You know how the saying goes: time is money. And to keep track of your money, you’ve got to keep track of your time first.
Without good time management, your business will suffer both in productivity and profits. But with the best time clocks in your arsenal, you’ll be able to conquer anything that’s thrown your way.
Are you wondering what the best time clocks for small businesses are? Then keep reading! We’ll tell you all about them in this article.
1. Digital Time Clock
These time clocks are a step up from the traditional punch-in time clocks. These look like the panels for security systems; they also hang up on the wall.
Your employees can choose a unique ID number, which is used to clock in and clock out. They can also input it to see how much they worked for the day or the whole week.
Some of these digital time clocks let you set your own pay periods so it makes payroll easier for you. Since these systems can easily track other things like paid breaks, overtime, and holiday hours, you can expect payroll to be a lot easier with a digital time clock. This is especially true since you can easily do data exports to several formats, such as ADP, API, and CSV.
2. Fingerprint Time Clock
These fingerprint time clocks are another step up from the traditional punch-in time clocks; it’s an upgrade from the digital one we mentioned above. Instead of punching a sheet of paper, your employees touch their fingers to the pad. Or, if they prefer, they can use a PIN, RFID proximity badge, or a fob.
You can collect the information from the time clock in two ways, depending on the model you get.
One way is by connecting a USB drive to it. After you download the information onto the USB drive, connect it to your computer to take a look at all the data.
The other way is to install the appropriate software to link the time clock to your computer. That way, you can directly look at employee work hour data without having to use a USB drive.
2. Proximity Time Clock
Proximity time clocks eliminate the need for your employees to do manual work to clock in and out. Each person gets a badge and when they enter or leave the office, all they have to do is wave their badges near the time clock.
Of course, if they don’t like using this method, they can also use PINs or biometric data (like fingerprints) on some models.
A great perk of proximity time clocks is they have software installed inside them, so you don’t have to install anything on your computer. To access the data, you can either use a USB drive, LAN, or wifi. Some even let you link multiple time clocks across these methods, meaning you can manage thousands of timesheets if you wished.
The self-enrollment technology available on proximity time clocks means you won’t have to manually input each employee into the system yourself. Instead, they can take that work off you and do it themselves, which takes a load off your shoulders.
3. Facial Recognition Time Clock
With this type of time clock, it’ll be very difficult for your employees to game the system. As the name suggests, a facial recognition time clock ensures the person clocking in/out is who they claim to be through the use of high-tech scanners.
Not only will this time clock hold your employees accountable, but it also provides them with some perks. For instance, since all they need is their face to clock in and out, they won’t have to deal with remembering PINs and ID numbers, nor will they have to remember to bring their RFID badges every day.
Since they don’t have to touch anything to clock in and out (like with fingerprint time clocks), it’s a lot more hygienic. Plus, you can link it to your computer’s software to download the employee work hour data.
4. Time Clock Wizard
Time Clock Wizard is a web-based time clock that streamlines multiple areas of your business. First of all, it lets you do employee scheduling, which can be stressful at times. With this program, it won’t be, as it has a bunch of features that make scheduling a cinch, such as blocking you from scheduling people if they’re not available.
Not only that, but you can also track all your employees’ attendance. Time Clock Wizard enables your workers to conveniently request time off and for you to approve them. You can even do payroll through this program.
One of the best parts of this program is you can notify your employees about changes in the schedule through email or text. They can then arrange to switch shifts with one another through Time Clock Wizard itself.
Learn more about Time Clock Wizard and see if it’s right for your company. The best thing is, if you have a very small business with only a few team members, this program is completely free.
Get the Best Time Clocks for Small Businesses
Now you know the best time clocks for small businesses. With these helpful tools of the trade, not only can you manage your own time better, but you can help your employees do so too.
When your entire company can run like a well-oiled machine, you’ll see productivity go up. And, in turn, your profits will too. So make a small investment in one or a few of these time clocks to see business soar.
For more information on running your small business, please check out our other interesting blog articles.
