Remote Connectivity Made Easy

Connecting time clocks at different locations can be intimidating for many people. Especially when you start talking about static IPs, router config, and WAN addresses. Here's a little two-step process you can use to start using your time clock software from home or another office location.

Call your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and have them do 2 things for you:

1. Have them assign the router at the location that is running the time clock server a static IP address. Make sure they tell you what it is and write it down. It may take a couple of days for them to get the static IP address for you and it may cost a couple of extra bucks a month. They can program your router to use the new address remotely, or walk you through how to do it over the phone.
2. Have them set up a port forward on the router at the location that is running the time clock server (the same router that gets the static IP address) for TCP port 56777. It will need to be forwarded to the IP address of the computer running the time clock server. Don't know what IP address the time clock server computer is using? Launch the Server Manager and you'll see the address under the TCP function. Again, they can do this remotely or walk you through it over the phone.

Once these 2 items are in place, give us a call and we can test the connectivity to make sure you'll be able to connect from home or another location. For those of you who like to read the fine print, we've got complete instructions for setting up web time clocks on the support page of our web site.

See, it's not so hard!

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Windows Backup Failing?

Virtual TimeClock has an easy-to-use backup utility that allows you to schedule automatic backups that will ensure you've got a current copy of your time clock data should disaster strike. However, your backup may fail if you're attempting to back up to a shared folder. That's because the time clock server background service doesn't have default access to the shared folder.

We've got instructions for setting up a backup to a shared folder in an earlier support blog. However, there's one thing I'd like to add. Make sure the full path of the shared folder is visible in the Backup Folder section of the Backup panel, not just the mapped drive letter. You can usually get to the full path through My Network Places.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Seasonal Time Changes

Don't forget that Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends this Sunday, November 6. New Virtual TimeClock software users are often a little anxious when the first seasonal time change occurs after they've begun using their new time clock software. Don't worry, there's really nothing you need to do since most newer computers handle the time change for you automatically. The Basic and Pro Editions record employee punch times based on the computer's built-in clock. The Network Edition records punch times based on the  built-in clock of the computer running the time clock server. In fact, it's been several years since I talked with a customer whose computer didn't handle the seasonal time change automatically.

The only time you'll need to get involved is when you have worker shifts that cross the time threshold (DST officially ends at 2:00 AM). You may need to manually adjust their end time to account for the extra hour gained as we "fall back" at the end of DST.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software