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Choosing Optimal Time Entry Formats
Choosing Optimal Time Entry
Formats
An Attendance on Demand Primer
Summary
Today’s time and attendance systems can be configured with
a variety of time entry formats. However, organizations that
do not select the format that best aligns with the usage of the
employees and the recordkeeping needs of payroll may find their
time and attendance data delayed, unrepresentative or downright
inaccurate. By ensuring a time entry format provides basic
functions, understanding how the employees and organization
will use the data, and then weighing the advantages of each
format to choose the best match, organizations can benefit from
more accurate and up-to-date timekeeping and payroll records.
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Choosing Optimal Time Entry Formats
Choosing the Best Way to Enter Time in Your Time and
Attendance System
Choosing the way employees enter time in your time and attendance system
can either encourage or discourage accurate, consistent time capture. A format
that makes time entry quicker and easier helps employees report their time as
frequently as necessary, ensuring more accurate time records, payroll information,
and time and attendance reporting.
Step 1: Cover the Basics
Most web-based time and attendance systems feature several time entry formats
to accommodate different needs of employees and employers. Before deciding on
optimal formats, employers should be familiar with basic functionalities every
format should offer.
In general, a time entry format must provide:
• A straightforward way for employees to enter start and end times for a shift
• Summary information of hours worked for the time being viewed
• An approval function for organizations that require workers to approve their
time cards before submitting to payroll
• A way to review time entry transactions and adjustments made by both the
employee and his or her supervisor
• Totals of hours worked for each pay designation (or pay category, including
regular time, overtime, vacation, sick time and/or personal time)
These basic characteristics ensure employees can manage their time accurately
and limit interference or reliance on a second party for daily time entry. Once an
organization ensures these functions are included, decision makers can move on to
considering the more strategic questions surrounding time entry format selection.
Step 2: Ask Strategic Questions
Selecting an appropriate time entry format requires thinking strategically about
who will use the time and attendance system, and how will they use it. Consider
three key questions:
• Who are your stakeholders? Who will be using the time and attendance
system to enter time? Do specific departments or teams need a different way
to capture time, or will all employees benefit from a standard format? Do
supervisors have needs that must be considered?
• How will employees enter their time? Will they use a time clock to punch
in and out, or will they do it manually through the system? Will they need to
allocate their time to specific departments after the fact? Or will they need to
track tasks and time throughout the day?
• What kind of information do payroll and HR departments need? How
will they use the time and attendance data? For labor budgeting? Workforce
management? Benefit records? What kind of reports does your organization
need to run? Which format will best capture and produce that information?
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Choosing Optimal Time Entry Formats
Once you have an idea about who will use the system and what they need, you
can begin assessing time entry formats for the one that will best suit your needs.
Some organizations will find one format useful across all departments and teams,
but more commonly, organizations will require two or more formats to meet their
needs.
Step 3: Take a Tour of Time Entry Formats
With a list of needs from stakeholders and a solid understanding of how the time
and attendance system will be used, decision makers now need to become familiar
with different types of time entry formats available, including Time Card, Tasksheet, Timesheet, Worksheet and Allocation Sheet.
Time Card
The Time Card format offers an at-a-glance summary of time and attendance
transactions for a pay period. Employees can view in and out punches as well as
other transactions. The current period is displayed for convenience, but employees
can choose “Prev. Period” to review transactions from the prior pay period and
approve their time card for submission to payroll.
Figure 1. Time Card format
In Figure 1, the Transactions tab shows in/out punch times, total hours, scheduled
hours and any exceptions or deviations from scheduled attendance.
This Time Card format also offers a Pay Period Totals section including total
hours for pay designations (regular time, overtime, vacation, sick time, etc.) and
the pay group (department and shift) where hours have been allocated.
The Activity tab shows transactions performed and requests for time off made
so employees can ensure certain activities are performed (such as approving a
previous pay period’s time card). The Adjustment tab shows any adjustment made
to the time card by the employee or supervisor.
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Choosing Optimal Time Entry Formats
Tasksheet
The Tasksheet format offers a different way to capture time. Because it uses punch
transactions and workgroup assignments for blocks of elapsed time, it is especially
effective for employees working in multiple departments or workgroups.
Figure 2. Tasksheet format
The Tasksheet in Figure 2 allows employees to enter start and end times with
specific department or shift codes selected from a drop-down list.
Tasksheets can be useful in identifying “holes” during the workday. This Tasksheet automatically starts the next task when the previous one has ended. Any
unallocated time is assumed to be a break. The Tasksheet quickly summarizes
work schedule, workgroup, total amount of hours and pay designation. Selecting
“Prev. Period” allows employees to review and approve prior pay period information.
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Choosing Optimal Time Entry Formats
Timesheet
The Timesheet format displays in and out totals for each pay designation and
allows employees to punch in and out in a single workgroup.
Figure 3. Timesheet format
In Figure 3, this Timesheet lets employees enter in/out punch times and view
total hours for each shift. Pay designation (“PD”) such as regular time, overtime
and vacation totals are also shown for each shift. Employees can also review and
approve previous Timesheets from the prior pay period.
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Choosing Optimal Time Entry Formats
Worksheet
There are two types of Worksheet formats: the Weekly-Based Worksheet and
Pay Period-Based Worksheet. The Weekly-Based Worksheet is a week-by-week
rendering of time, regardless of pay period. The Pay Period-Based Worksheet offers
the same format advantages but displays time according to pay period instead of
by week, and punches are not required to allocate hours.
Figure 4. Worksheet format
For both types of Worksheets, employees can enter time by department. Unlike the
Tasksheet, the Worksheet provides departments, they do not have to be entered.
The Worksheet also shows total hours for each workgroup for the week or pay
period.
At the bottom, pay period totals indicate how much time has been allocated to
a particular pay designation and department or shift. The Activity tab offers a
summary of Worksheet activity, and the Adjustments tab shows any adjustments
the employee or supervisor has made to the Worksheet.
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Choosing Optimal Time Entry Formats
Allocation Sheet
The Allocation Sheet format allows employees to punch in/out, and allocate time to
workgroups after the fact. With this format, employees can manage absences and
expenses, and view time off requests, status and daily summaries.
Figure 5. Allocation Sheet format
The Allocation Sheet in Figure 5 lets employees track benefit balances and
expenses (such as tips) by date. Total work hours for each day are displayed and
can be allocated to specific workgroups. Unallocated (or overallocated) time is
displayed so employees can be sure they are allocating time correctly. Summaries
of pay designations amounts are displayed with hourly-based and/or dollar-based
pay designation.
Conclusion: Benefits of Selecting the Right Time Entry
Format
Deciding on the optimal formats for time entry demands strategic thinking, but
its benefits can be widely felt across the organization. With an easy-to-use format
that best suits the needs of the employee and employer, the result is more accurate
and up-to-date time records submitted by employees. This in turn will reduce
payroll errors and prompt fewer last minute requests by payroll for employees to
submit and approve time entries. The organization will benefit from better time
and attendance data, leading to more powerful reporting. Labor and labor budget
trends are easier to identify, and government compliance and due diligence efforts
are supported.
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Choosing Optimal Time Entry Formats
About Attendance on Demand, Inc.
Attendance on Demand supports the labor management needs of thousands
of companies and more than a half million employees across North America.
Launched in 2006, Attendance on Demand is a rapidly deployed, cloud-based
solution that minimizes a company’s risk and technology investment while
providing advanced features for securely managing labor data—calculating pay
rules, scheduling employees, budgeting labor, and automating recordkeeping for
labor law compliance. With standard uptime over the industry average of 99.995%
and above average customer retention rates, Attendance on Demand removes the
worry of maintaining expensive infrastructure. An extensive North American
distribution network helps organizations use Attendance on Demand to reduce
labor expenses and improve decision making.
To find out how Attendance
on Demand can help your
organization, call
800-465-9980 or visit
www.attendanceondemand.com
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Attendance on Demand is a registered trademark of Attendance on Demand, Inc.
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03/13 rev 02/15