Time & Attendance software is a suite of tools for tracking employee hours, managing schedules, handling time off requests in one streamlined system that can be used by both employees and managers.
Time and Attendance software is available as a stand alone system that can be used solely for logging employee hours with timeclocks, scheduling, and time off requests. However, these tools are also often incorporated into larger HR or Payroll software systems, particularly if companies have hourly employees.
The top features of Time & Attendance software include:
- Employee Time Tracking
- Tracking of Overtime Hours
- Scheduling (creating and managing employee schedules)
- Attendance Tracking (clocking in and out, logging time)
- Vacation and Time off Requests and Tracking
- Dashboards
- Employee Communication Portal
- Employee Self-Service
- Remote System Access
- GPS Tracking and Biometrics
- Document Management
- Reporting and Analytics
- Integrations
The business benefits of Time & Attendance software are:
- Enhanced cost savings through elimination of manual processes and minimized mistakes in tracking employee hours.
- Increased productivity and efficiency in your teams.
- Streamlined system with automations and tools to help make time tracking seamless.
- Improved morale and employee satisfaction.
- Enhanced scalability options as you grow your business.
- Improved and simplified compliance with labor regulations.
While there are a variety of great time and attendance solutions that work as stand-alone offerings, many of the larger software companies that offer more robust Human Resources (HR) Management or Payroll tools have built time and attendance capabilities into their systems to provide businesses with a more streamlined approach to managing employee processes, in one centralized system.
Companies that require physical clocking stations on-site at their work locations must implement hardware that gives employees a place to clock in and out as part of tracking their hours worked. There are various options for employee validation available, including unique PIN numbers or encoded cards that an employee must swipe in order to clock in or out.
Many time and attendance software companies are also implementing tools for biometrics as an employee identification method to ensure that employees aren’t making mistakes or purposely clocking co-workers in and out. GPS tracking is another feature offered by many time and attendance software vendors to help identify where field employees are located and help track time spent on particular jobs or sites as part of their work each day. Biometric and GPS data can be analyzed and used to constantly improve service levels and keep employees accountable on the job.
Choosing the right solution for your business is crucial to accurately tracking employee hours and ensuring your profitability and knowing exacting how you want to improve time tracking, schedule changes, and time off requests for hourly employees can help you identify which system will bring the most benefits for your budget.