Biometric Time Clocks vs Time Sheets

The world has become much more technologically advanced over the years. This is true in the business world in all aspects. It is shocking to see just how many companies still use the antiquated time sheets which were used by their grandparents when they were just getting started in the business world. The new method of tracking employee time and attendance is to use biometric access control devices. These create an infallible system in which it is easy to make sure your employees are showing up to work on time and that they are being honest about the hours they work.

The biggest problem with time sheets is that even honest employees take liberties when recording the hours they have worked. They will write down a time which is rounded out in terms of minutes. They are really not doing anything wrong in a time and attendance standpoint. They are simply doing what is expected of them. There are, however employees which take full advantage of the situation and change their times which are logged in by 20 to 30 minutes at a time. The new biometric access control systems make this impossible.

You might be thinking you can trust your employees and that they would not take advantage of your time sheets like that. Think about the scenario in which all of your employees are honest about what time they show up. Just the simple act of rounding the numbers of when they showed up or left will cost your company dollars a day with every employee. While this time and attendance problem may not seem like a lot when looked at individually, when it is every employee every day, it adds up very quickly. You would not be having this problem with a biometric access control system.

The other problem with time sheets is the fact you do not have any control over whether employees signing in are the actual employees or not. One employee can sign the other one in and you will be none the wiser. By trusting the time and attendance system you have in place, you will feel as if everyone is where they should be when they should be there. The biometric access control will make it impossible for anyone other than the right employee to clock in. This is because no one can fake a fingerprint.

You can even set up your biometric access control clock so that the only way your employees can clock in is if they are scheduled to be at work. This is because unlike with time sheets, you can program the schedule for every employee into the system. The software will then block employees from clocking in unless they are signing in at the right time and one the days they are supposed to be there. Your time and attendance tracking will give you the ability to know when an employee is late so that you can get better profitability and your company can make more money.

Biometric Access Control Protects Your Company

Most people grow up dreaming what the future will look like. On one level or another most people still expected the worker would be punching a clock. The new biometric access control system has put a stop to this. This means the one bit of familiarity people expected in the future has been altered. Those who have had to deal with time sheets and time cards are very excited for the big changes. The biggest way in which it makes a difference is because it allows more control over the time and attendance of every employee in your company.

The way biometric access control works is by having a scan of employee fingerprints on file. This way when they go to clock in for work they will use the same the same print to show they are at work. The time and attendance will be logged in the system and will be printed onto the time sheets which will be analyzed by the bookkeeper of the company. This helps to provide indisputable evidence your employee showed up for work along with what time they “punched in.”

The biggest way in which the biometric access control protects your company is by preventing time theft. Because only one person can clock in, no employee can clock in another. This means you will no longer be a victim of time theft. Further, those who are at work are the ones which have been scheduled in the computer by the manager as those who are supposed to show up in the time and attendance logs for the shift. Only a manager will be able to override the system to clock in an employee not on the schedule.

Overworked managers all the time miss employees who are habitually late. This is something which can be prevented with systems armed with biometric access control. You can set the system to not allow people to sign in after they are late a certain amount of time. They will have to seek out a manager to help them sign in. Time and attendance will easily be noted when the manager has to be called upon every time to clock in someone who is tardy. No longer will someone simply have their friend log them into the time sheets because they are running late.

Another way in which biometric access control helps out your company is by preventing people from hacking in to the system. It is not as easy as simply punching a time sheet so biometric access control can significantly reduce time fraud and buddy punching from other employees. Some employees have made it a point to learn the manager’s password so that they can manipulate time and attendance information. There is no way to fake having the fingerprint which is necessary to accomplish this task. This means your employees will have no choice but to be honest when they are clocking in for work. If they are running late, they will just have to own up to it and show up on time next time.

Choosing A Better Time And Attendance System Means Savings And Security

The standard Bundy clock has plenty of charm to spare, but it’s hardly a modern time and attendance system. They’re prone to mechanical breakdowns, they need to be re-inked and maintained and of course, there’s no way to be entirely sure that employees aren’t clocking in for each other or if yours is a larger business, if they’re not simply clocking in and slipping out for hours at a time.

No matter what industry you’re in or whether your business is small or large, you can benefit greatly from switching to a new biometric system to keep track of employee time and attendance – and they can even be used as effective access control solutions to make your corporate facilities more secure from thieves and competitors out to steal your valuable trade secrets.

A More Accountable Attendance System

A biometric system uses uniquely identifiable login information for each member of your staff, such as a personal identification code or a fingerprint. When employees arrive for work, they log in to the system and they’re “clocked in” just as they would be if your business used a punch clock. Where this more modern style of time and attendance system differs is in its accountability and traceability.

Employees cannot clock in for one another; and if you’ve integrated a biometric access control system into your facilities as well, employees also cannot slip away while on the clock, since these systems can be configured to require staff to enter their login information to exit the building as well. The end result is an attendance system which provides thoroughly accurate, traceable information on employee time and attendance while also making your office, production plant or other facilities more secure.

Biometric Technology Means Savings

Your company will save in more than one way by adopting this new technology. You’ll save on labor costs by freeing up some of your accounting or human resources staff’s time, since your new time clocks can be integrated with your payroll software to streamline the payroll calculation process. You’ll save by putting a complete stop to time theft, which creates significant losses for many businesses (likely including yours as well). You’ll also save through taking human error out of the payroll process, completely eliminating potentially costly bookkeeping mistakes.

Effective Access Control

Biometric systems can provide a great deal of security for your facilities. You can choose who is permitted to access which parts of your offices or plant – and you’ll be able to track who was where and when. If an incident occurs, you’ll be able to quickly identify who was present and what happened. If you’re in an industry which is intensely competitive, a biometric access control system can be more than an efficient time and attendance system; it can keep your company’s trade secrets out of the hands of your business rivals.

Can Modernizing Your Time Sheets Make Your Company More Secure?

Time sheets are something which most businesses, most likely including yours spend quite a bit of time working with. Your accounting or bookkeeping department spends hours every week (or two weeks, depending on your company’s payroll schedule) tallying up employee hours and preparing payroll. It’s one of those necessary tasks which every business has to take care of to keep things running smoothly – but what if your company could reduce the amount of time it takes to get payroll together to almost none? Better still, what if the same system which streamlined this part of your operations could also provide your corporate facilities with increased security from the prying eyes of competitors, unscrupulous employees stealing sensitive data and from break ins?

What kind of technology can provide you with all this, you ask? Biometrics. This technology has both advanced and come down in price to the point where a biometric time and attendance system to replace conventional time sheets and biometric access control systems to provide security are well within the reach of even small businesses. If your company isn’t using biometric technology yet, maybe it’s time you took a closer look at what these systems have to offer over traditional time sheets.

Security Isn’t Just About Keeping Intruders Out Of Your Building

Unfortunately, there are threats to the security and the financial well-being of your company which may come from within your own staff. Other than the risk of criminals and the employees of competitors seeking positions with your company in the interests of stealing trade secrets or financial information to commit identity theft, there is also the risk of time theft; a crime of opportunity where employees clock in and leave the building (or have others clock in for them) and attempt to receive pay based on time sheets which don’t reflect the hours actually spent working. It’s something which goes on to some extent in virtually every business – and it may be losing your company money as well. A biometric time and attendance system eliminates the opportunity for time theft, potentially producing dramatic savings for your company.

Biometric Access Control Keeps Information And Property Secure

A biometric system allows every employee to have their own unique access code to enter the building or specific areas of the building. This code may be a PIN code or their own fingerprints, but these systems allow you to know exactly who has been where in your facilities as well as offering a much more accurate attendance tracking system than punch cards or time sheets.

Biometric technology allows your company to lower overhead costs and secure itself from threats from the outside; or from the inside. It’s affordable and easy to install – these systems can be in place in less than a day and provide savings which make the system more than pay for itself in very little time. Replacing your time sheets with a biometric attendance and access control system is a smart investment in the future of your business, whether for security’s sake or to bring up your bottom line.