The Benefits of Using a Clocking In App

The working hours of your staff are fundamental to a profitable business.

If staff are consistently early or late, it can have a negative impact on the rest of the day. This can affect professionalism, cause morale problems with others and limit the amount of work completed in a day.

UK law requires employers to keep records on working time for employers who opt out of the 48-hour working time directive.

It’s fairly easy to keep track of the daily routine when you have one or two employees working from one location. But it’s not so simple with people working different. And what about if you’re working from home?

In this guide, we’ll explain the importance of good quality attendance tracking and why you should update to a clocking in app to keep track of your teams.

What is a clocking in system?

A clocking in system is a way of tracking the hours your staff work each day.

Employees use the time and attendance system to clock in when they start work, and clock out when they leave.

This is vital for keeping track of when your team are working and avoiding payroll errors.

Different types of clocking in systems

Clock in systems have existed for a long time, with the first one being invented in 1888. And in that time, there have been a lot of different designs.

Different types of clocking in systems include:

• Basic time clocks: such as punch card clocks, hand punch clocks and simple pen and paper.
• Self-calculating machines: similar to back time clocks but able to process the total time recorded each period.
• Biometrics: such as facial recognition, fingerprint, or retinal scanners.
• Software attendance systems: using time tracking software to automate the process and integrate with HR and payroll.
• Time clock apps: similar to software options but installed directly on employee’s phones.

Employer’s responsibility around tracking working hours

The UK Government have strict rules around how long someone can work in a day.

The most a person can work in a week is 48 hours on average, taken from a 17 week period. The employee must agree to opt out of this if you need them to work longer.

To ensure businesses follow this, employers must keep records of working hours for all their employees. Records must be kept for at least two years.

The benefits of a clocking in system for your businesses

Tracking employee hours with a clocking in system has many benefits. It’s a defined start and end to the day which can add a level of professionalism to your workers.

Many of your staff will thrive if you provide them structure. You can see your productivity rise as you provide a more stable platform for you employees to work from.

But there are many more benefits than that. They include:

Provide you with accurate attendance information

Clock in and out apps for employees help you track when your employees are working.

This information will help you keep track of any issues that could cost you. For example:

• Lateness.
• Absenteeism.
• Presenteeism.
• Sick days.
• Poor time keeping on lunch breaks.

This information can track issues in the whole company or review issues with an individual’s time keeping.

Save time and increase accuracy when processing payroll

Attendance data will help with more than just checking lateness. Using time clock records for your payroll will help to prevent any mistakes and make sure you pay your staff the correct amount each pay day.

This is particularly useful for shift workers and those on zero-hours contracts who aren’t paid a fixed salary.

A digital clocking in system will make this even easier, as the attendance records will sync with your payroll software.

Simplify management of flexible working arrangements

In 2020, over 4 million employees in the UK had employment contracts that allowed flexible working hours.

With everyone working at different times, you won’t always be in the workplace with your staff. Using a clocking in app ensures you know the hours your people are working.

The benefits of a clocking in app for UK businesses

Despite the various options available, the best choice for most businesses is using a clock in clock out app.

Work clock in apps are a fairly new option, as they require your employees to have a smartphone. But they are becoming more and more popular now that most people have a smart device.

An employee clock in and out app gets the same benefits as a standard time clock system, as well as others.

The benefits of using a staff clock in app include:

The ability to clock in wherever you’re working from

All you need to clock in is your phone, which makes time clock apps perfect for working from home.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, this option became vital for many. There were 32,661 homeworking records logged with our remote clock in app by the end of April 2020.

And as more businesses look to allow remote working in the long run, this will be vital for many businesses.

Use GPS location for even greater accuracy

Simply using a clocking in system will ensure more accuracy in your attendance records, but there is still room for mistakes. Such as if someone forgot to clock in or out.

Using a clock in or out app with GPS integration will help to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Our clock in app with location, Blip, allows you to create a geofence around your workplace and it reminds employees to clock in or out when they enter or leave the area.

Save money with low set up costs

Unlike standard clocking in systems which require you to buy expensive hardware, you already have everything you need for an app set-up.

Almost everyone has a smartphone these days, so it can prove to be a cost-effective, efficient, and popular way for your team to clock in and out for the day.

Just download the employee clock in app for android or iOS, and you can have your team set up in minutes.

If you use a clocking in app, make sure there’s a reasonable alternative too. Some people might not have a smartphone or may not want to use their personal device for work purposes.

Get help with attendance management today with BrightHR

It’s always been difficult to keep track of the working hours of employees, but an increase in home working has worsened the issue.

Accurate attendance figures are vital to keeping productivity up and ensuring your payroll figures are correct.

Making use of a clocking in app will make sure your figures are as accurate as can be and allow people to log their hours, whether they’re working from the workplace.

Want to find out more? Book a free demo of Blip. Call 0800 783 2806 to speak to one of our experts and get started.