Logging staff attendance is an essential part of a company's records. As members of staff begin or finish their shift, logging those times allows the human resources department to track attendance and the accounts department to pay staff based on that information.

History

A common solution to managing staff attendance is a clocking in machine. These devices print date and time information into set areas on cards assigned to each member of staff. This gives a very accurate means of collecting time information which can then be used to analyse the working patterns of employees.

The first of these devices was designed in the late 19th century by Daniel M Cooper. Prior to this invention, all attendance information was logged manually in handwritten records. The Rochester Recorder, as it was known, set the standard for collecting staff attendance information. Each member of staff was assigned a clock card. When a member of staff entered the card into the machine and pulled a lever the device would punch holes in specific areas of the card that correspond to days of the week or hours of the day.

Competing inventors took the idea and formed businesses as time recorder manufacturers. In 1911 a group of time recorder manufacturers merged to create IBM. This gave rise to several advances including a different colour of ink to signify lateness and more accurate systems which were able to log times to the minute.

Digital time recorders introduced several advantages including the removal of paper time cards from the system and replacing them with identification numbers. When a member of staff chooses to clock in or out they simply enter a number which is unique to them and the date and time are automatically added to the system. This allows reporting to be carried out more easily by integrating the time recorder with the rest of the system.

A company also has the option of using electronic swipe cards which identify members of staff but the paper time card is still commonly used in cases where integrating the time recorder system with a reporting system is not feasible.

Brands

Various brands have now made names for themselves as manufacturers of time recorders. For small to medium businesses the following companies produce ideal machines:

Seiko

This manufacturer produces compact digital and analogue machines. These systems provide an out of box solution to job costing. They are ideal for factories, garages, repair shops and service operators.

Needtek

These devices are also compact and available with digital and analogue clocks. While some devices indicate lateness with an asterisk some are able to print late times in different colours.

Amano

This is a Japanese manufacturer of time recorders. They specialise in small, cost effective devices for small businesses. Even the smallest devices are capable of logging six timestamps and feed time cards automatically. They can automatically account for daylight savings time and retain their memory in the event of a power cut using an inbuilt battery.

MAX

These time recorders have the ability to avoid over stamping and automatically calculate the time each employee was clocked in for. They can be configured to work to a weekly, biweekly or monthly pay period.

For larger companies the more sophisticated time recorders include reporting systems and offer the alternatives to clock cards. In some cases they include software to operate web services which staff can use remotely.