July 12, 2021

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) has changed every aspect of life and business operations.

Unfortunately, one crucial aspect that has lagged behind is employee time tracking.

Many companies are still using legacy systems that are riddled with inefficiencies and inaccuracies. These make businesses susceptible to:

• time theft
• loss of productivity
• additional labor costs

That’s why you need to ditch your manual time clock system and switch to Cloud-based / online time clock software system.

What Is Online Time Clock Software?

“Cloud-based” or “Online,” time clock software system accurately captures employee work time through employees clocking in/out with physical time clocks, mobile apps or on a personal computer. It automatically perform calculations, and apply payroll rules for daily or weekly overtime and regular hours. Access to employee timesheet data, calculations and reports are available in real-time via the web. A big benefit of this type of time clock software is flexibility of when and how you do payroll. It makes it easy to process employee time for payroll when it’s convenient and practically from anywhere.

Benefits of Time Clock Software

Switching to online time clock software has several benefits. Here are some of the most significant ones:

• Helps with compliance. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that you keep accurate records of employee work hours for at least two years. These records must be readily available to government representatives for inspection. Time clock software makes both easier.
• Reduces payroll errors. Because of increased accuracy, payroll errors are reduced
• Accurate data on attendance issues. Tracking employee attendance issues like tardiness, absenteeism, and others is one of the major challenges HR personnel face. Time clock software helps automatically record attendance data.
• Eliminates buddy punching. Buddy punching is a form of time theft in which an employee punches in or clocks out for a fellow employee. While it may look (and sound) harmless, it costs employers about $373 million every year.

No matter the industry or size of your organization, investing in time clock software will definitely benefit your business in many ways. 

5 Tips for Switching to Time Clock Software

Now that you know what time clock software is and why it’s essential to your business let’s quickly look at how to effectively switch from a manual clocking system to online employee time clock system.

1. Prepare for the Switch

For a seamless transition to time clock software, prepare yourself and your employees for the switch. Pitch the benefits of switching to an automated system and get them to buy into the idea.

Besides getting employee buy-in, bringing everyone on board, you get insight from different departments on what they need from time clock software. Have every department leader evaluate your current time clock system and determine the functionality they’d like to see in the new system. 

The planning phase must never be omitted as it determines how smoothly the transition to your new time clock software will be.

2. Determine What You Need

Before you start shopping for time clock software, you first have to determine what you need in a time clock software. Here are a few considerations you should make to help you with this:

Support for your System

With cloud-based time clock software there is no software to install or network servers for your business to maintain eliminating any maintenance responsibilities on you or your IT staff. That is a benefit, but you want to be able to know that you can rely on your time clock software provider for ongoing help & support when you need it, including software updates and future product enhancements.

Integrations

With businesses relying on payroll applications and software for many of their business operations, it’s essential that all apps work together seamlessly. That’s why you must know how well the time clock software you’re considering integrates with your payroll system.

Ease-of-use and Functionality

Tracking and maintaining records using a manual time clock system is nothing short of being torturous. Your time clock software shouldn’t be. Look for one that’s easy to use and functional. If you need one with a lot of bells and whistles, make sure it’s easy to learn.

Consider the Type of Time Clock that Best Suits Your Needs

There are several different types of time clocks that can work with online time clock software. The three main types include:

• Biometric time clocks
• Touch screen time clocks
• Proximity badge time clocks

These leverage different hardware and software, so make sure you investigate which type is best suited for your needs.

Determining your exact needs is essential as it will help you settle on a vendor and product that will fit seamlessly into your organization and operations.

3. Determine Your Budget

Like most business investments, one of the factors that determine the time clock software you’ll switch to is budget. Remember, time clock software is an investment that will help you save your organization a lot of money being lost to time theft, buddy punching, and other negative time-related employee practices. As such, getting the best time clock software for your needs must be a priority.

That’s why when shopping for time clock software, consider the return on investment (ROI) you get from it instead of just looking at it as an expense. The efficiency in payroll and the increase in productivity it helps you achieve will soon outweigh the cost of switching to and maintaining your time clock software.

4. Do Your Research

Once you and your team have decided on what you need in a time clock software, you’ll have to research the different products on the market. Time clock systems are different, with each offering different solutions for specific use cases. Research as many as you can and find the best time clock software for best suits your needs. You don’t have to go in-depth into how each works. However, you must take note of essential aspects like, among others:

• features
• deployment method
• integration capabilities

Researching your options also helps you eliminate time clock solutions that don’t fit your requirements early on.

Choose the Right Time Clock Vendor

Choosing the right vendor is an essential aspect of successfully switching to time clock software. After all, they are not just a vendor. They are your business partner. As such, you’ll want to settle on a vendor you’ll know will result in a very good relationship with. Here are a few tips to help ensure you pick the right one:

Start with the Product

When evaluating vendors, your first port of call must be the product. 

Does it meet most of your requirements?

Is it within your budget?

Some vendors will allow you to test their time clock software for free. Try out your top contenders and compare how they function, their user interface (UI), and the user experience they offer among other factors. You can even ask a few employees to test out the different time clock solutions you’re considering and get their feedback.

Check Customer Reviews

Another way of evaluating vendors is by checking out what other customers have to say about the product. Customer reviews help you gain insight into the kind of experience you can expect from the product. So, make sure to check out reviews on the vendor’s website or on other third-party review platforms.

Test their Customer Support

Customer support plays an essential role in the experience you’ll have with your time clock software. Let’s face it, sometimes things break — including software. When that happens, you don’t want any downtime due to poor customer service. When you’ve shortlisted your vendors, test the responsiveness of their customer support via live chat, email, and any other channels they use.

5. Implement Your New Time Clock Software

Once you’ve settled on the employee time clock software of your choice, it’s time to implement it. This is where cloud-based solutions like Lathem time clocks shine. We make the switch from a manual time clock system to a digital one smooth. Particularly because our solutions are cloud-based, deployment, management, and updating are a breeze. You and your employees can also access the software from any location via any device as long as it’s connected to the internet.

To ensure the implementation stage goes smoothly, have a few trial runs with your employees to get them used to the new system.

Switching to Time Clock Software

One reason most organizations delay switching to an automated time tracking solution is a lack of understanding. They lack understanding on:

• How time clock software works.
• How easy it is to switch.
• How much money it can save them.

Armed with this knowledge, there’s no reason why you should hold off switching to an automated employee time clock and online software system. Time clock software is a panacea for all your employee time management problems and will help you streamline other aspects of your business operations too. If you need time clock software for small businesses or for large enterprises, get in touch. We’ll help you make the switch. Request a Quote customized for your needs today!