In this article, we will cover why companies need to track time off, options available for tracking time off, advantages of time tracking software, and how companies and their employees can benefit from such software.

The Need to Track time Off Accurately

Inaccurate time off tracking costs businesses exuberant amounts of money every year. In a 2008 survey, almost 60% of respondents said either their employees aren’t accurately reporting their time off, or claimed they are unable to.

The cost of absenteeism to a business, usually expressed in terms of lost productivity, is difficult to determine. Studies from government sources such as the U.S. Bureau of the Census and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics put the direct losses at more than $40 billion a year; the Social Security Administration determined that, each year, U.S. workers miss more than half a billion days.

time Off Tracking Options

time off can be tracked using paper based tracking, MS Excel, or a time tracking software.

Paper based time tracking methods are still being used by quite a lot of companies. However, employees have to spend their valuable time filling out paper time off requests and visiting the respective manager’s office or payroll department for submission. Paper based approval can prove time consuming for managers who would need to verify time off balances as well as check for time off overlaps within the team each time a time off request is submitted for their approval. The payroll department would face hassles ensuring time off policies are being adhered to, running time off summary reports for various levels (company, departments, teams), and at some point or time, typically the end of the month or quarter, converting all time off data into digital form, through manual data entry, for payroll purposes. All of these make paper based time off tracking not only inefficient, taking up valuable employee time which could have been productively channelized elsewhere, but also very error-prone resulting in inaccurate time off data.

Excel based time sheets can be less time consuming than paper based ones and may run a lesser risk of manual entry errors too. However, when employees file for time off requests, they may not have access to their time off balances (as approved by the payroll department), as well as their team’s time off schedules so they could better plan their time off. Managers may have problems sifting through their team’s Excel sheets to discover any overlaps in time off dates, building custom Excel reports to see relevant time off data, and keeping track of new and pending requests. Major issues with Excel timesheets can be the inability to enforce time off policies, the lack of a centralized system that can generate reports to get productivity insights (like detecting which department is constantly filing for sick time), and isolating time off data to ensure it can be viewed only by concerned departments, managers, or executives.

time tracking software solutions are much more effective than Excel sheets. They are not only easy to use, but are less time consuming and more effective by producing relevant data on demand. They also greatly minimize the risk of manual errors and inaccurate data by enforcing policies and constraints.

Advantages of time Tracking Software

time Tracking Software can prove very useful in solving problems associated with paper and Excel sheets:

• An ideal time tracking software can enable employees to view their calendars, check time off balances, file requests online and view their team’s shared calendar to plan time off

• Managers can get notified by email about new and pending requests, easily check time off balances and any overlaps while approving, and quickly run through relevant reports to provide valuable insights (like specific employees taking lot of sick time, or those who have exhausted their time off balances, and so on)

• Companies and their payroll departments can effectively enforce time off policies including accrual rates, initial balances, yearly resets, and bank time, and have a centralized system to enforce rules, set approval paths, monitor time off activity, and generate productivity reports for various levels including management dashboards

The above capabilities are just a subset of all the features that Replicon’s world leading Web timesheet time & Attendance Edition provides to enable companies to streamline their time tracking and payroll.

According to a survey conducted by Nucleus Research, reported by InformationWeek.com, time tracking software can pay for itself in as little as a few months. Payback comes from reductions in clerical errors, processing time and unauthorized overtime or leave, as well as from elimination of the cost of paper time sheets or time cards. Companies have also reported significant drops in time off taken after implementing a time tracking software solution. Furthermore, time tracking software like Replicon’s Web timesheet can enable companies to conform to standards like DCAA.

More Information

The right time tracking solution can help your business avoid the fate of those that are paying for erroneous and time consuming time off processes including unauthorized time off, inaccurate data, unknown absences, and time off policy violations.

We recommend you take a Free Trial or a Quick Tour to see Web timesheet in action and how it can enable your business address time tracking problems effectively and efficiently.

About Replicon

With over 1 Million users in 60 countries, Replicon, Inc. is the industry leader of timesheet software. Founded in 1996, Replicon, Inc. powers companies of all sizes to maximize profitability and productivity. Replicon’s clients include Ernst & Young, Cornell University, Health Canada, Shell, Verizon, Ferrari and Amazon.

Replicon’s product suite of Web timesheet Project & Billing Edition, Web timesheet time & Attendance Edition and Web Resource facilitates a myriad of front and back office solutions including employee time tracking towards projects, client billing, managing time and attendance and payroll.

View Replicon’s time tracking software for more details.

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Mike Hoyles