Virtual TimeClock ’11 Sneak Peek

Engineering has been hard at work on Virtual TimeClock '11. This week I was able to sneak a peek at some of the new features. I must say that I'm very excited because this release addresses several of our top requests related to punch in and out rules. The new shifts feature is going to be an indispensable tool for those businesses looking for a way to get control of unauthorized overtime. Don't quote me on any of this, but here's some teaser information based on what I've seen so far.

Prevent early clock in
Let's say you set up a new shift rule with a start time of 8:00 am. You have 2 choices on how to handle early clock ins. You can either record all clock ins as the shift start time (clock in at 7:53 am but gets recorded as 8:00 am), or you can prevent early clock ins outside of a user-defined grace period. Plus, you can even define an override to allow an early clock in with manager approval.

Authorize late clock out
Likewise, let's say you set up a new shift rule with a stop time of 5:00 pm. You can either record all clock outs as the shift end time (clock out at 5:12 pm but gets recorded as 5:00 pm), or you can allow late clock outs beyond a user-defined grace period with manager approval.

Automatic clock out
Another great part of the new shifts feature is the ability to set an automatic clock out. For example, you can automatically clock out all workers who are still on the clock 15 minutes past their shift stop time. This should prevent missed punches at the end of the day when workers are a little too eager to get on the road or just learning how to use the time clock.

There's plenty more, and I'm only scratching the surface in terms of the power of this new employee time clock software tool. I'll keep you posted on new developments just as soon as I can sneak them out of the drawing room.