Buddy Punching – Buddy punching is a term used to describe when an employee gets someone (their buddy) to punch their timecard for them, instead of doing it themselves, so that they can get paid for their supposed work time, even though they are not working. The employee might be late, wants to leave early, taking a long break or not even showing up at all. Buddy punching costs employers millions of dollars each year in both false wages and administrative/reconciliation costs.
Biometric identifiers – Biometric identifiers can be a finger, a whole hand or even an eye. By using a biometric time clock system, employees can only punch in and out when they themselves are standing in front of the time clock. Buddy punching is not possible with a biometric time clock. The most common time and attendance biometric clocks used in small and medium business are HandPunch and Fingerprint readers.
HandPunch – A biometric time clock that scans your entire hand. It measures the size and shape of a person’s hand, including length, width, thickness and surface area. It improves payroll accuracy and simplicity by eliminating ‘buddy-punching’ and time fraud. Suitable for businesses of all sizes which continually strive to control costs.
Fingerprint Reader – One of the most effective biometric time clocks for Time and Attendance systems. Fingerprint scanning measures minutiae which include certain visible aspects of fingerprints such as ridges, ridge endings, and bifurcation (forking) or ridges. Image below shows core points on different fingerprint patterns. This is an inexpensive solution to eliminate the potential errors associated with manually calculating employee hours. These readers help eliminate costly “buddy punching” because biometrics identify a person based on their unique physical characteristics instead of a card or other credential.
Card Reader – Proximity Card Readers, Magnetic Card Readers and Barcode Card Readers, are some of the least expensive solutions for Time and Attendance or Workforce Management systems. With the help of these Time Clocks, you can eliminate the potential errors associated with manually calculating employee hours.