What Do iTunes and Virtual TimeClock Have In Common?

iTunes is a perfect example of a program that seamlessly bridges the gap between a traditional desktop app and a web app. Here's what I mean. The iTunes software needs to be installed locally on each computer. That's the desktop part. But when you open the iTunes Store, it's like you're using a web app. Your locally running software populates with information based on an Internet connection, but you don't need to use a web browser to get there.

We hope to bridge the same gap with our Virtual TimeClock software. A time and attendance system that gets installed like a desktop app but functions like a web app. What could be better? We hope to offer several different deployment models in the future, so each time clock software customer can choose which configuration best fits their needs.

Traditional
This deployment option is for customers who want to host their database on their own Windows or Mac business server or computer workstation, and connect desktop clients over the local area network or over the Internet. This is our current time clock software deployment option with licensing based on the total number of computers that need to run a time clock.

Hybrid
This deployment option would allow customers to host their database on their own web server and connect a combination of desktop and web time clocks. Licensing will most likely be based on the total number of employees that need to access the time clock. This is the time clock software deployment option for those customers who want to keep control over their own time clock data, but want more flexibility when deploying time clock clients.

SaaS
This deployment option would allow customers to access their time clock from any web browser. Their database would reside in the cloud, commonly called software as a service. This is the deployment model for those customers who want the convenience of paying a monthly service fee and not have the fuss of hosting their own server or dealing with software upgrades.

We'll certainly keep you posted on the progress of these different time clock software deployment options.

Jeff Morrow
Virtual TimeClock Product Specialist
Redcort Software

Lion Compatible Time Clock Software

It's always exciting when technology takes a leap forward. Apple's new Lion operating system will certainly be changing the way we interact with our desktop computers. Being an Apple developer, we've had the privilege of working with the various Lion releases over the last several months, getting familiar with the latest incarnation of "the world's most advanced desktop operating system". This has allowed us to thoroughly test each of our time clock software products for Lion compatibility. We're pleased to announce the latest update to Virtual TimeClock provides compatibility with Apple's new OS X 10.7 Lion operating system and includes 15 program enhancements that improve the overall experience for both Macintosh and Windows PC users of Virtual TimeClock.

Get details about Virtual TimeClock Release 2 by visiting our web site. Virtual TimeClock Release 2 is a free upgrade to all customers enrolled in our time clock software Maintenance & Support program or have purchased a time clock software license within the last 30 days. We're always happy to provide enrollment or upgrade pricing for those not enrolled.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the new time clock software release.

Jeff Morrow
Virtual TimeClock Product Specialist
Redcort Software

iPad Time Clock

It's probably safe to say that touch tablet computing is here to stay. You get all the functionality and portability of a netbook with the advantages of stunning displays, the myriads of apps available for free or negligible cost, and all the touch gestures we've come to love and rely on.

We've got some great ideas for using Apple's iPad as a time clock, and those ideas will soon be coming to fruition in our upcoming Virtual TimeClock Mobile app for the iPad.

Group Time Clock
How about placing an iPad time clock in a convenient employee cross roads like a break room or employee entrance? Mount the iPad on the wall and allow employees to punch in and out quickly with the simplicity of touch gestures.

Employee Monitoring
How about giving an iPad time clock to your managers? This would allow them to monitor in real-time when employees are coming and going. Mobile managers have the advantage of being out where the action is without sacrificing the information their desk top time clock software provides for them. They can correct punch times, respond to messages, and review timecards without sacrificing mobility.

Go Mobile
How about taking an iPad time clock with you on the road? This allows you to approve payroll while on the road. Perhaps even more powerful, use mobile time clocks for workers to track the different customers they're visiting or deliveries they're making in real-time.

Did I miss any? Drop me a comment and let me know other ways to use an iPad time clock.

Jeff Morrow
Virtual TimeClock Product Specialist
Redcort Software

Job Tracking Software

You've been able to track jobs, clients, tasks, projects, and punch locations for a long time with Virtual TimeClock. We know customers are using their employee time clock software for managing labor costs, automating client billing, and assigning labor hours to different cost centers. Traditionally, those that needed to track multi-tiered projects had to turn to expensive project management software or one of the hundreds of industry specific software packages.

Unfortunately, this creates an information gap between the system that tracks time spent by employees working on different projects so you can accurately bill your clients, and your time clock system that just tracks labor hours so you can generate an accurate payroll check for your employees. This has traditionally been two separate software systems. Why not keep track of time spent working on different projects at the same time you're keeping track of hours worked for payroll purposes? That way you can kill two birds with one stone.

This is where we've received a lot of feedback from customers. They're really looking for three levels of job tracking. Who's the customer, what's the job or project, and what's the activity. For example, the customer would be 'Redcort Software', the project would be 'iPhone Time Clock', and the activities could be anything from 'User Interface Design' to 'Programming' to 'Help Doc Writing'. Next time, the customer would still be 'Redcort Software', but this time the project would be 'Web Time Clock', and the activities may still be 'User Interface Design', 'Programming', and 'Help Doc Writing'. And you should be able to enable any or all of the levels depending on your time tracking needs.

Do you have any ideas on how you'd like to see multi-level job tracking incorporated into your time clock software? Drop me a comment and let me know what you think.

Jeff Morrow
Virtual TimeClock Product Specialist
Redcort Software

Approving Employee Time Cards

We're always thinking about ways to improve Virtual TimeClock. Sometimes those ideas come from internal sources like engineering and technical support team members. Sometimes those ideas come from customers who use our time clock software everyday. And sometimes those ideas come from people just checking us out or comparing us to the competition. One of the things we've been pondering lately is how to capture the payroll processing workflow of many of the businesses we speak with. The flow of events often goes something like this:

1. Employees print, verify, and sign off on time card hours
2. Employees submit time cards to manager for approval
3. Manager makes any necessary edits, approves or rejects time cards
4. Rejected time cards are returned to employee for clarification or further action
5. Approved time cards are submitted for payroll processing

Sometimes time cards go to an internal bookkeeper, sometimes they get sent to the accountant, and sometimes they go to an online payroll service. Other times, staff bookkeepers pull labor hours directly from the time clock but are still wanting to verify that the overtime and leave hours have been approved by a manager or supervisor before processing payroll.

So we're thinking of adding a time card approval process to a future release of Virtual TimeClock. This may include the ability to electronically sign time cards, the ability of managers to approve or reject time cards, reporting of approved and rejected time cards, and the ability to send time cards directly to a PDF or email. Would that be helpful for your business? Drop me a comment and let me know what we're missing or what we can do to make the payroll process even more efficient for your business.

Jeff Morrow

Virtual TimeClock Product Specialist

Redcort Software

Do Your Salaried Employees Need A Time Clock?

If you've used clock in software for any length of time, I'm sure you've noticed it has many other valuable uses besides making the payroll process more efficient and holding hourly employees accountable for their time worked. These may include such features as built-in messaging, absence management, and tracking time spent on different jobs or projects. These other features are what make clock in software a valuable tool for your salaried workers as well.

Discover five reasons for having salaried employees use your time clock system by reading our new online article called Do Your Salaried Employees Need A Time Clock?

Free Timesheet Templates

In our drive to provide valuable tools related to employee time tracking, Redcort Software has released a new addition to our online time and attendance resources. This new tool consists of free timesheet templates that allow you to record weekly or bi-weekly employee hours and overtime in several popular document formats. Feel free to download a format that works for you and customize it for use in your business. We have free timesheet templates for Word '07 and newer (docx) and Word '97 - '03 (doc), a timesheet template for Apple Pages, and a timesheet template in rich text format (rtf).

These timesheet templates join our other online time and attendance resources, including our free time card calculator that will automatically total your daily hours on a convenient printable weekly timesheet, our online calendars of federal and common holidays observed by U.S. businesses, and our list of daily, weekly, and special overtime rules for every U.S. state and territory.

Of course, if you're looking for affordable, easy-to-use employee time cock software, then check out our Virtual TimeClock software.

Web Development Team

Redcort Software