In order to get your employees wages correct, a time clock system is essential. There are many types of time clocks on the market from the old-fashioned punch card to the modern electronic badge clocks.

The punch card system uses time cards made out of cardstock paper and the employee manually inserts the card to be punched. The payroll person then has to manually calculate the time the employee worked and data enter the time into the payroll software. This type of system is perfect for a small business with a few employees. The time clocks come with either analog or digital style clocks and are either have side loading or top loading card slots.

The modern electronic clocks make it easy and quick for the employee to punch in and out of work with either the tap of a card or the placement of a key fob on a sensor, or a swipe of a card through the time clock. It also makes it easier for the payroll person to calculate the wages. Most electronic time clocks have the ability to be connected directly to a computer for easy downloading into your pay processing spreadsheet.

The newest thing on the market is biometric time clocks. These hardware solutions eliminate problems with lost or forgotten time badges and are simple, fraud proof and cost effective. Since all employees’ fingerprints are different, there is not any possibility of employees punching or swiping in for each other. Most systems allow the enrollment of multiple fingers of an individual in the event of a deep cut or become unidentifiable. The fingerprint verification is usually completed within a few seconds, letting the employees get on task quicker.