| The History Of The Employee Time Clock And Point | | | | employee time clock feature that is designed |
| of Sale | | | | specifically for restaurants and the goofy requirements |
| The concept of punching a time clock has been | | | | placed upon restaurant owners. |
| around since the industrial revolution of the early 1900's. | | | | All employees can clock in/out on any terminal in the |
| However, it was not until the invention of the electronic | | | | system. There is no set terminal that must be used by |
| cash register in the early 1980's that employees could | | | | all employees. Any employee may clock in on any |
| clock in/out on the cash register. This eliminated the | | | | terminal. |
| need for a punch card and greatly increased accuracy | | | | Security and secrecy should be a concern and point |
| and reduced manpower needs in calculating time | | | | of sale software products have different ways of |
| worked for payroll purposes. | | | | accomplishing this. |
| While the need for employees to clock in and out on a | | | | - Secret 4-digit employee code for clock in/out. |
| terminal started off simple the requirements of | | | | - Optional magnetic card reader and magnetic cards |
| government have greatly increased the demands | | | | for employees to use when clocking in/out. |
| placed upon management. There are a host of | | | | - Optional biometric reader which recognizes individual |
| different labor laws, tip reporting requirements and | | | | fingerprints for employee clock in/out. |
| labor restrictions governing the number of hours to be | | | | - Employee breaks are tracked and various rules can |
| worked in a day/week and even when minors are | | | | be set depending upon your own state's regulations. |
| allowed to work. | | | | Tipped employees are required to declare their tips |
| The Need For An Employee Time Clock | | | | earned when they clock out for the day. These |
| What started off simple has quickly become complex. | | | | declared amounts are then reported with their time |
| Your needs are far greater than a simple time clock | | | | worked. |
| that tracks the clock in and out times for your | | | | What good would all this data do if we didn't report on |
| employees. You need help with the government | | | | it? Most software products are able to track and |
| regulations regarding different aspects of your labor | | | | report on all time clock data and use weekly, |
| pool. | | | | bi-weekly, bi-monthly and monthly payroll cycles. Be |
| Tip reporting and handling have become a huge issue | | | | sure to verify that the product you are looking at will |
| in the restaurant business. You need help tracking | | | | meet all of your requirements before purchase. |
| tipped employees and what they declare as tips | | | | Some point of sale products will also export all time |
| earned. | | | | clock data to file for import into several different |
| Tracking employee breaks has become a bigger and | | | | accounting packages. |
| bigger hassle. Some states govern the length of | | | | The Benefit Of The Employee Time Clock To You |
| breaks and whether they are paid or not. I know of | | | | This feature has several benefits. Let's list a few: |
| one state that requires a minimum of a 20 minute | | | | - Increased accuracy over punch cards and manual |
| unpaid break per employee. If that employee clocks | | | | time tracking. |
| back in 1 minute early, their entire break is paid. Who | | | | - Reduced rounding errors in computing time. |
| has time to monitor every employee's break? | | | | - Reduced time for management to compute |
| And we have just now gotten to the problem of | | | | employee hours. |
| employees clocking in early, riding the clock or simply | | | | - Enforce break rules. |
| having a friend clock them in when they aren't even | | | | - Enforce tip tracking and declaration for tipped |
| there! | | | | employees. |
| You need help. You need an integrated time clock and | | | | - Eliminate buddy punching with optional biometric |
| you need it bad. | | | | scanners. |
| The Solution Of The Employee Time Clock | | | | - Export time clock data to payroll software or payroll |
| Some point of sale systems come standard with an | | | | service. |