Nov 4, 2013

Employee Personal Data

We just released an update to the Fareclock Admin Console so you can view and edit employee personal data. We've received feedback from you that you want to be able to use Fareclock to manage some key employee data.

Attached are some screenshots of those data fields, available under Settings => Employees.






May 28, 2013

Fareclock Newsletter

In our last newsletter we announced a new Time Cards report, which conveniently consolidates an employee's daily punches to one line per day. We received a lot of positive feedback from you that this new report makes it easier to process your payroll.

In a similar vein, today we are announcing a new Time Cards editor. This new editor enables an intuitive and stream-lined method to viewing and editing employees times quickly. It removes much of the extra effort and distraction at having to open each punch to edit or to add punch times. At the same time, you can still access the complete punch detail from the editor.

Below is a screenshot. We are currently labeling it as a "Beta" feature, to emphasize to you that we'd love to hear your feedback on it. We are definitely planning to do more with this editor and make it even more useful to you. So let us know what you think!
New time card editor

In case you hadn't noticed, in the past month we've come out with a number of new features, including:
  • RESTful API for customers who want to build custom software applications which interface with Fareclock services and data.
  • Additional payroll exports including job costing data to Quickbooks, and Valiant software for restaurant and food service operators.
  • Employee auto-complete search, so you can quickly get to the employee you want, without having to scroll through employee lists.
  • You can now permanently delete punches and delete employees, in addition to being able to reject/deactivate them.
If you'd like to stay abreast of our new features as they release, you should definitely follow us on Twitter or Facebook, where we post more frequent, bite-sized announcements.

Lastly, please keep sending us feedback: what you like, what you don't like, what new features you'd like to see from us. We highly value your input, and it is the primary driver of where we focus our time, money and efforts.

Apr 22, 2013

Fareclock Newsletter


We'd like to update you on a few things things that may be of interest to you:

  1. We recently released an update to the Admin Console with some changes to our reports. The report which used to be called "Time Cards" has been renamed to "Punches". In its place, there is now a new "Time Cards" report which shows two pairs of IN/OUT punches per line. Hopefully, that will in almost all cases allow you to view an employee's punches for one day on one line with the total hours for that day. The Dashboard Period Activity panes also link to this new report. If you prefer to view it in the old format, then you'll just want to navigate in the top menu bar to Reports => Punches. Please give us feedback on how you like this new report!
  2. We've added Time Cards export functionality to ADP and Paychex payroll services, in addition to Quickbooks. These export options are available in the new Time Cards report. If you have a different payroll service and would like us to support it, please let us know!
  3. We recently released a new update (version 1.6.9) to our mobile app in the App Store. The most significant feature in the update is a new anti-time tampering feature to detect and lock-out the app if somebody changes the system time on the device. This feature is disabled by default, but you can turn it on in the Admin Console by going to Settings => Clocks => Defaults, click on "Show advanced settings, and then check the box which says "Prevent tampering time on device".

Jan 8, 2013

New Fareclock Admin Console


We recently released a brand-new version of the Fareclock Admin Console:


This new version was built from the ground-up, and has more features than can be listed here. Here are just a few:

  • Dashboard information shows top-down view of activity and what administrators should focus on.
  • Cleaner interface, with easy access to advanced features.
  • Streamlined punch review, with optional keyboard navigation.
  • Enhanced reporting.
  • In-pane customer support and chat, with knowledge base article search.
New customers will automatically receive the new Admin Console when signing up. Existing customers will still be shown the old Admin Console, with a link at the top to switch to the new one. We will automatically migrate all existing customers to the new Admin Console in the near future.

Try it out today, and let us know what you think by submitting feedback directly from the Dashboard.

Dec 23, 2011

Fareclock covered on CNN today in article discussing facial recognition technology


Fareclock was covered today on CNN in an article discussing facial recognition technology. Here is a link to the article on CNN.com: http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/23/technology/face_com_facial_recognition/index.htm.

Or you can also read the article saved on our web site here: https://www.fareclock.com/misc/CNN-article.pdf

Nov 1, 2011

Auto body shops use facial recognition employee time clocks to eliminate “buddy punching”


According to a study by Nucleus Research, a global provider of IT advisory and research services, 74 percent of organizations experience payroll losses directly related to buddy punching. Nucleus also found that organizations save on average 2.2% of gross payroll by eliminating buddy punching through the use of biometric time clocks.

An auto body shop business with three locations in the Baltimore metropolitan area has succeeded at eliminating buddy punching through the use of Fareclock’s facial recognition employee time attendance system. Camden Body & Fender was founded in 1925 and is currently the oldest auto repair shop in Maryland. They made the switch to Fareclock earlier this year, and have no regrets.

Camden Body owners Mota Gur and Jay Weinberg have seen tremendous benefits to using Fareclock. In past years, they used the classic punch card method, which was very vulnerable to buddy punching. It was simple to take any one else’s punch card and punch in or out. Moreover, processing all the cards and adding up hours each week for payroll was a nightmare.

In 2006, in order to combat buddy punching and to simplify payroll processing, Camden Body moved to an electronic badge swipe system. The intent behind this new system was that the employee would carry their badge with them, as opposed to leaving punch cards on a rack next to the clock for any one to take. However, this method did not work as hoped, since employees were still able to leave their badges with a co-worker and have a buddy swipe in or out of work. The badge system was also difficult to administrate. It required complicated server software installed at the shop and constantly required rebooting. The badges cost the shop three dollars each and would periodically deteriorate and require replacement.

In 2009, Camden Body gave up on the badge system and switched to a web-based time clock using a touch screen and pin number for each employee. Although this new system had the benefits of using a web-based service without requiring a server and employee badges, it had the severe deficiency of not working whenever the Internet connection was not reliable. Whenever such a situation would arise, employees could not clock in or out, creating a payroll nightmare.

Finally in 2011, Camden Body decided to switch to Fareclock, the world’s only web-based facial recognition time clock service. Fareclock promised all the features that Camden Body had been looking for, including buddy punch prevention, no server required, easy payroll processing, and zero downtime. And they weren’t let down. Fareclock came through on all these features and more. Because Fareclock’s wall-mounted time clock will work offline in the event of a disruption to the internet connection, there’s no longer a concern for employees not able to clock in or out.

The switch was a no-brainer.

Oct 24, 2011

Fareclock launches world's first Cloud-based Facial Recognition Employee Time Tracking System


Fareclock announced its release this week of the world's first cloud-based facial recognition employee time tracking system. The Fareclock system is a highly scalable service capable of supporting the entire business spectrum, from small business to large corporations with hundreds of thousands of employees at thousands of locations across the globe.

Fareclock's unique service is designed to use low-cost iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch devices running time clock software. These devices can be either attached to the wall as a kiosk, or operated in a mobile environment. The device is normally connected to the internet via a WiFi or celullar 3G/4G network, and communicates with the Fareclock hosted service. Customers do not need computer servers or additional IT infrastructure to support the functionality. The time clock can also operate offline in the event that the internet connection is unavailable and then synchronize with the Fareclock service when internet connectivity is later restored. A company can use one or multiple time clocks wherever it needs.

The Fareclock service also includes an administrative web site that managers can connect to via a desktop browser. The web site supports dozens of features, including business rule configurations, multiple administrators with varying permissions, location and clock set-up, employee set-up, punch management, and reporting. The web site can be accessed from anywhere via manager sign-in, either using a unique password, or via Google or Yahoo sign on.

The service is offered either by monthly or annual subscription, and includes free technical support. There are multiple subscription plans to choose from. Details and pricing is listed on the Fareclock web site.

For more information about Fareclock, you may visit their web site at: www.fareclock.com.