From the day that punch card were invented to the technological capabilities of present today—a lot has changed! Historically, paper punch cards were at nearly every business and organization across the country.

The technology involved in using a punch card consisted of a mechanical press that punched employee’s time when they arrived to work and when they left. Now, with the advancements of computers and software, employee time and attendance has become much more efficient and accurate.

Modern Marvels

Today, the big change in technology came with the birth of software and its ability of recording time in and out is through the use of time clock. It is a computer based program that manages the time in and out of your employees. This is more organized than punch card and it is more secured and efficient.

Historically, punch cards have also made it easy for employees to easily tamper with their time; however, if you’re using time clock software, you can be sure that all information gathered is authenticated and reliable—and with no room for error.

Biometric Time Keeping

Although biometrics have been around for many years, companies had not looked at the opportunities and benefits it provides in regards to time and attendance systems. The term biometrics is defined as utilizing one or more physical characteristics to automatically identify your employees. Used in conjunction to prevent fraud and “buddy-punching” biometrics can be a surefire, bulletproof system that makes it virtually impossible to tamper with time. While many companies both small and large can lose enormous amounts of money each year from using outdated paper punch time-card keeping, the businesses that have gone with biometric time clocks have actually saved more than 3 percent in the first year, as reported by Nucleus Research. Not to mention, major companies like McDonald’s, Burger King and Krispy Kreme, and major IT companies have started using fingerprint-based time and attendance systems, realizing the benefits that these systems have to offer.