Labor Management - TimeForge Manual» labor management

How Do I Automatically Switch the Clocked In Position for Staff Members?

apresley — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:20:11 +0000

TimeForge is a powerful, but easy to use, labor management platform for service oriented industries (restaurants, retail, c-stores, grocers, hotels, etc…). Service-oriented businesses often have difficulties managing the complexities of their ever changing and high turnover workforce.

TimeForge can help manage labor by making labor management simple. Staff are commonly scheduled to work doubles, or back-to-back shifts. In some cases, a staff member may transition from one job (or position) to another without ever leaving the business, and may forget to switch their position in the attendance system.

To help ease administration of employees clocking in and out throughout the day, TimeForge can automatically switch staff to the correct position.

For example, a waiter or waitress (server) may work from 10:00am – 3:00pm as a waiter, and then transition to a bartender from 4:00pm – 8:00pm. Or, a lifeguard may work from 8:00am – 1:00pm, then as a swim coach from 1:00pm – 3:00pm.

Navigate to the Attendance Options

Locate the Attendance Options tab inside of TimeForge.

Set the Auto-Switch Position Flag

Locate the option to automatically switch positions, based on the schedule, for staff members who are clocked in.

Switch this from No to Yes, and then save your options.

TimeForge now will automatically switch jobs / positions for staff members who work back-to-back shifts.

Please note: The staff member needs to clock in to the first scheduled shift to allow TimeForge to transition between positions.

How Do I Automatically Clock-Out Employees Based on the Schedule?

apresley — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:20:36 +0000

TimeForge can help manage your labor by making workforce management simple and intuitive for day-to-day tasks. Staff often forget to clock out for the end of their shift, causing business disruption and a loss of profits when managers are disrupted to enter a time entry for the staff.

To help ease the administrative burden of keeping accurate time clock entries for staff members, TimeForge can automatically clock staff out based on the posted schedule.

For example, a bartender might be scheduled to work from 4:00pm – 2:00am, but forget to clock out at the end of the shift. TimeForge can automatically clock them out at 2:00am if they have not already done so.

Navigate to the Attendance Options

Locate the Attendance Options tab inside of TimeForge.

Turn On the Automatic Clock Out Option

Locate the option to automatically clock employees out, based on their schedule shift, and switch the value from No (the default) to Yes.

How Do I Clock Employees In At an Earlier Time, or Out At a Later Time?

apresley — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:08:03 +0000

TimeForge is a powerful labor management solution for your business. Most hourly wage workers in a business need arrive at work on time – too early will cause payroll problems, and too late will cause customer service disruptions. Four clock in and clock out scenarios will create problems for your business:

1. Arriving before the scheduled in time will reduce business profits, as staff members will arrive at work before they are needed.
2. Arriving after the scheduled in time causes customer service problems, as staff will not be available to service the customer’s needs.

3. Leaving before the scheduled out time can cause similar problems as clocking in late. Customers may not be serviced properly, and other staff may be overworked.
4. Leaving after the scheduled out time will increase payroll costs for the business, decreasing profits.

TimeForge provides multiple technology enhancements that will enforce your labor schedule, ensuring that staff show up on time, and that management know of time entries that affect payroll costs and the bottom line. Enforcing the schedule will reduce your labor costs by 2 – 4% with the click of a button!

Navigate to the Attendance Options

Locate the Attendance Options link or sub-tab (inside of the Attendance tab).

Enforce the Schedule by the Scheduled Time

To require that employees clock in and out based on the scheduled time, without providing a grace period, set the options as follows.

Please check your local labor regulations to see which ones are applicable (and legal) for your business.

For clocking in:
1. Leave this option set to Yes, allowing employees to clock in at any time.
2. Switch this option from No, to Yes, requiring that staff members acknowledge that their clock in times will not show the actual clock in time, but will instead show the scheduled start time.
TimeForge will record the scheduled start time (not the real time), unless overridden by a manager.

For clocking out:
1. Leave this option set to Yes, allowing employees to clock out at any time.
2. Switch this option from No, to Yes, requiring that staff members acknowledge that their clock out times will not show the actual clock out time, but will instead show the scheduled end time.
TimeForge will record the scheduled end time (not the real time), unless overridden by a manager.

Example:
Using the above options, a staff member may be scheduled from 9:00am – 3:00pm. If the employee shows up at 8:30am, TimeForge will record a start time of 9:00am (not 8:30am). When leaving, if the staff member leaves after 3:00pm, TimeForge will record an end time of 3:00pm. A manager can override and change the behavior of TimeForge when the staff member clocks in or clocks out.

How Do I Set Up Grace Periods for Clocking In and Out?

apresley — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:01:43 +0000

Navigate to the Attendance Options

Locate the Attendance Options link or sub-tab (inside of the Attendance tab).

Enforce the Schedule with Grace Periods

To require that staff members clock in and out with a grace period, based on their scheduled shift, set the options as follows.

Please check your local labor regulations to see which ones are applicable (and legal) for your business.

For clocking in:
1. Switch this option from Yes, to No, requiring that employees must clock in at a predefined time.
2. Enter an appropriate grace period in minutes. This will allow employees to clock in prior to their shift starting.
Staff members who clock in too early will need a manager to approve their clock in.

For clocking out:
3. Switch this option from Yes, to No, requiring that employees must clock out at a predefined time.
4. Enter an appropriate grace period in minutes. This will allow employees to clock out after their shift ends.
Staff members who clock out too late will need a manager to approve their clock out.

Example:
Using the above options, a staff member who is scheduled from 10:00am – 4:00pm would be allowed to clock in after 9:50am, and must clock out no later than 4:20pm. Earlier than 9:50am or later than 4:20pm will require a manager override.

How Do I Enforce Clock Ins and Clock Outs?

apresley — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 04:21:18 +0000

TimeForge is a powerful labor management platform, and is capable of meeting all of your workforce management needs. In many businesses with hourly wage workers, staff members need to arrive at work on time. Four clock in and clock out scenarios will create problems for your business:

1. Arriving earlier than scheduled will destroy business profits, as employees will be at work before they are needed, but will need to be paid for their time.

2. Arriving later than scheduled for work will cause problems with customers, as employees may not be available to service the customer’s needs.

3. Leaving earlier than scheduled can cause similar problems as clocking in late. Customers may not be serviced properly.

4. Leaving later than scheduled will increase payroll costs for the business, decreasing profits.

TimeForge offers a number of technology enhancements that can enforce your labor schedule, ensuring that staff show up on time.

Enforcing clock in and clock out time periods can reduce your payroll expenses by 2 – 4% with the click of a button!

Navigate to the Attendance Options

Locate the Attendance Options link or sub-tab (inside of the Attendance tab).

Locate the Enforcement Options for Clocking In and Out

TimeForge includes two primary options which will enable, or disable, attendance (time card) enforcement.

1. By default, TimeForge allows employees to clock in at any time that they would like. If you are using TimeForge for scheduling, you can enforce the schedule, requiring employees to clock in on time.

2. By default, TimeForge allows employees to clock out at any time that they would like. If you are using TimeForge for scheduling, you can enforce the schedule, requiring employees to clock out on time.

TimeForge provides two configurations for clocking in or clocking out. You can require staff members to clock in or out using grace periods, or using the scheduled time. Please check your local labor regulations to see which ones are applicable (and legal) for your business.

Enforce the Schedule with Grace Periods

To require that staff members clock in and out with a grace period, based on their scheduled shift, set the options as follows:

For clocking in:

1. Switch this option from Yes, to No, requiring that employees must clock in at a predefined time.

2. Enter an appropriate grace period in minutes. This will allow employees to clock in prior to their shift starting.

Staff members who clock in too early will need a manager to approve their clock in.

For clocking out:

3. Switch this option from Yes, to No, requiring that employees must clock out at a predefined time.

4. Enter an appropriate grace period in minutes. This will allow employees to clock out after their shift ends.

Staff members who clock out too late will need a manager to approve their clock out.

Example:

Using the above options, a staff member who is scheduled from 10:00am – 4:00pm would be allowed to clock in after 9:50am, and must clock out no later than 4:20pm. Earlier than 9:50am or later than 4:20pm will require a manager override.

Enforce the Schedule by the Scheduled Time

To require that employees clock in and out based on the scheduled time, without providing a grace period, set the options as follows:

For clocking in:

1. Leave this option set to Yes, allowing employees to clock in at any time.

2. Switch this option from No, to Yes, requiring that staff members acknowledge that their clock in times will not show the actual clock in time, but will instead show the scheduled start time.

TimeForge will record the scheduled start time (not the real time), unless overridden by a manager.

For clocking out:

1. Leave this option set to Yes, allowing employees to clock out at any time.

2. Switch this option from No, to Yes, requiring that staff members acknowledge that their clock out times will not show the actual clock out time, but will instead show the scheduled end time.

TimeForge will record the scheduled end time (not the real time), unless overridden by a manager.

Example:

Using the above options, a staff member may be scheduled from 9:00am – 3:00pm. If the employee shows up at 8:30am, TimeForge will record a start time of 9:00am (not 8:30am). When leaving, if the staff member leaves after 3:00pm, TimeForge will record an end time of 3:00pm. A manager can override and change the behavior of TimeForge when the staff member clocks in or clocks out.

TimeForge University: Attendance Overview

apresley — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:39:29 +0000

A powerful and easy to use workforce management solution for your business! TimeForge is a complete labor management system, and includes many features designed to streamline operations in your business. These include:

Time tracking (electronic time sheets and time cards)
Meal and break management
One-click payroll exports
Easy reminders for when staff are early, late, or approaching overtime
And much more…

Get the Flash Player to see this movie.

TimeForge Attendance is a powerful replacement to the traditional time clocks used at many businesses. Use TimeForge Attendance by itself, or combine with TimeForge Scheduling for a complete workforce management solution.

TimeForge can also integrate with your Point of Sale system, providing a one-click experience for managers to enforce the labor schedule, stop entering data multiple times, and provide easy communication with all staff members.

How Do I Allow Employees to Witness Time Punches?

apresley — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:18:05 +0000

TimeForge is a powerful labor management tool and includes a number of features not found in other comparable software programs. For example, TimeForge allows staff members to clock in before their scheduled start time, but can require that employees show up for work within a certain grace period of the scheduled start time.

When an employee is too early to clock in, or too late to clock out, TimeForge will require that a manager become involved to allow the employee to clock in or out. More specifically, in these cases, the staff member must get permission from a manager before clocking in or out. Please note: Most of the clock in and clock out configuration settings can be enabled or disabled with a few clicks within TimeForge.

In some businesses, managers do not want to be interrupted with employees who are showing up early or late, and rely on a buddy system to allow employees to keep track of each other. To keep management from being frustrated by early and late staff members, TimeForge allows employees to work as a witness for each others early clock in and late clock out times.

Navigate to the Attendance Options

Locate the Attendance Options tab inside of TimeForge.

Set Up Grace Periods for Staff Members

Make sure to set up the correct grace periods for staff members who clock in early and clock out late.

Allow Employees to Witness Each Others Clock In and Clock Out

Make sure that the Allow other employees to witness an employee clock in option is set to Yes.

Other Staff Members Can Override the Early Clock In

When a staff member is too early to work, they will receive a pop-up window similar to the above image.

A manager can allow the staff member to clock in, or another employee can provide their own credentials (username and password, or fingerprint) to allow the employee to clock in.

How Do I Export Payroll for SurePayroll?

apresley — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:26:46 +0000

TimeForge is an extensive and powerful time and attendance management package, and you can begin to see some of TimeForge’s power by clicking on the Attendance tab. Many, but not all, of the time and attendance capabilities occur within the Attendance tab.

After you have collected time cards for all of your employees, and have made sure that the time punches are correct, you can export your payroll to a variety of supported payroll platforms, including SurePayroll, ADP, Paychex, Quickbooks, and others.

In this lesson, we will tackle exporting payroll for SurePayroll.

Enter Employee Payroll ID’s

SurePayroll will provide each of your staff members with a unique payroll ID which will allow you to export time card information for your staff.

Before running payroll, please make sure that each staff member’s payroll ID has been entered correctly.

Navigate to the Attendance Tab

Navigate to the Approve / Export Payroll page in the Attendance tab.

Choose a Pay Period

Choose the pay period you would like to export. This will normally be the most recent payroll period that has ended.

Please note: To use TimeForge payroll approval, you must configure the payroll period for your location.

Review and Approve Attendance

If this is the first time processing the pay period, TimeForge will display a list of all time card entries for the pay period. You can review staff member time cards by date, time, employee, position, or cost.

Additionally, TimeForge will display outliers, or “Most Different” time entries, so that you can quickly and easily identify time punches that may be erroneous or problematic.

Focusing on time entries labeled “Very Different” will allow you to find missed punches, late and early clock ins, employees who forgot to clock out, and other strange data before you have approved the payroll for SurePayroll.

After approving time punches for the pay period, you will not be able to edit the time punches inside of TimeForge. Instead, you will need to make the appropriate changes in your payroll program.

Note: You will not be able to approve payroll if employees are currently clocked in for the time period.

When you are ready to Approve payroll, click on the “Approve Attendance Export” at the bottom of the screen.

Choose SurePayroll for the Payroll Provider

Choose SurePayroll from the drop-down list of payroll providers.

Each provider has a different file format – choosing the correct provider is crucial.

Payroll Export Results to SurePayroll

TimeForge will process the attendance entries for the pay period you selected, and will return a payroll file to you. You can then upload the file to SurePayroll for further processing.

If any problems are found, such as a missing employee payroll ID, TimeForge will prompt you to correct these problems before exporting the data.

How Do I Allow TimeForge Access to QuickBooks Data?

apresley — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:39:06 +0000

TimeForge is able to integrate with many different software systems, including accounting and payroll programs such as QuickBooks. QuickBooks is the most popular accounting system for small businesses in the world, and is used by small, medium, and large businesses around the globe.

The TimeForge QuickBooks integration involves installing the TimeForge Accounting Bridge software on one of the computers running QuickBooks. If you are using QuickBooks Enterprise, you can install the software on the QuickBooks Enterprise server.

The TimeForge Accounting software will read approved time sheets from TimeForge, and then import time cards and weekly time sheets into QuickBooks. With the time sheets inside of QuickBooks, you can pay your employees using QuickBooks Payroll – either by cutting your staff a check, or using Intuit Online Payroll.

Open Your QuickBooks Company File

After you open your QuickBooks company file, you will receive a prompt similar to the above image.

1. Make sure to choose the “Yes, whenever the QuickBooks company file is open.” option.

2. Continue …

Please note: You may receive an additional prompt to ensure that you want to allow TimeForge access to your company file.

View the QuickBooks Translator Dashboard

The TimeForge Accounting Translator will tell you about the status of the TimeForge synchronization.

1. After permission has been granted to access your QuickBooks company file, you still need to set up the payroll type to import (which is the next step). Click on the link to set up the payroll item type.

Choose the Payroll Item Type

A payroll item in QuickBooks is a way to do payroll calculations and reporting. Every item on a paycheck is tracked with a payroll item, thus the name payroll item.

Some items you could track using QuickBooks payroll items include:

- Hourly wages

- Overtime wages

- Salaries

- Sick time

- Vacation time

- Federal, state, and local taxes

- Employee and company 401(k) contributions

- Garnishments such as child support

- Benefits such as health insurance, health club dues

- Etc…

Payroll items are also required to track non-taxable items such as:

- Mileage reimbursements

- Employee loans

- Etc…

TimeForge allows you to choose a payroll item for importing time sheets. Currently, TimeForge only allows one payroll item to be chosen for all imported time sheets. In the future, TimeForge will allow separate payroll items for hourly, salaried, sick, vacation, and overtime.

Choose an appropriate payroll item to import the time sheets.

Review the Employee List

Before importing staff time sheets, make sure to review the Employee List.

TimeForge imports employees into QuickBooks based on their Full Name (the combination of their first name, middle name, and last name).

Compare the TimeForge and QuickBooks Employee Lists

Because TimeForge imports employees into QuickBooks based on their Full Name (the combination of their first name, middle name, and last name), you will want to make sure that these lists of staff members are both correct.

1. This is a list of employees who are present in TimeForge (and may have time sheets), but are not in QuickBooks. The time sheets for these employees will not be imported into QuickBooks. To import the time sheets for these staff members, please add the employees into QuickBooks.

2. This is a list of employees who are present in QuickBooks, but are not in TimeForge. These employees do not have TimeForge accounts, nor do they have time sheets. If you would like to collect time cards for these staff members, please add the employees to TimeForge.

How Do I Stop Employees from Riding the Clock?

apresley — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:15:06 +0000

TimeForge is an extensive and powerful time tracking, employee scheduling, and labor management package, and you can begin to see some of TimeForge’s power by clicking on the Attendance tab. Many, but not all, of the time and attendance capabilities occur within the Attendance tab.

With TimeForge, you can add or edit attendance by date or employee, approve payroll for pay periods, export time punches to a third-party payroll company, and run numerous reports to review employee attendance.

TimeForge has a number of additional time card capabilities, including the ability to enforce the schedule and stop employees from riding the clock.

Navigate to the Attendance Tab

Navigate to the Attendance Options page in the Attendance tab.

TimeForge includes a number of settings on the Attendance Options page. Four of these options include the ability to restrict employee clock-in’s and clock-out’s based on the schedule.

By default, staff members can clock-in and out at any time. However, by setting the above options [1 - 4], you can make sure that staff members clock in or clock out within a certain grace period. An attempt to clock in or out, outside of the grace periods, will require a manager to allow the employee to clock in or clock out.

1. To enforce clock-in times, make sure to change this value to “No”, from the default of “Yes”.

2. Set a grace period for early clock-in’s, based on the schedule. For example, setting this to 10 will allow a 10 minute early grace period. If a staff member is scheduled to begin work at 10:00am, a 10 minute grace period will allow the employee to clock in at 9:50am.

3. To enforce clock-out times, make sure to change this value to “No”, from the default of “Yes”.

4. Set a grace period for late clock-out’s, based on the schedule. For example, setting this to 20 will allow a 20 minute late grace period. If a staff member is scheduled to end work at 3:00pm, a 10 minute grace period will allow the employee to clock in at 9:50am.

Employee Clock In and Clock Out is Enforced

With schedule enforcement enabled, and grace periods set up, employees who are too early to clock in, or too late to clock out, are presented with the above screen.

A manager will need to enter their username and password, or use their fingerprint, if you are using the TimeForge Fingerprint scanner.