Keeping track of your employees’ hours at work isn’t always easy, especially if you run more than one crew at different job sites. Some contractors take the easy way out and assume that everyone who shows up for work will work the entire day.
Others use old-fashioned time cards and have workers clock in and out before leaving or after coming back to the shop. There are a few different methods you can use, but most of them run the risk of either overpaying or underpaying your crew for the actual work that gets done.
Time card apps can go a long way toward solving this problem. There are a number of app options available, including programs like ExakTime, SwipeClock, and TSheets. Though the specific functions offered may differ, all of these apps have the same general purpose in mind: Digitizing your time cards and ensuring that your employees get paid for the work they do without driving you crazy keeping track of it.
Time Card Management
Obviously, the primary function of a time card app is to manage your workers’ time on the clock. Most time card apps use Cloud functionality to make employee activity available from anywhere, letting you check to see whether everyone is on the job and clocked in with ease. Your crews can clock in when they reach the job site, clock out for lunch or breaks and report an accurate representation of time spent on the job. If edits need to be made to the time record, you can generally make changes from any device with an Internet connection.
Invoicing Integration
While not all time card apps integrate directly into bookkeeping software, many do. Some, like TSheets, are actually made by the manufacturers of bookkeeping programs themselves and act almost like an extension of the software. This integration allows you to send time card data directly to invoicing without having to manually enter hours or convert the data to another format. You’re still able to review or edit entries as needed both before and after sending, of course.
Mobile and Offline Functionality
The big advantage of time card apps is that they’re mobile, letting you use them directly on the job site instead of tying your time clock to a physical location. Many allow for offline use as well, however, extending the functionality to places where it’s difficult to access wireless data or Wi-Fi Internet. This can be especially important if your crews often work in out-of-the-way places where it’s hard to get a reliable signal. Once a connection is reestablished, most of these apps then sync the data automatically so your records are up to date again.
Special Wage Considerations
In addition to simply tracking time, a number of time card apps can also automatically calculate special wage considerations such as overtime or holiday pay rates that you specify. This is useful not only when it comes to invoicing integration but it can also give you a heads up about workers that are about to hit time-and-a-half or other wage scenarios. It’s helpful for your employees since it gives them a good look at how much they’re making and it also helps you to avoid giving all of the OT to a single worker or portion of your crew.
As you can see, there are a number of ways that time card apps can make your life easier. Different apps have different features, requirements, and costs, however. Because of this, you might want to take some time and research your options to find the one that’s the best fit for you, your business and your crew.
Could a time card app help your business tame its payroll?
