A new time and attendance system, uAttend, which is set to help small businesses manage employees’ and sub-contractors’ attendance more flexibly and affordably than ever before, has been launched by UK specialist Access-to-Time Ltd.
uAttend is the first web-based system designed to meet the needs of SME businesses who need to monitor time and attendance of workers, whether they are working remotely or on site, by harnessing Cloud technology which uses a broadband connection to access a secure website and store data. The system enables employees to clock in and out from a phone, web-browser or time-clock – or all three – and enables time and attendance to be managed from anywhere at any time at a low monthly cost.
The simple-to-install timekeeping software receives data from multiple locations but delivers it to one account allowing managers to log-in to the website to view hours, run reports, make changes and manage the system. Data can be exported to a payroll company or used to run an internal payroll system. In addition, smart phone apps are under test which would show employees’ GPS locations when the clocking was made.
Sharkey, a leading specialist in interior fit out and refurbishment, has already used the uAttend system together with fingerprint terminals on its building sites which employ some 250 people. IT Manager Neil Robb says: “We have seen real benefits across the business from the implementation of uAttend. Our HR department is now able to confidently report on where team members are and how they are paid, our health and safety department is comfortable with producing mandatory reports on attendance and our senior managers can quantify our sub-contractors’ performance quickly and easily.
“The cloud-based system allows us to access time-keeping information both on and off site. As a result we can produce attendance reports at the touch of a button and are now able to benchmark our subcontractors. We share information – and thus responsibility – on time-keeping and attendance with our sub-contractors’ managers and because we can easily access information we can respond promptly and appropriately to good – or bad – performances.”
Trade and retail business Avon and Wessex, a South West family business serving the camping, caravan and automotive market, has become one of the first retailers to employ the uAttend system.
“Managing staff hours has, until now, been a huge challenge.” explains managing director Kevin Chard. “With part-time and flexible staff, a 7 day working week and illness, absence and swops, even the best-prepared working rota is quickly outdated in our business. It was near impossible to find a manual system to help me keep on top of changes to hours and ensure everyone was paid correctly.
“If I could have designed a system, uAttend would be it! We have fingerprint recognition which is easy to use and staff aged 17 to 70 are blown away by the technology. There are no grey areas and our team works the hours we pay them for with uAttend managing our staff hours for me. I would never go back.”
uAttend has been jointly developed by Access-to-Time, which has twelve years’ experience as a leader in providing time and attendance solutions, working across a vast range of sectors and with large and small businesses and organisations.
The innovation came after Processing Point, an established US business service provider, approached them to distribute its T&A system in the UK. Recognising that the product wasn’t ideally suited to the UK market, the Access-To-Time management team worked with Processing Point to develop a time and attendance system that gives SME businesses a low-cost, vastly more flexible T&A solution than has previously been available.
Unlike other time and attendance systems on the market there is no software to install, no clock cards to buy and no long contracts to commit to. There is simply a monthly fee to pay which starts at just £14.99 per month for up to nine employees and goes up to £79.99 per month for companies with more than 100 employees. The only other cost is a uAttend terminal which costs from £119 for a plug-and-play version. Wi-Fi and fingerprint versions are also available.
Although developed for businesses with a small number of employees uAttend can also easily be used by those with up to 5,000 employees, provided they are divided into groups.
“Our long experience in the UK Time and Attendance market was telling us that that the SME market, was crying out for an affordable, simple to set-up and-operate system. The market also needed a system that would allow a huge amount of flexibility for employees to log in and out, and for managers to access data remotely when required.” says Alastair Slade, a director of Access-to-Time. “There are many electronic systems out there but before uAttend they all needed a computer or their own T&A software. The uAttend system is proving ideal for micro businesses, saving managers a vast amount of time and reducing payroll costs.”
Access-to-Time is now working on a plan to use Wi-Fi Fingerprint terminals and Mi-Fi (wireless routers that act as personal mobile Wi-Fi hotspots for up to five devices) to provide instant time and attendance systems where there is no broadband.