Time and attendance systems (TNA) are used to track and monitor when employees start and stop work. A time and attendance system provides many benefits to organizations as it enables an employer to have full control of their employees working hours as it monitors late arrivals, early departures, time taken on breaks and absenteeism. It also helps to control labor costs by reducing over-payments, which are often caused by paying employees for time that are not working, and eliminates transcription error, interpretation error and intentional error. TNA systems are also invaluable for ensuring compliance with labor regulations regarding proof of attendance. All of these benefits provide both employer and employees with confidence in the accuracy of their wage payments all while improving productivity.
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Manual systems
Traditionally manual systems were used that rely on highly skilled people laboriously adding up paper cards which have times stamped onto them using a time stamping machine such as the Bundy Clock. Time stamping machines were used for over a century but have since been phased out and replaced with cheaper automated systems which eliminate the need for payroll staff to manually input employee hours.
Automated systems
Modern automated time and attendance systems simply require employees to touch or swipe to identify themselves and record their working hours as they enter or leave the work area. Originally this consisted of using a RFID electronic tag or a barcode badge but these have been replaced by bio-metrics (vein reader, hand geometry, fingerprint, or facial recognition), and touch screens devices. Modern biometric TNA systems offer additional benefits over traditional manual systems which include