How Do I Use TimeForge with ASI Restaurant Manager?

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

To synchronize data between TimeForge and Restaurant Manager, you must first install and configure the TimeForge RM Bridge software on the main Restaurant Manager computer.

The integration software will automatically read and write to your Restaurant Manager POS system when required, and can enforce your TimeForge schedules – stopping employees from clocking in before they are scheduled to work.

Make Sure that the Connector and Translator are Both Running

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Check the Windows task bar, which is the bar that normally runs along the bottom of the computer and contains the Start menu (on the left) and clock (on the right).

You should see icons similar to those shown above. Both of these icons should be displayed, and if they are, then TimeForge is running properly.

Turn on QuickStaffer for Schedule Enforcement

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Make sure to configure QuickStaffer.

1. Run the Station Config. To do so, launch the RM Back Office, then choose “Setup Station Config.”, and choose Station 1.

2. Look for the “Use QuickStaffer Schedule” option, and ensure that this is set to true.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each Station you want to use TimeForge with.

Set up Grace Periods for Early Clock In

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Configure the allowable clock in grace period when enforcing the TimeForge schedule.

1. Run the Station Config. To do so, launch the RM Back Office, then choose “Setup Station Config.”, and choose Station 1.

2. Locate the “Grace Period” option, and change this to allow the desired grace period (such as 5 minutes or 10 minutes).

Repeat steps 1 and 2 for any other stations you would like to enforce the schedule with.

Configure Clock In Override Security Levels

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Configure the Security level of the manager providing overrides for employees who are too early.

1. Run the Station Config. To do so, launch the RM Back Office, then choose “Setup Station Config.”, and choose Station 1.

2. Click on “Search Settings”, and look for “unsched“. Find the “Unscheduled Clock in/out” setting, and change this to the security level you would like to require for someone to allow a staff member to clock in, who isn’t on the schedule. For example, 8 might be a good value.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 for any other stations you would like to enforce the schedule with.

Create and Post a Schedule in TimeForge

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Create and post a schedule in TimeForge, so that staff members are notified of upcoming shifts.

This will also allow the TimeForge-Restaurant Manager Bridge to synchronize and enforce the schedule.

Synchronize the TimeForge-Restaurant Manager Bridge

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TimeForge automatically keeps data between your Restaurant Manager POS system and the live TimeForge server synchronized. This ensures that employees, positions, time cards, schedules, and sales are automatically transferred between the two systems without you needing to do anything.

During heavy activity at your restaurant or hotel, this synchronization is done automatically very often, and during slower periods of activities, it is done less often.

Staff Members Log In to Restaurant Manager

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Before an employee can access the Restaurant Manager POS, they must enter their PIN, swipe a mag card (if configured), or use their fingerprint (if configured).

If they are too early, or are not on the schedule, Restaurant Manager will display the above warning.

Staff Arriving Too Early Will Need Manager Approval to Clock In

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An employee who is not on the schedule will be presented with a screen for a manager override. Additionally, any staff member who shows up prior to the grace period for their shift will also be prompted for a manager override.

Enforcing the schedule will immediately reduce the amount of clock riding that staff members can do, reducing labor costs by 2% – 3% instantly!

Inadequate Security Level

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If the overriding manager that is attempting to clock in the staff member doesn’t have a sufficient security clearance, they will be presented with the above dialog box, and will not be able to clock the employee into Restaurant Manager.

Posted in Restaurant Manager POS / No Comments.

TimeForge University: Approving Payroll 301

Every business runs payroll as part of their business cycle. Payroll may be run weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or on some other time frame. Businesses that track hourly wage workers, such as car washes, service stations (convenience stores), restaurants, hotels, retail businesses, and others, profit from the speed and efficiency of the TimeForge Attendance process. Approving payroll has never been easier!

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TimeForge Attendance makes managing staff timesheets and attendance easy. Employee hours are always accurate, and are correctly totaled based on your payroll rules. 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!

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TimeForge University: Time Cards 201

Editing time cards is an important part of any labor management or workforce management software package. Employees will forget to clock in or clock out, staff members will forget to take a lunch break, or forget to take a break completely. TimeForge allows you to streamline the timesheet editing processing while calculating overtime and breaks automatically!

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TimeForge Attendance makes managing your employee time and attendance easy. Staff hours are always accurate, and correctly totaled according to your payroll rules. Exporting payroll to third party payroll vendors such as ADP, Paychex, QuickBooks, SurePayroll, and other payroll companies. Save time and money every day!

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How Do I Use TimeForge with Micros POS?

TimeForge can integrate with several Point of Sale systems, including Micros RES 4. RES 4 is the point of sale system supplied with many of the Micros 3700 hardware, and is a very popular POS system.

TimeForge integration with Micros involves installing the TimeForge Micros Bridge software on the computer system hosting the Sybase database that powers Micros RES 4.

The TimeForge Micros software will read and write to your Micros system as necessary, and can enforce your TimeForge schedules – preventing employees from riding the clock, clocking in early or clocking out late. Additionally, you can forecast sales and inventory needs using TimeForge and your Micros sales data.

Make Sure that the Connector and Translator are Both Running

make-sure-that-the-connector-and-translator-are-both-running.png

Check the Windows task bar, which is the bar that normally runs along the bottom of the computer and contains the Start menu (on the left) and clock (on the right).

You should see icons similar to those shown above. Both of these icons should be displayed, and if they are, then TimeForge is working properly.

Set Your Attendance Options for Employees who Ride the Clock

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In TimeForge, access the Attendance Options (located in the Attendance tab). You will want to set the grace periods for early clock in, and late clock out.

These settings can be set to values that make sense for your business, though many businesses choose a 5 – 10 minute early clock in, and a 10 – 20 minute late clock out.

Create and Post a Schedule in TimeForge

create-and-post-a-schedule-in-timeforge.png

Create and post a schedule in TimeForge, so that staff members are notified of upcoming shifts.

This will also allow the TimeForge Micros Bridge to synchronize and enforce the schedule.

Synchronize the TimeForge Micros Bridge

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TimeForge automatically synchronizes data between your Micros POS system and the live TimeForge server.

This ensures that employees, positions, time cards, schedules, and sales are automatically transferred between the two systems.

During heavy activity at your restaurant, this synchronization is done very often, and during slower periods of activities, it is done less often.

Staff Members Log In to Micros

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Before an employee can access the Micros RES 4 POS, they must clock in.

Enter your PIN, or Swipe Your Mag Card

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The staff member needs to enter their PIN or swipe a mag card to clock in or clock out.

Choose a Job Assignment

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Employees must choose a job assignment or position before clocking in.

Employees Too Early Will Need Manager Approval to Clock In

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Any staff member who is not scheduled will be presented with a screen for a manager override.

Additionally, employees who show up too early, or attempt to clock out too late, will also be prompted for a manager override.

This immediately reduces your labor costs by 2% – 3% instantly!

Posted in Micros POS / No Comments.

How Do I Use TimeForge Attendance with Dinerware POS?

TimeForge integrates and is able to communicate with several Point of Sale systems to reduce the amount of data entry that you need to perform while managing your labor. One POS system that TimeForge integrates with is Dinerware. Dinerware is a focused and easy-to-use Point of Sale system, with dealers all over the world.

To integrate TimeForge with Dinerware POS, you first need to install the TimeForge Dinerware Bridge software on the Brain computer system.

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

In some cases, you may want to use TimeForge Attendance exclusively as a way to track time and attendance at your business. To do this, you can turn off the synchronization of time punch entries from the POS system, and can use the full power of the TimeForge Attendance system, including our fingerprint scanner (to stop buddy punching), and our comprehensive meal and staff break system.

Make Sure that the Connector and Translator are Both Running

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Check the Windows task bar, which is the bar that normally runs along the bottom of the computer and contains the Start menu (on the left) and clock (on the right).

You should see icons similar to those shown above. Both of these icons should be displayed, and if they are, then the TimeForge Dinerware Bridge is working properly.

Disable the Dinerware Time Punch Synchronization

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1. In the TimeForge Translator, make sure that the “Allow clock in and clock out, regardless of schedule settings” is selected. This will allow your users to clock in and out of Dinerware as necessary – which is important for choosing cash drawers and meal coursing, as well as check printing.

2. In the TimeForge Translator, make sure that the “Use Dinerware Time Punches for TimeForge Attendance” is NOT selected. This option turns off the synchronization of the Dinerware time punches, and instead allows you to use TimeForge Attendance for tracking time.

Synchronize the TimeForge Connector

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To be able to use the software immediately, you will need to force the software to synchronize itself.

You can do this by right-clicking on the Connector, and choosing “Synchronize Now“

Require Employees to Clock In and Clock Out at Work

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TimeForge Attendance is very flexible, and could allow your employees to clock in from their cell phones, facebook, or any Internet-enabled computer. However, most businesses will prefer to have staff clock in from restricted computers – such as those provided at their work location.

1. Lock down attendance tracking by limiting clock-in’s and clock-out’s to specific IP’s. To do so, simply click on the button displayed above.

Allow Employees to Clock In and Clock Out

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Employees can now log into TimeForge using their username (usually their email address) and password. Alternatively, if the location is using a compatible fingerprint scanner, staff members can use their fingerprints to log in to TimeForge.

After logging in, they will see a clock in / clock out box on the right-hand side of their screen.

Clocking in and out is now point and click easy!

Posted in Dinerware POS / No Comments.

How Do I Use TimeForge with Dinerware POS?

TimeForge can integrate with several Point of Sale systems, including Dinerware. Dinerware is a wonderful Point of Sale system, with dealers all over the world.

TimeForge integration with Dinerware involves installing the TimeForge Dinerware Bridge software on the Brain computer system.

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

Additionally, you can use the TimeForge Fingerprint scanner with Dinerware to allow biometric clock-in’s and clock-out’s.

Make Sure that the Connector and Translator are Both Running

make-sure-that-the-connector-and-translator-are-both-running.png

Check the Windows task bar, which is the bar that normally runs along the bottom of the computer and contains the Start menu (on the left) and clock (on the right).

You should see icons similar to those shown above. Both of these icons should be displayed, and if they are, then TimeForge is working properly.

Set Your Attendance Options for Riding the Clock

set-your-attendance-options-for-riding-the-clock.png

In TimeForge, access the Attendance Options (located in the Attendance tab). You will want to set the grace periods for early clock in, and late clock out.

These settings can be set to values that make sense for your business, though many businesses choose a 5 – 10 minute early clock in, and a 10 – 20 minute late clock out.

Create and Post a Schedule in TimeForge

create-and-post-a-schedule-in-timeforge.png

Create and post a schedule in TimeForge, so that staff members are notified of upcoming shifts.

This will also allow the TimeForge Dinerware Bridge to synchronize and enforce the schedule.

Synchronize the TimeForge Dinerware

synchronize-the-timeforge-dinerware.png

TimeForge automatically synchronizes data between your Dinerware POS system and the live TimeForge server.

This ensures that employees, positions, time cards, schedules, and sales are automatically transferred between the two systems.

During heavy activity at your restaurant, this synchronization is done very often, and during slower periods of activities, it is done less often.

Staff Members Must Log In to Dinerware

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Before an employee can access the Dinerware POS, they must enter their PIN, or swipe a mag card (if configured).

Employees Too Early or Too Late Will Need Manager Approval to Clock In

employees-too-early-or-too-late-will-need-manager-approval-to-clock-in.png

An employee who is not on the schedule will be presented with a screen for a manager override.

Additionally, employees who show up too early, or attempt to clock out too late, will also be prompted for a manager override.

This will reduce the amount of clock riding that staff members can do, reducing labor costs by 2% – 3% instantly!

Posted in Dinerware POS / No Comments.

What is a Web Service username and password, and how do I make one?

TimeForge uses web services to communicate with other third party applications. Web services are like a modern Comma Separated Value (CSV) files, and they allow TimeForge to communicate with other applications, such as Point of Sale systems, accounting products (such as Quickbooks), and stand alone time clocks.

To ensure that no one else can modify your data by using the TimeForge web services, you will need to create a Web Service username and password. We’ve made sure that this is easy to do, so you can quickly use the power of TimeForge with your 3rd party application.

First Navigate to the Settings Page for your Location or Store

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Locate the settings for your store / location.

Enable TimeForge Integration

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1. Make sure that the setting for “Would you like to enable TimeForge integration with another program?” is set to “Yes“.

2. Choose an appropriate username and password for the web service. This is specific to your location / store, and won’t be needed again. We recommend that you choose as long of a username and password as possible.

3. TimeForge will automatically send an email to managers if it cannot synchronize. This heartbeat functionality will ensure that TimeForge and 3rd party applications are running properly at your business.

By default, TimeForge permissions are controlled by the Connector/Translator or other 3rd party software.

Correctly Configured Web Service Username and Password

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After configuring the web service username and password, click on Save.

Enter Your Web Service Username and Password

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Enter your web service username and password, which you previously configured in the TimeForge web site.

Finish the Web Service Username and Password Setup

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That’s it … you are done!

Posted in Setup Tab / 2 Comments

How can I see the hours I have worked (view my time card)?

TimeForge Attendance tracks when you clock in or clock out, any tips received during the shift, and can also track any mileage you drove (for deliveries or other company business).

Attendance may be enabled or disabled by your management team.

Get to the Attendance Tab

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First, navigate to the “Attendance” tab.

From the “Today” Tab, you can click on the Attendance tab.

Enter a Date Range to view Attendance / Time Cards

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Choose a date range from the drop-down boxes. You may enter your own date range, or you can choose one of the pre-defined payroll periods which was set up by your management team.

View Your Time Card

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Your Time Card will be displayed on the screen, detailing dates and times that you clocked in or clocked out, the hours worked, your wage for the time period, and any tips, notes, or mileage that you recorded.

Additionally, a total of these relevant hours is displayed for your convenience.

Posted in Attendance Tab / No Comments.

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

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

 

About TimeForge

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