sheet rather than an export.
- Does AionHRMS work with eSSL X990?
- The X990 is an iClock/ADMS candidate, not a blanket guarantee. Send the serial, firmware and a photo of its Comm/ADMS settings. We confirm registration and a test punch before cutover.
- Can I migrate my existing attendance history?
- Historical data in eTimeTrackLite lives in its local database. Talk to us about your specific version and volume before you switch — we will tell you honestly what can be brought across.
- Will my enrolled fingerprints survive the switch?
- Changing only the server address normally leaves templates stored on the terminal, but the exact process is verified for the model and firmware before cutover. Future reuse depends on format compatibility.
- Can I run eTimeTrackLite and AionHRMS at the same time?
- Yes, and for a first pay period you should. Desktop eTimeTrackLite reads the terminal over the LAN on its SDK port; the cloud connection is a push from the device. They are different mechanisms and do not conflict. Hosted eSSL Cloud is the exception — it receives the same push you are about to redirect, so it stops receiving the moment the device is repointed.
- What does it cost compared with eTimeTrackLite being free?
- Free up to 10 employees; ₹25,000 per year up to 100 employees and ₹50,000 per year up to 500, exclusive of GST, with unlimited terminals and unlimited sites in one account and no per-user monthly charge. The subscription is invoiced only after your devices are live and syncing, and there is no setup or implementation charge. The honest comparison is not against zero — it is against the day a month somebody spends applying rules in Excel, plus whatever a lost local database would cost to reconstruct.
- Does AionHRMS handle PF, ESI and TDS filing?
- No. Salary is computed from actual attendance with late rules, paid leave and advances, and the breakdown is itemised — but statutory returns are not filed by the software. If filing is the deciding requirement, a payroll suite is the right category and we would rather point you at one than pretend otherwise.
Related
Send us your eSSL model number
We will confirm compatibility in writing before you spend anything.