The Real Value of Bringing Together Payroll with Time and Attendance

Originally published May 15, 2019

How integration can streamline your time and attendance process.

Payroll and timekeeping errors can be extremely costly, especially when labor is already the largest expense for service contractors working in cleaning and security. One of the clearest ways to reduce these errors — and the headaches that come with them — is to move to a system that integrates your time and attendance process with your payroll system.

The American Payroll Association suggests automating processes as a key best practice to reduce payroll error, which could save you money long-term. Here’s what else connected time and attendance and payroll systems can provide.

Simplify time and attendance processes

When you automate your timekeeping processes and get rid of paper time sheets, you’re able to better control your labor costs because you can easily identify over-budget jobs or projects. You’ll also have better visibility of overtime. If you use a solution that offers tools like location and voice verification, you can confirm your cleaners and officers are onsite and on time.

You can address attendance issues immediately to make sure all shifts and sites are covered and your contract requirements are being fulfilled. This can also help you prevent issues like ghost employees that could be extremely costly.

Learn how one commercial cleaning company implemented an integrated time and attendance system after discovering time fraud at multiple sites (costing nearly $1 million in fraudulent labor wages).

Reduce data entry time and errors

When your time and attendance is a stand-alone process, you end up spending more time on redundant data entry than if you integrated your timekeeping information with your operations and workforce management solution.

If you’re working with an inefficient process, your software probably isn’t doing its fair share of the work. But, if you have an integrated system, you could cut your payroll processing by up to 90 percent.

When time and attendance and payroll are connected, timekeeping information is immediately ready for seamless payroll, invoicing and reporting, so you can spend more time on high-value activities. And, it’s easier to meet government requirements for retaining employee tax records when they’re stored digitally in your back-office payroll system.

Lower Your Compliance Risk

No matter the size of your business, managing the compliance of your workforce is essential to maintaining your business’ success. Your software solution should be able to give you the information you need to prove that you’re operating in compliance with the latest applicable regulatory requirements. Some common types of compliance issues to monitor include HR and tax compliance. Connected time and attendance and payroll means you have consolidated, accurate reporting to pull information and show compliance.

Want to learn more?

Find out how software can simplify your timekeeping, reduce data entry time and errors, and make payroll prep a breeze with seamless integration to a back-office software solution in one 15-minute call. Request a demo today.