Labor Management. NOW Simple.

Do you want to be able to track salaried staff members from within Dinerware Point of Sale?   TimeForge now supports employees who are salaried / full-time from within Dinerware , so you can track full-time employees, as well as hourly / part-time staff.

To enable support for salaried staff members, first make sure you are running the latest TimeForge-Dinerware Bridge software.   Then, while inside of Dinerware, open the employee, and edit their positions / job codes.   Set the hourly payrate and the overtime payrate to be $0 / hour, and then save the information.   Run “Synchronize Now” in the TimeForge Translator, as well as the TimeForge Connector (or, just wait for the two systems to automatically synchronize themselves).

Now, you can log in to TimeForge, and go to the employee list.   Find the staff member you modified, and edit their account.   Scroll down to the list of employee positions, and you will see that you can change the payrate / payscale for this employee , it is no longer controlled by Dinerware.   You can now set TimeForge to export a fixed rate, or fixed hourly amount, when the payroll export is run , regardless of any timepunches within the Point of Sale system.

These employees will still need to clock in / out inside of Dinerware, but these time punches will be ignored for the purposes of running payroll reports on TimeForge.

TimeForge reduces turnover and improves retention while freeing up management time and increasing store profitability at your business!   TimeForge employee scheduling and labor management software is used by owners and operators of hospitality, food-service, retail, and other service-oriented businesses around the world.

Related articles or pages

• National Restaurant Association 2009
• Labor Scheduling Software Article at Nation's Restaurant News
• Western Food Expo is a wrap!
• Table Spacing is Important for Profitable Restaurants
• Scheduling Salaried Staff

One of the most frustrating aspects of labor management systems is the process of inputting all of the data needed to use a employee scheduling, time and attendance, or complete labor management system.

Almost all of the labor management systems on the market today (including TimeForge) require that users input and set up:

• Employee names
• Positions and job codes
• Base pay rates
• Basic labor rules (how many hours per week an employee can work, etc…)
• Email addresses
• Department names
• Phone numbers
• Usernames and passwords
• Specific pay rates for employees
• Hire dates
• Birth dates
• Payroll ID’s
• … And other data points that are relevant to labor systems.

Most frustrating is that most users already have much of this information living inside of other documents, such as the payroll system, point of sale system, or various Excel documents.   Re-inputting all of this data can be a huge waste of time.

TimeForge recently introduced an Employee, Position, and Department Import Tool, allowing users to import most of the above information directly from a CSV file or an Excel file.   The tool is very simple to use – simply collect the information together into a CSV file, and then upload the file to TimeForge.

You will have the ability to view the data before it is import, and TimeForge will automatically handle any necessary updates to your existing data.   The Import Tool can be found in the Setup menu.

TimeForge labor management software provides employee scheduling and attendance management for operators, managers, and owners of bars, clubs, retail stores, restaurants, and other businesses to improve profits, reduce turnover, and increase retention.

Related articles or pages

• Updates to Employee Scheduling and Time and Attendance Software
• Marinas
• Labor Scheduling at the TRA Show – 2008
• Human Resources, Hiring Success, and Twitter
• Grocery Stores

Whew!   We are done with our whirlwind through the NRA 2009 tradeshow in Chicago, IL – what a great two days.

We are a technology company with a focus on operations and human resources for restaurants, retailers, and other businesses that hire part-time employees – we spent a lot of time examining the tradeshow and looking for improvements in technology for operations or human resources.

Some of the very neat technology at the show included:

• Dinerware POS is a phenomenal Point of Sale system, and one of our valued partners.   Several sales staff and other partners were on site to show off their latest version.
• Silverware POS recently debuted and released a best-of-breed restaurant POS product, Avrio, which was onsite at the show.   What a wonderful group of individuals, and a great product!
• MonkeyMedia Software displayed their rocking catering software outside of the Technology Pavilion.   They caused a bit of a comotion by handing out bananas!
• QuandraNet is similiar to OpenTable, but with a very, very smart table management software program that increases table turns in addition to handling reservations.
• Corvirtus was showing off their products that take the guesswork out of hiring. Very neat algorithms, and years of research create a great hiring tool.   Wonderful stuff.

Overall, the show attendance seemed to be down compared to last year, which seems to be the general consensus.

TimeForge employee scheduling and workforce management software is used by managers, owners, and operators of retail stores, restaurants, bars, grills, clubs, and other service-oriented businesses to increase profits, reduce turnover, and improve retention.

Related articles or pages

• Labor Scheduling Software Article at Nation's Restaurant News
• Support for Salaried Employees from within Dinerware
• Easily Manage Labor with Innovative Staffing Reports
• Dinerware and TimeForge Labor Management Improvements
• Congratulations TimeForge!

Owners and operators in the retail and restaurant industries face a common problem with Point of Sale (POS) systems …. sophisticated POS systems can take some time to learn – and operators are too busy with day-to-day operations to learn the systems completely.

As David Scott Peters points out in a quick blog post over at FOHBOH (Front of House, Back of House), a deep understanding of your Point of Sale system is an absolute must.   David points out that in addition to being a cash register, POS systems can perform a number of additional tasks, such as locating ideal food costs, managing inventory, controlling labor costs, and much more.

However, one aspect that David did not touch upon is that there are often major capability differences between the various Point of Sale manufacturers.   Some systems do have built-in inventory, food costing, and labor management modules, but many others do not have these modules.

In many cases, it is preferable to identify and use a best-of-breed solution designed specifically for the task at hand.   For example, CostGuard continues to develop and maintain the best inventory managament system available for restaurants, bars, and clubs.   TimeForge labor management software is designed from the ground-up to make labor management and employee scheduling easy for restaurant and retail operators.

Related articles or pages

• Western Food Expo is a wrap!
• Off Topic: Inventory Managment for Restaurants
• Age and Brand Analysis of POS Systems in Foodservice
• Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo
• Restaurant, Bar, and Club Scheduling Options (Part 2 of 4)

We just got back from four full days in sunny Houston, TX. We exhibited at the 2008 Southwest Food Expo, hosted by the Texas Restaurant Association. TimeForge occupied booth 1546 right next to the franchise pavilion and we had a great time in Houston! Throughout the show we became friends with many of our neighbors, dined on wonderful food, and spoke to a number of restaurateurs, hotel and retail owners , most need help with employee scheduling.

We really enjoyed spending time with our neighbors from Del Mar College and Ctuit.

• Del Mar is a wonderful establishment, and Chef Mark (heading their program) knows what he’s doing, with years of experience “on the floor”. Anyone looking to enter the hospitality industry , or needing to hire talented graduates , should contact Del Mar College.
• Ctuit is a leading provider of above-store reporting software that integrates with several different kinds of Point of Sale, Accounting / GL, Time and Attendance, and other software packages. Reports are sent to a central location and can be reviewed by corporate, regional, or district level managers. Thanks for demonstrating your product to us!

Next to us was the Franchise Pavilion, and it included reps from Boston’s Pizza Restaurants, Pollo Campero, Which Which, Dunkin Donuts, Baskin Robbins, Huddle House, and Franchise Times. It seemed to be a tough show for finding franchisees, but many of them kept the show very entertaining for us. If they (or their franchisees) need labor scheduling, they’ll know TimeForge can help!

Lance, Mike, and the rest of the Focus POS crew were on site, dressed down in their bright orange brand and ready to help restaurant owners find the right Point of Sale system. Of all of the Point of Sale vendors, Focus POS has one of the most full-featured labor scheduling systems. They understand that employee scheduling is hard – and try to make it easy for operators to build schedules. It was good to see them again.

Gary Peek, president of Intura stopped by and spoke with us about TimeForge and its applicability in international markets. I spent some time in the Intura booth on Tuesday learning about their mapping software and their ability to do sales analytics based on geographical sales locations. Very cool technology!

More TRA Expo highlights coming ….

How long does it take to make a labor schedule for your workforce? It should take less than 5 minutes! Did you know that TimeForge can improve profits and minimize costs through effective employee scheduling at your restaurant, hotel, bank, school, bar, club, or retail business.

Related articles or pages

• Texas Restaurant Association Show (Part 2) — 2008
• Texas Restaurant Association Show — 2008
• Congratulations TimeForge!
• Accuvia , Labor Scheduling Systems
• Workforce Labor Scheduling Updates (Part 2)

It’s been one day since the release of TimeForge Version 1.9, which introduced a number of new features such as easy-to-use calendar availability, improved multi-location (multiple unit) scheduling, and many other improvements. And we’re excited to announce that more than 800 businesses have signed up for the most simple and powerful labor scheduling tool on the market: www.TimeForge.com

Although we are obviously excited by the number of TimeForge users, we are more excited about the time savings and cost savings that have been provided to our users. For example:

• On average, managers spend more than 2.64 hours making the schedule, every week with a spreadsheet program such as Excel, by hand, or with an inefficient scheduling system (like most Point of Sale systems).

• On average, managers spend 15 minutes making the schedule, every week using TimeForge.

• On average, managers in retail and hospitality businesses receive an annual salary and benefits package equivalent to more than $62,500. That’s more than $31 per hour.

• TimeForge is directly saving our users more than $59,272 every month! That’s more than $710,000 a year.

Of course, there are dozens of other benefits like reporting, employee notification, reduced employee turnover, less time fragmentation (employees calling your business), etc… which are more difficult to calculate in a direct dollar-to-dollar return on investment (ROI).

Related articles or pages

• Workforce Labor Scheduling Updates (Part 2)
• Updates to Employee Scheduling and Time and Attendance Software
• Workforce Labor Scheduling Updates (Part 1)
• TimeForge Newsletter , November Edition (Part 1)
• Reduce Turnover with Shift Scheduling Software

As recently reported on Nation’s Restaurant News, “(Sep. 27) Get in, set up an effective staff schedule and move on to the next task: that’s what most restaurateurs want out of their scheduling software. But knowing that doesn’t necessarily make their search for the right software any easier, as the schedulers available today run the gamut from elementary point-of-sale-system modules to high-end workforce management applications.

The trick, some operators indicate, is to find the right system or service for your operation without buying features that will go unused.”

NRN reviewed two products in their article:

• ScheduleAnywhere
• ScheduleWriter

TimeForge.com has all of the features of both of the reviewed products, with an easier to use interface, an integrated AutoScheduler, and better pricing! But then, I suppose we are biased.

You can read the full article at Nation’s Restaurant News. They require registration, but the registration is free.

How long does it take to make your labor schedules? It should take less than 5 minutes! Did you know that TimeForge can streamline and minimize labor costs through effective employee scheduling at your restaurant, bar, club, or business.

Related articles or pages

• National Restaurant Association 2009
• Support for Salaried Employees from within Dinerware
• Spend Less Time Scheduling Labor – More Time Managing Your Business
• Simple, Fast Employee Scheduling
• Restaurant, Bar, and Club Scheduling Options (Part 2 of 4)

It is official! TimeForge.com will be exhibiting at the Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo in Los Angeles, CA on August 18 – 20, 2007. The trade show is being held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and looks to be a very exciting show with a great mix of first-time and “experienced” exhibiting companies.

If you are at the show Western Foodservice show, make sure you take a look at Halo, a revolutionary web-based Point-Of-Sale system from Canada. Barb, one of their business representatives, showed us a very neat POS system at the Southwest Food Expo in Dallas.

We will be setting up shop in booth #2827, and we would love to see you there! Our booth is next to the regional Digital Dining partner, Hospitality Technology Systems. Stop by and see the latest TimeForge features, including shift-swapping and time & attendance tracking!

How long does it take to make an employee schedule? It should take less than 5 minutes! Did you know that labor costs could be as much as 30% of your expenses? TimeForge can help streamline and minimize labor costs through effective employee scheduling at your restaurant, bar, or club.

Related articles or pages

• Western Food Expo is a wrap!
• Restaurant, Bar, and Club Scheduling Options (Part 2 of 4)
• Off Topic: Inventory Managment for Restaurants
• Latest Software Features
• Labor Scheduling Software Article at Nation's Restaurant News

We need your help … we are going to begin integration of TimeForge with Point of Sale systems in the next few months. We are hoping to start with the Point of Sale systems that you are using! If you have a few seconds, please send an email to info@timeforge.com to let us know which Point of Sale system you are using, the version of the software, and if you know who your reseller is, we’d love to be able to call them.

Thanks for your help!

How long does it take to make an employee schedule? It should take less than 5 minutes! Did you know that labor costs could be as much as 30% of your expenses? TimeForge can help streamline and minimize labor costs through effective employee scheduling at your restaurant, bar, or club.

Related articles or pages

• Support for Salaried Employees from within Dinerware
• Restaurant, Bar, and Club Scheduling Options (Part 2 of 4)
• National Restaurant Association 2009
• Labor Scheduling Software Article at Nation's Restaurant News
• Labor Scheduling at the TRA Show – 2008

Point Of Sale System Scheduling Modules

Some Point of Sale (POS) providers offer scheduling capabilities. The issue with this solution is that the capabilities offered by these POS providers are simply an electronic adaptation of the pencil and paper method. These modules store employees’ names and usually provide a way to call up the previous week’s schedule and either print it out with the new dates or allow the manager to make scheduling changes prior to printing. They lack in-depth decision support tools and financial analysis capabilities. Without these essential capabilities, you might as well just use the paper and pencil method.

How long does it take to make an employee schedule? It should take less than 5 minutes! Did you know that labor costs could be as much as 30% of your expenses? TimeForge can help streamline and minimize labor costs through effective employee scheduling at your restaurant, bar, or club.

Related articles or pages

• Labor Scheduling Software Article at Nation's Restaurant News
• Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo
• Western Food Expo is a wrap!
• Texas Restaurant Association Show (Part 2) — 2008
• Support for Salaried Employees from within Dinerware