Replacing your company’s clocking systems with an automated identification time clock is something that must be done carefully, the choice affects directly to the payroll and the efficiency of the employees in their activities.
          The choice consist of two main items a Time clock and a Time attendance software , mostly T&A suppliers offer both.

Let's study the main factors to decide:

Cost – Cost must be only related to the company size, clearly with the same terminal and same software a company with 300 employees obtains 10 times more benefits than a company with 20 employees so it is clearly a fair approach if the company of only 20 employees pays an amount adjusted to its investment annual figures.

Ease of Use – Installation is normally straightforward and daily use of it should be also intuitive . The point here is the configuration; configuration is the procedure which informs the Software all about calculation rules and strategies , this is the most important part and will have a direct effect in obtaining the expected results. It is quiet desirable if the software supplier help us attending to our explanations but we must also make sure that the software will be compatible with future changes in our company.

Compatibility – The Time attendance Software has two main outputs, direct information for human resources department about delays, absenteeism, and statistics the second output is for payroll, the time attendance software must be able to export the necessary information to feed the payroll software so that it has not to be done manually.

Other needed compatibilities are with our computer hardware, the company’s network infrastructure, and maybe even Internet connection and properties.

Number of Employees – Time and attendance tracking software programs also vary according to the number of employees it can handle. You should definitely take note this when looking for the right program. Small and medium-sized businesses may occasionally be lucky enough to enjoy free use of certain time and attendance tracking software programs if they have a low employee count. Companies intending to expand in the near future should of course consider buying a time and attendance tracking software program capable of monitoring a greater number of employees than what they presently have.

Accuracy and reliability - For software programs with fingerprint readers, for instance, consider how long it would take to get a reading as well as its accuracy rate. Good fingerprint readers must be capable of identifying one pattern between 500 in less than one second.
Also check if the reader is a stand alone unit or just a reader connected to a PC and the PC must be On when clocking...

Customer Support – Last but not the least, choose the time and attendance tracking software program that offers a good customer support and service.