Time Clock Software Web Log
A weblog from the authors of Time Clock MTS, a cost effective time and attendance software solution
May 13, 2013
Questions and Answers - Time Clock MTS Client Software
It seems to be the week for new Time Clock MTS users asking great questions. Here's a few questions I've just been asked about the Time Clock MTS Client software plus some great suggestions.
Question : The client version icons go blue after a short time; on the admin stations the icons next to the staff names stay green or red based on their clock in status; do you know why there is a difference?
Answer : This is the clients going idle to stop them clogging up the network. Whenever an employee clicks their name it will update their status. Look here for more information: http://www.timeclockmts.com/weblog/archives/2012/10/the-time-clock-mts-client-idle-state.html
Question : We also wonder why the client version does not allow for robust administrative privileges like the trial version (after logging in as administrator, of course).
Answer : The client does allow you to run reports and so on but not configure software options, add employees, and so on. This is a design choice in the software.
Question : Can you change it so that you can have multiple administrators logged in at the same time?
Answer : 3) No, you can only have one administrator logged in at once. But as I said above you can run reports from the client computers.
Suggestion : I would like to suggest that the administrators be given access to change the formatting of the "canned" reports without having to export into excel. For example, we have a few fields that we would like bold; it would be great to be able to go into the report settings and input some html code to make those fields format to our preferences.
Answer : Selective formatting of reports is under development right now.
Suggestion: We would also like to see the administrators have power to change certain defaults on the interface screen. Currently each staff member would have to go in to change certain settings (for example punchcard vs. job punchcard, view employee information etc.) when viewing or printing their time sheets. We would love it if we could set defaults so they have fewer things to choose.
Answer : Employees can only view three different reports. This provides them with a good amount of information without overwhelming them with the entire list of several dozen different reports.
Posted by at 8:22 AM | Comments (0)
Time Clock MTS Review - Go Kart World
Christian Garin of Go Kart World, California was kind enough to email in a great review of Time Clock MTS. They've been using the software for three years and are saving a lot of money doing so. Here's what Christian had to say.
We're Go Kart World in Carson, California. An amusement/entertainment business offering Go Kart rides for 20 years now. We have about 76 employed. About 3 years ago we've used manual print time recording machines that used up ink and paper time cards. Since switching to your system, we've cut down costs of ink and paper down by around $750+ a year. A month ago we've been trialing biometic fingerprint readers and by far this is the best method to keep track of our employee's time. No employee can cheat this way of clocking in/out! We also love the camera feature which snapshots their face after clock-in. Thank you Mark for creating an effective timeclock program!
Posted by at 8:13 AM | Comments (0)
May 9, 2013
More Time Clock MTS Network Questions
Some more questions and answers about Time Clock MTS on a Network and some other features of the software.. These questions were asked by the same user who I answered in a recent blog post.
Question: The options set on my computer when I log in as the administrator, are those options pushed to all employees client versions of the software or do I have to go and configure all the settings on all employees computers when I install the software on their computers?
Answer : The client computers will pick up most of the settings from the admin computer. Some settings, such as the web cam and fingerprint settings can be configured at the client computer.
Question: I do not have a webcam on my computer when changing the options as Administrator so I get a msg stating that this can not be enabled. If my employees have a webcam installed, do I have to change this option on their computers and if so how is this done?
Answer : The camera option can be turned on client by client from the client computers. Log into the client as the administrator and go to the Tools->Options->Camera Settings screen and you can set things up there.
Question: When setting up the holidays, I see that there is a check box for a "recurring holiday". If this is checked will the employees automatically receive credit for this day based on the hours entered? If this is the case then I have 2 questions. What if I have a new employee that may not be entitled to the holiday yet, how do I prevent this person from getting paid for the holiday? Second question, what is the recurring holiday lands on a non working day, i.e. falls on a Saturday and we don't work Saturdays, how does this work?
Answer : Yes, employees will get credit for that holiday. Yes, if it happens on a non working day they'll get credit for it. There's no way of restricting a single employee from getting a particular holiday. An employee either gets public holidays or they don't.
Question: I can not alter any of the fields in the "Sick Leave Accrual" section under Options. How do I turn this on?
Answer : You need to create employee types before you can create accruals. Take a look at these articles:
http://www.timeclockmts.com/articles/vacation-accruals.htm
http://www.timeclockmts.com/articles/sick-leave-accruals.htm
http://www.timeclockmts.com/articles/recording-sick-vacation-time.htm
Question: I have the same issue as point # 4 above. How do I turn this on?
Answer : See Above.
Question: If I have an employee clocking in because they arrived early. Is it possible to prevent them from getting paid extra time? So if they are supposed to start work at 8:00 but punch in at 7:40, I don't want them to get paid for the extra 20 min.
Answer : See here to stop employees clocking in too early:
http://www.timeclockmts.com/weblog/archives/2008/11/stopping-employees-clocking-in-too-early.html
Posted by at 7:09 AM | Comments (0)
May 7, 2013
Timesheet with Multiple Jobs
There's two mains reasons that you'd want to track the time your employees spend working on jobs. The first, is to be able to recognize and track how and where your employees are spending their time in your business. The second, is to track the time your employees spend working on external projects so that you can bill their time. Generally the two reasons require different types of software. The first generally requires a simple clock in / out interface that is quick and easy to use. The second is usually required of staff in more professional positions who are expected to submit a weekly timesheet for billing purposes.
Time Clock MTS
If you have a small staff of less than four employees and require some sort of simple job timesheet and a payroll time clock then Time Clock MTS is the tool you've been looking for. You can install it on a single computer, setup your employee and job list, and have your employees clock in and out of jobs as many times per day as you like. It's then a simple matter for you to run a payroll report like the Simple Wages Report to work out your payroll requirements. And reporting on the time they've spent working on each job is a simple matter of running the Job Time Report. All this for free if you use Time Clock MTS to track less than four employees on a single computer. Other time clock systems with job tracking charge hundreds of dollars for the same functionality. Can you afford not to give it a try?
Time Clock MTS - Free for 3 Employees |  Click Image to Enlarge |
Employee Time Tracking Software
If you're looking for project time tracking software that produces output suitable for detailed project management or for billing of external clients then you'll want to take a look at Timesheets Lite. Timesheets Lite is pure time tracking software for recording time spent working on projects and includes many different project management style reports. It does not contain any payroll features like Time Clock MTS. Timesheets Lite allows you to install a project timesheet on each of your employee's computers which they can use to record the time they spend working each day on various projects. There's a free 30 day trial available to allow you to try it out without restriction.
Free Timesheet with Multiple Jobs
Our final free job timesheet resource is a free Excel timesheet with job tracking template. This free Excel timesheet template allows employees to record their clock in and clock out time against a project selected from a pre-defined list. The template includes a simple mechanism for reporting the time the employee spends working on each job over the period of the timesheet. The Excel timesheet template is free to download and modify as you see fit.
Download Timesheet With Jobs Template - Excel (xlsx) FormatPosted by at 1:50 PM | Comments (0)
May 6, 2013
Time Clock MTS on the Network
You're probably aware you can use Time Cock MTS as a Network Time Clock but I had a bunch of good questions from a new user of the software today and I thought it might be worth repeating his questions and my answers here.
Question: I'm confused on the setup of the software. If I want Time Clock to be installed on a network, which versions of the software gets installed on the various comptuers. i.e. Lets say that I want the main database to be installed on my server, my employees will punch in/our on computer B and I want to administer the program on computer C, what do I install where?
Answer: Install the administrator software on Computer C. Use that to move your Time Clock MTS database to your server. Then install the Time Clock MTS Client software on computer B.
Question: Also, if there are 2 owners of the business, can both people run a version of the software but use the same login? Which version of the software needs to be installed? If these 2 people need to punch in/out also, is there another version that needs to be installed?
Answer: There's only one administrator login. The Time Clock MTS administrator program can also be used to clock in and out.
Question: Am I correct to say that the Administrator version is the version that contains the actual database where all the data is being collected?
Answer: No, it doesn't contain the data but it does install the database when you install it. It can be used to move the database to somewhere on your network so the data can be shared.
Question: If I wanted to run daily backups of the database data, which files would I need to backup?
Answer: You only need to backup the timeclock.mdb file which is what you move onto your server using the Time Clock MTS administrator program.
Question: You install the administrator, then move the database to the location on the server where all users can access it, then set up the client software on the other pc's that will clock in/out with the software. Is that the right sequence? I was always looking for 1 piece of info to start with - I was thinking that you started with a database which you installed on your server, then another piece of software that the administrator used and another for the staff to use. But it's only 2 bits of software, not 3. Is that right?
Answer: Yes, you're right it's two bits of software. Install the admin software on the computer you want to manage the software on and then use that to move the database to your server. Then install the clients on the computers you want those on and connect those to the file on your server. Here's some detailed instructions covering how to install the multi computer version of Time Clock MTS.
Posted by at 2:57 PM | Comments (0)
April 29, 2013
Free Weekly Timesheet With Breaks
If you're still using pen and paper to collect your employees timesheet information then you should take a look at one of the several free options listed below that will allow you to record a free weekly timesheet with breaks. Each of them is suitable for the new or small business and can become a part of your timesheet system. Choosing to use one of these free timesheet tools will help reduce the time you waste collecting and collating your employee attendance data.
Time Clock MTS
Our time clock software, Time Clock MTS is currently used by more than 10,000 companies worldwide and will allow your employees to record a weekly timesheet with as many daily breaks as you require. It's free to use for 3 or fewer employees on a single computer for as long as you like, It will allow you to print weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly timesheets with time taken off for breaks automatically accounted for. Time Clock MTS does a lot more than just record timesheets, you can also track time spent on jobs, work out overtime owing, and do payroll calculations. And, as mentioned earlier, it's free if you want to track 3 employees on a single computer.
Time Clock MTS - Free for Less than 4 Employees | Click Image to Enlarge |
Free Online Weekly Timesheet Calculator
We've also built a free weekly timesheet calculator that is available online and free to use. This calculator allows you to enter the start and end times for each day of a week and also the time taken off for breaks. The timesheet calculator will automatically tally up the hours worked for the week and deduct the time taken for breaks. Your weekly timesheet can then be output to a PDF file which could be printed, emailed, or saved for later reference.
Free Weekly Timesheet Template With Breaks
Our final free weekly timesheet resource is a free Excel weekly timesheet with breaks template. This free Excel timesheet template allows your employees to record a week of timesheet information including start time, end time, break time, and can be used to break down worked hours into regular and overtime. It includes all calculations and is formatted neatly for easy printing and distribution.
Download Weekly Excel Timesheet Template - Excel (xlsx) Format
Posted by at 1:52 PM | Comments (0)
April 23, 2013
My Time Clock MTS Computer Has Died
I get several emails a week from Time Clock MTS users whose computers have died, been replaced, or (occasionally) been stolen. In each case these users want to know how to get Time Clock MTS onto their new computer. Most times they want to know how to do so without needing to purchase Time Clock MTS again. Here's the steps to take if you need to move Time Clock MTS to a new computer.
Find Your Registration Code
The first thing you'll need to do is find your Time Clock MTS registration codes. These can be entered into the trial version of Time Clock MTS that can be downloaded from our website to remove the trial limitations. If you cannot find your Time Clock MTS registration codes the you can retrieve your registration codes from here. If you can't find your registration codes that way then contact us and let us know your company name or the name of the person who made the original purchase and we'll find the registration codes for you.
Note that you'll need to have a current support contract with us for us to find your registration codes. This means you'll have to have purchased Time Clock MTS in the previous year or renewed your support when we emailed you 12 months after you made your purchase. If you're not sure if you've got a current support contract please please contact us with your company name and we'll let you know.
Download and Install Time Clock MTS
The next step is to work out if you need to install the Time Clock MTS Administrator Program or the Time Clock MTS Client Program. Once you know that you can head over to our downloads page and download the correct program to install. Installing is simple, just follow our installation guide.
Register Time Clock MTS
Once you've downloaded and installed Time Clock MTS it's time to register it with your registration codes. We've got a great video demonstration showing you how to register Time Clock MTS that will help you through the process. If your registration code is for an older version of Time Clock MTS (you'll be told this when you try to register Time Clock MTS with it) then you'll need to read this article about what to do when your registration code doesn't work in the latest version of Time Clock MTS.
Move Your Database from the Old Computer to the New Computer
If you're moving the Time Clock MTS Client program OR your Time Clock MTS data was not stored on your old computer then you don't need to move your database to your new computer. You can skip to the next point.
If you're moving the Time Clock MTS Administrator program AND the Time Clock MTS data was stored on your old computer and the file is still available then you'll want to move it to your new computer. You can work out how to do this by reading this guide on moving Time Clock MTS to a new computer.
Having Troubles? Contact Us
If you're having problems then please contact us and we'll see what we can do to help.
Note that you'll need to have a current support contract with us so we can help you through the process of moving your software to a new computer. If you're not sure if you've got a current support contract please please contact us with your company name and we'll let you know.
Posted by at 8:19 AM | Comments (0)
