How Do I Install TimeForge with Restaurant Manager Point of Sale?

TimeForge can integrate with several Point of Sale systems, including Restaurant Manager. Restaurant Manager by ASI, is an easy to use and powerful Point of Sale system, with dealers all over the world.

TimeForge integration with ASI Restaurant Manager involves installing the TimeForge RM Bridge software on the main RM computer system.

The software will read and write to your Restaurant Manager system as necessary, and can enforce your TimeForge schedules – preventing employees from riding the clock.

Install the TimeForge-Restaurant Manager Bridge software

Install_the_TimeForge-Restaurant_Manager_Bridge_software.png

Begin installing the TimeForge-Restaurant Manager Bridge software.

Accept the EULA

Accept_the_EULA1.png

Accept the terms of the End User License Agreement.

Choose a Directory to Install the Software

Choose_a_Directory_to_Install_the_Software1.png

Choose a directory to install the TimeForge-Restaurant Manager Bridge. The default is usually correct.

Pick a Start Menu Folder

Pick_a_Start_Menu_Folder1.png

Choose the Start Menu Folder to install the software.

Enter Your Web Service Username and Password

Enter_Your_Web_Service_Username_and_Password1.png

1. If you already have a TimeForge account, enter your Web Service Username and Password to connect with TimeForge.

A web service username and password is not the same as your TimeForge username (usually your email address), but is a secured username and password that allows the TimeForge-Restaurant Manager Bridge to communicate with TimeForge.

You can create a Web Service account by logging into your account, and go to the Settings for your location / store. You can then set your web service username and password.

2. If you do not yet have a TimeForge account, get started by creating a TimeForge account. We will create a Web Service Username and Password for you automatically.

Create a TimeForge Account

Create_a_TimeForge_Account1.png

If you need to create a TimeForge account, please fill out all of the fields, including your company name, first and last name, email address, password, and a password recovery answer.

We will automatically create your Web Service Username and Password for you.

Configure Restaurant Manager Connection Settings

Configure_Restaurant_Manager_Connection_Settings.png

Set up the Restaurant Manager database connection settings. Most likely, the default settings will work with your RM installation.

All Done!

All_Done_1.png

At this point, go ahead and run the TimeForge Bridge software.

Posted in Restaurant Manager POS / No Comments.

How Do I Configure TimeForge with Restaurant Manager Point of Sale?

TimeForge integrates with a number of powerful POS systems, including Restaurant Manager. ASI Restaurant Manager, is a powerful and easy to use Point of Sale system, with dealers all over the globe.

Integration between TimeForge and Restaurant Manager requires installing the TimeForge RM Bridge software on the main Restaurant Manager computer.

The integration software will read and write to your Restaurant Manager system where necessary, and can enforce your TimeForge schedules – preventing employees from clocking in before they are scheduled to work.

Ensure the Software is Configured Properly

Ensure_the_Software_is_Configured_Properly.png

If the TimeForge-Restaurant Manager Bridge was not properly configured to use a Web Service account, you will first need to configure the Web Services.

Configure the TimeForge-Restaurant Manager Bridge

Configure_the_TimeForge-Restaurant_Manager_Bridge.png

If the TimeForge-Restaurant Manager Bridge has not yet been fully configured, make sure to set up the Web Service Username and Password.

These values can be configured on the TimeForge web site, and will allow the software to communicate with TimeForge securely.

Configure the Restaurant Manager POS Integration

Configure_the_Restaurant_Manager_POS_Integration.png

Configure the Restaurant Manager POS side of the TimeForge-Restaurant Manager Bridge. Some of the important values on this screen include:

1. Restaurant Manager system location. This is the directory with all of the DBF files, and Restaurant Manager programs, in it. In most cases, the defaults will work for your Restaurant Manager installation.

2. By default, TimeForge uses the time punch (login) values from Restaurant Manager. However, if you would like to circumvent the Restaurant Manager time punches, and would prefer to use the TimeForge Attendance system, then please un-check this option.

Set Up the Translator

Set_Up_the_Translator.png

Review the TimeForge-Restaurant Manager Bridge dashboard.

1. The Last Successful Sync Date shows the last date and time that the software was able to read from your RM database.

2. The Last Synchronization shows the last date and time that a synchronization was attempted.

3. The Status shows the status of the last synchronization (it will either be SUCCESSFUL or FAILED).

4. The Next Synchronization shows the date and time of the next scheduled synchronization.

You are all done. TimeForge will synchronize your data based on the needs of your restaurant, and will keep the data in TimeForge and in Restaurant Manager POS communicating properly.

Posted in Restaurant Manager POS / No Comments.

How Do I Allow Employees to Witness Time Punches?

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

navigate-to-the-attendance-options1.png

Locate the Attendance Options tab inside of TimeForge.

Set Up Grace Periods for Staff Members

set-up-grace-periods-for-staff-members.png

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

allow-employees-to-witness-each-others-clock-in-and-clock-out.png

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

other-staff-members-can-override-the-early-clock-in.png

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.

Posted in Attendance Tab / No Comments.

How Do I Round Time Punch Entries (Attendance) in TimeForge?

TimeForge includes a powerful and flexible time and attendance management system, and is able to track time punches on an accurate minute-by-minute clock (which is synchronized with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and is always on time). TimeForge can use the clock in and clock out time punches to calculate payroll for your pay period without any problems. Accurate time tracking is part of what TimeForge does!

However, some businesses (especially in the restaurant, hotel, and hospitality industries) prefer to round time punch for easier calculations. To make time punch calculations easier, TimeForge can round each clock in or clock out time to the nearest 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minute period.

Navigate to Attendance Options

navigate-to-attendance-options.png

Navigate to the Attendance Options tab in TimeForge.

Set Rounding Rules for Clock In and Clock Out Times

set-rounding-rules-for-clock-in-and-clock-out-times.png

Pick the correct rounding rule from the drop-down for time punches in TimeForge. Make sure to Save your settings.

Please note: TimeForge will not round any time entries provided by your POS system. If you want to round time and attendance in your Point of Sale system, please do so within the POS software.

Please note: TimeForge will not round previous time periods. Changing the rounding rules will only affect upcoming time punch entries.

Posted in Attendance Tab / No Comments.

How Can Time Punches Be Limited to a Specific Computer?

There are many benefits to Software As A Service (SaaS software), which is why TimeForge was built from the ground up as a web-based software solution. More specifically, Managers do not have any software to install, nothing to upgrade, and there are no worries about backups or restoring of data. However, one common concern with web based software and time card tracking is ensuring that staff members are physically at work before they are allowed to clock in.

TimeForge is able to accomplish this by limiting time punches (clocking in and out) to a specific IP address. IP addresses are unique identifiers for computers on the Internet, and are normally provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). In many cases, multiple computers in a single office will share a single IP address through the use of a router or firewall device (such as those provided by Cisco, Linksys, D-Link, or Netgear). Similar to a phone number, only physical location at a time can have an IP address. For example, if your IP address is 208.45.167.3, no other computer system in the world will have that IP address.

TimeForge can require that staff members must be at the physical location that corresponds to your IP address before allowing them to clock in or out. This TimeForge lesson covers the specifics of configuring your IP address inside of TimeForge.

In some cases, your ISP will provide a dynamic IP address, which changes every few weeks. Most ISP’s will allow you to get a static, or sticky-static IP address for a nominal monthly fee.

Please note: Additionally, TimeForge can require that employees must clock in and clock out using a fingerprint scanner, which will restrict clocking in and out to a single physical computer at your location.

Navigate to the Attendance Options

navigate-to-the-attendance-options.png

Locate the Attendance Options tab inside of TimeForge.

Add your IP Address to the list of allowed IP Addresses

add-your-ip-address-to-the-list-of-allowed-ip-addresses.png

Within TimeForge, you can specify one or more IP addresses for employees to clock in.

To add an IP address for employees to clock in:
1. You can type your IP address into the text box. IP addresses should be separated by a space, comma, or on separate lines.
2. Instead of typing in the IP address, you can click on the “Add this computer to allowed IPs” link, and TimeForge will add your current IP address to the list of allowed IP addresses.

Make sure to Save your settings.

Employees Will Not Be Allowed To Clock In from Restricted Computers

employees-will-not-be-allowed-to-clock-in-from-restricted-computers.png

Employees that try to clock in to TimeForge from a computer at a different IP address than the IP addresses you have allowed, will receive a warning similar to the above screen shot.

These staff members will not be able to clock in or clock out.

Posted in Attendance Tab / No Comments.

TimeForge University: Sick, Vacation, and PTO Approval 302

Managing sick, vacation, and PTO time is very important for many businesses. Normally, the approval process for leave is done similarly to payroll approval – on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. TimeForge reduces the amount of time needed to track sick, vacation, and PTO time. Businesses that track hourly wage workers, such as restaurants, retail businesses, hotels, c-stores, and many other types of businesses, profit from the speed and efficiency of the TimeForge Attendance software.

Get the Flash Player to see this movie.

With TimeForge Attendance, managing staff time sheets, sick and vacation time, and other attendance information has never been easier! Staff time sheets are always accurate, and are correctly totaled based on your payroll rules. Export payroll for a variety of payroll vendors, including QuickBooks, ADP, Paychex, SurePayroll, and other payroll companies. Benefit from TimeForge every day!

Posted in Videos / No Comments.

TimeForge University: Editing Time Cards by Employee 202

Adding or editing employee timesheets is an important part of any business, and it’s crucial that your labor management software make this process easy. Employees will forget to clock in or clock out, staff members will go on a long lunch break, or forget to take a meal break. TimeForge Attendance improves the timesheet editing process while calculating overtime and breaks automatically!

Get the Flash Player to see this movie.

Managing time cards and employee attendance in TimeForge is simple! Staff hours are accurate and totalled based on your business needs. Payroll exports are available for third party payroll vendors such as QuickBooks, ADP, Paychex, SurePayroll, and other payroll companies. Save time and money every day!

Posted in Videos / No Comments.

How Do I Allow TimeForge Access to QuickBooks Data?

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

open-your-quickbooks-company-file.png

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

view-the-quickbooks-translator-dashboard.png

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

choose-the-payroll-item-type.png

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

review-the-employee-list.png

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

compare-the-timeforge-and-quickbooks-employee-lists.png

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.

Posted in QuickBooks / No Comments.

How Do I Configure TimeForge with QuickBooks?

TimeForge can integrate with many different software programs, including accounting systems such as QuickBooks. QuickBooks is one of the most popular accounting systems in the world, and is used by small, medium, and large businesses around the globe.

TimeForge integration with QuickBooks involves installing the TimeForge Accounting Bridge software on one of the computer systems 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.

Ensure the Software is Configured Properly

ensure-the-software-is-configured-properly2.png

If the TimeForge Accounting Bridge was not properly configured to use a Web Service account, you will first need to configure the Web Services.

Configure the TimeForge Accounting Bridge

configure-the-timeforge-accounting-bridge.png

If the TimeForge Accounting Bridge has not yet been fully configured, make sure to set up the Web Service Username and Password.

These values can be configured on the TimeForge web site, and will allow the software to communicate with TimeForge securely.

Set Up the Translator

set-up-the-translator1.png

Review the TimeForge Accounting Bridge dashboard.

1. Click on this link to set up the type of QuickBooks payroll that is imported. TimeForge will import all payroll hours (time sheets) as a single type of pay, for example, as “Regular Pay” or “Hourly Rate”. If you would like to split the time into multiple payroll types, this will need to be done inside of QuickBooks.

2. If a QuickBooks file is currently open, the company file will be displayed. In this example, no QuickBooks company file is open.

3. A status message about QuickBooks will be displayed. In this example, QuickBooks does not appear to be running.

You are all done! You can start using TimeForge and QuickBooks to process your payroll.

Posted in QuickBooks / No Comments.

How Do I Install TimeForge with QuickBooks?

TimeForge can integrate with many different software programs, including accounting systems such as QuickBooks. QuickBooks is one of the most popular accounting systems in the world, and is used by small, medium, and large businesses around the globe.

TimeForge integration with QuickBooks involves installing the TimeForge Accounting Bridge software on one of the computer systems 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.

Install the TimeForge Accounting Bridge software

install-the-timeforge-accounting-bridge-software.png

Begin installing the TimeForge Accounting Bridge software.

Accept the EULA

accept-the-eula2.png

Accept the terms of the End User License Agreement.

Choose a Directory to Install the Software

choose-a-directory-to-install-the-software2.png

Choose a directory to install the TimeForge Accounting Bridge. The default is usually correct.

Pick a Start Menu Folder

pick-a-start-menu-folder2.png

Choose the Start Menu Folder to install the software.

Enter Your Web Service Username and Password

enter-your-web-service-username-and-password2.png

1. If you already have a TimeForge account, enter your Web Service Username and Password to connect with TimeForge.

A web service username and password is not the same as your TimeForge username (usually your email address), but is a secured username and password that allows the TimeForge Dinerware Bridge to communicate with TimeForge.

You can create a Web Service account by logging into your account, and go to the Settings for your location / store. You can then set your web service username and password.

2. If you do not yet have a TimeForge account, get started by creating a TimeForge account. We will create a Web Service Username and Password for you automatically.

Create a TimeForge Account

create-a-timeforge-account2.png

If you need to create a TimeForge account, please fill out all of the fields, including your company name, first and last name, email address, password, and a password recovery answer.

We will automatically create your Web Service Username and Password for you.

Finish the TimeForge Accounting Set up

finish-the-timeforge-accounting-set-up.png

Finish the TimeForge Accounting Set up.

Posted in QuickBooks / No Comments.

Next Page »

heartWhat some of our clients have to say ...

We are one year into it now, well past being enamored with the newness. We are married to TimeForge. It's as essential to us now as any of our management tools today, and we very happy about that.- Steve @ Hermosa Cyclery
We really like the program so far. I know that it is geared towards restaurants, but we are a real estate company and we love it because it is inexpensive and it is so easy to use.- Nicole @ Exit Premier Realty
The Timeforge scheduling system has not only increased our efficiency tremendously; decreased the errors in what is normally an error prone environment; it has also saved us ten times what it costs us each month.- Michael @ Tiara Cafe
I would highly recommend TimeForge to anyone making work schedules. ... What used to take 1-2 hours, now takes 15 minutes. The reports section is comprehensive and useful.- Lawrence Payne @ Mid Pacific Country Club
I've been really pleased with this latest version of TimeForge. I'm really getting familiar with this program and its become a great time saver! Keep up the good work!- Loren @ Fresh Produce
Before using TimeForge, creating a schedule took 2 hours. With TimeForge, it takes less than 10 minutes.- Gail @ Kerr Drug

Quick Contact

3417 73rd Street
Suite G
Lubbock, TX 79423

Phone: 1 866 684 7191
Fax: 1 866 684 7191
E-Mail: info@timeforge.com

 

About TimeForge

The best tools available for managing labor in the restaurant, retail, food-service, and hospitality industries. Includes time management, employee scheduling, and other labor management tools.

© 2010 Labor Management – TimeForge Manual | All Rights Reserved