5 Must Have Features for Time and Attendance Software

Time And Attendance Software January 11, 2023

Priyanka Bhadani

Writer

5 Features to Look Out for with Time and Attendance Software

Creating and maintaining time and attendance systems that work properly is a challenge for both small business and large corporation owners. From payroll processing to time theft issues, there are virtually endless concerns for human resources departments to keep track of.

Time and attendance software is a workforce management solution that all human resources departments should consider investing in. 5 features to look out for in time and attendance software include-

1. Best Time Tools

Different time and attendance systems offer different tools and features. The best time and attendance software tools for one business may not be the most desirable option for another.

Deciding on the best time and attendance tools for a specific company necessitates the careful analysis of business needs and desires. While there are basic features that most time and attendance software programs offer there are also other features that are rarer.

Basic time management tools like time tracking software help keep hours worked by employees organized. Attendance management tools like attendance tracking are crucial for avoiding time theft and other employee time issues.

More advanced attendance management tools include biometric time clocks. Biometric time clocks are self service attendance systems that utilize facial recognition or a fingerprint match when employees clock in or out.

Another benefit of biometric time clocks is the ability to no longer depend on paper based time keeping methods. When employees track time with paper time sheets and time cards, payroll processing requires human resources to sift through piles of paperwork and decipher handwritten entries.

Time and attendance systems dashboards assist with everything from payroll services to employee scheduling processes. With a functional dashboard, all employee time based data is clearly visible in one centralized place.

2. Locality

A location based time clock is a great tool for avoiding time theft issues. A time clock that specifically only allows employees to clock in or clock out from a certain location ensures employee time entries are actually happening where they should be.

IP address based time clocks is another excellent option for combatting time theft. An IP address based time clock will only recognize employee time entries recorded from a certain IP Address.

Both location based and IP address based time clock entries can avoid buddy punching from occurring. Additionally, these best time tools make it impossible for an employee to clock in early before they reach a job site or office location.

3. Editability

Even employees who are the best time keepers may occasionally forget to clock in or clock out. Or, an employee may forget to record a break which would, if not corrected, make the business noncompliant.

The self service portal offered by time and attendance systems can include an option for employees to edit time entries for the day. In just a few clicks, employees can update hours worked with real time easy use self service functionality.

Previously, when employee time errors needed to be edited, either a human resources representative or an employee would need to notice the error. Then, one would need to contact the other to inform them of the error and take corrective action.

With the real time editing capacity provided through an employee self service portal, both human resources and other workers can seamlessly address time entry errors.

4. Payroll Services

Any employee involved in human capital management knows that payroll processing is not an easy task. With the best time and attendance systems in place, streamlining hours worked into payroll services saves businesses in both labor costs and time spent.

One example of complex payroll services includes distinguishing between hours worked per employee including different compensation tiers. Overtime hours, paid time off, and traditional hours worked all impact labor costs differently.

Human resources payroll processing obligations are a substantial reason why many small business owners opt to invest in time and attendance systems. Even small businesses recognize how quickly human resources labor costs per month spent on payroll services add up.

5. Time Entry

Supplying employees with the ability to clock in and clock out using a time clock is useful for compliance. When time and attendance systems require employees to clock in or clock out using manual tools, it is difficult for business owners to concretely prove compliance.

Many web based time clocks track time employees work down to the second. Cloud based time clocks can even allow human resources or business owners to pull up material for audits from mobile apps or their desktop.

Key Takeaways

Finding the best time and attendance solution for a specific organization necessitates a close analysis of business requirements and objectives.
Features to look out for in time and attendance software range from payroll HR service compatibility to employee time tracking capabilities.