Common Questions About an Employee Attendance Tracker

Employee attendance tracking is a mission critical function of automating payroll and optimizing workforce management systems. Thus, your customers and prospects have questions about how employee time clocks can impact and optimize their operations. As a time clock seller, you want to be able to answer their questions.

First, you’ll have questions to ask of your potential time clock vendor partner about tracking employee attendance. We’ve assembled common questions to ask a time clock vendor and questions you’re likely to hear from prospects. 

7 Questions You Should Ask a Time Clock Vendor about Employee Attendance Tracking

Offering time clocks to your customers can be a profitable addition to your business model. It often depends on partnering with the right time clock vendor.  

#1) Our company doesn’t have time collection software – Do you offer a solution?

If your company wants to get your employee attendance tracking software and hardware to market quickly, you want to partner with a vendor that has attendance tracking software for their devices. Some companies want to build their own time collection software, but that takes time and money. 

A vendor who offers their own time tracking software demonstrates expertise and commitment to partners.

This in-house capability shows a deep understanding of attendance management and ensures ongoing innovation and support. 

At ATS, our employee attendance tracker software, TimeCollect, provides the most popular data collection functionality out of the box.

It’s also highly flexible. You can configure it to meet the different reader and punch types. 

#2) Do we need the space or the resources to handle clocks?  

Your software company needs to focus on growing your employee attendance tracking software, if a time clock vendor is full-service, they can cut your expenses and go-to-market timeline in half. A full-service vendor will handle all the provisioning, if that’s what you want. No one in your company should have to touch a device. 

ATS can handle all aspects of provisioning time clocks. Our teams store, configure, and ship straight to our partners’ customers. 

#3) Is the integration with our back-end system complicated? 

You want a vendor who can answer this with a “no.” They should have a well-documented process for integrating their time clocks into your solution. Review the vendor’s integration documentation, which should detail the integration process, including timelines and milestones. 

Also look at the intake form they use to assess your attendance tracking needs. It’s a critical tool for configuring time clocks that align with your customer’s workforce management needs. 

#4) Do you offer a cloud-based solution? 

Integrating with a cloud-based solution is crucial to offering a full-service employee attendance tracking solution.  AccuCloud is our cloud-based time collection solution. Hosted by ATS, it has three main components  

• an ATS time clock 

• middleware for data communication, and  

• a web portal with real time visibility into each customer’s deployment.  

We create an individual middleware instance for each of your customers, enabling scalability and efficient management.  

AccuCloud delivers true oversight into your customers’ time clock integrations with your solution. It improves the speed and quality of the customer service you can provide. It’s ideal for companies that want to offer a sophisticated solution with multiple revenue streams. Request a demo to see AccuCloud in action. 

#5) Can I buy the hardware by itself? 

If that’s what you want, work with a vendor that can answer “yes.”  

Buying hardware only gives you the flexibility to build your own solution from scratch. We supply the hardware and the SDKs to get you started.

If you lack time collection software, we can provide that too. Then, your only focus is building the integration between it and your middleware and back-end system. Our diverse line of time clocks run on various operating systems.

Our stride80 device runs on Android and includes a complete SDK tool kit for seamless integration with your custom apps. 

#6) Where are the time clocks manufactured? 

A time clock’s durability and longevity are largely functions of its materials and manufacturing. ATS time clocks are made in the United States with the highest quality materials and construction. 

#7) How do you support partner scalability?

The right time clock vendor can scale with you as your business grows. 

At ATS, we support partner scalability through continuous evolution of our solutions that incorporate technological advances and emerging market demands. We’ll handle all the logistical demands. Your company can stay focused on its own software innovation and market expansion. 

7 End-User Frequently Asked Questions 

Preparing for conversations about your new time clock offerings is crucial. Here are questions customers may ask, with answers to help you respond effectively. 

#1) What type of employee data can time clocks track? 

High-quality time clocks can track a wealth of employee data beyond collecting worked hours. They record work locations, helping with payroll compliance for different jurisdictions. Punches can be labeled for shifts, breaks, and meals, simplifying labor law compliance. Some clocks even collect tips or daily safety attestations.  

This comprehensive data ensures accurate payroll processing, streamlines compliance efforts, and provides valuable insights for workforce management, ultimately saving time and reducing errors. 

#2) Can time clocks do more than collect data? 

Advanced time clocks like the stride80 can double as employee self-service kiosks for employees. Once integrated with your workforce management software, you can share any data stored in your system with the clock. 

The stride80 can run any Android-based app.  You can develop applications allowing employees to request time off, check personal day balances, and access other self-service features directly through the time clock. 

#3) How can time clocks support HR management? 

Because employee time clocks collect detailed attendance information, they should support HR management in several ways. HR staff should get detailed reports that identify employees showing patterns of tardiness and unapproved absences, or other attendance-related issues. These reports help HR manage employees who need help with their schedule adherence. 

Quality time clocks provide reports that help reduce the risk of time theft. By tracking exact punch times, they can spot buddy punching trends, like employees clocking in very close to each other. Time clocks with biometric readers  are a stronger option that eliminates the possibility of buddy punching. 

#4) How can time clocks support employee attendance?

Here are some time clock benefits that have universal appeal, for those who aren’t convinced about the value of automating their time and attendance data collection with a time clock.

Automated time tracking of employee attendance improves reward and enforcement opportunities.  

Time clocks that track attendance help managers and HR see attendance problems early, before they become big issues. Proactively reviewing the employee attendance data is a potent tool to getting employees back on track. The time clock attendance data can also find those employees who deserve reward and recognition for their attendance record. 

Time clocks can make it easy for employees to comply with vacation and sick leave policies.

Employers often have deadlines for employees to request time off or unscheduled sick leave. When employees can request time off at the time clock, companies make it easier for employees to comply with these deadlines. 

Since employees interact with the clock multiple times daily, it provides convenient opportunities for personal time requests. This approach is far more efficient than manual processes, ultimately improving policy adherence and employee productivity. 

The time clock is another communication channel to inform employees about attendance policies.

Maybe a policy has changed. Maybe the business wants to emphasize an existing policy. Either way, time clocks can display customized messages to communicate policies to employees. 

#5) How does time clock software get updated?

Customers need to be sure that support and updates for the time clock won't disrupt their automated data collection. They don’t want the hassles of a manual work-around because time clocks are offline. Software updates to the time clock should be seamless. 

With AccuCloud, the ATS team pushes out all updates over the air to all your customers’ clocks. They coordinate the timing with your IT team to ensure minimal disruption. In any case, ATS clocks can track employee time and store the punches if the clock loses network connectivity. The attendance data stored on the clock gets sent once connectivity is restored. There are no payroll data discrepancies to resolve because the time tracking remained automated. 

#6) What’s included in the cost of an employee attendance tracker? 

The costs associated with the employee time clocks you offer can include upfront and/or ongoing costs. Some companies sell time clocks to the customer. Others prefer to lease them. The cost can be included in the monthly subscription rate or billed separately as an add-on package. 

#7) How long does it take for an employee to get set up in the system?

This question is a good chance to show how your solution makes your customer's onboarding process easier. After the time clocks are initially integrated with your solution, adding new employees will be quick and simple.

When HR adds or updates employee information, it goes to the time clock automatically. This streamlined approach means that a new employee can typically be set up for attendance tracking within minutes. This allows new employees to start using the time clock on their first day. 

Enhancing Your Company Portfolio with an Advanced Employee Time Clock

Communication and customer support are key at ATS, and foundational as to our 30-plus years in business. Your customers’ satisfaction means as much to us it does to you. 

Whether you are interested in employee attendance tracker hardware or a full-service time collection solution such as AccuCloud, ATS can help you achieve your business goals. Reach out to us and schedule a time to connect to one of our time clock experts.