If you have been considering purchasing time clock software lately, you have probably realized quickly that there are numerous options available. So, how do you go about picking the right one for your business? 

There are some basic functions that are common across almost all platforms and others that are unique to each product. Closely examining your business needs can help you align the best product to fit your needs. 

Here are 5 considerations that you should explore as you select the best online timecard system to suit your business.

Scheduling

One of the largest benefits of using employee time clock software is increased efficiency and reduced expenses. You need to make sure that your new software can automatically create employee schedules so that you no longer must complete this task manually. 

Managers often spend hours each week manually creating schedules that work around employee time off and availability. With the right time clock software, you can create a schedule for the week with the click of a button. Make sure the software that you are considering has this functionality. It will save you a ton of time and headache each week!

Reporting

Managers need access to many different reports related to team time tracking so that they can make important decisions. They need to know how many hours are scheduled versus how many are worked for budgetary reasons. They need to know which employees are consistently late to work so that they can identify coaching opportunities. It can sometimes be difficult and time-consuming to pull this information together.

However, time clock software makes this type of reporting a breeze. You can easily access many reports right off the shelf, and most products allow the creation of custom reports for your specific needs. A manager now has access to all the data he or she needs with just a few clicks.

Ease of Use

The time clock software that you decide to implement needs to be easy to use for several reasons. First, your employees will be using it multiple times per day to punch in and out, schedule time off, or check vacation balances. If the system is difficult to use, you may find that employees push back on using it all. You want to make sure you gain their buy-in so that you can reap the full benefits of implementing the time and attendance app, so an application that is easy to use is much more likely to be accepted by your workforce. Remote employee productivity monitoring is necessary to track the work done.

Compliance

It is becoming much more difficult to keep up with today’s ever-changing compliance rules and regulations. Overtime rules differ from state to state, plus there is a federal rule that also governs overtime payments. Some states have rules related to time off versus hours worked. An honest mistake related to overtime pay can become very costly for your company.

You can greatly reduce the chance of making this type of mistake by implementing cloud-based time clock software. This software is automatically programmed with all these rules built-in, so you no longer must worry about manually tracking this information. The online time clock software itself will make sure that you comply with the FLSA and other regulations for your industry when it comes to timekeeping.

Payroll

Payroll processing can take a great deal of time, and errors in processing can lead to many problems. With time clock software, you no longer need to worry about many of those problems. Payroll processing can be done automatically, and you can be sure that each paycheck is calculated accurately based on the precise amount of time worked by each employee. As an added bonus, employees may even receive their paychecks faster because the processing is so much more efficient!