An attendance tracking system allows organizations to capture employees’ working hours and attendance for wage payment. Certain roles can be monitored and tracked based on time to price the job appropriately: a practice referred to as job costing. The system is also a crucial aspect in meeting the requirements as per the labor regulations regarding proving the breaks given and attendance at workplaces.
How to Attendance Tracking Systems Operate?
The attendance system starts by receiving the staff time worked. Members of an organization use personal cards or a computer to key in and out every day. Some employees cannot access a computer, hence using the proximity of the cards, given that they need an area close to the time reader.
Magnetic strips are an alternative in the use of tracking systems. To uphold high-security levels, some firms opt for input devices that are most sophisticated in different ways: by involving the use of biometrics to check hands or fingerprints to confirm the identity of staff in the punching in and outact.
Features to Check an Attendance Tracking System
Attendance tracking has been in practice over a long period, since employment started becoming more formalized. Time clocks are the most popular way to track time and attendance and have evolved. The devices are not convenient for workplaces: time clocks are subject to dishonesty and errors despite evolving over the years. Attendance tracking in workplaces today is shifting to applications that are computerized. The programs provide more convenient and safe ways to monitor and record staff performance. To find a suitable tracking system for your firm, here are the essential features to look out for:
Ability to record paid and non-paid hours
An attendance tracking system should have the capability to track billable and non-billable hours. Despite billable hours looking like the vital aspect, non-paid hours are also required to monitor the accurate time spent on a task or project. This will assist in determining if staff is productive or if the role is cost-effective at the end of a project.
Ability to manage and record a variety of tasks and projects
An efficient tracking system allows you to list the required roles and projects in your organization. This facilitates the selection of roles relevant to the users and records the time spent doing the tasks.
Ability to be integrated into other departmental systems
An attendance tracking system is mostly associated with the human resource department. The system is also a vital component in the reports needed in the accounting department. The tracking system should be compatible with the existing system in any department it is required. It should be simple to integrate into the firm’s billing system and the applications involved in the management of a project. Through this, you make it easy to perform roles such as generating reports, assessing projects, and invoicing.
The flexibility of the application
Go for an attendance tracking system that can adapt to different applications. It must handle varying types of paid staff, including the managers, salaried employees, telecommuting staff, and flextime staff. It should be adequate for use by your firms’ consultants and contractors. If your staff works for third parties, for instance, you should have a system that can bill the right number of hours your staff spent on some tasks.
In the digital era, a staff tracking system must facilitate the collection and planning of the employee time data correctly and promptly to customize the management of the firm’s resources. The system must enhance efficiency by automating the tracking of the time in and out and preparing the reports of attendance. Firms with large numbers of staff require installing various points for clocking to fasten up tracking activity in the dispersed areas.
