Time and attendance systems (T&A) are used to track and monitor when employees start and stop work. A time and attendance system enables an
employer
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any ot ...
to monitor their employees working hours and late arrivals, early departures, time taken on breaks and absenteeism. It also helps to control labor costs by reducing over-payments, which are often caused by paying employees for time that are not working, and eliminates transcription error, interpretation error and intentional error. T&A systems can also be used to ensure compliance with labor regulations regarding proof of attendance.
Manual systems
Traditionally manual systems were used that rely on paper cards which have times stamped onto them using a
time stamping machine. Such machines were used for over a century but have since been phased out and replaced with cheaper automated systems which eliminate the need for payroll staff to manually input employee hours.
Automated systems
Modern automated time and
attendance
Attendance is the concept of people, individually or as a group, appearing at a location for a previously scheduled event. Measuring attendance is a significant concern for many organizations, which can use such information to gauge the effective ...
systems require employees to touch or swipe to identify themselves and record their working hours as they enter or leave the work area. Originally this consisted of using a
RFID
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, a radio receiver, and a transmitter. When tri ...
electronic tag, a
barcode
A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, Machine-readable data, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly ref ...
or a
QR Code badge but these have been replaced by
biometrics
Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics and features. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used t ...
(vein reader,
hand geometry, fingerprint, or facial recognition), and
touch screens devices.
Application-based systems
The latest technology allows the use of app (
application software
Application software is any computer program that is intended for end-user use not operating, administering or programming the computer. An application (app, application program, software application) is any program that can be categorized as ...
) based
geo-fence capabilities.
Allowing an employee to clock in & out only when they are within an
internet geolocation
In computing, Internet geolocation is software capable of deducing the geographic position of a device connected to the Internet. For example, the device's IP address can be used to determine the country, city, or ZIP code, determining its geograph ...
.
Facial recognition system
A facial recognition system is a technology potentially capable of matching a human face from a digital image or a Film frame, video frame against a database of faces. Such a system is typically employed to authenticate users through ID verif ...
s are also available with these app based software technologies, eliminating the need of
fingerprint scanner
Fingerprint scanners are a type of biometric security device that identify an individual by identifying the structure of their fingerprints. They are used in police stations, security industries, smartphones, and other mobile devices.
Fingerpr ...
s.
See also
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Comparison of time-tracking software
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Time tracking software
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Workforce management
References
{{Reflist
Human resource management
Working time