You’ve probably heard a bit about biometric clocks by now; and if you’ve been checking out this site, more than likely you’ve heard more than a bit. There are a lot of differences between a biometric time clock and a conventional Bundy clock, but not every business owner or manager is aware of all of these differences and more to the point, how these differences can work to the advantage of their firm.

If you’ve been curious about these new electronic time and attendance systems but aren’t quite sure exactly what sets them apart from that mechanical clock you’re currently using, then you’ve come to the right place – read on for a brief discussion of how these two styles of time clock differ from one another and what your company has to gain by choosing biometric clocks over the traditional Bundy.
Bundy vs Biometric

As you know, a conventional time clock uses the tried and true method of stamping time cards with a mechanical roller and ink ribbons. That’s hardly news. You need to replace the ink ribbon periodically, purchase new time cards from time to time and of course, bring in a maintenance person on occasion to keep the clock in good working order – and even then, it can lose a few minutes here and there, like any analog clock.

By comparison, a biometric time clock is entirely electronic. There are no time cards or any other supplies needed and they require essentially no maintenance, meaning a significantly lower cost of ownership for these clocks.

Your average Bundy clock can’t prevent employees from clocking in for  one another or failing to clock out for breaks. It’s just not sophisticated enough to know who’s clocking in or out. Really, every time card is the same to a mechanical time clock since these clocks can’t identify your employees individually. This of course leaves the door wide open for time theft.

A biometric time clock uses individually assigned identifiers for each of your employees, making it next to impossible for your staff to clock in for one another. Unlike a Bundy, a biometric clock knows exactly who is punching in or out, using a fingerprint, a PIN code or a tag which works along with a proximity scanner to identify your employees.

Especially at mid-sized to large businesses which use a punch clock or time sheets, payroll can be a major undertaking. Employee time and attendance information needs to be read from these cards or sheets and then entered manually into your payroll software. It’s a time consuming and very error prone process – and if you choose to outsource the job, an expensive one as well.