Tracking time and attendance for employees who work out in the field while giving them the option to work unsupervised is a delicate balancing act. You don’t want to micromanage your workers, but you need to be sure that they are working where and when they’re supposed to.
If you’re currently using a manual time tracking process, there are no guarantees that any of the information they provide is accurate. You have to find a modern tool that offers both you and the employee adequate protection when it comes to time tracking, and this is where a clock in and out app can help.
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No More Having to Rely On An Honor System
As an employer or manager, you don’t want to think the worst of your workers. You want to assume that employees have your company’s best interests at heart, and are honest and forthcoming about their work hours and attendance, whether in the office or out in the field.
Often this is not the case as employees frequently steal time, whether intentionally or not, which results in increased labour costs. Let’s look at how a clock in and out app can improve your time tracking capabilities without having to micromanage your workers.
GPS Tracking
Most time clock app solutions come with advanced features that allow you to track your employees while on the clock. One of these features is GPS tracking. GPS will enable you to capture an employee’s location whenever they punch in or out. Some systems even offer the ability to track a worker’s location at all times. However, this feature does come with some privacy concerns.
Geofencing is another team time tracking feature that allows you to ensure employees are working from permitted locations. It essentially places an invisible fence around a location, and an employee has to be within that fence to punch time. This enables you to guarantee that workers are on-site and not punching time while they’re still at home or another location.
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Job Costing
If you’re a business that relies heavily on job costing, then this information must be accurate for billing purposes. When manually time tracking, it can be challenging for an employee to document all job costing information throughout their workday.
But with a timekeeper app, employees can quickly and easily select the job they are working on and switch between jobs as needed. Since most clock in and out app solutions come with advanced reporting options, you can break down hours worked based on project, location, or client.
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Picture Capture
Another frequent issue that employers encounter when having employees who work out in the field is time theft. Time theft occurs when an employee is dishonest about their work hours or punches time for another employee. A picture capture feature enables you to get a picture of a worker before punching time. This allows you to ensure that employees are only punching time for themselves.
Other important details can also be captured with this feature, such as receipt information or pictures of a project. Management can then easily view the images captured from any device with an internet connection, whether a computer, tablet or smartphone.
Accurate Time Tracking Leads to Business Improvements
Using a timesheet management solution improves the time tracking process and can have a significant impact on daily business operations. Let’s look at a few of the more common ways that a clock in and out app can help your company run smoothly.
Streamlined Payroll
Processing payroll is a time-consuming and expensive process. That process can become even more costly if you have to do it manually, which is prone to data entry errors. Data entry errors can lead to inaccurate paychecks, which can result in labor law violations.
With a time and attendance app, you can integrate with your payroll provider and sync your hours directly, ensuring no data entry errors. Most clock in and out app solutions generally offer their own set of reporting options as well. You can download a report and send it to your bookkeeper or accountant for payroll processing. Streamlining your payroll process allows you to ensure that payroll is accurate week after week and that your employees are being paid for their efforts.
Increased Productivity
Understanding how you’re spending your time is one of the best ways to ensure you’re productive. If you don’t understand where your time is going, how can you improve processes or ensure jobs are carried out as efficiently as possible?
A clock in and out app allows employees to see exactly how they are spending their time. They may notice that they’re spending too much time on a specific task, which grants them the ability to change how they go about the job. Online timesheet software also enables employees to be accountable for their time tracking process. They will be more aware of their impact on the business and its overall success.
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Client Satisfaction
It goes without saying that when your employees are happy, your customers will be too. Suppose you’re able to improve the time tracking process and give employees or accountability over their day. In that case, it will inevitably lead to increased workplace morale and happiness—this happiness leaks to other parts of the business, including interactions with your customers.
If you have employees who work out in the field and are concerned that time and attendance are not being accurately captured, then a clock in and out app can help. You can rest assured that employees only track time for themselves, and their work hours are accurate down to the second.
