You’re in business because you care deeply about the products or services you provide to your customers or clients. And if you’re like 99 percent of business owners, you also do it to make money, and to ensure that next year is more profitable than this year. Smart business owners and HR managers know that one of the keys to success is keeping a sharp eye on expenses, and employees – both in terms of their time and their productivity.

Fact is, keeping track of your employees’ time is one of the most important aspects of being in business. When they’re productive, you succeed; when they’re not on the job but should be, you lose time, money and productivity. It’s estimated that 54 minutes are ‘stolen’ by the typical employee every workday. That’s more than half a workday each week, which ultimately adds up to six weeks per year!

When it’s all calculated, depending upon the number of workers in your firm, employee time theft amounts to serious dollars lost every day, week, month and year. Hourly, non-exempt employees who come in late or leave early, are no-shows, and those who enlist a fellow employee to punch in and out for them (buddy punching) can do a lot of financial harm to your business. As such, it benefits you to make sure that your employees are accountable for every minute of every workday. That’s why forward-thinking companies are implementing time and attendance systems and state-of-the-art GPS technology to help thwart employees’ attempts at buddy punching and other types of time theft.

The major benefit of a time and attendance system is to ensure accuracy of employees’ time logged. When such a system is in place, there’s no more guesswork concerning total time worked and when employees clock in and clock out, and there is no discrepancy about employee days off, paid time off accrued, and other employee time and pay issues. Plus, a time and attendance system will also help organizations’ stay compliant with the most up-to-date laws and regulations.

With approximately 21 percent of employees surveyed admitting to stealing time from their company (five percent through buddy punching, 69 percent punching in earlier or later than scheduled, and 14 percent failing to clock out for lunch or breaks), the establishment of a time and attendance system is essential for any business looking to keep the lid on employee time theft.

Accu Data’s Time and Attendance software is also a great leap forward in keeping track of workers’ comings and goings in and out of the workplace. It tells employers who’s on site, for how long, and it’s an ideal way to keep close watch of employees’ time. Accu Data’s Time and Attendance software is fully native to Accu Data’s Human Capital Management software, meaning that it completely eliminates the need for exporting, importing or duplicating data entry. With Accu Data’s software, we manage all time-tracking data directly in our system, leaving you more time to work on day-to-day business.

Finally, it’s important to remember that employee time theft has costs that go beyond the workplace: It impacts the entire firm, and also results in the cost of time thievery ultimately being assumed by customers and clients. As such, a time and attendance system will solve problems across the board, while reaping benefits right away – and down the road.

Talk to an Accu Data Workforce Solutions representative about integrating a highly efficient time and attendance system at your place of business. Not only is it cost-effective, but it will provide you with the peace of mind that comes with knowing that not only is time not being wasted – it’s now on your side!