Consider your time clock applications before purchasing

There are many different styles, prices, and applications for employee time clocks, so check out the options to figure out what is best for your business, and your employees. If all of your employees work out of the office doing sales, then obviously a cheap time clock mounted to the wall in your office will not address your time clock needs.

I recommend: Not sure where to start?  Business.com's  time and attendance page features a range of time clock solutions, including employee time clock software, time clock machines, and other time and attendance trackers. Check out the TimeClockPlus Small Business Edition, with which employees can perform their own timekeeping transactions, including options like, “Clock In,” “Clock Out,” “Break,” and “View,” with the On-Screen TimeClock from their own computer.

Biometric time clocks

These aren’t your grandpa’s time clocks –today’s time clocks are more advanced and high-tech than ever before. There are Web-based time clock systems, in which the data is gathered online, enabling employees to “clock in” via their home PC, during off-site jobs, and even while traveling. Biometric time clocks – one of the newest time clock systems available today – provide a hand, eye, or finger scanner, which reads and recognizes the employee by his unique biological “markings.”

I recommend: At GHG corporation, they offer three basic choices of time clock software options: Biometric, Card, and Web. To figure out which is the best fit for your company, check out this side-by-side comparison model. Check out Business.com's Biometric Systems page and scan through the many resources for biometric employee time clocks, vendors, and more.

Computer and Web-based time clocks

There are several computer- or Web-based payroll time clocks out there, most of which easily track your employees’ time and integrate with your payroll system. Many computer-based time clock applications are sophisticated enough to track the hours you and your employees spend on separate clients - especially useful if you’re billing by the hour, such as in a law office, a consulting firm, or other similar applications.

I recommend: For a portal to suppliers of employee time clocks and software programs, visit the Time and Attendance Software page on Business.com.

Take payroll time clocks for test drives

Not sure which time clock option is right for you? Then try out a few – most time clock vendors offer a free trial for a specified amount of time. See which one fits the most seamlessly into your small business, and you’re good to go.

I recommend: Visit iemployee for their Employee Time Clock Software, which provides a computerized punch in and out for employees, and then automatically creates a time sheet for those employees.