For small enterprise homeowners who work with hourly staff, each minute they monitor on their timesheets counts.
That’s as a result of it’s important for employers to grasp what workers members are engaged on and the way a lot time staff want to hold out all their duties. Many enterprise homeowners additionally need assurance that their group members are spending and accounting for his or her time responsibly — it’d seem to be overkill, however squandered time shortly provides up and finally ends up costing you.
That’s the place worker attendance trackers come in useful. As soon as small enterprise homeowners have these realizations, they typically begin trying to transition away from pen-and-paper programs to punch clocks or biometric time clocks. However then they understand:
They’re not essentially the most dependable as they don’t stop buddy punching and different types of time theft.
They received’t show you how to keep compliant as they will’t show you how to monitor additional time or breaks to remain forward of state and native labor legal guidelines.
They don’t make payroll simpler as you continue to should export your time monitoring information and construct timesheets by yourself.
So, what’s the repair for this? Attendance monitoring software program, which isn’t as intimidating because it sounds. Time and attendance monitoring software program is a helpful — and sometimes inexpensive — funding that may show you how to keep away from a complete host of expensive payroll errors and inaccuracies. That’s why we’ve developed this information with every part you’ll want to learn about worker attendance trackers on your small enterprise.
4 Methods to Monitor Worker Attendance
Time monitoring will be as low-tech or as high-tech as you need it to be. However these are 4 widespread methods employers monitor worker attendance.
1. Pen and Paper Timesheets
The pen-and-paper technique is cheap, versatile, and simple to implement and use, particularly for small companies. It might contain a printed spreadsheet or a chunk of paper on a clipboard. You should utilize it to trace worker hours, breaks, and even calculate additional time.
Pen and paper timesheets are a very good fallback once you’re getting began, however they do have limitations. They require staff to work on an honor system, and a few group members could also be extra exact about recording their working hours than others. And, if employers don’t rigorously monitor and test worker hours, folks can simply make errors or deliberately file the incorrect begin and finish occasions.
2. Digital Timesheets
With digital timesheets, staff monitor their hours on an Excel spreadsheet or timesheet. They’re just like paper timesheets however enable for extra flexibility when it comes to location — staff can file their hours wherever so long as they’ve entry to the timesheet hyperlink and the web.
Like paper timesheets, digital timesheets are cheap and simple to make use of, however they will additionally make it simpler for managers to course of payroll, particularly with the accounting features on Excel or Google Sheets. Nonetheless, employers who use them additionally should belief that their staff will probably be sincere about monitoring the hours they work. This drawback might not be sustainable or scalable sufficient for small companies which might be rising quick.
3. Punch Clocks
Many employers in industries like development or manufacturing use punch clocks and time playing cards to trace worker hours as a result of they work nicely when you’ve restricted entry to computer systems or the web on a piece web site.
Punch clocks have been round for many years, and you’ll find each analog and digital variations of them. To make use of a punch clock, staff sometimes insert their time playing cards right into a slot and clock in or out. The punch clock then stamps their shift begin and finish occasions on the cardboard.
Some employers desire punch clocks as a result of they permit for exact time monitoring and might stop some types of time theft. Nonetheless, you could not really feel snug with punch clocks in the event you’re apprehensive about “buddy punching,” which is when an worker clocks in or out for one or many absentee co-workers.
4. Biometric Time Clocks
Biometric time clocks could sound futuristic for the spreadsheet customers amongst you, however they are often an efficient method of stopping time theft. Specifically, they’re an effective way to forestall buddy punching, as they make clocking in for different folks nearly unimaginable.
How do they work? Biometric time clocks use distinctive identifiers like fingerprints, retina or iris scans, hand or face geometry scans, and even voice recognition to signal staff out and in of their shifts. And whereas they may help stop time theft and its related prices, in addition they include some drawbacks.
First, some staff discover biometric time clocks intrusive, they usually’re not even authorized in each state. Many states — like Illinois, Texas, Washington, and New York — have even applied legal guidelines regulating their use.
If you wish to implement a biometric time clock resolution in your small business, you’ll should analysis your particular state’s legal guidelines. However typically, employers who wish to use them should:
Receive worker consent earlier than gathering any biometric information.
Notify staff that they’re gathering their private information and clarify what they’re utilizing it for.
Declare they received’t promote, lease, commerce, or revenue from any employees’ biometric information.
Observe all confidentiality, information storage, and knowledge disposal rules set by their state.
The High 5 Attendance Monitoring Software program for Workers
Attendance monitoring software program may help you transition from tedious handbook processes to a quicker, simpler, extra error-free expertise. Listed below are our high 5 suggestions.
1. Homebase Time and Attendance Monitoring Software program
Supply:
Caption: With Homebase, GPS location and clock-in photographs be sure the appropriate staff are signing into their shifts on the proper occasions.
Homebase is a group administration software program resolution constructed particularly for small companies and hourly groups. It has options for time monitoring, scheduling, hiring and onboarding, payroll, group communication, and HR and compliance.
Homebase has helped over 100,000 small enterprise homeowners to transition from their pen-and-paper system to an intuitive app that’s so much much less intimidating than different options on the market, and it solely takes a couple of minutes to get began without cost.
Predominant options
Safe, cellular time clocks: Workers enter a singular PIN to clock in or out, so they don’t have to hold a punch card or submit a weekly timesheet. GPS places and clock-in photographs additionally stop early clock-ins and buddy punching.
Worker alerts earlier than shifts: Homebase routinely notifies staff of their upcoming shifts, serving to you keep away from no-shows.
Supply:
Caption: Homebase routinely notifies staff about their upcoming shifts and employers when their persons are signing in late.
Payroll integrations: Homebase’s time clock characteristic integrates with our payroll software program and scheduling software program, making it simple for managers to schedule worker shifts and course of payroll immediately out of worker timesheets. Workers can additionally keep up-to-date on their timesheets by checking their hours and pay in real-time.
Safe data dealing with: Homebase shops your cloud-based time and attendance information for as much as 4 years — two years past what the Honest Labor Requirements Act (FLSA) legal guidelines require.
Pricing
You’ll be able to join Homebase time clocks and timesheets without cost! In any other case, you’ll be able to entry extra options with the Necessities plan for $20/month, the Plus plan for $48/month, and the All in One plan for $80/month.
2. BambooHR
Supply:
Caption: Managers can simply approve time without work requests from inside BambooHR’s platform.
BambooHR is a human sources data system (HRIS) that’s standard amongst each giant and small enterprise homeowners. Corporations use it to automate and monitor HR operations like hiring and onboarding, compensation, firm tradition, and folks information and analytics. And, as a part of their compensation options, BambooHR supplies customers with instruments for time monitoring as nicely.
Predominant options
Cellular app for time monitoring: Workers can clock out and in from their telephones with the BambooHR cellular app and check out their time without work information.
Payroll hours studies: BambooHR consolidates private time without work (PTO), common hours, and additional time hours into payroll hours studies, which lets HR professionals and managers shortly test and approve worker hours earlier than they run payroll.
Safety measures: BambooHR’s platform routinely logs you out of your session once you’re inactive for a sure time period as a safety characteristic. Whereas some staff discover this inconvenient, it’s meant to guard delicate worker information.
Pricing
BambooHR’s Necessities plan begins at $5.25/month, and its Benefit plan begins at $8.75/month. Customers then have the choice to improve their plans with add-ons, together with one for time monitoring. Pricing for these additions isn’t available on their web site.
3. Rippling
Supply:
Caption: Rippling permits you to create automated workflows for managing time monitoring.
Rippling is a software program resolution that corporations use to trace and handle their human sources, data expertise, and finance operations in a single unified platform. And amongst its HR merchandise, Rippling consists of instruments for managing time and attendance.
Predominant options
Create customized settings for monitoring worker hours: Rippling permits you to arrange customized guidelines that the system triggers when sure circumstances are met. So, for instance, you’ll be able to set a customized set off for additional time pay when staff work a certain quantity of hours.
Pre-built workflow templates for time monitoring: Relatively than creating your personal customized settings for worker hours, you’ll be able to select from one in all Rippling’s templates.
Integrates with Rippling’s different merchandise for IT and finance: In case you’re the proprietor of a bigger enterprise, you may respect the flexibility to consolidate your IT and monetary information in a single platform moderately than counting on a number of totally different instruments.
Finest for bigger, extra established companies: Rippling’s performance makes it an awesome resolution for enterprise homeowners with extra folks to handle. However it might not work for employers who’re new to time monitoring software program, particularly as a result of some customers report a scarcity of useful buyer help.
Pricing
Rippling begins at $8/month per consumer, and costs go up from there relying on the add-on options you wish to embody. Per add-on pricing isn’t out there on Rippling’s web site.
4. Bob
Supply:
Caption: Bob’s cellular app lets staff simply test their time without work requests and time without work balances.
Bob is an HR platform constructed for on-site, distant, or hybrid workplaces and it has options for efficiency and tradition administration, in addition to core HR operations like compensation and time monitoring. With their time and attendance software program, staff and managers can monitor hours labored, entry time sheets, and get entry to attendance data and information.
Predominant options
Bob’s “fast repair” characteristic: If an worker desires to regulate their hours or in the event that they overlook to clock in or out, they will manually edit them with out having to get supervisor approval.
Month-to-month abstract of worker hours: Workers may also entry month-to-month studies that element what number of hours they labored throughout the month, together with their additional time hours.
Attendance metrics for managers: Managers and management even have extra visibility into worker attendance with customizable studies. With this characteristic, you’ll be able to filter out worker attendance data and get a more in-depth take a look at worker trip days, holidays, and sick days.
Pricing
Bob doesn’t present pricing data on their web site, however you will get a customized quote from their gross sales group.
5. Paylocity
Supply:
Caption: Paylocity offers supervisors an summary of worker attendance week by week.
Paylocity is an HR and payroll system that helps small, mid-sized, and huge companies handle their folks, payroll, and advantages. And, as a part of the HR platform, Paylocity gives instruments for workforce administration operations like time and attendance, and scheduling.
Predominant options
Communication throughout the platform: If staff discover a mistake or lacking shift of their time playing cards, they will notify their supervisor in regards to the errors throughout the system moderately than having to ship them a separate e mail.
Supervisor dashboard: Supervisors can get an summary of pending time without work requests, absences, and attendance.
Customer support by on-line chat, telephone, or e mail: Though some prospects have reported that not all customer support representatives are as educated as others, they respect how handy it’s to entry their help.
Pricing
Paylocity doesn’t listing its pricing choices on its web site, however you’ll be able to contact them for a customized worth.
The Significance of Monitoring Worker Attendance
Efficient worker attendance monitoring is a strategic strategy that immediately impacts an organization’s backside line and operational effectivity. Excessive absenteeism, recorded at a staggering $225.8 billion annual price, is a transparent indicator of the monetary implications of not monitoring attendance diligently. This isn’t mere conjecture; it’s backed by a 3.6% absence fee noticed in 2022, underscoring a big influence on organizational productiveness and value.
One of the telling statistics is that almost half of all additional time hours are attributable to worker absenteeism. This not solely will increase labor prices but in addition locations extra pressure on different staff, doubtlessly affecting morale and general efficiency. In distinction, organizations which have adopted attendance monitoring software program report a notable discount in absence charges, almost 20%, highlighting the efficacy of those programs.
Surprisingly, a majority of bigger organizations with over 1,000 staff nonetheless rely on outdated handbook monitoring strategies. This not solely hinders correct attendance coverage enforcement but in addition limits the group’s means to make data-driven choices. Superior attendance monitoring programs, nevertheless, supply a sturdy resolution. They not solely streamline the method of monitoring attendance but in addition present helpful insights that may affect strategic decision-making.
Attendance information serves a number of functions. It’s instrumental in managing worker efficiency, making certain honest compensation, and figuring out areas requiring enchancment or extra coaching. By analyzing the time staff spend on numerous duties or initiatives, companies achieve insights into productiveness ranges and might align them extra intently with organizational targets.
Furthermore, attendance and punctuality are key efficiency indicators that replicate on an worker’s engagement and motivation. These metrics are important for companies to grasp the effectiveness of their workforce and to plot methods that foster a extra dedicated and punctual workforce.
Clock Out of Your Time Monitoring Troubles with Homebase
Many small enterprise homeowners decide for easy pen-and-paper or spreadsheet time monitoring programs as a result of they really feel too intimidated by software program. They fear it’ll include too excessive a price ticket and an excessive amount of of a studying curve.
That’s why Homebase has made time monitoring instruments which might be each free and simple to make use of. It solely takes a couple of minutes to create an account and get arrange. And when you’re conversant in how our app works, you may also entry our free options for scheduling and group communication, which share information routinely with our time monitoring software program for extra dependable worker administration.
