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Do You Back Up Your Time and Attendance Data?

September 8th, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Employee Time and Attendance | Employee Time Tracking | Hosted Time and Attendance Software | Time and Attendance On-Demand | Web-Based Time and Attendance | Web-Based Time and Attendance Software - (0 Comments)

That’s an important question that most businesses cannot answer. Study after study has shown that most businesses cannot remember the last time they backed up their files. As companies are becoming comfortable with cloud computing software it has become paramount that businesses have a way to back up their important data. One of the most useful ways an organization can use cloud computing is for online data back up and storage. ATS cloud-based time and attendance storage offers companies many benefits, not the least of which is instantaneous data back up—a service that provides companies with both convenience and peace of mind.

Vendors like Apple® icloud, IBM® cloud and many others who offer Software-as-a-Service with a secure way to back up your data, support the prevailing theory of its importance.

ATS Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery model allows companies to reap the benefits of enterprise class software without the burden and extra cost of servers and an IT department to manage software. The end result, customers appreciate several key advantages from the SaaS delivery model and at the click of a button, can back up their own data.

An online demo of our cloud computing software is also available on our website. For additional information, register online to attend our weekly webinar.

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Back to School and Back to Work

September 6th, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Employee Time and Attendance | Time and Attendance - (0 Comments)

You don’t have to look very far to be inundated with back to school items that are on sale (We are not sure what large screen 46” TVs have to do with back to school but that’s for another blog) during the summer and through the fall.  To understand how big the back to school bonanza has become, just turn on your TV, radio or mobile device.  For example, the Yorkdale Mall has a column completely devoted to back to school items that are on sale. Cynthia Nellis, of About.com has a great article titled “Back to School Blog” in which she touches on the media hype that surrounds us on this very topic.

It should also be noted that many parents (some of whom are decision makers in their companies) returning to work are confronted with their own set of business challenges. These challenges include finding ways to increase profits and productivity while streamlining labour costs. There are many factors that drive business executives to consider maximizing their business efficiency with software like the product offerings from Apex Time Solutions. The benefits offered by our time and attendance system are many: streamlined business processes, increased profits, efficiency across the organization, and the elimination of double data entry are just a few that springs to mind.

ATS time and attendance solutions enable you to reduce labour costs and manage your workforce more effectively. Our biometric time clocks offer an effective means of addressing the buddy-punching dilemma by directly linking an individual worker to a personal labour record. ATS software solutions streamline your payroll process and helps companies raise efficiency and reduce costs.

If you are a prospective customer, we invite you to take a tour of our website and read more about this powerful time and attendance tracking software.

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Which time clock would you recommend for our organization?

August 2nd, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Employee Time Tracking Software | Time and Attendance | Time and Attendance On-Demand | Time and Attendance Software | Time and Attendance System | Time Management Solutions | Workforce Management Software | Workforce Management Solutions - (0 Comments)

This is a hard question to answer without knowing more about a company’s culture and their environment. Some companies feel it is unnecessary to track their employee’s time since it might be misconstrued as a lack of trust by management. A few years ago, we received a call from the Director of HR of a 500 employee capacity company that was looking to replace their current system. Their current time and attendance system had been in place for a year. Naturally, we asked why. Their response “we installed several finger print readers across our plant and it has been nothing but a nightmare.” It turns out, the plant was a foundry and they had assurances from their vendor that the hardware would work quite well. In fact, the dust in this particular environment was not conducive to the sensitivity of the fingerprint readers.

Apex Time Solutions typically goes through a series of questions to understand which of our employee time clocks will best suit your company’s environment. During the site survey, our hardware technician further validates which time and attendance data collector will work best at the location in question.

Our workforce management software complements: Bar Code, Magnetic Swipe, Hand Punch, Fingerprint Readers and Facescan Time Clocks. Our time and attendance software provides detailed reports that reveal the number of hours spent on each absence type. The ATS time and attendance reporting allows administrative personnel to help resolve absenteeism by enabling companies to take a proactive stance in dealing with attendance.

Workforce Management Solutions by ATS include time and attendance, absence management, scheduling and labour analytics. To download a report on “Recommended Time Clocks” by industry type Click here. To learn more about Apex Time Solutions go to our website.

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Time and Attendance Toronto, Workforce Management Software

July 4th, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Employee Time and Attendance | Employee Time Attendance | Employee Time Clock | Employee Time Tracking | Employee Time Tracking Software | Time and Attendance Blog | Time and Attendance Software | Time and Attendance System - (0 Comments)

Companies in Toronto and other parts of the Canadian business landscape are finding out that one sure way to improve the margin between income and expense is to reduce expenses. These companies know that using time sheets and antiquated punch clocks create inefficiencies that can cause extra expense.  

Small companies in Toronto strive to meet many of the same workforce objectives as large enterprises: deploying their people effectively and proactively, paying employees accurately and on time, and measuring and improving the effectiveness of their workforce. The automatic calculations of our time and attendance system is based upon pre-set rules  that can save processing time, creating a more efficient and more accurate reporting environment. Our employee time and attendance system results in reduced overtime pay and can potentially avoid wage theft situations.  

The manual process of reviewing time cards, adding it to spreadsheets and then keying those hours into payroll software is prone to human error and lost of productivity. Our time and attendance system has a built-in metrics that can highlight inconsistencies easily.

Small companies with 20-100 employees, in Toronto, see a return on investment a month after implementing the ATS time tracking software at their organization. Companies in Toronto, with employees between 100-5000 and more see their return on investment in about two weeks after implemention of our time and attendance software.

“Our management team loves the system. Our ATS rep is very professional. He trained and set up our supervisors quite easily. The hardware and software works seamlessly and are both very easy to use with our payroll software”.
N. Rizzo VP of Operations- Dewar Construction Group

Our customers have told us over the years, that the introduction of ATS time and attendance software has reduced employee absence, improve productivity and ultimately, saving their organizations money.

ATS Workforce Management Software suite includes:

Time and Attendance
Workforce Absence Management
Employee Time Clocks
Employee Scheduling
Benefits Accruals
Overtime Equalization
Employee Self-Service Time and Attendance
Time & Attendance Pay Policies
Time Allocation and Job Costing

To read what companies in Toronto and other parts of Canada have to say about our workforce management software solutions go to our website. To learn about our time and attendance return on investment solutions you can contact us by phone at 866.294.2467.

 

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The Integration of Overtime Equalization with Time and Attendance

June 29th, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Time and Attendance Software | Time and Attendance System | Workforce Management Software | Workforce Management Solutions - (0 Comments)

In the manufacturing industry, “Overtime Equalization” is quite common. Companies within this vertical need an automated tool to help them distribute overtime to employees based on established business rules. Businesses need to identify, and take advantage of, every opportunity to reduce time and money spent on administrative tasks. Improving employee time capture is an ideal place to focus your efforts in any organization. Our Time and Attendance System reduces the manual and error prone data collection via time sheets.

 ATS Overtime Equalization offers sophisticated business intelligence to provide a window into the areas of workforce performance that matter most to your organization. Our solution highlights the overtime offered, refused, accepted and actual hours worked. ATS Overtime Equalization functionality highlights the ‘next eligible’ employee for overtime allocation. With this module, supervisors and managers have a concrete and objective way to allocate overtime hours.

Our Overtime Equalization Module provides managers with timely visibility into key workforce performance indicators such as labour, overtime, and attendance. Real-time alerts notify managers when performance thresholds are breached. This helps prevent labour issues such as excess overtime, budget variances and compliance violations.

ATS Overtime Equalization can also be used as a reward for employees who honour rules for attendance, punctuality, and workplace behavior. The ATS Overtime Equalization tool takes away the burden of assigning overtime and provides a fair and equitable system for all employees.

To download a copy of our Overtime Equalization brochure, click here or to learn more about our time and attendance software go to our website.

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Is it Configuration or Customization of a Time and Attendance System?

June 27th, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Employee Time Tracking Software | Time and Attendance Software | Time and Attendance System | Time Management Solutions | Workforce Management Software - (0 Comments)

In the time and attendance industry, the words, configuration and customization are often used interchangeably.  

It is not uncommon to hear one vendor say, “We will customize our time and attendance solution to match your company’s need.” While another might say, “We will configure our time and attendance software to your specific requirements.” In short, both vendors may very well be saying the same thing.

That being said, customers should seek clarification since “Configuration” of the time and attendance software could mean configuring the system by using the existing business pay policy rules. On the other hand, “Customization” could mean adapting the time and attendance system to your business requirements. The words are used interchangeably and while some companies will charge for customization, others may not. The word “customization” can mean different things to different vendors.

Our time and attendance software provides the functionality and flexibility to support the time management requirements of your organization and delivers “On the Spot” information that helps managers and supervisors control overtime. Our employee time management system tracks labour activities through management leave requests, employee historical information, and employee scheduling.

You can download a copy of our newly created “Configuration or Customization of a Time and Attendance System” by clicking here or to learn more about Apex Time Solutions go to our website

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Time and Attendance Software Support

June 23rd, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Employee Time Tracking Software | Time and Attendance Software | Time and Attendance System | Time Management Solutions | Workforce Management Software | Workforce Management Solutions - (0 Comments)

There are a variety of terms used to describe a support agreement after the purchase of a product or service. At Apex Time Solutions, we provide an SLA (Service Level Agreement). SLA is a term often used to describe the contracted delivery time of the service or performance. It is a contract that describes what the service provider is guarantees to deliver to the customer. Our SLA provides a guideline for services, priorities, responsibilities, guarantees, warranties and specifies the levels of availability, service, performance and operation.

Apex Time Solutions’ integrated implementation support offers reliable response to technical disruptions and maintains system health and integrity. With this offering, you benefit from insights into ATS solutions and expertise to mitigate risk, while tapping the innovations that ATS continually introduces.

We have a variety of time and attendance software plans that include corporate support—from basic to the most advanced, depending on your needs. You can also upgrade a service plan through an ATS account executive.

 It is one thing to boast about how good you are, it’s another to hear it from one of your customers. As the saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding”.  Here is one of our many testimonials:

 “Recently, we ran into problems trying to open the scheduler in our system. Since we are a retail environment, we rely on the scheduling so we can make sure we have the right amount of people when we need them. I received a call at 9:00am from an ATS support representative on Saturday morning a day when ATS offices are usually closed, and in less than an hour, they had the scheduler working for us. I would recommend ATS to any customer looking for a new time management system. Their response time to service is unsurpassed.” E. Erlichman, General Manager-IGA

To learn more about our Service Level Agreements or for a demonstration of our time and attendance software click here.

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A Flexible Time and Attendance Software Revealed!

June 21st, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Employee Time Tracking Software | Time and Attendance Software | Time and Attendance System | Time Management Solutions | Workforce Management Software | Workforce Management Solutions - (0 Comments)

 Saint Jean Baptiste Day is a highly celebrated statutory holiday in the Province of Quebec. It is important for companies in Quebec that a time and attendance software can capture this holiday in its time and attendance software. The same holds true for companies with multiple locations. They also want a time and attendance software that is multijurisdictional with rules flexible enough to capture statutory holidays, complex labour laws and collective bargaining agreements, to name a few. Our time and attendance software uses a transaction-based engine that allows you to automatically handle complex HR, various labour laws and payroll policies.

ATS time and attendance systems provide time tracking and leave management capabilities including setting the break times, lunches, time off and overtime. Our workforce management software also tracks late punches and show and provides a graphical pattern of absenteeism.  If your organization has multiple locations and needs the flexibility of a time and attendance software to track statutory holidays and various pay policies, go to our website. 

Apex Time Solutions business knowledge and technology expertise allows us to help our customers adapt as their industries change, and in the process, allows us to evolve with the industries in which we operate.

 To download a white paper on our “multijurisdictional time and attendance software” application click here.

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Is Biometrics Right for your Organization?

June 8th, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Employee Time and Attendance | Employee Time Tracking | Employee Time Tracking Software | Time and Attendance | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance On-Demand | Time and Attendance Software | Time and Attendance System | Time Management Solutions | Web-Based Time and Attendance | Workforce Management Software - (0 Comments)

Biometric Time and Attendance System

The word biometrics heads the topic of conversation with 9 out of every 10 customers who contact us about our time and attendance system. Despite its popularity,  some still think of biometrics as a futuristic type of device that belongs in the movies.

Biometrics, or the use of biological properties (e.g., fingerprints, retina scans, voice recognition) to identify individuals, are increasingly popular methods of identification. They are no longer confined to criminal law enforcement and the imagination of science fiction writers dreaming of hand-recognition as an automatic door opener and remote eye-scanning while entering a shopping mall. Businesses now use biometrics to regulate access to buildings and information. Governments are contemplating the inclusion of biometric identifiers in passports, driver’s licenses, and possibly a future national ID card. Digital video surveillance is spreading in private and public places.

However, biometric technologies incite fears of constant supervision, profiling and control, leading to a loss of individuality, privacy and freedom. Many people feel uneasy being scanned and are alarmed about having their bodily data digitally stored in large databases along with sensitive personal information. Many questions arise: Can we trust the accuracy of biometric technology? Who controls the collection of biometric data? And who has access to the databases and for what purpose?

The hallmark of an ATS Biometric Time and Attendance System   will help your organization streamline payroll costs , eliminate “buddy punching” and ensure compliance with labour tracking laws. In addition, it offers many benefits including a strong return on your investment.

 To find out if biometrics is right for your organization, download a copy of our “Guide to Deploying Biometrics”  or click on our website to learn more.

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Tracking the Mobile Workforce with a Time and Attendance Application

June 6th, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Time and Attendance System | Workforce Management Software - (0 Comments)

In our previous blogs, we talked about the advantages of adopting a time and attendance system in an organization. This time we will discuss the advantages of deploying a time and attendance system for a remote workforce. Recently, we were approached by an expanding company in the health care sector. They were planning on hiring 30 contract sales employees by the end of the year. The challenge they faced was how to track the time of these employees since all of them would be working remotely. We introduced them to our mobile time and attendance application for remote employees.

Driving to work daily can be stressful and costly for both employee and employer.  Thanks to technology of a mobile time and attendance solution, many people have the option of working from home. Some people spend 4-6 hours driving to and from work 5 days a week.  For Sales Professionals and Consultants there are obvious reasons why you should work from home. Not every profession allows for this flexibility, but if yours is one of the many that do, there are some benefits for both employer and employee.

As the demand for employees to work remotely increases, employers are looking for effective workforce management software that can be as dynamic and as nimble as their organization.

Our workforce management software smart phone application makes the tracking of time and attendance easy for any mobile workforce. The time and attendance application has the ability to track the location of the remote workforce. With our mobile time and attendance application an employee can now punch in/out using their smart phone, review schedules, check benefit information, and receive messages from supervisors. The GPS features of the phone captures the employee’s location during the interaction with our time and attendance application.

  • Monitor work hours, overtime and billable time as applicable
  • Allows Managers to Review and approve timesheets
  • Managers can respond quickly to employee requests, such as approving timecards and granting time-off requests
  • View employee status
  • Enables employees to track their work in real time
  • Employees can request time off and, if appropriate, punch-in and out from remote work locations.
  • Allows managers to use their mobile devices to monitor operations and to resolve exceptions

To download a white paper on mobile time and attendance click here or go to our website.

Tracking the Mobile Workforce with a Time and Attendance Application

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