One critical aspect that greatly affects the accuracy of your payroll process is how you capture your employees' time. Is it accurate? Is it timely? Is it reliable?
When it's not (whether perceived or real), it erodes trust.
Using a manual system like paper time sheets opens the door to doubts about whether you trust your employees to record their hours correctly. It also leaves your staff concerned that their hours may not be calculated or entered accurately into the payroll system.
Having a situation where neither side trusts the other, even if it's never explicitly stated, is detrimental to your business.
But that's not all. When you rely on a manual system like paper time sheets, an employee's data goes through approximately 35 touchpoints during each pay period before they receive their payment. The potential for errors is enormous.
Stopping deliberate time fraud by employees is something every employer wants to do. However, my experience has shown that most employees who manipulate their hours by a minute or two don't see it as theft. They naively think it's okay to write down that they were on time when they were actually running a few minutes late because "no one will care."
Alternatively, they lack confidence in the boss's ability to accurately work out the time sheets or enter the correct data into the payroll system, so why should they worry?
Isn't it ironic that by asking staff to use a manual system that is vulnerable to abuse, such as a paper timesheet, you are unwittingly inviting trouble?
Yet, every day, I hear business owners say, "We've always done it this way," followed by the admission that "some staff might be recording the wrong times."
One of the most significant benefits of automating your employee attendance is that computers excel at calculating time, totalling and consolidating data, applying rules, and transferring information—all at lightning speed.
This eliminates the risk of human error, whether intentional or accidental.
If your employees clock in and out as they should, they can trust that they will be paid accurately and on time for the hours they work. The automated system will handle everything based on your company's rules, making the process faster. With such a system, you can trust that you are paying your employees fairly for the hours they work, ultimately saving money through more precise data and reduced processing time—no need for manual calculations or data entry.
With modern time and attendance systems, you can view your employees' clocked times in real-time from any internet-connected device. So, if you still have doubts, you can easily check when and where they clocked in.
As a bonus, our experience has shown that automating employee time and attendance pays for itself within three months.
Another critical aspect often overlooked by employers using manual systems is complying with the record-keeping requirements of the Employment Relations Act and the Health and Safety in Employment Act. All employers must maintain records of daily working hours, including start and finish times and any unpaid breaks taken. Our system ensures you meet your record-keeping obligations under these acts.
So, instead of asking yourself, "Do I have a time recording problem?" ask, "Do I have a trust problem?" And then, think about what you can do to ensure you accurately record the hours staff work in a way that's fair, accurate, and beneficial for both the employee and the business.
If you need assistance in answering this question, book a free, no-obligation chat with me to discuss your current employee attendance tracking method and how you can improve it.