It is true to say that most companies interested in time and attendance software are unsure where and how to locate potential providers . If you have recommendations from other users, particularly from within your chosen industry by all means use them otherwise Google is a very good place to start your search for a time and attendance supplier. Search terms may include:-
- Time and attendance software
- Award interpretation software
- Time Clock Software
Most time and attendance suppliers have their own time clocks or at least a re-badged time clock . If you are like most others you will be inclined to limit the number of companies you contact founded on some criteria which may not be objective because you know that it may be impractical to talk to a dozen or so potential suppliers. It may be valuable to talk to that many but like most in business today you are probably limited in available time so you look at the suppliers website and the products and make a judgment on which companies you may wish to deal with based largely on “feel”. Not a ideal situation but one that is not uncommon.
Your evaluation of potential supplier should start with some criteria for both short listing and selecting a time and attendance software supplier . Listed below are some of the criteria you should consider some of these criteria, specifically the hardware and award interpretation features. The remaining criterion includes factors that you and your project team must decide on such as your budget for the project, the project manager and your implementation timeline. You may wish to add your own
Hardware:- Regardless of your chosen hardware type the potential provider must be able to supply that hardware which meets the some basic requirements. The time clock should use TCP/IP network communications. The time clocks need to keep perfect time in all time zones. If you have multiple time clocks you should be able to enter employee information centrally and have that update out to all time clocks. Your staff should be able to clock in on one clock and out on another. You should be able to backup the clock data . The clocks should support different time zones and daylight saving .
Software: The award interpretation software behind the program should be capable of correctly interpreting your award rules without the need for manual intervention by you (by requiring you to handle exceptions for example). You may have certain special needs such as the ability to roster staff and to calculate the cost of that roster in advance. (Refer to the Special Guide to Time and Attendance & Rostering)
Budget: It may be the case that the software which best accommodates your requirements comes with a price tag you are not willing to pay
Supplier Capability: Your selected supplier should be able to demonstrate a capability to provide the product, the implementation and the ongoing support.
Finding a supplier who meets these criteria is your goal. If you have set the criteria and measure the contenders your chances of a successful implementation are greatly increased.
