Missing Timecard Entries?

If you're running employee timecards and get a message that "No entries were found matching your selection request" then there are a couple of things to check before concluding that the timecard entries are missing. First, double-check the date range and worker selection. You may be trying to run a timecard for 'Yesterday' for someone who didn't work yesterday.

Next, make sure someone hasn't made changes to the default report settings in the Report Writer. Click Report Writer in the Configure menu. Click the Selection & Sort button for the timecard report you're trying to run and make sure the Who and Entries popup menus haven't been changed to only include a limited selection of people or activities.

Someone may have been experimenting with report settings without making a copy of the report first.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Decimal Rounding

When new time clock software users discover 'missing minutes' on their employee time cards, they are often surprised (and sometimes skeptical) to be told the minutes only appear to be missing. The answer to the missing minutes is how numbers are calculated and displayed in decimal format.

Let's look at a sample time card report for an employee who works a 20-minute shift three times a day with totals displayed as decimals:

08:00 AM to 08:20 AM =.33
12:00 PM to 12:20 PM =.33

05:00 PM to 05:20 PM =.33

Total Hours = 1.0

Since.33 +.33 +.33 =.99, where's the missing time? 20 minutes in decimal format isn't really.33. In realty 20/60 =.3333333 to infinity, but we just use .33 to represent a third of something. So adding .3333333 three times gives us.9999999999 to infinity. We get a number really close to 1, but not exactly 1. Even if we used really long decimals on our time card reports, we'd still never be able to exactly represent 3 twenty-minute shifts as 60 minutes. So we show 20 minutes simply as.33 hours.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Using Messaging Without Punching In

In older versions of Virtual TimeClock, if managers or time clock administrators wanted to use messaging then they needed to have their name listed in the in/out list of the main time clock window. This bothered some customers because these users typically didn't use the time clock software for punching in and out. With Virtual TimeClock '12, you no longer have to be listed in the in/out list to use messaging.

If you're not using the time clock to punch in & out and you want your name removed from the in/out list, then you'll need to remove yourself as a user of the display group. Turn on administration and from the Configure menu choose Users. Select the user and click the Groups button. Now just remove the user from the display groups in the Display Group User section. These users will be able to send and check messages from the admin toolbar after turning on administration.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Departments vs. Display Groups

When new users are setting up their time clock software for the first time, they often wonder about the difference between departments and display groups. They're both ways to group employees, but there are some major differences in how they're used.

Display Groups
Display groups are the program rules in use for each time clock, including what interface employees will use to open their User Status window so they can perform an action like clocking in, viewing their timecard, or reading their messages. Display groups allow you to quickly view and manage employees by location or department from the Administration window. Here are some other ways to use display groups:

• Limit what activities and out memos workers can select when recording time 
• Control user and manager access to program features 
• Choose what reports users and managers can view and print 
• Set what user names get displayed in the in/out board list for each time clock

Departments

Departments are assigned to users only for reporting purposes, and get credit for all hours worked by that user. Virtual TimeClock already has built-in timecards reports sorted by department.

Don't be surprised if some of your department and display group names overlap and share the same membership. Here's a quick cheat sheet:

Departments = reporting

Display Groups = user access, security, what the time clock looks like

Jeff

Technical Support Team

Redcort Software, Inc.

Tracking Comp Time

What is comp time?
Comp (compensatory) time is an alternate way of rewarding overtime work. Instead of paying an hourly employee time-and-a-half for working extra hours, employers would give them an hour and a half of time off for each hour of overtime worked. The FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) places heavy restrictions on the use of comp time to avoid paying overtime. There are some exemptions for public sector employees like police officers and firefighters, and federal and state government employees. In most cases the practice is illegal for private employers. Each state's law can be different regarding comp time so it's best to check with the agency that handles wage and labor standards for your state.

Can I track comp time with Virtual TimeClock?
The answer is "Yes" but it does involve some manual processes. Virtual TimeClock software already segregates hours worked on employee timecards based on the overtime rules assigned to each employee. Rather than paying the employee these hours at the premium rate, you can create a new leave category called "Comp Time" and add them as an annual leave award. You do need to add the hours at the comp time rate rather than hour-for-hour. For example, for every extra hour worked the employee would earn one and one-half hours of paid time off.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Importing QuickBooks Users

We introduced time clock payroll integration with QuickBooks earlier this year with Virtual TimeClock '12. It does require a one-time setup before you export your first round of employee hours for payroll processing. Importing your users from QuickBooks into your time clock software isn't required but it's recommended. Here's why. If you don't import your QuickBooks users before performing your first time clock export, QuickBooks may create duplicate employee records if it doesn't find a name with an exact match. Trust me, it's kind of a pain to clean up.

The way to prevent this is to import your QuickBooks users first. Choose Configure from the administrator toolbar and open the Users control panel. Click Add, Import Users, and follow the instructions for importing a QuickBooks IIF File. Virtual TimeClock will be updated with the personal information from QuickBooks if a matching social security number is found. For users with no social security numbers, you’ll be prompted to merge records for those users with the same last name. This will ensure the user names are identical in both systems.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Turning On Time Clock Administration

Both time clock software managers and time clock administrators need to turn administration on in order to perform administrative functions. When you first created your time clock company file, you were asked to create a program administrator. The time clock administrator has full access to all program functions and features. You can create additional time clock administrators, but they will also have unlimited access.

Time clock Managers are able to edit employee timecards and do other administration functions when they turn administration on, select their user name, and enter their password. What functions and features managers have access to is set up within the Display Groups configure panel.

When you choose Turn Administration On from the File menu, a dialog opens that asks if you want to turn on administration features. If your name is not displayed, then click on the name that is displayed to reveal a list of time clock managers and administrators. Now select your name and enter your password to open the time clock administration window so you can perform the administrative functions that have been assigned to you.

A quick way to verify who is set as an active time clock administrator or manager is to choose Security from the Configure menu. This control panel will show who has administration access without having to check each user one by one. Only time clock administrators can open the Security control panel.

Remember to turn administration off when you're all done so your time clock security won't be compromised.

Angie
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Time Clock Software Printing Problems

A couple times a year we talk to time clock software users who are having trouble printing their employee timecards, or the timecards print but the format isn't correct, or they're just getting gibberish instead of employee hours and overtime. The common response is "They were printing just fine yesterday." Here are some questions you can ask and some things to check to help you determine what may have changed.

Here are some questions to ask:

• Did you add a new printer?
• Can you print from another program?
• Can you print employee timecards to a different printer?

Here are some things to check:

• Make sure the computer has a default printer set.
• Make sure the default printer isn't a label or receipt printer.

Here are some things to do:

• Update your printer driver. Go to the manufacturer website and see if there's an update to the printer driver.
• Delete and reinstall the printer.

If you're still having problems getting your employee timecards to print, then contact us and we'll be happy to help.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Front Reception Time Clock

Here's a time clock deployment scenario that I came across recently. A customer wanted the front desk receptionist to be able to clock people in and out because sometimes staff would make it all the way to the front door before they realized they hadn't clocked out for lunch. They wanted the receptionist to be able to clock other employees in and out without having to mess around with a password, but they still wanted password protection turned on for the other employee time clocks scattered around the organization.

We created a new display group called 'Reception' that included all of the employees and turned off user passwords for just that display group. Virtual TimeClock '12 has a ton of flexibility when it comes to deploying time clocks so I rarely encounter scenarios that the time clock software is unable to handle.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Custom Out Memos

Out memos are a great tool for updating the time clock software in and out board with temporary status changes that let others know why you're clocked out. At it's simplest, when you stop work your status changes to 'Out' and that's all anybody needs to know until you clock back in. But if you want to use the time clock in and out board as a powerful interoffice communication tool, you can create different out memos to handle different scenarios like 'Gone for the day' or 'On vacation'. You can also create one-time out memos to handle different situations like 'Dr. appt. - back by 3:00pm' or 'Client meeting- call me on my cell'. Custom out memos don't become part of the out memo selection list but are used to temporarily let others know what you're doing when you're off the clock.

How to Enable Custom Out Memos
Before you can start using custom out memos, you need to turn them on for the display group. Turn on administration and choose Display Groups from the Configure menu. Select a display group from the list on the left and click User Actions. Select Custom Out Memos from the list of user actions and save.

How to Use Custom Out Memos
Now when you stop work you can pick Custom Memo from the popup list and enter your one-time note to update the in and out board.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

In/Out Board Not Refreshing

If you're running your employee time clock software on a Mac and the in/out board list doesn't seem to be refreshing, it's probably the computer's energy saver settings causing the issue. There are two settings that we're concerned about. The first is the slide bar that puts the computer to sleep. We want to make sure it's set to 'Never'. The second setting is a checkbox that puts the hard disk to sleep when possible. This should be unchecked.

It's okay to have the computer display go to sleep. You may also want to make sure there's not a schedule set that is putting the computer to sleep when the time clock is in use.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Future Timecard Entries

The time clock software in/out list always reflects the last employee punch status, whether that's in, on break, at lunch, or out. Sometimes the time clock shows an employee clocked out even though they insist they've clocked in. So they clock in again and end up leaving an orphaned time clock entry with just a start time. The issue is likely caused by a future time clock entry. If this happens to you, before you clock in, take a look at the date of the out entry. It's probably for some date in the future and the time clock is just displaying the last employee punch status. This is most often the result of a manual timecard entry that was added by an admin user by mistake.

All you have to do to resolve the issue is turn on administration and click Edit Entries. Select the employee name and the date range the future entry falls into. Now just delete the entry and the in/out list will once again reflect the current punch status for the employee.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Adding Admin Users to Time Clock Display Groups

Some time clock administrators need to use the time clock software for more than just performing administrative functions. For example, they may need to keep track of time spent on different projects, jobs, or activities. They may also be using the time clock to update their status on the in/out board list. Or maybe your business accrues vacation awards based on hours worked so even time clock administrators need to clock in and out so their leave awards are accurately accrued. Whatever the reason, time clock administrators will need to be added to at least one display group before they can clock in and out.

Turn on administration and choose Users from the Configure menu. Select the admin user and click the Groups button to add them as a user to one or more display groups.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Understanding Workweeks

All employees covered under FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. So what defines a workweek? Well, the FLSA defines an employee's workweek as "a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours (seven consecutive 24-hour periods)." The workweek doesn't have to line up with the calendar week. In fact, it can begin on any day of the week and at any hour of the day.

Our Virtual TimeClock software allows you to set when your workweek begins and will accurately keep track of weekly overtime totals even if the workweek crosses payroll periods. This means you're always in compliance with the FLSA rules that apply to overtime pay requirements. The default workweek in Virtual TimeClock is Monday, but it's easy to change. Turn administration on and from the Configure menu choose Overtime. Click the Overtime Settings icon in the toolbar to open the global overtime settings. You'll see a popup menu for changing what day to start your workweek.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Understanding Payroll Cycles

Virtual TimeClock is pretty flexible when it comes to defining payroll cycles. You can set your payroll frequency (how often you get paid) to weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, or monthly. This covers the payroll needs for most businesses. Once you pick a frequency and set the current payroll period start date, the end date will be automatically calculated for you. All you have to do is close the period and the current payroll period dates will advance based on the frequency you've set.

It's easy to confuse your payroll frequency with your pay dates. For example, here at Redcort Software our payroll frequency is semi-monthly. The first period runs from the 1st to the 15th and the second period runs from the 16th to the end of the month. However, we get paid on the 5th and the 20th of each month. Every time we close a payroll period, the time clock software knows exactly what dates to move the current period to.

For whatever reason, you may find your business needs a custom payroll cycle. That's no problem with Virtual TimeClock because you can set a user defined payroll period.

There are a couple of drawbacks to using the user defined payroll frequency. First, when you close the payroll period, Virtual TimeClock won't know what dates to advance the current period to, so you'll have to manually change the current period start and end dates. Second, when running timecard reports, the 'Last Period' date range selection won't automatically populate because the time clock doesn't have a static frequency from which to calculate the prior period dates.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Exporting Timecards To Excel

Virtual TimeClock allows you to export your time clock data to a text file for analysis with your favorite text editor or spreadsheet software. Employee hours can also be imported directly into several popular payroll programs that allow time clock integration using a specially formatted export file.

Let's talk about exporting timecard reports into Excel. There are a couple of ways you can open the reports in Excel, depending on the file format you choose when exporting the data.

If it's a tab separated export file
When you right mouse click on the text file, choose Open With and then Microsoft Excel. If Excel is not a choice then you will need to select Choose Program and pick Microsoft Excel from the list.

If it's a comma separated export file
When you right mouse click on the file, choose Rename and then change the .txt extension to .csv. When you double-click the file it should open right up in Excel.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Changing Time Clock Display Groups

Changing time clock display groups in Virtual TimeClock '12 Network Edition is easy once you know where to look. You may need to change display groups because you want certain networked time clocks to use a different clock & out interface, follow a different set of security rules, or just list a different group of employees.

User Client
Choose Logout of the Server from the File menu. You'll need to enter an administrator password in order to logout.

Pro Client
Turn on Administration and choose Server Connection from the Configure menu. Click the Logout button.

Once you're back at the Virtual TimeClock Client Login window, you can pick the display group you want to log in to from the popup menu. It looks like this.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Time Clock Assistance & Support

A lot of customers tell us that Virtual TimeClock is one of the easiest time clock systems they've ever used. We've worked really hard behind the scenes to make it that way. But sometimes you may need help, like when moving your time clock to a new computer or setting up vacation tracking. Here are our current time clock support options.

Introductory Support

All new software licenses automatically come with 30 days of introductory support. We can help you get the software installed, configured, and make it through a couple of payroll periods.

Annual Support

You can extend tech support out for a full year and receive all software updates by enrolling your licenses in our Software Maintenance and Support program for a small fee. Contact a member of our technical support team for enrollment details.

Pay Per Call

You can also purchase a one-time support incident as needed. Contact a member of our technical support team for pricing and priority assistance. We can hep you decide whether it's more cost effective to purchase a support incident or upgrade your time clock software.

Self Help

Our website has a bunch of self help options. You can download training guides and documentation, view frequently asked questions, and search our current support blog.

If you find that you do need us, Redcort Software has a friendly, knowledgable, California based technical support team that's ready to answer your employee time clock questions. Go to the Help menu of your time clock program and choose Technical Support Resources to contact a member of our technical support team. You can also reach us toll free at 1-888-207-0005.

Jeff

Technical Support Team

Redcort Software, Inc.

Understanding Workweeks

I want to explain the relationship between the workweek setting in Virtual TimeClock and payroll periods.

The workweek start day is a global overtime setting that tells your time clock software when to start calculating weekly overtime. The most common setting for businesses is 'Monday'. That means hours worked for the calculation of weekly overtime starts on Monday and ends on Sunday. Another way to say it is that weekly overtime calculations start over every Monday. Workweeks don't have to coincide with the calendar week. If you need to change when your workweek starts, turn on administration and choose Overtime from the Configure menu. Click Overtime Settings in the top toolbar.

Your workweek start day may cross payroll periods, which is fine because Virtual TimeClock still keeps track of hours in the current workweek so it knows when you've hit the weekly overtime threshold. For example, if the payroll period ends on Wednesday and you end up working over 40 hours for the week on Thursday, you'll still get paid for weekly overtime in the next payroll period.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Add Bonus Days with Leave Carryover

Are you looking for a way to give employees extra vacation or bonus days? Using carryover hours is a great way to handle that situation. Since each leave award category in your time clock software has its own carryover hours, you don't have to worry about affecting the balances of other leave categories when making adjustments.

In this example, Gary has received an extra day of vacation without having to figure out a new calculated award.

You can also use carryover hours to adjust leave balances if you allow employees to borrow against the vacation balance of the next benefit year. All you have to do is enter the carryover hours as a negative amount. And remember to use the Accrued and Used Leave report to check employee leave balances at anytime.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Making Time Clock Activities Inactive

You already know Virtual TimeClock is the best time and attendance system for keeping track of employee hours for payroll. But it's also a great tool for tracking time spent on different projects, jobs, or customers. We call them 'Activities'. Activities are easy to add, and you can name them whatever you want. Once a job has been completed, you'll want to remove the activity from the current selection list so it's no longer available when clocking in or starting new activities.

From the Virtual TimeClock Administration Window, click Configure and then Activities to change the status. Don't worry! Activities are still available when running historic reports and can be made active again if needed.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Clock Out Even Faster

Out memos are temporary notes that are left when an employee stops working and are not included on employee timecards. Multiple out memos are great when using the time clock's in/out board interface but not necessary, especially when clocking in and out from a time clock kiosk with a PIN or Passcode. If you want to streamline the clock out process, then you can remove all but one of the out memos. This will eliminate the extra popup menu when stopping work for the day.

Turn Administration On from the File menu and from the Configure menu, choose Display Groups. select your display group and click Out Memos. Unselect the extra out memos and save.

Congratulations! You've just eliminated an extra step when clocking out.


Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Time Clock Preferences

Virtual TimeClock Preferences allow the time clock software user to change the name display sort when using the in/out board, change the sound the program makes when clocking in and out, and adjust the sound volume. Preferences can be found under the Virtual TimeClock menu on Mac computers and under the Edit menu on Windows computers.

The user access settings and in/out board list columns have been moved to the display group settings in Virtual TimeClock '12. Display groups can be found under the Configure menu in the Administration window.


Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Help Us Help You

Virtual TimeClock users typically contact technical support either because something isn’t working right (support) or they just don’t understand how it's supposed to work (training). Redcort Software technical support team members know that when you have questions about your time clock software, you want answers in a timely manner. Here are some things to have ready when you call in to help us quickly resolve your issue:

1. What version and edition of Virtual TimeClock are you using? Ex: Virtual TimeClock '12 Release 1 Pro Edition. It's easy to find this information in the About window of your time clock program.

• On Mac, go to the Virtual TimeClock menu and choose About Virtual TimeClock.
• On Windows, go to the Help menu and choose About Virtual TimeClock.

The About window looks like this:

2. What operating system are you running? Ex: Windows XP Professional, Mac OS X 10.6.8, etc. Here's how to find out:

• On Mac, go to the Apple menu and choose About This Mac.
• On Windows, right mouse click My Computer or Computer and choose Properties.

3. Did you receive an error message? If so, what's the exact error message on your screen? Screen shots are really helpful.

4. What changed? Ex: Are you doing something differently? Did your IT person add a new computer to the network?

With that information in hand, we're off to a great start toward figuring out what's going on. You can also call tech support if you have a question on how a time clock feature works, need help upgrading, or just want to make a suggestion to improve Virtual TimeClock.

No matter what the issue, we're here to help!

Angie
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Time Clock Software Maintenance and Support

What are the advantages of Virtual TimeClock Software Maintenance & Support?

This optional program provides long term, economical, and uninterrupted operation of your time clock software. In other words, it’s a cost effective way to make sure your Virtual TimeClock is always up-to-date. It’s renewed on a yearly basis, so there are no surprise costs for updates, data file repair services, or technical support.

So just what does this mean to you as a customer?

• It means you'll receive personalized service from trusted, knowledgeable support specialists, who are familiar with your time clock software product and ready to help resolve issues over the phone, email or via live chat.
• It means you'll receive regular software updates that you can download conveniently from our website if and whenever you want at no additional charge.
• It means you'll receive our monthly information filled 'Tips & Tricks Newsletter' with helpful hints and ideas on using Virtual TimeClock in real world business situations. 
• Most importantly,  it means getting answers when you need them from our expert technical support team.

Angie
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Are Your Time Cards Slowing Down?

I recently worked with a customer who was having an issue with their time clock. They’ve been using the Virtual TimeClock Network Edition for about 4 months to keep track of time spent on different projects. They have about 50 employees changing activities numerous times throughout the day. The customer noticed it was taking longer and longer for them to run activity reports. After poking around for a couple of minutes we discovered they had never closed a payroll period. His response is one I hear often, “I didn’t know I was supposed to.” We brought his payroll period current and his reports are lightning fast again.

Most businesses follow the following steps to prepare employee hours for payroll processing and start a new payroll period:

1. Review employee timecards 
2. Edit employee hours 
3. Process payroll 
4. Close payroll period

If you’ve never closed a payroll period, you’ll want to verify your payroll settings first. Go to the Configure control panel and choose Payroll Period. Set your payroll frequency (how often you get paid) and the current period start date.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Out of Time Clock Licenses?

Virtual TimeClock Network Edition licensing is based on the total number of computer connections using the time clock. Once a time clock client connects to the time clock server, it will register itself and use a license. That license still remains in use if the time clock gets turned off or even removed from that computer. If you get an out of license message when connecting to your Virtual TimeClock Server, asking these simple questions first may help you solve the issue on your own.

• Has Virtual TimeClock been installed on any new computers?
• Have you moved any computers?

If you get a new computer or move your time clock to a different computer, you'll need to remove the registration of the old time clock client from the Virtual TimeClock Server Manager. To remove the old computer registration:

1. Launch the Virtual TimeClock Server Manager.
2. Click the Licenses toolbar button.
3. On the right hand side you'll see a list of registered computers. Select the name of the old computer and click Remove Client. 

If the name of the registered computers doesn't help you pick the right one, then you can delete all of the registered clients that have a red status indicator showing they're currently disconnected. It's also not uncommon for your IT support to inadvertently use client licenses when they're remotely installing or maintaining your time and attendance system.

Angie

Technical Support Team

Redcort Software, Inc.

Reopening Closed Payroll Periods

If a payroll period is closed early, any new time clock entries for the closed period are recorded but not totaled when employee timecards are printed. Which is great because employees can still use the time clock to record their time. So you'll still see all the punch times, but they won't be reflected in the report totals. All you have to do is reopen the payroll period and run your employee timecards again. Then everything will be right as rain.

You also can’t add or edit past timecard entries until the payroll period is reopened. All you have to do is reopen the payroll period, make your edits, and then close the period again. Most of the time, it's just the prior payroll period that needs to be reopened. If you need to reopen a payroll period that goes back a few months, give us a call so we can discuss how that may impact your time clock software.

To reopen a closed payroll period, go to the Tools menu and choose Payroll Period. In the Current Period section, enter the start date of the payroll period you want to reopen. Change the start date back when you're all done.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Employee Time Card Signatures

For those of you that print out your employee timecards and have employees sign off on them, you've probably noticed the text on top of the employee signature line. The default text says "I certify that these hours are a true and accurate record of all time worked during the pay period." Although most businesses find this wording sufficient, others would like to add their own agreements. I've had businesses add phrases like "I have taken all my mandatory daily rest and meal breaks during this pay period" or timecard reminders like "Overtime is calculated after 40 actual hours per week have been worked. Paid leave time is not included in computing hours worked for overtime calculation." It's easy to customize your time clock software timecard signature lines.

Go to the Reports menu and choose Report Writer. Select the Timecard Detail report from the list of reports on the left because this is the default employee timecard. Click the Options tab and then the Signature Text button.

Customize the signature line text to suit your business needs and save.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Understanding Time Clock Security

The key to time clock security is enabling password protection. Once password protection is turned on, you can adjust the security settings to suit your own needs. For example, you can prevent timecards from being modified or deleted. You can also decide what features you want time clock software users to be able to access, view or modify.

This can be done a lot easier than you think. The first step is to set up the time clock administrator. Go to the Lists menu and choose Users.  Select the name of the employee that will be your time clock administrator and click the Access tab.  Enter a password, check the User is an administrator of this program box, and save your changes. Next you'll want to set passwords for all your users by selecting each user name from the list on the left and entering a password. After all users have been assigned a password, it's time to enable password protection.

Click the Security Settings button in the Access panel. This will take you directly to the Security control panel. Check the Enable Password Protection box, enter your new administrator password, and save.

Now that security is turned on, you can use an often over looked feature: putting your time clock in Administrative Mode.

Putting your time clock in Administrative Mode will give you access to all program functions with only one password entry. From the Tools menu, choose Enter Administrative Mode and enter your password. To reactivate password protection, go to the Tools menu and choose Exit Administrative Mode, or just quit your time clock. Security will automatically turn on when the program starts up again.

Angie
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Silent and Unattended Time Clock Installation

Occasionally we get asked about ways to speed up the installation process on Windows. It's usually when someone has a lot of time clock clients to install because of a new license purchase or upgrade. The standard time clock software Setup Wizard requires a minimal degree of user interaction, but clicking the Next button half a dozen times on 50 computers can certainly add up! I went to one of my engineers and demanded (well, actually I asked quite politely) for some tools to help speed up the installs for our Windows network time clock users. They showed me a couple of ways.

The Virtual TimeClock installer can be run from a command line and accepts some parameters to assist in scripted installation.

Silent Install
A silent install doesn't show the standard Setup Wizard, but it does display the installation progress window. When installing the Pro Client, the command will look something like this:

Very Silent Install
A very silent install doesn't show the standard Setup Wizard or the installation progress window. The command will look something like this:

In either case, any error messages that occur during installation are still displayed.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Lion Time Clock Upgrades

If you've upgraded your time clock server computer to OS 10.7 Lion and the daemon shows as stopped, then you need to upgrade your time clock software to Virtual TimeClock '11 Release 2.

The Basic, Pro, and Client editions of Virtual TimeClock '11 Release 1 will technically still run on Lion, but the time clock server which runs as a background process (called a daemon on Mac) will not start even though the Server Manager app will still open. Virtual TimeClock '11 Release 2 is a free upgrade for all customers enrolled in our software maintenance and support program. Time clock upgrade instructions can be found on our website.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Did Your Remote Clients Stop Talking?

Remote time clock clients will lose their connection if you move your time clock server to a different computer and don't take a couple of important items into consideration. Remember how remote time clock clients connect: a remote client talks directly to the router at the time clock server location. The router says, "Hey! I know you. You're a time clock client. Let me send you over to the time clock server computer. I know it's address." This is what we call port forwarding.

Moving your time clock server will break port forwarding unless you do one of two things to keep you're remote clients talking. One is to give the new time clock server the same static IP address as the old time clock server computer. Then the remote clients won't know the difference. The other option is to access your router configuration settings and change the port forward to point to the IP address of the new time clock server computer. Again, the remote clients won't know the difference. Either one will solve the problem and keep your networked time clocks on speaking terms with one another.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Employee Timecard Report Dates

Have you ever noticed that when you print employee timecards for payroll that you have to change the current period dates? That's because you haven't been closing your payroll periods.

When printing timecards, Virtual TimeClock will always use the stored totals from a closed payroll period rather than recalculating the totals again. This is important since wages, overtime, and time deduction rules may change. By closing payroll periods, timecards for a closed period retrieve the historical totals rather than calculating hours based on the current settings for each employee. Closing payroll periods also advances the current period based on your payroll settings.

Once all hours for a payroll period have been entered, reviewed, and corrected the payroll period should be closed. Go to the Tools menu and choose Close Payroll Period.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.

Setting a Static IP Address on Mac

A couple of weeks ago, I provided you with instructions on how to set a static IP address on Windows computers. This post will show you how to do the same thing on a Mac. You'll want to do this if your time clock clients fail to connect to the time clock server after the computer is rebooted. It's probably getting a dynamic IP address from the router which causes it to sometimes get a different address the next time the computer is turned on. That's why your time clock software works perfectly for months until you get hit with a power outage, or someone turns off the computer.

Here are the instructions for assigning a static IP address on Mac computers.

Go to the Apple menu, choose System Preferences and select Network from the Internet & Wireless row. Select your network interface from the list on the left (probably the one with the green status indicator). Change it from Using DHCP to Using DHCP with manual address so it should still get all the Internet stuff it needs automatically. It'll look something like this when you're all done:

When you give a static IP address to a computer, the router may not know that address is being used so it may try to give it to another computer later. So you'll want to give your computer an IP address that's not likely to be given out to others.

Jeff
Technical Support Team
Redcort Software, Inc.