Which Type of Employee Time Clock is Best for an Accounting Firm?

Accurately tracking employee hours is crucial for accounting firms to maintain productivity and profitability. Choosing the right time clock system to capture when employees start and stop work each day is an important decision.

In this blog post, we’ll compare different types of time clocks and key features accounting firms should consider when selecting an employee time clock solution.

Types of Time Clocks

Here are the most common options accounting firms have for tracking employee hours:

Paper Timesheets

The old-fashioned paper timesheet is still used by some accounting firms, but it has significant downsides:

• Error-prone manual calculations and data entry
• No way to prevent tampering or cheating
• Costly administrative time for processing
• No audit trail or accountability

As a result, paper timesheets are increasingly rare in modern accounting firms.

Time Clock Terminals

Traditional punch-in time clocks use terminal devices with punch-in buttons and printout timestamps.

Pros:

• Employees physically clock in and out
• Creates punch records for verification

Cons:

• Fixed location makes remote clocking impossible
• Manual data import into payroll systems
• No detailed tracking by project or task

Time Clock Apps

Smartphone apps allow employees to clock in and out from anywhere. Data integrates seamlessly into payroll and other HR platforms.

Pros:

• Convenient mobile access
• Geofencing or location tracking
• Detailed project and task tracking

Cons:

• Requires employee smartphones
• Potential technical issues or user learning curve

Biometric Time Clocks

Fingerprint or facial recognition clocks prevent employees from clocking in for one another.

Pros:

• Highly accurate - verifies employee identity
• Deters attendance policy abuse

Cons:

• Expensive hardware investment
• Perceived as intrusive by some employees

Key Time Clock Features for Accounting Firms

When evaluating time clock systems, look for these features:

• Detailed reporting - Project, client and task tracking
• Geofencing - Automatically clock in when at office
• Overtime warnings - Manage labor costs
• Access controls - Limit ability to edit punches
• Alerts and notifications - Proactively flag issues
• Payroll integration - Avoid manual data entry
• Web dashboard - Real-time visibility into hours

An employee time clock that offers robust reporting and integrations provides accounting managers with valuable insights into staff productivity, capacity management, and profitability by client.

Recommendation

For most accounting firms, a time clock app delivers the best experience at reasonable cost. Features like GPS tracking and geofencing improve accuracy while mobile access fits today's flexible workplace. Just be sure to provide training and support to drive employee adoption.

As always, identifying your firm's unique time tracking challenges will ensure you select the time clock system that best fits your needs and budget. But taking attendance tracking out of spreadsheets and paper timesheets is a must to control labor costs and gain data-driven insights in the modern accounting workplace.