Internet Time Clocks

One of the great features about Virtual TimeClock is the ability to network time clocks at different locations over the Internet. This allows you to monitor employee status real-time from the convenience of your own computer, and process payroll from 1 spot rather than having to make a trip to each remote office to gather the hours worked.

2 things must be done before using Virtual TimeClock over the Internet. The Internet connection at your time clock server computer location needs to use a static IP address, and you need to open a port on the router managing that Internet connection.

Static IP address

A static IP address is necessary to access your network from a remote location because a static IP address doesn't change. Have your Internet service provider (ISP) upgrade your Internet service to include a static IP address and have them update the router configuration at your time clock server location to use the new static IP address.

Port forwarding

You must also open a single port on the router at your time clock server location to allow remote time clock clients to connect. The employee time clock clients then connect to the router using the static IP address and the router forwards the information to the time clock server. This is commonly known as 'port forwarding' or 'port mapping'. To use port forwarding, you must configure TCP/IP manually on the computer running the time clock server so it uses a specific IP address rather than obtaining one automatically.

Since every router is a little bit different, you'll need to consult the user's guide that came with your router for the exact steps to set up port forwarding. We do have some router configuration examples on our website that you may find helpful.

Jeff Morrow

Technical Support Team

Redcort Software