OTHER VOICES: Cloud-based timecards can save time, improve efficiency

Scott Mulka
Lathem, Time Corp. photo
Mulka

Let's face it. Keeping track of hours at any time during the year distracts you from running your business. But this time of year, it can impact you even more.

Manual timekeeping can lead to errors and lost revenue.

Employee time tracking and payroll requires a keen attention to detail. And this can't be done properly with paper timecards, which are prone to manual errors and can take hours to tabulate.

For this reason, many companies are switching to online, cloud-based employee time and attendance systems to manage employee timekeeping, cutting administration time by as much as 50 percent.

A recent report by the American Payroll Association indicates that automating employee time and attendance management can save companies up to 2 percent of gross payroll expenses.

• This column appeared in the April 24 print issue of Tire Business.

Cloud-based employee time keeping can save time and money.

What are the advantages of cloud-based systems?

They enable you to view and manage employee hours at anytime from anywhere, monitor overtime, see who's clocking in and when, and overall get a better handle of how much money you're spending on labor.

One such system to consider is PayClock Online.

Pine Brook Tire Co. of Pine Brook, N.J., has deployed PayClock Online, a cloud-based solution from Lathem, Time Corp., to manage its employee time records.

Employees still can swipe a badge on a time clock to clock-in and out, but the system's cloud- based software enables managers to have access anytime, anywhere to employee time and attendance information and administer payroll when it's convenient.

Office manager and bookkeeper Judy Bongo said, "With the old system, I had to come to work on a day I wasn't scheduled and run reports, or call someone and walk them through it. The information was tied to the computer that was connected to the time clock, and it was inconvenient."

Using cloud-based time cards can save your company time and money.

Today, cloud-based systems can be used with or without a physical time clock. Many companies still prefer time clocks that use proximity badges, PIN numbers or biometric fingerprint technologies, many of which are connected to online employee time and attendance software.

Others with field-based workers like the flexibility of having employees clock in from mobile phones or tablets.

At Pine Brook Tire, field-based workers use their smartphones or tablets to clock in and out, and the solution has GPS tracking so managers know when employees clock in or out from the job site.

Unlike in the past, workers don't have to drive timesheets to the main office once a week or waste time clocking in and out at the office — they can just go straight to the job site or start making deliveries immediately.

Either way, the system allows you to monitor when technicians clock in and out, fix time discrepancies, and approve timecards to ensure accurate payment. The system also integrates with major payroll solutions such as ADP, QuickBooks or Paychex.

Timekeeping data are stored online, and the system is hosted in the cloud. The system doesn't require desktop software to install or maintain. Data are encrypted and information is backed up daily.

Time tracking is critical in effectively managing labor costs, which impact the company's bottom line significantly. Getting equipped with the right tools, like a cloud-based employee time and attendance solution, can make a huge difference in profitability.

Scott Mulka manages marketing for Lathem, Time Corp., a provider of timekeeping products for business including the cloud-based PayClock Online time and attendance system and the PayClock mobile app. You can reach Scott at [email protected].

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