Company Blog


Recording Time or Reporting Time?

August 27, 2015

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires all employers to keep accurate time records for employees that are non-exempt. Employers are allowed latitude when it comes to selecting the method they use to record employee time but the method of collection and resulting reports are subject to inspection by the state and federal labor departments. With this governmental oversight, let’s look a little further into what it means to record time and report time.

    Recording is the way in which employee time is collected and the rules that define that process. Given the latitude that exists for employers, the methods of recording can include pen and paper, mechanical time clocks, and more recently, time clock software. There are benefits and drawbacks to each method but the plethora of features, ease of use, and accurate audit trails available in software greatly favors its use. However, time clock software really separates itself when it comes to reporting.  

    Reporting is the method or format for displaying the employee hours that were recorded. There is latitude given to employers here as well but it is prudent to visit websites like the Department of Labor to view the minimum requirements for reporting. Most commonly, reporting is accomplished with a printed timecard which displays the pay period dates, actual clock in and out timestamps, employee hourly pay rate, total regular hours, overtime hours, and total wages. With time clock software you can sleep well knowing that the summing of the hours for a pay period and presenting of this data in a printed timecard is accomplished in mere seconds. You can even customize reports to include additional data, such as breaks and lunches taken by employees.

To see all the Virtual TimeClock features available and which edition of the time clock is right for you, visit our detailed feature comparison chart.