January 17, 2010

Setting up Time Clock MTS in Multi User Mode - MS Access

Time Clock MTS can be run on a single PC, allowing one PC to be used for all collection of time and attendance information plus all reporting and software configuration. It can also be used in multiple client mode which allows you to administer the software from one PC and collect time and attendance information from one or more other computers on your network. This blog entry gives detailed instructions on how to setup Time Clock MTS to run in multiple client mode when you're using the standard back-end database.

  1. Choose a computer on your network that you want to administer Time Clock MTS from and generate and print reports from.
  2. Install the normal Time Clock MTS program (download from here) on the chosen computer.
  3. Using the System Options page of Time Clock MTS move the Time Clock MTS database somewhere on your network. This network location must be visible to each computer you wish to use as a clock in / out station. You must also make sure that any computer that is going to use Time Clock MTS has full read/write/execute/delete permissions for the network location.
  4. Choose the computers that you want to use as clock in / out stations.
  5. Install the Time Clock MTS Client (download from here) on each of these client computers.
  6. Run the Time Clock MTS client on the chosen client computers. The first time you do so you will be asked to locate the Time Clock MTS database you moved in Step 3 above.
  7. Use the computer with the main Time Clock MTS program on it to configure the software with your employees and payroll rules.
  8. Get your employees to start using the Time Clock MTS Client program to clock in and out of the software.

    9. Posted by mnemtsas at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)

    Moving the Time Clock MTS Datafile to a New Computer

    You may find that you need to move the Time Clock MTS data file manually to a new computer. This could happen because your computer has crashed or because you've setup the software temporarily on one PC and then want to move it to a production computer for actual use. This blog entry describes a couple of ways that you can do this.

    First some terminology.

    Source PC: The computer you want to move the data from.
    Destination PC: The computer you want to move the data to.

    Method 1 : Using Time Clock MTS to move your Database

    1. Share a directory on the Destination PC you can access from the Source PC. You will need to allow full read/write permissions on this directory because you're going to be copying a file there.
    2. Run Time Clock MTS on the Source PC and log in as the administrator. Go to the Tools->Options-> System Options Menu.
    3. Move the database to the shared directory on the Destination PC, you can find more information on how to do this in the System Options Help Topic.
    4. Install Time Clock MTS on the Destination PC.
    5. On the destination PC open the file timeclock.ini in Windows Notepad. If you've got Windows Vista or Windows 7 this file will be in the directory c:\ProgramData\Time Clock MTS\, on Windows XP it will be in the directory C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Time Clock MTS\. Note that you may need to Show Hidden Files and Folders to see this directory whatever version of Windows you happen to be using.
    6. Once you've got the file timeclock.ini open in Windows Notepad look for an entry called DatabaseLoc and enter the path to the timeclock.mdb file you placed in the shared directory you setup in Step 1 above.
    7. Run Time Clock MTS on the Destination PC, you should now be connected to the database you setup on the source PC.
    Method 2 : Manually Moving the Database
    1. Install Time Clock MTS on the client PC.
    2. Copy the file timeclock.mdb from the Source PC. If you've got Windows Vista or Windows 7 this file will be in the directory c:\ProgramData\Time Clock MTS\Database\, on Windows XP it will be in the directory C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Time Clock MTS\Database\. Note that you may need to Show Hidden Files and Folders to see this directory regardless of what version of Windows you happen to be using.
    3. Paste the file copied above into the appropriate directory on the Destination PC replacing the file that is there. If you've got Windows Vista or Windows 7 this directory will be c:\ProgramData\Time Clock MTS\Database\, on Windows XP it will be c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Time Clock MTS\Database\. Note that you may need to Show Hidden Files and Folders to see this directory whatever version of Windows you happen to be using.
    4. Run Time Clock MTS on the Destination PC, you should now be connected to the database you setup on the source PC.

    Posted by mnemtsas at 10:26 AM | Comments (0)

    November 17, 2009

    Showing Department Folders on Employee List Interface


    Employee List with Department Folders

    Version 2.5.0 of Time Clock MTS included an interesting new feature that allows you to split the Employee List Interface into departmental folders. This can be extremely useful if you have a lot of employees or if you have separate Time Clock MTS client stations located around your business on a department by department basis. In the screenshot above you can see how the employees are split up by department and that the department groups can be expanded or collapsed as required. Time Clock MTS will remember which departments you have expanded or collapsed when you restart the software so you can setup (for example) a single Time Clock MTS Client to just display the employees from a single department.

    Turning on the department folder view of Time Clock MTS is very easy. Just login as the Administrator and then go to the Tools->Options->Interface Settings page. When you're on this screen check the Dept. Folders on Employee List checkbox and then click the Save button to commit the changes. When you return to the employee list you should see that it is now split up by departments. Of course you'll need to have some departments defined and have assigned your employees to the departments.

    Posted by mnemtsas at 6:11 AM | Comments (0)

    September 15, 2009

    Tracking Jobs in Time Clock MTS

    A lot of businesses either want to track employee costs based on what tasks they're working on, or perhaps on a customer based project by project basis. In Time Clock MTS we call this 'job tracking'. This Time Clock MTS How To Article describes how to easily setup Time Clock MTS to track jobs and then leads you briefly through the process of how an employee would log their time against a job as they use Time Clock MTS.


    Creating and Editing Jobs

    Step 1 : Defining Jobs

    Firstly log into Time Clock MTS as the administrator. How you log in as the administrator was covered in this Time Clock MTS How To Article. Once you've done this go to the Tools->Options->Job Tracking screen, where you'll see the screen above. To create a new job just click the new job button and you'll be shown the screen below.


    Creating a Job

    To create a job give it a unique numerical job code, give the job a name, and if you like a description. If you do not have your own job numbering system Time Clock MTS will automatically assign each new job a unique job code. You can also disable a job to prevent employees booking time to that job. This might be useful if you're just setting your system up, or your customer isn't paying you for that job anymore, or perhaps your internal budget for a project has been exceeded.


    Employee Details

    Step 2 : Deciding Which Employees will Use Job Tracking

    The next step is to decide which employees will have to use job tracking and how they will use it. Select an employee on the employee list and go to the Employee Maintenance->Edit Selected Employee screen (which you can see above). On the employee information screen use the job tracking drop down box to define how an employee will use job tracking. They can either not use it, use it optionally (they can choose not to enter a job code when they clock in) or must use it (they must enter a job code when they clock in).


    Entering a Job Code

    Step 3 : Employees Entering Job Codes

    Entering job codes for employees couldn't be any easier. When employees clock in they'll be shown the enter job code screen above. Employees need to enter the job code for the job they want to book the time to either via keyboard or via the numeric buttons on the screen (with a mouse click or via a touchscreen). Time Clock MTS will try to auto complete the job code for the employee and show the job details so that the employee is sure he or she is booking their time to the correct job. It would be very useful to have printed out the Active Job Report and have this next to your Time Clock MTS computers so that the employees have a readily available list of the jobs they can book time to.


    Switching Jobs

    Employees can quickly switch jobs by clocking out of Time Clock MTS (via either the employee list or keypad screens of Time Clock MTS). The screen above will be shown to employees where they can either clock out or switch jobs. If they switch jobs the enter job code screen will be shown again and the employee can enter a new job code and switch to a new job.

    Step 4 : Reporting on Jobs

    The Job Time Report provides the Time Clock Administrator with all the information they'll need to understand how time is being booked to jobs. It shows a break down of each job defined in Time Clock MTS, and how much time each employee has logged against each job.

    Posted by mnemtsas at 2:59 PM | Comments (0)

    August 26, 2009

    How to Prevent Employees from Stopping and Starting Time Clock MTS


    Preventing Employees from Stopping and Starting Time Clock MTS

    A fairly common method of defrauding computer time clocks is to stop the time clock software running, change the computers' system clock, and then restart the software and record a fraudulent clock in or out. To prevent this Time Clock MTS includes a feature to prevent employees from stopping and restarting Time Clock MTS without the intervention of the Time Clock MTS administrator. This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers how to prevent employees from stopping and re-starting Time Clock MTS.

    To prevent employyes from stopping and re-starting Time Clock MTS just follow the steps shown below.

    1. Log into Time Clock MTS as the administrator. How you log in as the administrator was covered in this Time Clock MTS How To Article.
    2. Go to the Tools->Options->Security screen and you'll be shown the screen at the top of this article. Select the require password setting from the dropdown. The options are to require password on program start, program end, or both. The most secure options are program start or program start AND program end. Just selecting program end is not particularly secure because Time Clock MTS could just be stopped using the Windows Task Manager.
    3. When you're happy with your Require Administrator Password setting press the Save button to save the changes. Now, depending on what setting you've selected the Time Clock MTS administrator password will need to be entered on program start, stop, or both.

    It is worth noting that this setting is most effective at preventing employee time clock fraud when used in conjunction with the Prevent System Clock Changes feature.

    Posted by mnemtsas at 2:41 PM | Comments (0)

    Preventing System Clock Changes


    Preventing System Clock Changes

    There are several features in Time Clock MTS designed to prevent employee fraud. One of these allows you to prevent system clock changes while Time Clock MTS is running, and thus prevent employees from simply changing the system clock to tamper with their clock in and clock out times. This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers how to prevent system clock changes while Time Clock MTS is running.

    To dis-allow system clock changes in Time Clock MTS while it is running just follow the steps shown below.

    1. Log into Time Clock MTS as the administrator. How you log in as the administrator was covered in this Time Clock MTS How To Article.
    2. Go to the Tools->Options->Security Settings screen and you'll be shown the screen at the top of this article. To get Time Clock MTS to prevent system clock changes while it is running just check the Do Not Allow System Clock Changes checkbox.
    3. When you're happy the change press the Save button to save the changes and Time Clock MTS will now monitor the system clock for any changes.

    It is worth noting that Time Clock MTS does not actually prevent the system clock being changed, it will however prevent any employee clocking in or out if it detects that the system clock has been changed by more than a few seconds. It is also worth noting that this feature is only really useful if it is teamed up with the 'Require Admin Password' setting. This means the admin password will need to be entered on software startup, software shutdown, or both.

    Posted by mnemtsas at 2:28 PM | Comments (0)

    August 25, 2009

    Setting Up Automatic Employee Breaks


    Setting Up Automatic Employee Breaks

    In some cases it may be more efficient to automatically assign a break period to an employees' payroll information rather than getting them to clock in and out at lunch break for example. Time Clock MTS can account for this by allowing you to allocate an automatic break period to your employees. This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers how to setup automatic employee breaks.

    To setup automatic employee breaks in Time Clock MTS just follow the steps shown below.

    1. Log into Time Clock MTS as the administrator. How you log in as the administrator was covered in this Time Clock MTS How To Article.
    2. Go to the Tools->Options->Payroll Settings screen and you'll be shown the screen at the top of this article. To setup automatic breaks you must determine how long an employee must work before a break is applied and how long the automatic break will be. You can apply breaks after 1 to 8 of consecutive hours worked (in half hour increments). The length of the break applied can range from 5 minutes to 90 minutes (in 5 minute increments). To apply an automatic break check the Automatically Apply Breaks checkbox and select the appropriate break length and work period from the drop down boxes.
    3. When you're happy with your automatic break setup press the Save button to save the changes and the next time you run a report the times will be rounded.

    It is worth noting that Time Clock MTS does not create a clock in / out pair for the automatic break, it is simply applied at report time.

    Posted by mnemtsas at 2:44 PM | Comments (0)

    How to Round Report Times


    Setting Up Report Rounding

    While Time Clock MTS records all clock in and out times to the nearest second it can be useful to round the times for reporting purposes. There are several reasons why you might like to do this, but the primary reason is that your overtime policy may require overtime to be of a certain length before it can apply. Rounding could therefore be used to exclude overtime from payroll calculations if an employee was to clock in just a few minutes early or just a few minutes late every day. This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers how setup report time rounding.

    To setup report time rounding in Time Clock MTS just follow the steps shown below.

    1. Log into Time Clock MTS as the administrator. How you log in as the administrator was covered in this Time Clock MTS How To Article.
    2. Go to the Tools->Options->Payroll Settings screen and you'll be shown the screen at the top of this article. There are 4 different rounding options, the nearest minute, nearest 1/10th of an hour (6 minutes), nearest 15 minutes and nearest 30 minutes. To select one just choose it from the Report Time Rounding dropdown box.
    3. Check the least quantity box if required. When this option is selected all clock in times will be rounded up and clock out times will be rounded down to the nearest time increment selected from the rounding drop down box.
    4. When you're happy with your selection press the Save button to save the changes and the next time you run a report the times will be rounded.

    It is worth noting that Time Clock MTS uses standard rounding to round report times. So, if for example, you've got rounding set to 15 minutes the following case would apply. Any clock in from 8:00:01am to 8:07:29AM would be rounded down to 8:00AM. Any time between 8:07:30AM and 8:14:59AM would be rounded up to 8:15:00AM. Of course this does not apply if the Least Quantity setting is checked.

    Another thing to note is that report rounding occurs at the time of reporting only, the actual clock in and clock out times are maintained at their original accurate to the nearest second value that was recorded originally.

    Posted by mnemtsas at 2:16 PM | Comments (0)

    August 20, 2009

    Re-Enabling an Employee in Time Clock MTS

    As I've mentioned previously it is possible to disable an employee in Time Clock MTS to prevent them from clocking in or out. However, you may find that you need to re-enable these employees so they can start using the software again. This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers how to re-enable a Time Clock MTS employee who has been disabled.

    To re-enable an employee in Time Clock MTS just follow the steps shown below.

    1. Log into Time Clock MTS as the administrator. How you log in as the administrator was covered in this Time Clock MTS How To Article. You can easily see which employees are disabled on the employee list when you're logged in as the administrator, they have a gray status icon next to their names in the employee list.

      2. Re-Enabling an Employee
    2. Go to the Employee Maintenance->Re-Enable Employee Menu.

      3. Re-Enabling an Employee
    3. You'll be asked to confirm your action, once you've done so the employee will be re-enabled.

      4. Posted by mnemtsas at 9:31 AM | Comments (0)

      August 19, 2009

      Checking Who is Currently Clocked In

      It is is important that a supervisor be able to see at a glance who is currently clocked in for work and who is not. Time Clock MTS provides this information visually via the Employee List (people clocked in have green status icon, people clocked out a red). However, if your employee list is long or you need a paper print out there is a better way of viewing this information. This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers how to quickly and easily generate a report to see who is currently clocked in or out of Time Clock MTS.

      To view a report showing who is clocked in or out of Time Clock MTS just follow the steps below.

      1. Log into Time Clock MTS as the administrator. How you log in as the administrator was covered in this Time Clock MTS How To Article.

        2. Checking Who is Currently Clocked In Step 1
      2. Go to the Reporting->Current Status Report Menu

        3. Checking Who is Currently Clocked In Step 2
      3. You'll now be shown the Current Status Report. This report is simple to understand, it is split into two main areas, employees clocked in at the top, and employees clocked out at the bottom. The time of the last action for each employee is displayed next to their name. The report can be exported or printed easily by just clicking the appropriate buttons at the bottom of the reporting screen.

      That's all there is to it, if you require more information you may like to take a look at the Current Status Report Help Topic.

      Posted by mnemtsas at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)

      August 18, 2009

      Printing a List of Time Clock MTS Employees

      As a Time Clock MTS administrator it can be useful to have a printed list of all the employees currently in the system. This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers how to quickly and easily generate a report showing a list of all employees and their pin numbers.

      To view a report showing all employees currently stored in Time Clock MTS just follow the simple steps below.

      1. Log into Time Clock MTS as the administrator. How you log in as the administrator was covered in this Time Clock MTS How To Article.

        2. Print an Employee List Step 1
      2. Go to the Reporting->Employee ID Report Menu

        3. Print an Employee List Step 2
      3. You'll now be shown the Employee ID / Badge Number report. This report is simple to understand, it just shows a list of all employees in Time Clock MTS sorted alphabetically along with their badge numbers and PINs. The report can be exported or printed easily by just clicking the appropriate buttons at the bottom of the reporting screen.

      That's all there is to it, if you require more information you may like to take a look at the Badge Number Report Help Topic.

      Posted by mnemtsas at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)

      June 15, 2009

      Deleting an Employee from Time Clock MTS

      From time to time it may be necessary to delete an employees' Time Clock MTS account. Most likely this would be be because the employee has left the company and you no longer have any need for their time and attendance records to be reported on in Time Clock MTS. This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers how to delete a Time Clock MTS employee.

      To delete an employee in Time Clock MTS just follow the steps shown below.

      1. Log into Time Clock MTS as the administrator. How you log in as the administrator was covered in this Time Clock MTS How To Article.
      2. Click on the employee in the employee list that you want to delete.

        3. Deleting an Employee
      3. Once you've selected the employee go to the Employee Maintenance->Delete Selected Employee menu. This is shown in the image above.

        4. Deleting an Employee
      4. You'll now be shown the Delete Employee screen. Deletion of an employee can only be reversed by our support staff so a confirmation procedure is required to delete an employee. On this screen to confirm the deletion of the employee just type DELETE into the text are in capitals.
      5. Once you've entered the confirming DELETE into the text box just click the Delete Employee button to delete the selected employee.

      Once deleted an employee will not be able to clock in or out. Their time records will no longer be available for reporting purposes and the employees name will no longer appear on any lists within the software. Note that an employee can be un-deleted by Time Clock MTS support staff, just contact us for more information.

      Posted by mnemtsas at 3:13 PM | Comments (0)

      June 11, 2009

      Disabling an Employee in Time Clock MTS

      From time to time it may be necessary to temporarily disable an employees' Time Clock MTS account. This could be because the employee has left the company and you want to maintain their payroll records in the short term for reporting purposes. Or it could be to stop an employee clocking in and out for administrative reasons. This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers how to temporarily disable a Time Clock MTS employee.

      To disable an employee in Time Clock MTS just follow the steps shown below.

      1. Log into Time Clock MTS as the administrator. How you log in as the administrator was covered in this Time Clock MTS How To Article.
      2. Click on the employee in the employee list that you want to disable.

        3. Disabling an Employee
      3. Once you've selected the employee go to the Employee Maintenance->Disable Selected Employee menu. This is shown in the image above.

        4. Disabling an Employee
      4. You'll now be shown the Disable Employee screen. Despite the fact that you can easily re-enable an employee you still need to go through a confirmation process to disable an employee to stop it happening by accident. On this screen to confirm the disabling of the employee just type DISABLE into the text are in capitals.
      5. Once you've entered the confirming DISABLE into the text box just click the Disable Employee button to disable the selected employee.

      Once disabled an employee will not show in the employee list nor will they be able to clock in or out using the keypad interface. Note that disabled employees will be displayed in the employee list when you're logged in as the administrator. Their attendance data will also still be available to payroll reports.

      Posted by mnemtsas at 3:26 PM | Comments (0)

      Copying an Employee in Time Clock MTS

      Typically in most companies there will be groups of employees for whom the same payroll and overtime rules apply. To speed up the creation of such employees in Time Clock MTS it is possible to copy an existing employee record to easily create a new one. This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers how to copy a Time Clock MTS employee.

      To create a new employee by copying a existing employee just follow the steps below.


      1. Log into Time Clock MTS as the administrator. How you log in as the administrator was covered in this Time Clock MTS How To Article.

      2. Click on the employee in the employee list that you want to copy.


        3. Copying an Employee

      3. Once you've selected the employee you want to copy go to the Employee Maintenance->Copy Selected Employee menu. This is shown in the image above.


        4. Copying an Employee

      4. You'll now be shown the Add Employee screen with all the details from the copied employee filled in already. The only differences will be the name and the employee ID / badge number. All you need to do is set the name to the correct name for the employee and assign them a PIN.

      5. Once you've done these couple of things to your satisfaction just click the Save Employee button to create the new employee record.

      That's all there is to it. To get more detailed help on what each field on each employee sub page does consult the online help file.

      Posted by mnemtsas at 2:20 PM | Comments (0)

      Adding an Employee to Time Clock MTS

      For an employee to be able to clock in and out of Time Clock MTS you must create an employee account that they can use. This Time Clock MTS How To Article very briefly covers how to create a Time Clock MTS employee.

      To create a new employee in Time Clock MTS just follow the steps show below.

      1. Log into Time Clock MTS as the administrator. How you log in as the administrator was covered in this Time Clock MTS How To Article.

        2. Adding an Employee
      2. Once you're logged in go to the Employee Maintenance->Add an Employee menu. This is shown in the image above.

        3. Adding an Employee
      3. You'll now be shown the Add Employee screen. This screen is split into 4 sub pages, the Employee Information page, the Payroll Information page, the Contact Information page, and the Tax Information page. The only things you must enter to create a new employee is the employee's full name, a unique badge ID, and a PIN (or password) for the new employee.
      4. Once you've setup the employee to your satisfaction just click the Save Employee button to create the new employee record.

      That's all there is to it. To get more detailed help on what each field on each employee sub page does consult the online help file or click on the links show in Step 3 above.

      Posted by mnemtsas at 2:07 PM | Comments (0)

      June 9, 2009

      What is the Keypad Interface?


      Keypad Interface

      Time Clock MTS provides two different interfaces to allow employees to clock in and out. The first of these is the Employee List interface designed to be used with a computer mouse, the second is the Keypad interface designed to be used with a touchscreen or input device such as a bar code read or magnetic card reader. This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers the keypad interface.

      The Keypad interface is selected by the Time Clock MTS Administrator on the Tools->Options->Interface Settings page (read about it in the help file). The keypad interface comprises two main areas. The keypad (which can be used with a computer mouse or touch screen) on the left, and the entry text box and employee status area on the right. To use the keypad interface to clock in or out an employee simply enter their employee ID (or badge number) using the keypad and clicks Enter when they are ready to clock in or out. Time Clock MTS will clock the employee in or out depending on what their last action was. When they are successfully clocked in or out the details of the action will be displayed in the status area.

      The real advantage of the Keypad interface is that it can be used with data readers such as bar code readers or magnetic card readers. All you need to do is encode your barcode badges or magnetic cards with the Time Clock MTS employee badge ID's and scan in the data. The data reader will populate the entry text box with the employee Badge ID and at the end of the data read (usually) a data reader sends the return code (the same as pressing the return key on the keyboard). This will press the Enter button on the Keypad interface and clock the employee in or out.

      Posted by mnemtsas at 1:56 PM | Comments (0)

      What is the Employee List Interface?



      Employee List Interface

      Time Clock MTS provides two different interfaces to allow employees to clock in and out. The first of these is the Employee List interface designed to be used with a computer mouse, the second is the Keypad interface designed to be used with a touchscreen or input device such as a bar code read or magnetic card reader. This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers the Employee List interface.

      The Employee List interface is selected by the Time Clock MTS Administrator on the Tools->Options->Interface Settings page (read about it in the help file). You can see what the employee list interface looks like above. The screen is split into two main sections, an alphabetically sorted list of the active Time Clock MTS employees on the left, and the clock in / out buttons and current employee status area on the right.

      The sorted employee list contains a line for each active Time Clock MTS employee along with a status icon next to each name. An employee with a green icon is clocked in and with a red icon clocked out. To save on network traffic the Time Clock MTS Client only maintains the status icons for each employee for 60 seconds before the icons all change to gray. As you select an employee in the list the status light will update automatically showing you the most up to date status for that employee. The clock in / out buttons on the right side will be enabled or disabled depending on the status of the selected employee, so an employee that is clocked in will only be able to clock out and vice versa. The status of the employee will also be updated showing the time and date (and any note) for the last action performed by the selected employee. At the bottom of the employee list is a light blue search box that allows you to enter a few letters and be quickly taken to that employee in the employee list. This is a quick way of finding employees if you have a very long employee list.

      On the right hand side of the screen the employee selected in the employee list can clock in or out using the Clock In or Out buttons. The current date and time is shown below the Clock In / Out buttons. If the Time Clock MTS administrator has enabled it, the employee may also be able to view their own time cards by clicking the View My Information button. Note that on the Time Clock MTS Client there is an additional button entitled 'Refresh' that will update the status icons in the employee list. The status area shows the name of the currently selected employee and the details of the last action that employee performed.

      Posted by mnemtsas at 1:11 PM | Comments (0)

      Logging in as the Administrator

      To access payroll reports and to be able to configure Time Clock MTS you must be using the software in Administrator mode. This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers how to log into Time Clock MTS as the administrator and thus access the Administrator mode.


      Logging in as Administrator

      When Time Clock MTS is operating in Normal mode and you want to log in as the administrator you must use the File->Log in as Administrator menu as shown in the image above. Once you've selected this menu item you'll be shown the Enter Administrator Password screen as shown below.


      Administrator Login Screen

      Your administrator password was set by you when you first installed Time Clock MTS. Remember that is is cASe SenSITive and that you (or someone else with administrator access to Time Clock MTS) may have changed it. Once you've entered the password correctly and clicked the Login button you'll be logged in correctly and Time Clock MTS will be operating in Administrator mode. If you've forgotten your password then you'll need to reset your administrator password.

      Posted by mnemtsas at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)

      What is Administrator Mode?


      Time Clock MTS in Administrator Mode

      Time Clock MTS operates in two main modes. Normal mode, which is used by employees to clock in and out, and Administrator mode, which is used by the administrator to configure the software and run payroll reports. This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers administrator mode.

      You can get into the Time Clock MTS Administrator by logging in as the administrator via the File->Log In As Administrator menu (this will be covered by an up-coming How To Article). Once you're logged in as the administrator you'll have access to all the menus in Time Clock MTS. In the image above you can see that all menus are enabled. Note that in the Time Clock MTS Client, most of these menus are not available. While you're operating Time Clock MTS in the Administrator mode you can perform all of the reporting and maintenance functions of the software, a short list of the sorts of things you can do follows. Please note that this is by no means a full listing of all the things you can do within Time Clock MTS!

      • Create, edit, disable and delete employees using the Employee Maintenance page.
      • Setup fingerprint security for employees using the Employee Maintenance page.
      • Run payroll reports using the Report menu.
      • Search, backup, and restore the Time Clock MTS database using the Tools menu.
      • Setup employee bulletin notices using the Tools menu.
      • Configure the software using the Tools->Options menu.
      • Access help resources and register the software using the Help menu.

      Posted by mnemtsas at 11:33 AM | Comments (0)

      What is Normal Mode?

      Time Clock MTS operates in two main modes. Normal mode, which is used by employees to clock in and out, and Administrator mode, which is used by the administrator to configure the software and run payroll reports. This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers normal mode.


      Employee List Interface in Normal Mode

      The normal mode of operation in Time Clock MTS is the mode in which it will operate almost all of the time. By far the most common activity that will be carried out in the normal mode of operation is employees clocking in or out. A key indicator that Time Clock MTS is currently in normal mode of operation is that all the menus at the top are disabled apart from the File menu and the Help menu. When operating in Normal mode with the employee list interface enabled Time Clock MTS will look like the image above. Note that most of the menus are disabled. Using the employee list interface employees may also be able to view their own time cards and you can see the last activity each employee carried out.


      Keypad Interface in Normal Mode

      When using the keypad interface employees can only clock in and out using the numeric keypad. There are no other activities available to them while operating in normal mode. You can see what the keypad interface looks like while operating in normal mode in the image above. Note again that most of the menus are disabled.

      Posted by mnemtsas at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)

      June 4, 2009

      Time Clock MTS How To Guides

      I'm in the process of creating a new 'how to' guide for Time Clock MTS. This will be very different to the current Help File that is available online and that ships with the software. The current help file is what I'd called 'screen based'. It describes each screen and what each element on the screen does, but it doesn't really tell you directly how to do perform a given task in Time Clock MTS. The new 'how to guide' will be very task based, and any new user to the software should be able to use it to learn how to perform almost any task within the software. You'll be able to see the how to guide here in the weblog. I've created a master index on the site that categorizes each how to guide entry so that you can find what you need to do more easily. You can view the How to Guide Master Index here. I'll try to add one article a week to this guide.

      Posted by mnemtsas at 10:46 AM | Comments (0)