If your business is still using an old fashioned time clock, you may be losing money. Time cards have to be added up, time clocks need to be repaired and replaced, and employees might clock each other in or otherwise misuse the system.
There are time clock programs out there that do the job of an old time clock with the added advantage of computer technology, and they’re a great investment for both business that have used old time clocks and businesses that have never used a clocking system in the past. Here are reviews of three time clock programs I’ve tried out, with some notes on the pros and cons of each one.
Lion Clock
My biggest issue with Lion Clock was with its installation. On two separate computers, the program kept telling me that key installation files were missing, and the FAQ on Lion Clock’s site didn’t cover those particular issues. The issues were in Windows XP, and should really have been cleared up; after installing it on a Vista computer, however, it was running well.
Once everything was finally up and running, Lion Clock was simple to use. The Quickbooks integration was easy to get going, and would save quite a bit time and money for quite a few businesses.
Time Clock MTS
The features of this program were somewhat limited, but if all you’re looking for is a simple piece of time clock software, it’s certainly a reliable way to go. The pricing is reasonable, and is based on the number of employees you’re setting up, but you can always buy more licenses if your company expands. You can also input your own rules, making it easy to prevent employees from clocking in too early or finding other ways to take advantage of your time clock system.
Time Click
Time Click was one of the more expensive options I looked at, at a starting cost of $239 for installation on a single computer. Nevertheless, it gets the job done, and it has a lot of options to back up its price tag. Still, I’d probably go with Time Clock MTS over Time Click, unless you’re planning on using the program with a large number of employees and only one computer (you’re probably not). If you’d like to try Time Click, though, there’s a free 30 day trial, so you might find a few good options that sway your dollar vote.
Overall, I like Time Clock MTS’s simplicity, although Lion Clock had some great features, if they’d fix the installation issues.
Since these programs provide pretty simliar functions, and they all came highly recommended, you’ll probably be fine with any of them, but use the free trials and decide for yourself. For the price, Time Clock MTS is an excellent, easy to use program.
Do you use a different time clock computer program? Let us know which one in the comments section below.
