In technology 4.0, employee time attendance management becomes simpler with technology applications. That said, some businesses still use the traditional time attendance management method.

So, what are the popular methods today? What is the most effective way of attendance management? Here are the pros and cons of some common attendance management methods.

Today's Popular Employee Time Attendance Management Methods

Learn the pros and cons of the five most popular methods today to help you make the right choice for your business.

1.1. Magnetic Stripe Readers

Employee attendance by magnetic stripe readers is applied by many businesses to optimize the management process. Applying this method, businesses must provide each employee with a magnetic card that stores all information and codes.

When checking in or checking out, the employee will swipe the card for the machine to read. The reader saves the system's information, data, and time of entry and exit.

magnetic stripe readers

Many businesses use magnetic stripe readers

1.2. Fingerprint

Fingerprint time attendance is a popular method in small and medium enterprises. Time attendance machine through the biometric system automatically scans and saves the employee's identity on the employee attendance management system.

This is an easy, convenient and fast attendance method. Employees need to put their scanned fingers on the timekeeper, and they can take attendance every day.

Biometric reader method

Biometric reader method

1.3. Facial recognition system

Using face recognition devices helps businesses easily record employees' time in and out. This method saves facial features for formatting through a previously-stored automatic data system.

facial recognition system

Facial recognition system

1.4. Iris

Employee attendance management by iris recognition is a biometric method that helps identify employees by the pupil's iris. Each iris is unique, so there's no work-day fraud.

1.5. Spreadsheets

This method is regularly applied in small businesses. Depending on the organizational structure and business characteristics, the time attendance characters will differ.

This method requires a lot of time and human resources. The HR manager must monitor and control check-in and check-out by the hour, day for calculating the payroll.

This is a complicated way of time attendance management, difficult to manage, and easy to confuse working days. Especially a waste of time and human resources for businesses.

Comparison Between Attendance Machines And Attendance Management Software 

The methods of employee attendance by the machine each have their advantages and disadvantages. However, is it the optimal solution for businesses?

1.1. Advantages of Attendance Machines

Advantages of magnetic card time attendance machines include:

  • Time-saving, fast attendance, suitable for large-scale enterprises.
  • Easily integrate timekeepers with other devices.
  • Optimize information storage even when the business loses power.

The fingerprint time attendance machine also has its advantages, such as:

  • Helps reduce day fraud with high accuracy.
  • Check in/check out only takes 1-2 seconds/person.
  • Only the initial cost, no incurred cost
  • Easily synchronize with other timekeepers.
  • Allow extracting data of employees' entry and exit hours and days off.

Advantages of facial recognition system

  • High accuracy, absolute anti-cheat.
  • Only the cost of buying the machine, no additional costs.
  • Overcoming the disadvantages of the attendance method by magnetic swipe readers and fingerprints.
  • Data processing speed is fast and can be integrated with other devices.

Advantages of the iris method:

  • This is an advanced form of attendance management, ensuring absolute accuracy.
  • Fast processing speed, simple, easy to use.
  • Good data security.
  • Overcoming the disadvantages arising from the above methods.

1.2. Disadvantages of Using Attendance Machines

Disadvantages of using attendance machines include:

  • The cost of buying an attendance machine is quite high and expensive. Enterprises also spend a considerable amount of money to print cards for employees.
  • Using the machines is often influenced by many external factors, leading to data collection and management errors.

As for the biometric attendance machine, this method does not confirm data from employees doing specific jobs. Besides, factors such as weather and temperature also affect the device's sensitivity.

These methods also have disadvantages, such as lack of flexibility. The data collection process takes a long time to aggregate and process. With the traditional time attendance method, managers will not be able to control employees' working time. 

Besides, businesses also have to spend a lot of human resources to synthesize and classify data. The process is prone to errors due to manual data processing.

How FieldCheck Supports Employee Attendance Management? 

The application of time attendance management software provides an easier management process for businesses. FieldCheck integrates many features to help employees check-in/check-out daily without limitations of time and location.

The manager will monitor the data directly on the application installed on the mobile phone. So how does FieldCheck help streamline employee management? Check out some of the outstanding advantages of FieldCheck in attendance management and personnel management below.

1.1. Save Time and Cost of Attendance Management

Managing employee attendance with FieldCheck helps businesses save money on purchasing facilities while saving time aggregating information and data and labor for the HR department.

FieldCheck provides the feature of check-in/check-out and time-off application on mobile phones. As soon as the employees check their attendance on mobile phones, the system will record the activities real-time.

With FieldCheck, businesses can save a lot of money on hiring staff. The solution automatically collects, processes, and synthesizes accurate data. Managers can review and re-investigate at any time on their mobile devices.

attendance management

FieldCheck helps save time and cost of attendance management

1.2. Flexibility When Controlling Remote Employees

Currently, many businesses apply the models of work from home or hybrid work. Conventional attendance management solutions are no longer suitable for these models due to the limitations in space and time.

It is impossible to use facial recognition systems or biometric machines for checking in or checking out.

FieldCheck will overcome all of the above disadvantages. The software helps track the attendance of employees right on a mobile phone.

Whether you go on a business trip or move to different locations, the attendance management will not be interrupted. The application has a built-in user locator feature.

All employee information is monitored and strictly managed in location, time, and activities, effectively combating fraud on working days.

1.3. Creating a Scientific Working Environment 

The situation of employees leaving early and leaving late often occurs in businesses. The attendance management system software application helps managers control all working activities of employees in the most accurate and detailed way. This helps employees work more seriously, contributing to building an increasingly professional business.

1.4. Payroll Integration

Attendance management via the spreadsheets or machines can put the pressure on the shoulders of the HR department when calculating salary and bonuses at the end of the month. With FieldCheck, you no longer have to wait until the end of the month to update your payroll.

FieldCheck time attendance software automatically updates the timesheet to the common system. The system then calculates the total number of working days in the month and calculates the employee's salary.

Integrating timesheets and payroll in the same system saves time extracting, entering, and aggregating data. At the same time, it helps the human resources department avoid basic errors when calculating salary.

attendance management

The software provides time attendance management feature

1.5. Unlimited Access

The FieldCheck online attendance app allows employees and managers to access it anytime, anywhere using a mobile phone. Through that, employees can actively give quick feedback on time attendance management errors. The supervisors can easily capture information and offer timely solutions. 

FieldCheck is so user-friendly and easy to use that even newbies can use it without any hassle. 

Wrapping Up

In a nutshell, the time attendance management process poses a little pressure and difficulty on the shoulders of the HR personnel. It is more complicated to manage via the spreadsheets and machines as the data cannot be consolidated automatically. That's why the application of a software might be the optimal solution for businesses.