Time to Ditch Those Old-fashioned Time Cards – Here’s Why
If your organization is still using an outdated, inefficient employee time tracking system, complete with time cards, it’s time to take a long hard look at how much your antiquated practices are costing your company.
You need to ask yourself, how much time and effort does your human resources and/or payroll department spend calculating employee hours each pay period? Without comprehensive time tracking software, how much are you overpaying employees due to human error? What is the loss incurred by your company due to ‘buddy punching,’ a practice whereby employees punch in and out for co-workers, and made much easier by the use of time cards?
And don’t forget about the cost of the actual time cards themselves – about 5 cents per card, per employee, per pay period. It’s an unnecessary expense that can add up quickly over the course of a year.
The Real Cost of Time Cards
According to a recent American Payroll Association (APA) study, overpaying employees due to human error can range from 1-8%. See our blog Time and Attendance Software ROI – Human Error to learn just how much human error could be costing your company.
Furthermore, it takes approximately four minutes per employee to calculate each time card and an average of two minutes per employee to enter the data into your payroll software. That doesn’t even take into consideration the time it takes to decipher employees’ handwriting or how long it takes to collect all the time cards. Click on the ROI calculator to estimate the cost of payroll processing in your company.
Affordable Solutions Can Save Time and Money
If you’re fed up with your current time-tracking system and you’re ready to trade your time cards for a more efficient and cost-effective time and attendance solutions, there are a number of affordable options available to you.
For a one-time investment of less than $500, you can update to a standalone time clock that allows employees to swipe a card that is completely reusable and eliminates the need for paper-based time cards. Or add a fingerprint or face recognition reader and you not only completely get rid of the hassle and expense of time cards, you also say ‘good-bye’ to the costly practice of buddy punching. A fingerprint or face recognition reader also makes it faster for employees to clock in and out.
Additionally, by combining a time clock with a robust time and attendance software solution, you’ll get the added benefit of being able to track your employees’ attendance from anywhere you have internet access. Plus, at the end of your accounting period, you’ll discover just how quick and easy it is to export your data to your payroll software, virtually eliminating costly human errors.
Switching to a more efficient and money-saving attendance tracking solution is easier and more affordable than you may think. For more information on starting the process, check out our blog How to Choose the Best Time Clock for your Business. Once you make the switch, you’ll wonder how you ever managed with your old-fashioned employee time tracking system.
YOUR TURN
How many hourly-paid employees does your company employ? What system do you use to track their time and attendance? What challenges does your HR department face when it comes to tracking employee hours? What is holding you back from moving to a more efficient tracking system?
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