Seasonal employee timekeeping made easy: To keep up with fluctuating and additional workloads, seasonal businesses recruit seasonal employees to fill temporary positions within the company. Even though these workers are not employed year-round, employers still have to follow FLSA, wage laws, and timekeeping requirements as they manage their workforce during another busy season.
One solution that helps effectively manage the day-to-day of your seasonal workforce is electronic timekeeping software. This component of your HR and workforce management strategy is a modern, automated time-tracking process that monitors in real-time when employees arrive and leave work, along with absences, overtime, accruals, job site locations, and more.
The Importance of Timecard Accuracy
Why is accuracy so critical, specifically for seasonal businesses? Most seasonal employees are paid hourly, so challenges can arise from late, incomplete, or inaccurate timecards. Correct timesheets correlate with accurate paychecks. Being able to trust your workforce’s timecard records also helps with shift scheduling and appropriately allocating time and resources. Last, ensuring you have accurate time tracking systems enables your company to verify employment law compliance at a glance.
5 Reasons for Electronic Timekeeping for Seasonal Businesses
1) Reduce Human Error by Eliminating Manual Entry
By implementing timekeeping software, especially one that integrates with your payroll and HR system, you are setting your business up for a better chance of having fewer errors. When it comes to manual data entry, human error will always be a risk. Going electronic can help optimize your employees’ time when it comes to entering, processing, and reviewing timecard entries. As a seasonal business, you are already occupied while at the height of your busiest time of year – don’t let manual timecards and timekeeping bog you down.
In addition, want the best chance of having seasonal employees return for the next year? Paycheck errors often give a bad impression on your company and could hurt that relationship. Do what you can to minimize the chance of errors.
2) Smart Processes with Smartphones
Most electronic timekeeping systems in 2023 offer smartphone capabilities. This makes the process even more efficient as employees can quickly clock in and out on time via an app. If your seasonal employees are not centrally located, this way they can clock in wherever they are at the start of their shift – no need to gather at a central timecard station, employee lounge, or POS/register. Electronic timekeeping on smartphones even has the ability to set up geofencing and track locations. This promotes transparency and real-time accuracy as it allows supervisors to always be aware of who is working and where.
3) Control Overtime and Maintain FLSA Compliance
Seasonal workers are not exempt from overtime. If you have workers putting in extra hours, your timekeeping system can alert supervisors when employees are nearing a certain number of hours so decisions can be made before the overtime hours are worked. Receiving these trigger notifications and integrating timekeeping with payroll can help the seasonal business ensure they are meeting FLSA, labor, and wage law compliance, along with recordkeeping requirements.
4) Prevent Time Theft
Unfortunately, relying on manual timecards opens the opportunity for fraud. Common time theft and payroll fraud include buddy punching and embellishing the start and end times of a shift. In fact, a survey of over 500 retail and service industry personnel revealed that over 30 percent admitted to time theft — both of which are industries that frequently employ seasonal workers. While a few minutes here and there may seem harmless, it can add up quickly, especially if you have a large workforce. Implementing an electronic timekeeping system for full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees keeps the actual hours worked truthful and time theft to a minimum.
5) Speed Up the Payroll Process
Time is money, right? With an integrated and electronic timekeeping solution, you are trading in pen, paper, and errors for efficiency, accuracy, and a faster process. Cash flow is critical to seasonal businesses, so make sure your labor costs are as efficient as possible and try to avoid things like time theft and costly paycheck errors.
Abacus Payroll: A Proactive Partner for Seasonal Businesses
For whatever your busy season brings your way, Abacus Payroll’s specialists are here to help ensure your employees are accurately paid and that solutions such as electronic timekeeping are effortlessly integrated into your daily workforce management duties. If you’d like to receive a quote for payroll or timekeeping services, fill out our online form or contact us at 856.667.6225.