If you've upgraded your time clock server computer to OS 10.7 Lion and the daemon shows as stopped, then you need to upgrade your time clock software to Virtual TimeClock '11 Release 2.

The Basic, Pro, and Client editions of Virtual TimeClock '11 Release 1 will technically still run on Lion, but the time clock server which runs as a background process (called a daemon on Mac) will not start even though the Server Manager app will still open. Virtual TimeClock '11 Release 2 is a free upgrade for all customers enrolled in our software maintenance and support program. Time clock upgrade instructions can be found on our website.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Remote time clock clients will lose their connection if you move your time clock server to a different computer and don't take a couple of important items into consideration. Remember how remote time clock clients connect: a remote client talks directly to the router at the time clock server location. The router says, "Hey! I know you. You're a time clock client. Let me send you over to the time clock server computer. I know it's address." This is what we call port forwarding.

Moving your time clock server will break port forwarding unless you do one of two things to keep you're remote clients talking. One is to give the new time clock server the same static IP address as the old time clock server computer. Then the remote clients won't know the difference. The other option is to access your router configuration settings and change the port forward to point to the IP address of the new time clock server computer. Again, the remote clients won't know the difference. Either one will solve the problem and keep your networked time clocks on speaking terms with one another.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Have you ever noticed that when you print employee timecards for payroll that you have to change the current period dates? That's because you haven't been closing your payroll periods.



When printing timecards, Virtual TimeClock will always use the stored totals from a closed payroll period rather than recalculating the totals again. This is important since wages, overtime, and time deduction rules may change. By closing payroll periods, timecards for a closed period retrieve the historical totals rather than calculating hours based on the current settings for each employee. Closing payroll periods also advances the current period based on your payroll settings.

Once all hours for a payroll period have been entered, reviewed, and corrected the payroll period should be closed. Go to the Tools menu and choose Close Payroll Period.



Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

A couple of weeks ago, I provided you with instructions on how to set a static IP address on Windows computers. This post will show you how to do the same thing on a Mac. You'll want to do this if your time clock clients fail to connect to the time clock server after the computer is rebooted. It's probably getting a dynamic IP address from the router which causes it to sometimes get a different address the next time the computer is turned on. That's why your time clock software works perfectly for months until you get hit with a power outage, or someone turns off the computer.

Here are the instructions for assigning a static IP address on Mac computers.

Go to the Apple menu, choose System Preferences and select Network from the Internet & Wireless row. Select your network interface from the list on the left (probably the one with the green status indicator). Change it from Using DHCP to Using DHCP with manual address so it should still get all the Internet stuff it needs automatically. It'll look something like this when you're all done:


When you give a static IP address to a computer, the router may not know that address is being used so it may try to give it to another computer later. So you'll want to give your computer an IP address that's not likely to be given out to others.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

If you're running networked time clocks and clients are unable to connect to the time clock server at random times, or clients are being mysteriously disconnected, then you'll want to check the energy saver settings on the time clock server computer.

Go to the Apple menu and choose System Preferences. Select Energy Saver from the Hardware row. The first setting you'll see is a slide bar to control when the computer goes to sleep. Make sure this is set to Never. The second slide bar is for putting the display to sleep. This can be set to whatever you want because it doesn't have any affect on your time clock software. Next, you'll see a series of checkboxes. Make sure the one that says Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible is not checked.

Your energy saver settings should look something like this when you're all done:



If there's a delay when you go to clock in or out, chances are your time clock client computer is going to sleep as well. Keep it awake the same way.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

The Report Writer is a great tool for customizing the different timecard reports that are built into your time clock software, or for creating new ones. You can change report options, formatting, and even what data to include. If there's a particular report you run often, you may want to set the default date range so you're not always having to change it at run time.

For example, let's say you've created a custom report called 'Last Week's Labor Hours' but every time you run the report you have to change the date range from Current Period to Last Week. Here's an easy solution. Go to the Reports menu and choose Report Writer. Choose the report you want to customize from the list of reports on the left. You'll see a Default Date popup menu at the top, right below Report Name and Report Type. It probably says Current period. Click on it and pick Last Week from the selection list.



Save the changes and now whenever you run the report the date range will automatically default to the previous week. This is just a small example of what can be done with the Report Writer, so don't be shy about exploring some of the other options.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

One of the reasons time clock clients fail to connect to the time clock server is because the IP address of the time clock server computer changes. The reason this happens is because the computer running the time clock server is receiving a dynamic IP address from the router. This makes it easy on the end user since no configuration is required to set up your computer and use the Internet, but your computer may get a different address the next time the computer is turned on. That's why your time clock software works perfectly for months until you get hit with a power outage, or someone turns off the computer. When the computer is started again, clients can't connect and you get a message like the following when you launch the Server Manager.


You'll also need to set a static IP address on the time clock server computer if you plan on using Virtual TimeClock over the Internet. Here are some easy instructions for assigning a static IP address on Windows computers.

Setting a Static IP Address on Windows XP

Setting a Static IP Address on Windows Vista

Setting a Static IP Address on Windows 7

When you give a static IP address to a computer, the router may not know that address is being used so it may try to give it to another computer later. So you'll want to give your computer an IP address that's not likely to be given out to others.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

We've talked recently about how to track down missing overtime on your employee time cards. The steps went something like this:

• Check employee overtime assignments
• Check overtime rule configuration
• Check employee salary type
• Check the shift restart setting

It's the last step I want to discuss because this setting's impact on your employee time cards can be tricky. Go to the Tools menu and choose Time Calculations. In the Daily & Weekly Overtime section, you'll see a setting that says "Hours off the clock before restarting daily overtime calculations". Basically, this setting controls how much time a worker has to be clocked out before a new shift is started. A new shift resets hours worked back to zero for calculating daily overtime. The default setting is 4 hours. If this is set too low, then daily overtime won't calculate because Virtual TimeClock thinks you want to start a new shift. Your time card would look something like this:


See, no daily overtime was calculated. If it's set too high, the next shift may be included with the first one. Your time card would look something like this:


See how the entire next day is combined with the previous day's hours as overtime? It's best to leave this setting at 4 hours unless you have a compelling reason to change it.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc

We talk to a lot of business owners trying to solve a variety of time and attendance problems. Two of the most common we hear about are how to prevent buddy punching and how to prevent unauthorized overtime. We have some new security features coming next year that will help with buddy punching, and you can use the current shifts feature to help prevent unnecessary overtime.

You can keep track of approved overtime by using courtesy clock in and out restrictions. Remember, courtesy clock ins record the shift start time no matter how early the employee punches in. So what do you do if you have employees that need to work approved overtime either before or after their shift ends?

One method would be to create an activity called something like 'Approved Overtime' that's good for manual entries only. Since a courtesy clock in and out will automatically record the shift times as the recorded time, you'll need to add a manual entry for the approved overtime. This also makes the approved overtime hours clearly distinguishable on employee time cards.

Another method would be to prevent clocking in early or late without manager approval. However, this method only works when using clock in and out restrictions that prevent early and late punches.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc

Connecting time clocks at different locations can be intimidating for many people. Especially when you start talking about static IPs, router config, and WAN addresses. Here's a little two-step process you can use to start using your time clock software from home or another office location.

Call your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and have them do 2 things for you:

1. Have them assign the router at the location that is running the time clock server a static IP address. Make sure they tell you what it is and write it down. It may take a couple of days for them to get the static IP address for you and it may cost a couple of extra bucks a month. They can program your router to use the new address remotely, or walk you through how to do it over the phone.
2. Have them set up a port forward on the router at the location that is running the time clock server (the same router that gets the static IP address) for TCP port 56777. It will need to be forwarded to the IP address of the computer running the time clock server. Don't know what IP address the time clock server computer is using? Launch the Server Manager and you'll see the address under the TCP function. Again, they can do this remotely or walk you through it over the phone.

Once these 2 items are in place, give us a call and we can test the connectivity to make sure you'll be able to connect from home or another location. For those of you who like to read the fine print, we've got complete instructions for setting up web time clocks on the support page of our web site.

See, it's not so hard!

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Virtual TimeClock has an easy-to-use backup utility that allows you to schedule automatic backups that will ensure you've got a current copy of your time clock data should disaster strike. However, your backup may fail if you're attempting to back up to a shared folder. That's because the time clock server background service doesn't have default access to the shared folder.

We've got instructions for setting up a backup to a shared folder in an earlier support blog. However, there's one thing I'd like to add. Make sure the full path of the shared folder is visible in the Backup Folder section of the Backup panel, not just the mapped drive letter. You can usually get to the full path through My Network Places.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Don't forget that Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends this Sunday, November 6. New Virtual TimeClock software users are often a little anxious when the first seasonal time change occurs after they've begun using their new time clock software. Don't worry, there's really nothing you need to do since most newer computers handle the time change for you automatically. The Basic and Pro Editions record employee punch times based on the computer's built-in clock. The Network Edition records punch times based on the  built-in clock of the computer running the time clock server. In fact, it's been several years since I talked with a customer whose computer didn't handle the seasonal time change automatically.

The only time you'll need to get involved is when you have worker shifts that cross the time threshold (DST officially ends at 2:00 AM). You may need to manually adjust their end time to account for the extra hour gained as we "fall back" at the end of DST.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software

Did your free time clock software trial expire even though you purchased a license? Chances are, you never entered your key codes. The Virtual TimeClock evaluation is a great testing tool because:

• It's fully functional, which means you can test every feature.
• There's nothing new to download or install after purchasing a license.
• You don't lose any of the employee data you collected during the trial period.

So if you purchased a Virtual TimeClock license and you're getting a message stating that your free evaluation has ended, grab the license email we sent you when you ordered and get those keys entered.

Registering Basic/Pro Edition
Go to the Tools menu and choose Enter License Key.

Registering Network Edition
Launch Server Manager, click on the Licenses toolbar button, and click the Enter Keys button.

Need another copy of your license? Contact us, we keep great records!

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software

Many new users contact us right after running their first payroll because no overtime has been calculated on their employee time cards. If that's happened to you, here are the time clock software settings you need to check, starting with the most common and ending with the least used.

1. Has an overtime rule been assigned to each employee? Go to the Lists menu, choose Users, and select an employee name from the list. Click the Wages tab and pick an overtime rule from the Overtime drop-down list.
2. Have your overtime rules been configured properly? Go to the Lists menu and choose Overtime. Select the rule that's been assigned and make sure it's configured the way you want. For example, is the weekly threshold set at 40 hours?
3. Do you have salaried workers? Salaried workers are exempt from overtime calculations. Go to the Lists menu, choose Users, and select an employee name from the list. Click the Wages tab and check if the Type drop-down list is set to Salary or Hourly. Change to Hourly of you want overtime calculations to occur.
4. Did you change how many hours an employee has to be off the clock before starting a new shift? Go to the Tools menu and choose Time Calculations. How long do you have to stay clocked out before restarting daily overtime calculations? The default setting is 4 hours. If this is set too low, daily overtime won't calculate because Virtual TimeClock thinks you want to start a new shift.

If none of these seem to solve your issue, contact us. We'd love to help get your employee time cards printing just the way you want.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software

We occasionally chat with customers who can't get a static IP address from their Internet service provider (ISP). Usually, it's because they're in a remote area where static IP service isn't offered. Without getting too technical, a static IP address is needed if you're planning on using Virtual TimeClock over the Internet because a static IP address doesn't change. If the IP address assigned to your router changes, then your remote time clocks will no longer know where to connect to your time clock server.

Some customers that find themselves in this situation have had success with a service called DynDNS. Their service works by having you create a hostname, and then making that hostname work with your dynamic IP addresses. I won't pretend to understand how it works (I'll stick to time clock software). Let's just say that even when your ISP changes the public IP address of your router, DynDNS keeps things in sync by pointing the new IP address to a hostname that never changes.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software