QR codes get the Royal Mail stamp of approval
At easyLog, we already know that QR codes provide a low-cost, simple and secure way of recording essential clocking data – and so do the many customers who use our QR code attendance app, Location Clock, to record workers’ hours.
Now Royal Mail is getting in on the act by adding QR codes to its stamps. The new stamps, which will still feature an image of the Queen but no longer include a monetary value, are designed to connect physical stamps to the digital world via the Royal Mail app and are being phased in by 31 January 2023.
QR codes: simple, secure and efficient
According to Royal Mail, the smart barcodes are part of drive to reinvent its stamps for the next generation and will improve operational efficiency, enable the introduction of additional security features and pave the way for innovative services.
The easyLog Location Clock app similarly uses QR code technology to create a foolproof, 21st century attendance record. Staff simply download the app to their phone and use it to scan a barcode at their work location. A record of the employee, site, date and time is then sent automatically to the easyLog software. It’s as simple as licking a stamp.
Attendance recording with Location Clock at a glance…
- Affordable attendance app shows exactly who is working, when and where using free-to-download QR codes
- App works on iPhone, Android and Windows phones
- Export any report into an Excel spreadsheet
- Automatically adds up timesheets by hours and wage cost across any period
- Software is web-based so can be accessed 24/7 on any smartphone, tablet or laptop with an internet connection
- Built-in anti-fraud measures prevent any abuse
- The app can be customised with your company logo and colours, presenting a professional image to customers and employees
- Flexible pricing models by employee or monthly clocking numbers
The complete easyLog Location Clock solution starts from as little as £20 plus VAT per month for up to 15 employees, including support, training and company branding of the app.
For more information about recording attendance with QR codes or any of our software products, call us on 01892 834406, send us an email or visit our clocking website.
Get immunity from Covid-related staff absences with flexible rota software
After more than two years of Covid-19, we are now entering a new phase of learning to live with it – thanks largely to a successful vaccination programme. But while it’s undoubtedly good news that restrictions are gradually being lifted throughout the UK, the virus still has plenty of potential to cause havoc, with staff absences due to infection and self-isolation proving particularly frustrating for employers.
This means sudden and unexpected gaps in the rota, often combined with a reduced pool of employees available to fill them. Then there are the increased complications in calculating pay.
Make last minute changes to the rota from anywhere
A professional rota management system can’t conjure up staff from nowhere but it can save you time and unnecessary stress by helping you deal with absences as they arise, simply and efficiently. And, unlike a paper or spreadsheet-based staff allocation system, easyLog’s purpose-built software is available in a browser-based format so you can create and adjust your staff rosters anywhere with access to the internet, up to the very last minute.
You can also choose useful additional features such as allocating staff according to a budget and enabling them to view their hours and submit expense and holiday requests via an app on their phone.
Rota software: so much more than a spreadsheet
Some of the benefits of our browser-based rota software include:
- Instant information on potential gaps in the rota, such as staff running late, leaving too early or not appearing for a shift – with alarms automatically emailed to key personnel
- Rotas can be created quickly and easily using standard shift times selected from a dropdown menu or on an ad-hoc basis
- A definable repeating pattern, for example weekly or two weekly, can be set per employee if staff work regular shifts
- Staff can be assigned a standard shift, modified standard shift or a manually-entered period
- Multiple shift times and specific clients can be allocated on an individual day
- The rota can be displayed for all staff or by work group, showing all the shifts allocated to employees in more than one work group
- Options for managing flexible hours such as definable start and end times and monitoring minimum hours within a defined period
- Simple recording of sickness, holiday and other absences for accurate payroll management
- Range of reports covering payroll, holiday, sickness, punctuality and other essential staff management matters
Calculating the correct pay is easy
Covid absences don’t just complicate the rota – working out correct rates of pay can also be a challenge. Isolation sick pay and staff who work variable roles, rates and/or shifts are just two of the issues that will make the payroll manager’s job even harder.
easylog software can manage multiple pay rates, so calculating the correct rate of pay is simple. A shift analysis report, for example, automatically calculates an employee’s average pay per hour across any period, which can be used to determine the average hourly rate.
easyLog also offers a variety of low-cost staff attendance recording apps that work seamlessly with our rota software. The attendance records are automatically compared against shift times to produce a pay analysis report, while an authorisation procedure provides the option to pay, part pay or disallow a period if there is a discrepancy.
Find out more
For more information on our browser-based rota and payroll reporting software, including customisation request, please contact us. Alternatively visit our staff scheduling web pages.
A fresh approach to worker allocation that saves time – and money
easyLog customer Brogan Group passed another significant milestone in streamlining its people management processes this week when it replaced labour allocation sheets made in Excel with a specially-customised version of easyLog’s Site Supervisor app.
A customised app that cuts down on admin
Originally created to help cleaning and maintenance companies with their job estimates and management, Site Supervisor is now enabling contract managers at scaffolding and powered access company Brogan to use their work iPads to allocate daily jobs and locations to up to 300 individual contractors. The new system is saving Brogan many work hours each week in time-consuming admin, which was previously done with spreadsheet program Excel.
Achieving even greater efficiencies with attendance apps
When they arrive on site, Brogan contractors also use easyLog smartphone or tablet apps to record their attendance. Their clockings are passed directly into the easyLog timesheet software, making calculating their correct pay fast and simple.
You can find out more about our Site Supervisor app on our cleaning management webpage and about Brogan Group’s employee attendance solution in our case study. Alternatively contact us to talk to one of our team.
Smile for the camera – you’re being clocked in
Simplicity and a low price tag are often at the very top of our customers’ wish lists when it comes to attendance recording systems. Increasingly, they are also looking for an option that is effective against clocking fraud.
Our face capture version of the popular Geo Clock With Photo clocking app ticks all the boxes for employers who want the reassurance of photo identification without having to go as far as implementing a face recognition system. Fast, foolproof and affordable, it is the ideal alternative to biometric clocking for those who want both reliability and convenience.
Quick and simple attendance recording on a tablet or phone
easyLog’s Geo Clock face capture app can be used with either tablets or smartphones. Tablets are usually fixed in position and the front camera is used to take a photo of each employee as they clock in and out. These images can be monitored manually in situ or remotely, for example in the main office through a simple report.
When the app is installed on a smartphone, photo clockings are normally made by a supervisor or manager using the rear camera on their phone. This option is ideal for variable or temporary work locations, such as building sites, and provides a photographic record for later cross-checking if required.
Photo + geolocation data = peace of mind
The manual photo record is combined with geolocation data, providing a robust record of identity, time and location. Clockings are always accepted, even if the device is offline, and the record is stored.
Find out whether face capture is right for your staff…
If you want to know more about any of our attendance recording apps, visit our clocking web pages, talk to one of our team or try it out with a free evaluation trial.
Biometric clocking: the low-cost, high-tech way of controlling attendance
Clocking staff in and out using a biometric app on a mobile phone or tablet may sound like science fiction – but in fact a growing number of employers are finding that biometric attendance recording is a surprisingly cheap and highly secure way of controlling exactly who is attending their premises and when.
What is biometric attendance recording?
Biometric clocking options use software that compares an individual’s unique biological characteristics – such as facial features, voice or fingerprints – with a pre-saved version and checks for a match. The result is stored electronically, along with the date, time and location of the clocking, and transferred automatically to your easyLog timesheet system. It sounds simple – and it is.
With biometric attendance monitoring you not only get a foolproof record of the date, place and time of attendance but also confirmation of each employee’s identity. This is particularly useful in high security workplaces or when you want to be sure that staff are not fraudulently clocking in on behalf of a fellow worker. Biometric clocking apps for smartphone and tablet are also ideal for clocking staff in hygienically because there is little or no physical contact.
Turn phones and tablets into low-cost biometric clocking devices
easyLog’s biometric attendance recording apps turn smartphones and tablets into flexible clocking devices without the outlay associated with purchasing and maintaining a dedicated terminal. Our biometric mobile apps also have the advantage of enabling employees to clock in and out via their own phone, independently and remotely, without risk of fraud.
Geo Clock With Photo works by taking a photo on the device’s camera when an employee clocks in or out and verifying it with facial recognition software. This information is combined with geolocation data, such as GPS coordinates, to provide a tamperproof record of identity, location, date and time.
The Geo Clock With Photo app is easily downloaded and installed on an employee’s Android or Apple smartphone via the appropriate app store for self-clocking. Alternatively, it can be installed on a tablet so a supervisor can record the attendance of staff as they arrive and leave. A tablet can also be wall-mounted to provide a fixed clocking device using either Geo Clock With Photo or easyLog’s Face Log app.
Fixed biometric clocking options that put you in control
Face Log is an attendance app designed specifically for tablets in a fixed location. Like Geo Clock With Photo, Face Log supports facial recognition using a photo taken with the device’s in-built camera and clockings are backed up with geolocation data. But, unlike Geo Clock With Photo, Face Log will not accept a clocking if the image doesn’t match, ensuring an extremely reliable attendance record. Face Log also works on voice recognition, speech activation and manual photo identification, if that suits you and your staff better.
For those requiring a traditional fixed terminal with the reassurance of biometric identification, fingerprint is often the most practical answer. easyLog provides a choice of devices, including the highly versatile uFace multi clocking terminal, which offers facial as well as fingerprint recognition. uFace can also be used with radio-frequency identification (RFID) fobs or cards, if required.
We also offer online and offline (SIM-based) fingerprint-only readers for those looking for an affordable but dependable biometric option that suits a variety of workforces and locations.
Find out which attendance solution is best for your staff and sites
If you want to know more about any of our biometric attendance systems, visit our dedicated clocking website or contact us to talk to one of our team.
Get on top of track and trace with QR code attendance recording for cleaners
In the post Covid-19 world, the demands on record keeping by cleaning contractors have increased massively, with track and trace capability an essential element in preventing the onward transmission of infection. A cleaning service provider will not only need to prove employee attendance at the site but also potentially the areas, buildings and even individual rooms or offices that their cleaners entered.
Thankfully, easyLog has a simple, easy-to-implement, low-cost solution based around smartphone QR code scanning technology.
Cleaners record arrival and leaving times simply by scanning a QR code
QR codes are available from numerous free-to-use websites. Multiple QR codes can be created, each representing a specific location. Cleaners then use easyLog's easily installable Location Clock app on their Apple or Android smartphone to record their arrival and leaving time, simply by scanning the QR code placed at each location.
The attendance records are then transferred into easyLog’s eLog timesheet and attendance software module. The software is web browser-based, meaning that it can be accessed on any smartphone, tablet or laptop that has an internet connection – just like a website. So records can be viewed on the move by busy owners or managers without the need to return to an office.
Web browser-based software from just £20 per month
And with business costs increasing from the measures now needed to protect workforces and ensure best practice, you’ll be pleased to hear that this complete easyLog solution starts from as little as £20 plus VAT per month for up to 15 employees, including support, training and branding the app with your company logo and colours.
If you want to know more, visit our cleaning management website or contact us to talk to one of our team.
Sleep-in shifts: No longer a nightmare
Last week’s Supreme Court ruling that employers are only required to pay night-time carers minimum wage rates for the hours that they are active, rather than the entirety of a sleep-in shift, will doubtless have caused a big sigh of relief in the care sector – not least because it has removed the prospect of huge back payments.
Calculating carers’ sleep-in pay just got more complicated
The subject of sleep-in pay has been ping-ponging around the courts since 2014. But although an overarching principle has finally been established, the devil is always in the detail – and employers are still left with a range of complicated options when it comes to paying carers for sleep-ins.
Rota software that handles the difficult calculations for you
Through long experience with clients in the supported living and residential care sectors, easyLog has developed functionally-rich rota software that takes the hard work out of paying staff at both single and hourly payment rates, even within an individual overnight shift.
The software supports pay schemes where carers are paid at different rates for working with more challenging service users and for working in more remote locations. And it’s all instantly calculated, clearly presented and exportable into a wide range of third party payroll software products, such as Sage and Xero.
Find out more
Please contact us if you'd like more information on easyLog's software for care providers or visit our dedicated web pages for supported living and care home operators.
Site Supervisor: the app that lets you manage cleaning and property maintenance jobs on site
As a supplier of attendance monitoring and scheduling software to cleaning and property maintenance contractors, we are only too aware that these customers tend to do as much, or more, of their work outside the office as sitting behind a desk.
With this in mind, easyLog has developed Site Supervisor, a low-cost app for tablets and smartphones that enables managers to be more effective and productive on site – by inspecting and recording progress on existing contracts and creating estimates for prospective jobs, as well as sharing details with colleagues and clients via email. The app can also be used by staff to log completed tasks and add optional notes and photos so you can track exactly what is being done and when.
Manage inspections and estimates anywhere, online or offline
The Site Supervisor app can be used online and offline, so is suitable for all kinds of site and location, including premises with no internet connection.
With Site Supervisor, you can:
- Submit a repair request for a property and view previous requests
- Authorise new maintenance tasks
- Produce maintenance job sheets
- Sign-off and archive maintenance work requests
- Record a site inspection check list using dropdown menus, flagging up alarms if necessary
- Email details of inspections quickly and easily to colleagues and clients
- View work reports over a selected period and share them by email
- Estimate site cleaning and maintenance job times using a scoring system
- View the latest updated estimates
- Record actions as they are being done and add notes and pictures
Site Supervisor works on Android, Apple and Windows tablets and smartphones and can be easily customised to suit your company’s specific business practices. The app is ideal for commercial cleaning contractors, property maintenance companies and other organisations that need a straightforward and reliable way of keeping building maintenance records.
Talk to one of our team
For more information about the easyLog Site Supervisor app, or any of our staff attendance and scheduling products for cleaning and property maintenance companies, talk to one of our team on 01892 834406 or visit our cleaning management website.
Hygienic QR code attendance recording – at a very affordable price
If your staff are concerned about recording their attendance on a traditional clocking-in terminal shared by multiple employees, there is an alternative – easyLog’s low-cost, simple-to-implement QR code clocking app.
Covid-safe clocking in with a smartphone
Using their own smartphone – and therefore ensuring a Covid-safe approach – each employee scans a QR code to identify their location and record the time and date of their attendance. QR codes are free to download from multiple websites and, after laminating, can be placed anywhere indoors or outside.
The easyLog Location Clock app is downloaded free by your staff from the online stores and is automatically set up for use simply by entering two numbers when prompted. The app can be branded with your company logo and colours so presents a professional image to both your customers and employees.
No IT skills required and anti-fraud measure built in
The attendance records are automatically passed into easyLog’s eLog timesheet management software module to swiftly produce reports by employee, client, job function, etc, across any date period for the time spent at any site. This web browser-based software can be accessed on any device with an internet connection and is run on a cloud platform, so no IT skills or overhead are required.
And, if you think someone might copy the QR code and scan it from the comfort of their bed, there are a number of anti-fraud measures in the system to ensure any abuse is quickly identified.
Above all, in these testing times, you’ll be pleased to hear that this complete easyLog solution starts from as little as £20 plus VAT per month for up to 15 employees, including support, training and company branding of the app.
Find out more
Contact one of our team on 01892 834406 or send us an email if you would like to know more.
Show clients that cleaning is being done with a QR code attendance app
Many things have changed since the pandemic struck. But even during periods of lockdown commercial premises have still had to be cleaned – often using new, more time-consuming processes. This has placed additional pressure on contract cleaning companies not only in terms of implementing more stringent sanitising routines but also in demonstrating to clients that all their Covid hygiene requirements have been met.
easyLog’s QR code attendance app, Location Clock, is simple, low-cost tool that can help by providing firm evidence of exactly who is attending which location and when. This ensures that your cleaners’ timesheets are accurate and you have dependable tracking information if required, as well as enabling you to reassure clients that cleaning regimes are being conducted as requested.
And, because the app is loaded onto each cleaner’s smartphone, your employees can clock in and out hygienically without using clients’ phones.
Track cleaning of individual rooms and work zones
The app is used to read a free-to-download QR code on arrival at a work location. Any number of unique identifying codes can be used, so the system can record cleaners’ visits to individual rooms, work zones, equipment or even a particular route around a building, depending on your clients’ requirements.
The Location Clock app creates a foolproof record of the employee, site, date and time, which is automatically sent back to the easyLog software. Reports can then be generated and shared with clients by email to show that their cleaning regimes are being followed correctly.
The attendance app is suitable for cleaning and maintenance contractors of all sizes and is available with flexible pricing models based on employee or monthly clocking numbers.
Find out more
easyLog’s Location Clock app is one of a number of software products designed to help cleaning and maintenance contractors manage site visits and timesheets, staff rotas, job estimates and inspections. For more information, contact one of our team on 01892 834406, request a callback or send us an email.