Time and attendance systems are designed to assist organizations to effectively manage the working hours of employees. They are a paperless system used to collect the work time of employees electronically. The systems automate and simplify timekeeping and human resource management. Time and attendance systems effectively interact with any payroll system. The system allows employees to electronically submit leave letters. They are capable of operating on various platforms for different business rules. They are used in areas such as healthcare, financial services, transportation or distribution, retail management, government, manufacturing, and hospitality.

Early on, time and attendance systems were only associated with the manufacturing or ‘blue collar’ workforce. But today, due to the impact of legislation and the influence of technology, they are used for a variety of business functions including access control, job pricing, project tracking, and employee schedules. Most systems are Web-enabled and are integrated with current Internet technology. The cost of installing a time and attendance system depends on the number of staff involved and the equipment and type of software used.

Time and attendance systems often have a Web version of the employee module, which allows workers to enter their time using a Web browser. Its flexible design runs on both PCs under Windows and UNIX workstations. Most systems are compatible with over 20 databases including Ingres, Sybase, and Oracle, and run on all major network environments, thus, providing instant access to all time and attendance functions. Time and attendance systems help companies to reduce and control costs by permitting employees to access non-critical information in a simple, secure, and safe manner.

Benefits of time and attendance systems including a reduction in error rates, and reducing unnecessary data entry. They are used for varied work schedules, hour codes, and cost structures. The systems reduce potential mistakes automatically by transferring information between company systems.