Upgrading from a Manual
Time Clock System
Jody
Graffunder
Manually tracking employee attendance is
not just inefficient, it is a highly labor-intensive process
that is error-prone and susceptible to rampant cheating by
employees. This White Paper was written for businesses that are
manually collecting employee attendance data, and need to
determine if the time has come to automate the process.
For many businesses, automating the collection of employee
attendance data - when employees begin and end their shifts -
is still a manual process. Even businesses that have
automated or computerized processes such
as scheduling, inventory, purchasing, general ledger and
payroll processing still use manual methods - such as
time cards or attendance sheets - to collect time and
attendance data.
Most businesses that use either software or a payroll
processing service to produce paychecks for their employees
mistakenly believe they have computerized and automated the
process of paying their employees. Turning raw payroll data
into paychecks is just the second half of a very important
process. Automating the collection of the raw data that is used
to compute the payroll is the first half of the process, and by
far the more important half! How accurate can the finished
payroll be if the data used to compute the payroll is not as
accurate and unbiased as possible?
While a time clock is technically a machine, so is an electric
typewriter. Time clocks and time cards are in no conceivable
way an automated data collection system! The time clock - which
was invented by Thomas Edison over 100 years ago - served its
purpose for the first 70 or 80 years of its existence. The
problem with time cards is that the data from them has to be
manually entered into the payroll processing software or
manually collected for the payroll processing service.
A better way is to provide a way for employees to clock in and
out so the times are recorded exactly and automatically. One
such program that does this is called Time Cards 2000. Using a
system like this will increase accuracy and cut hours from the
payroll process each week. Even expensive systems can pay for
their cost with time. But with a little looking, you will find
a few low cost systems that do a very good job without the
unnecessary extra cost.
About the author:
Jody Graffunder and Soft Tech Soluttions have been in the time
attendance tracking business since 1999. One website offering
several good solutions is: http://www.softtechsolution.com
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