With the industrial revolution came the need for a way to track the hour’s employees put in for their employer. Manual time clocks, better known as punch clocks, were created, and proved to be fairly successful in helping employees and employers alike keep track of clocked-in time. But due to their mechanical design, punch clocks were prone to breakdowns; and, because they were so easy to operate and could be used by anyone, there was the potential for abuse – employees could clock in early or punch out late, even if they arrived to work later than expected and/or left earlier than expected.
Today’s time clocks take all of the above into account, as well as the need for integration with existing computer systems. After all, the majority of businesses rely on a computer system for everything from alarms to locking and unlocking doors to keeping track of inventory, so it makes sense to choose a time clock system that fits in seamlessly. What’s more, since today’s selection of time clocks are almost all digital and electronic, the risk of fraudulent activity by employees is slim – this is especially the case if higher-end systems that use fingerprint scanning are put into place. A fingerprint time clock is a highly sophisticated system that requires an employee to scan his or her fingerprint in order to successfully log into or out of the system. If the fingerprint is not recognized, then the login or logout action will not be successful.
While opting for a security-oriented time clock system like the ones found at Allied Time may seem a little much for an everyday corner store or retail establishment, it makes perfect sense for those industries where security is a priority – such as medical offices, banks, police departments, and military bases. However, if your business does not fall into one of those categories, then a standard time clock system — one that simply accepts a username and password, a pin number, or a swiped badge – should do the trick. All of these time clock systems will log hours worked, as well as the time an employee clocks in and the time that an employee clocks out. Subsequently, you can expect to have accurate time logs that in turn will make payroll and other accounting duties accurate and efficient.