Time clocks are a necessity for any business with employees. They are used to keep track of time worked, overtime, payroll and more. There are a wide variety of time clocks available, ranging from manual punch clocks to electronic card-swipe time clocks. Some can be integrated into a computer network and export data to payroll software such as ADP, Paychex, QuickBooks, Excel, and more. The latest industry trend is biometric time clocks.
What are biometric time clocks? They are time clocks that use a biological piece of an employee to sign in and out of work. This usually involves a fingerprint or a hand. There are currently no retinal scanning time clocks on the market at this time. Biometric time clocks can be used for small or large businesses.
As mentioned earlier, biometric time clocks are growing in popularity. This isn't simply because they use the latest in technology or because they are "cool," although there is some wow factor involved. This is because they use a unique identifier to log an employee in and out of work. There is no need to print a special card or use a traditional punch card.
Employees have their finger or hand scanned into a computer, using the biometric time clock, where employee information is associated with that unique scan. From that point forward the employee can log in and out of work using their finger or hand. This is not only convenient for the employee, but also for the employer.
Another big benefit of using biometric technology for a time clock is the complete elimination of buddy punching. What is buddy punching? It occurs when a friend or fellow employee punches in and out of work on behalf of another employee. The biometric time clock ensures that an employee is only being paid for work "they" are doing and cuts down, if not completely eliminates, buddy punching fraud.
There are currently a couple of well-known manufacturers who make biometric time clocks. The first is Pyramid Technologies (PTI). They make a model called the
Time Trax Bio that uses a finger swipe to log in and out of work. Another manufacturer is AcroPrint who makes a model called the
HandPunch 1000, that uses an employee's hand to log in and out of work.
Data accrued by the biometric time clock can usually be exported for use by other programs such as ADP, Paychex, QuickBooks, Excel, and more. This is very convenient and cuts down on errors and saves a lot of time. See our
Time Clock Software.
Time clocks are a necessary tool for any businesses or organization with employees. Biometric time clocks may be an option for you. Contact Office Zone for more information on time clocks. Call us at 1-800-543-5454 or email us at
info@officezone.com.
