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What is a Time and Attendance System?

Posted On: 03/19/2024 / Payroll Services
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Time & Attendance System: what is it?

Payroll, even in small businesses, has a lengthy amount of terminology that is not used in everyday language, including “what is a time and attendance system”. To the average outsider, it sounds like something that tracks time and records attendance but isn’t clear on how it does so. Time and attendance software is critical to maintaining employee management for HR leaders. It can also provide vital information for payroll reasons. Let’s take a deeper look.

What exactly is a Time and Attendance System?

In its stripped-down form, this system or software is a timeclock. It serves as an employee management system that tracks time worked and records attendance.

The platform stores data from employee input, like hours worked, which the payroll software uses to help determine paychecks for the next pay period. It is often a web-based operating system that stores information in a secure cloud. You’ll find that it is compatible with a wide host of payroll processing programs.

Management can also use this system to share vital information with their employees, such as:

  • Upcoming schedules
  • Department transfers
  • HR announcements
  • Responses to time-off requests
  • Missing punches

Unpacking the Benefits of Time and Attendance Solutions

Besides being a timeclock system, time and attendance solutions offer a wide variety of benefits for businesses. The top five ways it adds value to your business are:

  1. Reducing time fraud
  2. Improving accuracy
  3. Being compliance-ready for audits
  4. Easy operation and compatibility with other business programs
  5. Additional management functionality

Variety of time-tracking options

When time fraud is a significant concern, there are service modules that use more identifiable methods to reduce buddy punching. These methods are bioidentical actions, whether it’s hand size, fingerprint scanning, retinal match, or voice recognition. Learn more about the time clocks that we offer.

Accuracy

When transactions are processed electronically, it’s easier to ensure and maintain accuracy. There are warning systems that send out automatic alerts to employees and managers when information is missing or doesn’t line up. This helps reduce the time spent tracking down employees to correct information.

Accuracy is a big deal in the payroll industry. In fact, one source said as many as 33% of employers make payroll errors that cost businesses billions of dollars each year. It’s unclear from this source whether these errors were the result of pen and paper tracking or electronic records. It is safe, however, to say that accuracy is absolutely important to help your business avoid costly mistakes.


Audit trail features

Web-based time and attendance software electronically store information, so it makes it easier to recall this data when requested. The length of time your information is stored depends on your choice of software or subscription but is often for at least a year.


You can use these records to help make better predictions for your business for the next year, as you scale it, or as your workforce number changes.

  • Need to know how many employees worked on your busiest day last year? Done.
  • Need to know the margin of absenteeism for the past year? Also done.
  • Need to report how much overtime was granted for the previous year? Checkmate.

Ease of use

When a business is used to using paper punch cards, it may seem daunting to migrate to a newer form of a time and attendance system. The fear of new technology is something that can be easily dissuaded. The time and attendance modules available through Paytech all feature Attendance On Demand software, which is compatible with many payroll programs. This is just the first of the many easy conveniences.

One particular platform, ESS – employee self service, is one of the most convenient ones on the market. As a downloadable app for phones or tablets, ESS allows employees to have on-the-go access to their time tracking tools. It’s especially useful for offsite employees or those that are in department transfers or assisting at other locations.


Management of all time tracking issues

Managers have more tracking abilities when using time and attendance software. It’s more than a tool that deters buddy punching and tracks down missed punches. Supervisors can use the system to improve PTO management. This includes responding to time-off requests and ensuring schedule coverages.

It can also be a useful project management tool. When managing special teams, you can have a birds-eye view of how productive that team is. Looking at records from past projects helps you to better plan for the next assignment.


Time and Attendance Solutions from Paytech

Paytech offers payroll support in many forms. We can give your business exclusive access to well-known Attendance On Demand time and attendance solutions. By getting these solutions directly from Paytech, you can receive super affordable prices and subscription packages. Call us at 602-900-8807 to learn more today!