Using a time clock to record employee hours worked is a good idea. In fact, most businesses that have more than a dozen workers use a time clock system of some sort. The problem is what to do with the data. If you manually enter it into a spreadsheet then you are asking for trouble. Unless you use one of the many time clock software packages, all sorts of errors can creep into the data stream. Expect to have problems with things like duplicate entries, incorrect numbers, mismatches, and other related glitches. Time clocks do a good job of tracking hours worked, but that is only half the battle of payroll duties.
The implementation of a system that utilizes time clock software will rid your payroll department of the headaches associated with pernicious errors. Paid time off seems to be a widespread problem for payroll accountants. If the time clock data is entered manually, paid time off is sometimes forgotten. Time clocks typically do not record that piece of information for each employee. When paid time off data is omitted, or entered incorrectly, then at least one paycheck is apt to be in error. Usually, a mistake of this sort leads to numerous incorrect paychecks in a single cycle.
Rounding errors are the bugaboo of payroll, and have been for over a hundred years. In the old days, this category of mistake was the most common paycheck error, and accounted for many managerial hours spent trying to correct the problem. Whether you are skilled or not with mathematics, rounding takes time, and time clocks cannot do it. Software does the chore automatically and accurately.
Almost as pernicious as rounding errors, duplicate entries have plagued the accounting, and thus payroll, profession from the beginning of the modern era. The truly dangerous thing about duplicate entry errors is the fact that they spread like a cancer throughout the rest of the data stream, causing mistakes and incorrect entries all over the system. What's worse, duplicate entries for hours worked can cause management to over-compensate employees. In other words, these errors cause the company to waste huge amounts of money. Time clock software virtually eliminates duplication problems.
Time clocks themselves are not the problem for payroll departments. Errors arise when human beings attempt to manually enter reams of data into paycheck programs. Without a software system in place, management faces a number of hurdles. With such a system at their disposal, company executives need never worry about the most common payroll mistakes.
The implementation of a system that utilizes time clock software will rid your payroll department of the headaches associated with pernicious errors. Paid time off seems to be a widespread problem for payroll accountants. If the time clock data is entered manually, paid time off is sometimes forgotten. Time clocks typically do not record that piece of information for each employee. When paid time off data is omitted, or entered incorrectly, then at least one paycheck is apt to be in error. Usually, a mistake of this sort leads to numerous incorrect paychecks in a single cycle.
Rounding errors are the bugaboo of payroll, and have been for over a hundred years. In the old days, this category of mistake was the most common paycheck error, and accounted for many managerial hours spent trying to correct the problem. Whether you are skilled or not with mathematics, rounding takes time, and time clocks cannot do it. Software does the chore automatically and accurately.
Almost as pernicious as rounding errors, duplicate entries have plagued the accounting, and thus payroll, profession from the beginning of the modern era. The truly dangerous thing about duplicate entry errors is the fact that they spread like a cancer throughout the rest of the data stream, causing mistakes and incorrect entries all over the system. What's worse, duplicate entries for hours worked can cause management to over-compensate employees. In other words, these errors cause the company to waste huge amounts of money. Time clock software virtually eliminates duplication problems.
Time clocks themselves are not the problem for payroll departments. Errors arise when human beings attempt to manually enter reams of data into paycheck programs. Without a software system in place, management faces a number of hurdles. With such a system at their disposal, company executives need never worry about the most common payroll mistakes.
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