Thursday, October 28, 2010

Time Clock System Requirements

If you're looking to purchase new computer equipment before the end of the year then you'll want to make sure your current version of Virtual TimeClock is compatible. System requirements for your version can be found in the user's guide available from the Help menu within your time clock program. If you're thinking about upgrading your time clock software with your current computer configuration, here's a listing of the recommended system requirements for Virtual TimeClock '10.

Stand Alone Time Clocks
Virtual TimeClock Basic
  • Mac OS X 10.3 - 10.6 Snow Leopard
  • Windows XP, Vista, 7
  • 1 GHz or faster processor
  • 40 MB free hard disk space
  • 32 MB free memory
  • 32 bit native / 64 bit compatible

Virtual TimeClock Pro
  • Mac OS X 10.3 - 10.6 Snow Leopard
  • Windows XP, Vista, 7
  • 1 GHz or faster processor
  • 60 MB free hard disk space
  • 32 MB free memory
  • 32 bit native / 64 bit compatible

Network Time Clocks
Virtual TimeClock Server
  • Mac OS X 10.4 - 10.6 Snow Leopard
  • Windows XP, Vista, 7, Server '03, Server '08
  • 1 GHz or faster processor
  • 80 MB free hard disk space
  • 64 MB free memory
  • 32 bit native / 64 bit compatible

Virtual TimeClock Pro Client
  • Mac OS X 10.3 - 10.6 Snow Leopard
  • Windows XP, Vista, 7
  • 1 GHz or faster processor
  • 40 MB free hard disk space
  • 32 MB free memory
  • 32 bit native / 64 bit compatible

If you need to upgrade your time and attendance system in order to be compatible with new computer equipment or just want to take advantage of new time clock software features, then contact us so we can provide you with discounted upgrade pricing.

Maggie Hofer
Customer Service Team

Missed Time Clock Punches

A new time and attendance system can take some getting used to, especially if your employees are coming from a manual system like paper time sheets. If you're coming from a mechanical punch clock, the transition might be a little easier. Regardless of your prior time tracking system, employees are occasionally going to forget to clock out. Don't worry, Virtual TimeClock has some built-in tools that make it easy to correct missed punches.

Missed Lunches
If an employee forgets to punch out for lunch, you'll want to use the insert functionality to quickly bring their employee time card current. If it's still the same day, then select the worker's name in the main time clock window. From the Actions menu, choose Insert Lunch Entry. Now just enter the start and stop time for the lunch break, add a note, and save the changes. Virtual TimeClock will automatically end the morning shift, create a separate entry for lunch, and create another entry for the afternoon shift. Missed lunches from past days can be quickly fixed from the Entry Editor.

Forgot to Clock Out
If an employee forgets to clock out at the end of their shift, that's easy to fix as well. Select the worker's name in the main time clock window. From the Actions menu, choose Modify Selected Entry. Now just enter the time they stopped work, add a note, and save the changes. If the forgotten clock out isn't discovered until the next day, the employee won't be able to punch in until they punch out from the day before. So just instruct them to clock out in order to end the previous shift and then immediately clock in to begin their new shift. The prior shift times can be quickly modified from the Entry Editor.

Jeff Morrow
Technical Support Team

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Adding Old Punch Clock Records

It's not unusual for new Virtual TimeClock software users to want to enter past employee punch times so their new time and attendance software contains all of their historic payroll data for the year. They may want all their time tracking records in the same system, or they may want their year-to-date timecard software totals to be accurate, especially if they're tracking jobs or projects.

You can certainly add past punch clock details, but you'll need to open a custom payroll period first. From the Tools menu, choose Payroll Period. Note your current payroll period settings so you can revert back to them when you're done. Change the payroll frequency to User Defined. Set the period start date to the earliest date you have records for. Set the period end date to the current date and save. Now you can add the historic punches as manual entries. When you're all done, you can reset your payroll settings back to what they should be.

Maggie Hofer
Customer Service Team

Restaurant Time Clock Software

Virtual TimeClock makes a great punch clock replacement for your restaurant or cafe because it performs vital functions beyond keeping track of hours worked for payroll purposes.

Different Rates for Different Roles
Many restaurants are looking for a way to track how much time employees are spending performing different activities. This is because each employee may receive a different rate for waiting tables, hosting, or catering. Virtual TimeClock allows you to set up and track each of these activities for each employee. From the Lists menu, choose Activities. Click the + button to add the new activity. Now, when employees start their shift, they can pick what role they're performing. If their role changes, they simply click the New Activity toolbar icon and pick what they're doing next. They can change activities as often as they need to throughout their shift. Each employee's timecard will show a break down of the hours worked for each activity that can now be easily entered into your payroll software, which should already have the appropriate rates for each employee role.

Report Employee Tips
Virtual TimeClock is also a great way for employees to report their tips. You can add a timecard note at the end of your shift with the amount of tips earned. Select your latest entry in the main time clock window, click the Entry Note toolbar icon, and enter your password. You'll be able to add a note containing total tips, report the reason for discrepancies, or explain a late or missed punch time.

This is why Virtual TimeClock is vital computer time clock software for your restaurant.

Jeff Morrow
Technical Support Team

Friday, October 15, 2010

Processing Payroll at the End of a Period

Processing and closing payroll periods in Virtual TimeClock can be performed quickly and easily by following a few simple steps.

Review Employee Timecards
The first step is to view or print employee timecards for the current period. Click the Timecard toolbar icon in the main window of your employee time clock software. This will automatically compile a timecard for each individual worker's hours and overtime for the current payroll period.

Edit Employee Hours
Next you'll need to correct missed punch times and add manual entries. You may need to edit an entry to correct a missed punch time, or add a manual entry to give an employee credit for working offsite or for paid time off. Click the Entry Editor toolbar icon in the main window of your payroll time clock software to select entries for editing or to add manual entries.

Process Payroll
Virtual TimeClock offers payroll integration with several popular online and desktop payroll software systems. This allows you to export a specially formatted time clock file that makes your payroll process easier, more accurate, and less time consuming. If you're nor set up for payroll integration, it's still easy to print a report of hours worked for manual entry into your payroll system, or reporting to your payroll processor. From the Reports menu, choose Timecard Summary.

Close Payroll Period
Once all hours for the payroll period have been entered, reviewed, and corrected as necessary the payroll period should be closed. From the Tools menu, choose Close Payroll Period. Closing the payroll period will cause Virtual TimeClock to write the total hours, overtime, and gross wages for the current payroll period to your time clock software database. It will also advance the current payroll period using your payroll cycle settings.

We've written a complete guide to help you prepare your employee hours for payroll processing and start a new payroll period.

Jeff Morrow
Technical Support Team

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Mac and PC Time Clocks

Virtual TimeClock is easy to set up on both Microsoft Windows and Macintosh OS X computers. This flexibility allows you to mix and match any combination of computer time clocks on your network. You can install employee time clock software on a single computer as a stand alone time clock which will provide company wide access for all workers. Or you can install time clocks on each computer in your business to provide personal access for each employee, while providing management with full administrative access and the ability to monitor the status of each employee. You can even download a free time clock software trial and try it out with your exact business configuration.

You can check to see if your computers meet our time clock software system requirements by visiting our website. If they don't, contact us and we'll help you figure out exactly what you need.

Maggie Hofer
Customer Service Team

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Network Time Clocks Made Easy

If you're looking into the Network Edition of our employee time clock software, remember that there are 2 separate software downloads that you'll need. The Virtual TimeClock Server is designed to run securely as a background process on a single computer on your computer network. The Virtual TimeClock Pro Client connects to the Virtual TimeClock Server over the network and lets the TimeClock Server handle all the database processing and file management. Install the Network Edition when you need advanced Pro level features and unlimited employee access from multiple computers.

You should only need to access your TimeClock Server program rarely, like to update your license keys or check logs. You'll need a TimeClock Client on every computer that needs a computer time clock for punching in and out, printing timecards, and performing administrative activities like correcting missed punch times or adding employee sick days.

So to recap, the TimeClock Server program gets installed on 1 computer, the TimeClock Pro Client software gets installed on all the other computers (you can even install a Timeclock Client on the same computer as the TimeClock Server). We've got detailed time clock software installation instructions to help you out every step of the way.

Maggie Hofer
Customer Service Team

Troubleshooting Local Network Computer Time Clocks

Employee time clock software clients connect to the time clock server software over the network and let the time clock server handle all the database processing and file management. Sometimes, firewall or antivirus software may block port communications between the time clock server and the time clock client, thus interfering with the automatic connection process.

Troubleshooting Existing Time Clock Client Connections
If you've been running Virtual TimeClock for some time and time clock clients suddenly stop connecting, you'll you want to verify that the time clock server is up and running. Sometimes, the computer running the time clock server got accidentally shut down and just needs to be restarted. Other times, the time clock server functions have gone offline for some other reason. Launch the Virtual TimeClock Server and check the Status panel. If you see any red 'X's then try restarting the server from the Daemon menu on Mac or Service menu on Windows computers. That should bring everything back online and allow your time clock clients to connect once again.

Troubleshooting New Time Clock Client Connections
If you're having trouble connecting time clock clients for the first time, then the culprit is likely the built-in firewall on the time clock server computer. You'll need to set up a couple of port exceptions within the firewall configuration. Add a new port exception named 'VTC TCP' for port number 56777 with a protocol of TCP. Add a second port exception named 'VTC UDP' for port number 56778 with a protocol of UDP. Now try connecting to the TimeClock Server again.

If you're still having trouble connecting your time clock clients, contact time clock software support for assistance. New antivirus software or an update to the virus definition file are infamous for blocking established network computer time clock connections.

Jeff Morrow
Technical Support Team

Friday, October 1, 2010

Troubleshooting Your Employee Time Clock

There are a number of things that can affect the operation of your employee time clock software. Operating system updates, new antivirus software definition files, and hardware failure can all cause Virtual TimeClock, or any software, to become unstable. If you experience a problem or error when using your time and attendance software, it's important to note what happened or what's changed. Usually, a problem encountered with Virtual TimeClock is related to some other event like a hardware crash, an automatic system update, the installation of antivirus software, or the replacement of a printer. It's important to understand what's new or what happened immediately before the problem occurred in order to help isolate the cause of the problem.

If a problem with Virtual TimeClock can be reliably reproduced, it can be fixed. If the problem is intermittent or a one-time event, it's difficult to determine the cause and even more difficult to know when the problem has been solved. First, try to reproduce the steps or actions that led to the problem. Second, write down or screen capture any errors that occur along the way. Tracking the problem carefully provides the best opportunity to know what the issue is and when it's been resolved. Here are some basic troubleshooting tips that will fix most problems you may experience.

Restart the software
If Virtual TimeClock begins to produce unexpected results, the best first course of action is to quit and restart the program.

Reboot the computer
The system resources of a computer can become unpredictable for a number of reasons. If this occurs, Virtual TimeClock can perform unpredictably as well. If a computer reboot doesn't fix the problem with Virtual TimeClock, shut down the computer (do not rely on a restart!). Now start the computer again and test the functionality of Virtual TimeClock.

Rebuild data indexes
Occasionally, a system crash or other memory hiccup can cause Virtual TimeClock's indexes to become unreliable or inconsistent. The program indexes are checked for integrity at program start up so a restart of the program will usually fix any indexing issues. To rebuild the database indexes manually on Virtual TimeClock Pro:

  1. From the Tools menu, choose Database Maintenance.
  2. Click the Reindex button.
  3. Click the OK button to acknowledge that all database tables have been successfully reindexed.

Next steps
If the above troubleshooting tips don't fix the problem, try some of these additional troubleshooting steps.

  • Software updates - check the Virtual TimeClock software release notes to see if the problem you're experiencing has already been fixed and included in an update.
  • Web site help - Many of our support inquiries can be answered in the list of our customer's most commonly asked questions, the archives of product newsletters and technical articles, and the various training and installation guides available for your employee time clock software.
  • Contact us - contact a member of the time clock software technical support team for further assistance.

Jeff Morrow
Technical Support Team