Timesheet Management- Getting Employee Time & Attendance Under Control

Proper organization of employee time and attendance allow you to remain compliant with all relevant laws while keeping accurate data of employee hours. Maintaining accurate time tracking records is essential, both for the organization of your business and for legal compliance.

The following tips for managing employee hours will ensure you are compliant, as well as fill the role of a task management solution.

Department of Labor Act

The U.S. Department of Labor's recordkeeping laws regarding timesheets is relatively straightforward.

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that employers keep records that indicate earnings, such as timesheets and timecards, for at least two years. The same act also requires you to keep the records at either a central location or the workplace. This allows the Department of Labor to inspect them when necessary.

By complying with this law, you also ensure your company can easily access past timecards which are to include the time spent working by every employee. By doing so, this will also help with wage management if any wage theft claims are made.

Organizational Tips

Timesheet management that tracks employee productivity, in addition to time tracking for every staff member, can become overwhelming for a small business or, any business for that matter. Creating an organized sorting process will help with keeping the payroll process accurate and efficient.

Sort by Department
Sort timesheets by department to remain organized. The method of tracking time will become more seamless, especially for larger companies with multiple departments.

Some time tracking software may already have this feature, but sorting by the department will save large amounts of time during payroll processing.

Sort by Employee Status
Another method is to sort the timesheets based on individual team member status, specifically whether they are salaried or hourly. Since the billable hour of time worked is different for both compensation groups, it is best to keep them separated.

Storing timesheets for salaried and hourly employees separately will also reduce the risk of errors like overpaying or underpaying employees.

Bonus Tip- Store Timesheets in the Cloud

With advances in technology, there is now the option to store timesheets in the cloud. Here are some reasons you should consider using cloud options.

Timesheets Are Always Accessible
By using cloud storage for your timesheets, time tracking information is always accessible. You can view timesheets on your office computer, tablet, or smartphone through a mobile app.

No Loss of Information
With traditional timesheet storage methods, the security of the data is dependent on where you physically store it. Even when considering timesheet software, the digitized version could be lost on a single computer if it crashes.

By using cloud storage timesheets are always accessible and more protected. Most cloud storage providers have multiple servers in various locations, ensuring that a single failure or disaster will not result in the loss of your timesheet data.

Reduced Costs
There are also reduced costs associated with cloud-based timesheet management. There is no need to invest in high-capacity drives to store employee timesheets. Additionally, a web based storage space tends to be a much more affordable solution.

Timekeeping Technology

Investing in good timekeeping technology can also assist with time management and resource management. From reducing labor costs to avoiding time theft, there are many benefits to why you should consider updating your timekeeping tools. In addition to timesheet software, an employee time clock would be another great upgrade to improve time tracking practices.

Reduce Labor Costs
Using a timekeeping tool reduces your labor costs. You or your HR team will spend less time managing timecards for each team member, as they will be calculated automatically through the time tracking software.

Avoid Time Theft
Timekeeping tools will provide a method of verifying the time worked by employees. This can prevent employees from submitting inaccurate time cards for the day/week. The best type of time clock can even prevent buddy punching; this is when employees clock in and out for each other, while the other is not actually present.

Remain Compliant
Timekeeping tools will keep all relevant information on hand and easily accessible, allowing you to comply with labor laws.

Employee time tracking will be made visible electronically through a computer or mobile app, presenting who is on break, who has not clocked in for the workday, who is on the verge of going into overtime, etc. The time tracker will send alerts to management, notifying if an employee is about to make a violation.

Conclusion

To recap...

To improve resource management as it pertains to employee time tracking-

• Consider dividing employee timecards into manageable groups, such as by department or employee status.
  
• You can also save space and time over traditional timekeeping methods with cloud solutions, which ensure that your employee timesheets are always accessible and safe in case of an emergency while reducing your costs. At the same time, you can avoid wage theft.
  
• Between smart cloud-based timekeeping tools and the right organizational methods, you will always have timesheets accessible, allowing you to comply with labor laws and streamlining your payroll processes. You will reduce costs associated with labor and avoid potential fines related to labor laws.