But what happens when you grow, when you branch out to different locations or when you take on seasonal workers? Is your manual option enough to keep up and avoid payroll errors?
This is where automation comes into the picture, specifically attendance tracking software. So, let’s take a look at why businesses are replacing manual timesheets with attendance tracking software.
Fewer errors
When you enter data into a manual timesheet by hand, you’re opening yourself up to errors. Rounding figures up, miscalculation, transcription errors, etc. and even getting one small detail wrong can throw the whole system out and create massive problems.
Whether you have one person filing the details into your spreadsheet, or employees enter their own, the scope for mistakes is massive. Overpayments can eat into your profits while underpaying means you could be at risk of legal consequences due to the National Minimum Wage Act and Employment Rights Act; the result could be fines or prosecution depending on the severity.
Ineffective
Here’s the thing: in some cases, manual tracking can work. But if you have hybrid or remote workers, manual tracking isn’t as easy when you physically have a workforce in front of you.
You need to know which members of the team are working and when. These hours need to be logged in a centralised location, so nothing is missed, no emails with hours worked are overlooked, and the right details are taken for wages.
Cloud-based attendance software, however, records hours regardless of where the employee is working. It uses browser-based clock-in or mobile applications so staff register when they start work. This means you can control payroll more effectively for the entire team.
Accurate records are needed
You need to have correct, up-to-date working details for everyone you employ. The Working Time Regulations 1998 require employers to maintain adequate records to demonstrate compliance with maximum working hours and rest break requirements.
In practice, this cannot be easily completed with a growing workforce, and attempting to do it manually means things can be missed and overlooked. This is where time and attendance software is highly beneficial. It enables employers to create a timestamp, an unedited record of how employees clocked in and out, which is useful evidence should this information be required by a tribunal or HMRC for any reason.
Multiple shift patterns cause confusion
Not every workplace runs on a 9-5 basis, and those with different shift patterns and who are operating seven days a week, or run 24/7, need something more than manual tracking so all shifts are adequately covered and you know who is on site, or who is working and when.
As well as calculating how much work is being done overall, automated systems allow you to refine your staffing protocols, identify where more staff are needed and where you can combine shifts. It’s instrumental in supporting decisions around hiring, shift restructuring and resource allocation.
