Setting up the QuickBooks Time Kiosk: plan rules, tablet limits, pairing

Teams installing the QuickBooks Time Kiosk keep stalling at the same three points. The feature stays hidden on some accounts. Certain tablets misbehave, and a few will not run the app at all. The pairing step, meanwhile, is easy to misread. The accepted answer on the community board, maintained by Intuit, works through all three, and its hardware guidance is more specific than most. A kiosk here is simply a shared tablet, mounted where staff clock in and out with a PIN.

The plans that can turn the kiosk on

Not every subscription includes the kiosk. The accepted answer names the eligible products: QuickBooks Online Essentials, Plus, Advanced, and Accountant, plus QuickBooks Online Payroll Premium and Elite. Simple Start is not on the list. If your account sits outside those tiers, the kiosk controls will not appear. That single gap explains a fair share of the puzzled posts we read.

Turning the feature on

Two routes lead to the same switch. From QuickBooks Online, open All apps, choose Time, select Overview, then select Manage kiosks. From QuickBooks Time, log in as the admin and set your time zone first. That lives under Company Settings, then Time Options, then Date & Time; pick your zone and save. After that, go to Feature Add-ons, open Manage Add-ons, search for Time Clock Kiosk, and install it.

Tablet requirements, down to the model

Hardware is where setup threads go sideways, so the answer gets concrete. The screen must measure at least 1024 x 768 pixels, held in landscape. The landscape rule is firm; in portrait the same screen is only 768 pixels wide. The device needs Wi-Fi or a cellular connection. Data use stays modest; for a 10-person team, budget roughly 60 KB per clock-in and clock-out.

The answer then names the problem models:

Samsung SM-T377A: not recommended if you use photo capture, the option that snaps a picture at each punch.
Samsung Galaxy SM-T113: browser version of the kiosk only.
Any tablet still on Android 4.4.4: browser version only, no app.
RCA tablets: ruled out for every version.

On the browser-only devices, skip the app and sign in through the web instead. For RCA hardware there is no workaround; choose a different tablet.

Stands, mounts, and reach

The guide also has firm views on the physical setup. Stands and mounts should be heavy-duty, with cable management and access to power. Screen angle should be adjustable; if it is fixed, aim for 45 degrees. Position the unit about 3 feet high on a flat, stable surface. That height serves both standing employees and wheelchair users.

How do you pair the tablet with the kiosk?

Pairing is a two-code handshake, and the order matters. The app asks for the identifier first and the authorization code second, so keep both within reach.

On the web side, select Add Device, then Other device, and write down the 4-digit authorization code and your company identifier.
Install the QuickBooks Time Kiosk app on the tablet: Google Play for Android, the App Store for iOS.
Open the app, enter the company identifier, and select Next.
Enter the device authorization code, then select Authorize.
Back on the desktop, select Done. Under Kiosk name, select the authorization code to open the kiosk preferences.

The steps that follow pairing

The handshake is not the finish line. The same answer continues into kiosk preferences, team member PINs, and an option that locks the device to the kiosk app. The PINs give each person a private way to identify at the shared screen. Those settings shape the daily experience for your crew, so give them a careful pass rather than a rushed click-through.

The overall picture is straightforward. Match the plan tier, pick a tablet that clears the model list, mount it where everyone can reach it, and enter the identifier before the code. The kiosk is picky about hardware. Once the device cooperates, the rest of the setup is short. None of the blockers we found require a support ticket; they require the right tier and the right tablet.