Top 3 Reasons You Need a Time and Attendance System

1. Accurate Payroll
How many different types of materials have you received employee time cards on?  I have heard of time cards that were written on napkins, boxes and even a 2x4 piece of wood.   I might be stepping out on a limb when I say that these time cards were filled out as an afterthought and probably weren't very accurate.  Even when time cards are filled out on actual paper, accuracy can be a problem.  The American Payroll Association reported that mistakes made from manually entering data into your system can cost 1% -8% of your companies gross annual payroll.  A time and attendance system eliminates the need for manual data entry.

AboutTime Technologies has an ROI calculator that will show you just how much your business can save from using a Time and Attendance software.  However, nothing speaks louder than hearing actual customer accounts.  Sue Hefferman from Martin-Zombeck said "I would say we have saved close to $200,000.00 on a job by knowing what our average labor rate was, and the accuracy of the time being imported. We have seen an immeasurable return on  investment with AboutTime

2. Reduce administrative costs
Data entry takes a lot of time.  Some companies even hire a full time data entry person.   Collecting time cards, trying to figure out what the time cards actually say, verifying they are correct and finally entering the data into your accounting system can take a full time staff.  A time and attendance system can cut the time spent doing administrative tasks at least in half.   Brack St. Clair, the warehouse manager and AboutTime Administrator for Trinity Drywall and Plastering,  reported “ Before AboutTime we had one full time employee that just worked on payroll.  AboutTime cut the time spent on payroll processing in half, allowing HR also to do HR duties, and we didn’t have to hire extra resources.


3. FSLS compliance laws
The most important aspect of being compliant is having accurate documentation readily available.   A system,  such as AboutTime, that uses pin-codes, or biometrics along with GPS stamping ensures that the correct time is assigned to the correct employee.  Once the information has been collected it is sent to the office where it is easily imported into accounting, doing away with manual data entry and maintaining the integrity of the data.   With the number of wage and hour lawsuits increasing since 2011 by %115  it is important to make sure your business is following compliance standards, and a time and attendance system is the first step toward meeting that goal.

Increase your business profitability through efficiency

Efficiency is the ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort.  I was raised that we succeed through hard work.   However, I recently heard a great saying from one of my children’s soccer coaches.  He said, “Work smart not hard.“ In other words work efficiently and you will come out on top. 

In order to boost profitability, we have to learn to work smarter not harder.  Lucky for us we live in a time where technology makes doing this simple.    Instead of driving around to multiple job sites, gathering time cards, checking on job progress, and making project management adjustments that may or may not be remembered, use a mobile resource management software solution.   

A good mobile resource management solution uses “tools” likesmart phones, laptops and tablets to collect field data.  Time and attendance, productivity, and project management information can be collected and sent to the office in real-time, eliminating the need to drive around to each job site.   Working smarter already! 

When the information reaches the office, integrating the mobile resource management software with your accounting or job-costing software allows you to compare budgeted hours and units against actual time spent and units placed.  Immediately know where a project stands and make critical adjustments before problems arise.   Working Smarter!

A good mobile resource management software will include other features to help your business run even more efficiently.  GPS, photo attachments, weather reports and field notes all provide detailed information that would have taken valuable time and effort to collect previously.   Even Smarter!

So, how does this make your business more profitable?  Studies have shown that companies who use a mobile resource management software complete more jobs in less time than companies who don’t.   Check out this info-graphic to see in detail how a mobile resource management solution can help your business increase profitability by running more efficiently.  Info-graphic link.


Download the Mobile Resource Management Info-graphic Now!>> 

Why is "Big Brother" watching? Not for the reasons you expect.

“Big Brother is Watching”… A term we have all come to loathe.  Whatever happened to the days when a handshake meant a deal was made and a dollar paid was a dollar earned? 

Sometimes it feels as if the use of technology is smothering.  Take GPS tracking for example.  There are various reasons that an employer would choose to use GPS tracking on their mobile workforce.   It seems that some employees feel that it is because they are not trusted.   This may be the case in some instances, but what if we look at it from a different angle. 

GPS tracking helps businesses collect money faster.    When customers are presented with a bill that

shows employees hours, and tasks along with a GPS time stamp, there is little room for debate on whether or not the work was performed.   Most of the time the bill is just paid without argument. 

GPS Tracking helps remote projects run more efficiently.   Data is collected and compared to predetermined budgets.  Sometimes adjustments need to be made to keep projects running on schedule.  GPS lets managers know where employees are working.  They can reassign employees to different projects based on location, saving commute time and keeping projects on time. 

However, when implementing a new technology like GPS tracking, how your employees receive the technology is determined by the way it is presented to them.  

Let your employees know that they are being monitored.  If honesty is an issue then letting employees know that they are being tracked can act as a deterrent.   In most cases, any dishonest actions stop as soon as they know that there is a technology in place. 

Having a discussion about implementing a new technology such as GPS can eliminate any ill will among employees.  It gives you a chance to explain the benefits to them as well as explain the benefits it provides to the business.  Questions can be asked and answered, and most of the time communication ceases any legal claims that may have come about had the technology been implemented without the employees knowledge and understanding.

Why the Founding Fathers would have liked AboutTime

It’s the 4^th of July tomorrow!  In honor of Independence Day we thought we would share a few quotes from America’s Founding Fathers.  As I looked through a myriad of amazing quotes from amazing men,  I couldn’t help but think that the Founding Fathers would have seen the value in a mobile resource management solution.  They would have liked AboutTime.  

“You have too much at stake to hesitate. You ought not to think an hour upon the matter, but to spring to action at once...Now our time and turn is come, and perhaps the finishing stroke is reserved for us. When we look back on the dangers we have been saved from, and reflect on the success we have been blessed with, it would be sinful either to be idle or to despair.” -Thomas Pain

Sometimes it is hard to make a change.  Especially when you have been running your business the same way since you started it.  Even though change is hard “there is too much at stake to hesitate.”  Implementing a mobile resource management could be saving your business money while you are reading this blog. 

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclination, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”-Thomas Jefferson

A mobile resource management solution ensures that all of the data collecting in the field is accurate.  Features such as GPS time stamps  ensures that your data is unaltered and can be used as evidence if needed to protect your business from litigation.

“… having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obligated, by better information or fuller consideration, to change my opinions even on important subjects, which I thought right but found to be otherwise.”-Benjamin Franklin

A mobile resource management system, like AboutTime, sends the information collected in the field directly to the office in real time., where it can be compared to budgets.  Managers can give “fuller consideration” to how projects are progressing and make changes immediately, thus keeping projects on time and on budget. 

Yes, a lot of leeway was taken with these quotes but the messages, though applied to different circumstances, remain the same. 

Happy 4^th of July from AboutTime!