attendance management

Apr

2025

Rachel from accounts wants more of your money – five ways to beat the NI cash grab

As if doing business wasn’t tough enough in these unpredictable times, the new financial year has brought yet another challenge to hard-pressed businesses – the eye-watering rise in Employer’s National Insurance (ER’s NI) contributions announced in the autumn budget.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves chose to hoik secondary Class 1 ER’s NI up to 15 per cent for the majority of employees and, at the same time, reduced the level at which employers start paying NIC – the secondary threshold – from £9,100 to £5,000 a year. According to accountancy and payroll firm Sage, these changes will increase the cost of employing staff for nearly a million – 940,000 – UK businesses. With increases also to the minimum wage, the year ahead will be the most expensive on record for any businesses employing minimum wage staff.

This means that, more than ever, it makes sense to take a close look at your day-to-day processes and ensure you are operating as efficiently as possible. We’ve put together a few tips that may help.

1 Make use of the Employment Allowance

The budget brought a bit of good news in the form of the Employment Allowance, which now allows employers to claim up to £10,500 pa against the cost of their NIC liability, up from £5,000 in the previous tax year. The eligibility bar of £100,000 has also been removed, so employers of all sizes can now benefit. For a smaller company, this could offset the cost of the entire ER’s NI bill, so make sure you claim the allowance each year.

2 Pay attention to timesheets

With every working hour counting towards your bottom line, you need to be sure that you are not inadvertently paying staff over the odds – and that means taking a long, hard look at your timesheets. Are you able to track workers’ movements to the minute and precise location and are you sure your payments are accurate to the nearest penny? Or are you still using paper-based records or relying on hit and miss figures and near-enough payments? If it’s the latter, it is worth considering upgrading to a more accurate and reliable electronic system that saves time, offers greater control over your wage bill and helps prevent overspends.

3 Take advantage of the latest attendance software

The low cost of technology means that monitoring workers’ hours and calculating timesheets quickly and reliably with specialist attendance software is within reach of even the smallest company. easyLog’s range of foolproof clocking apps can to be used with employees’ own phones or an ordinary tablet, keeping outlay to an absolute minimum. And clockings are backed-up by geolocation coordinates and other in-built security features so attendance is always recorded accurately for fast and reliable timesheet and pay management. There are attendance recording options for all workers and locations, from simple PIN and drop-down menus to QR code apps and biometric face recognition, all for a small monthly charge based on the number of app users.

4 Update rota management

Rota software that allows you to schedule staff according to your finances can be a real benefit when money is tight. Our rota software has lots of time and money saving options and works seamlessly with our attendance recording apps to make calculating pay correctly fast and simple. Useful options include the ability to allocate staff according to a budget, recording of sickness, holiday and other absences and easy management of flexible and minimum hours and multiple pay rates.

5 Make the most of reports

Our software comes with report options to make managing timesheets, costings and pay more accurate and efficient than before. For example, the “Costed” report allows users to define a pay rate per hour per person and then automatically add up a costed timesheet – handy for comparing against contractors’ invoices and keeping control of your expenditure. You can read more about reports here.

Get in touch

To find the right easyLog software for your employees, talk to one of our team on 01892 834406 or request a callback using the form on this page.

Feb

2025

Time is money – or, manage employees’ working hours more efficiently

With continued economic uncertainty and ballooning employer’s national insurance contributions on the horizon, many UK businesses have tough times ahead. So it’s more important than ever that you are managing employees’ working hours and pay accurately and efficiently.

This means making the most of the latest low-cost technology to track staff attendance and calculate timesheets, saving valuable time and reducing the risk of overspends. When margins are tight, rota software that allows you to schedule staff according to your budget can also help keep your operation in the black.

These are some of our customers’ favourite easyLog products for streamlining staff attendance and scheduling and lowering costs.

Low-cost staff attendance recording

Our Location Clock QR code clocking app is quick and easy to set up and keeps capital outlay to a minimum because it uses employees’ own smartphones as attendance recording devices. Despite being simple to use, the Location Clock app is very reliable – clockings are backed-up by geolocation coordinates and other in-built security features so attendance is recorded accurately, even if an employee tampers with the clock on their phone. There are no up front costs, just a small monthly charge based on the number of app users. This covers installation, easyLog software and support too.

We also offer a simple web-based attendance recording option, which enables sub-contractors and temporary workers to clock in securely with no pre-registration required. And our Clock with ID solution allows staff to clock in and out via a PIN or drop-down menu on an ordinary tablet, turning it into a fixed or portable attendance monitoring device at minimal cost.

Fraudproof biometric clocking at an affordable price

There are some employers who want the reassurance that only a biometric attendance recording option can provide – but understandably don’t relish the initial outlay and ongoing costs that a dedicated terminal involve. For them we have developed the Geo Clock with Photo app, which turns an everyday tablet into a fraudproof biometric clocking device that confirms identity via a stored photographic image, as well as date, time and location – all for a low monthly fee. This is an ideal low-cost option where correct identification is essential for site safety or if workers are determined to beat the system.

Streamline staff allocation with professional rota software

easyLog attendance recording apps are designed to work seamlessly with our rota software to make calculating pay fast and accurate. Unlike a paper or spreadsheet-based system, our professional rota management software has lots of time and money saving options, such as the ability to allocate staff according to a budget and allowing them to view their hours and submit expense and holiday requests via an app on their phone.

Other efficiency features include accurate management of flexible and minimum hours and multiple pay rates, as well as simple recording of sickness, holiday and other absences so calculating the correct rate of pay is quick and easy.

Find the most efficient staff management option for your business

If you have any questions about finding the right easyLog app for your employees, talk to one of our team on 01892 834406 or request a callback using the form on this page.

Aug

2024

Keep track of inductions and training with a QR code attendance app

When it comes to clocking apps, it seems there is no end to the versatility and usefulness of QR codes. Did you know, for instance, that you can use a standard easyLog clocking app to keep a record of employee induction and training sessions?

Like all the best ideas, it is brilliantly simple. Just create additional QR codes for any training and induction programmes and then get employees to record their participation by scanning the code, in the same way that they clock in.

As well as being quick and simple, the system:

Provides a reliable record of which employee attended a particular session and when
Is extremely cost-effective because it uses free-to-download QR codes and the company’s existing attendance recording solution
Can be used to record training and induction attendance at any time and in any location
Allows full reporting of both training and induction attendance by employee

Simple attendance recording for multiple activities

But the main advantage is that QR attendance recording is so flexible – it can be used for any activity from health and safety briefings and ensuring that machine operating instructions have been read to providing records for risk assessments.

Find out more

For more information about making the most of our versatile QR code attendance apps, speak to one of our team.

May

2024

Flexible reports for easier timesheet management

When you’re choosing a staff attendance system it’s easy to focus more attention on the employee-facing technology than what’s going on under the bonnet of the supporting software. But at easyLog we put a great deal of thought and effort into ensuring the behind-the-scenes features of our attendance products are as practical, simple to use and efficient as the clocking function.

Take reports, for instance. We have fine-tuned the report options to enable customers to view the data they need in ways that will help make managing timesheets, costings and pay more accurate and efficient than before. This is a taste of what you can expect.

Flexibility is the key

Being able to handle attendance data in the way that suits your particular organisation, staff and way of working is essential for effective management – so we have made the way reports are created and viewed as flexible as possible.

For instance, you can select data:

By site
By client
By department
By grade
By employee
By work group
And individually, or by a range, or by all

How you choose to format the report is equally flexible:

Timesheets can be rounded however you like – for example, to the nearest 15 minutes, or five minutes, and so on
Deduct unpaid breaks by definable rules
You can also view summaries and averages

Control of your costs

The “Costed” report option is another useful feature that is popular with customers, particularly those that employ sub-contractors such as construction companies. This report allows the user to define a pay rate per hour per person and then automatically add up a costed timesheet – handy for comparing against contractors’ invoices and keeping control of your costs.

The clever reports you don’t usually get

Feeback from customers shows that they appreciate the range of reports on offer. One they particularly like is the “Between first and last clockings” report. This shows the hours between the first and last clocking of the day and so gives a total timesheet for the hours on shift, without all the detail in between – which, of course, they can also see if they want. This is especially useful where workers start and end their day from one location – for example, going to an office to pick up a van and then returning it later that day.

Another report just lists who has clocked in on any selected day. And then there is the “Clients not visited” report, which enables you to check on clients or sites that have not been attended over a defined period.

Keep your accountant happy

Data reports need to be shareable with relevant parties, not least your accountancy software. So we have a range of export options, including Excel, Word, PDF and CSV, so you can make the most of the data.

Find out more

If you have any questions about our attendance solutions and reports, talk to one of our team on 01892 834406 or request a callback using the form on this page.

Jun

2020

Clocking in with a QR code: cheaper than chips!

The business world emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic will undoubtedly be very different from the one that entered the crisis. It will be even more cost-conscious, given the additional overheads of making and keeping premises safe for employees and visitors, and staff will have a heightened awareness of hygiene, with frequently touched surfaces and equipment requiring regular and scheduled cleaning. Work is also likely to be more flexible in terms of where and when it is conducted, with split shifts and staggered start times – and, as a result, monitoring staff hours and calculating pay will be more complex and require greater input and control.

Smartphone attendance apps for the new normal

In line with our reputation for supplying low cost, robust and practical employee time management solutions, easyLog has ensured that its range of QR code-based attendance recording apps meet all the requirements of hard-pressed employers coming to terms with the new normal.

From just £20 per month plus VAT for a system covering up to 15 employees, staff can record attendance at a single or multiple sites using their own (or company-issued) smartphone and easyLog’s Location Clock App.

Simple to download from the major stores and install, the app automatically scans and recognises a QR Code that is defined per location. It converts this into an instant employee attendance record and sends this to the e-Log web browser-based software application supplied as part of the solution. This produces detailed or summarised timesheets across any period per employee and location, can deduct unpaid break periods and export any report into Excel for further analysis.

QR codes – the low-cost solution that covers all the bases

Low cost – just over £1 per month per employee for the cloud-based solution. easyLog provides software support as required, online training and daily backup. No up-front, one-off set up and training costs – everything you need is included in the monthly amount. The minimum contract length is 12 months with one-month cancellation. Simple, clear and straightforward.
QR codes are free to generate and download from many websites. Your only cost is the paper and ink for printing.
Hygienic – employees use a smartphone which is always under their control, so there are no health concerns about multiple staff touching an attendance recording device and how clean and safe that unit remains.

For more information about attendance recording with QR codes, you can read this case study.

Find out more

easyLog offers a wide range of apps, attendance recording technologies and software. Talk to one of our team today on 01892 834406, request a callback or email us your enquiry.

Apr

2020

Keeping staff safe by maintaining attendance device hygiene

One of the side-effects of the coronavirus pandemic is that we have all become much more aware of hygiene procedures, with government advice on hand washing and disinfecting surfaces with increased regularity becoming embedded in the routine of our daily lives.

This has caused our clients to consider the most effective way of cleaning their attendance recording hardware and so address employee concerns about the frequency with which this equipment is touched by multiple people.

Regular hand-washing is more important than ever

Like any hard surface – whether it be a door handle, desk or computer keyboard – germs can survive for a varying period of up to 72 hours after contact (source: www.gov.uk). We therefore recommend cleaning your clocking equipment more frequently using the usual recommended method while also encouraging employees to follow the government’s advice on washing their hands more often and for a minimum period of 20 seconds.

How technology can make staff clocking more hygienic

Before the current pandemic, a quick visual check or once weekly clean would have satisfied most staff that the contact they had with items in their work environment was perfectly safe. Understandably that view has changed and may well continue even after the threat from Covid-19 has been seen to pass.

In the belief that attitudes may fundamentally change on hygiene in the workplace, we have been asked by clients if options exist for equipment that requires no contact by the employee.

In short, there is no attendance hardware used by multiple staff that enables zero contact from the user. As a minimum, the employee will need to enter the in or out direction of their record. A face recognition terminal provides the facility to stand away from the hardware and thereby minimise contact with it while also offering the advantage of unique biometric recognition. A tablet running one of easyLog’s attendance apps will still require an employee to touch it but provides a flat surface that makes the cleaning process simple and efficient.

Our smartphone app means users do not have to share equipment

If staff members each possess a smartphone, easyLog offers options with easily downloadable apps that allow reliable and accurate attendance recording without recourse to equipment used by others. Of course, the practicality of this will depend on the workforce, the numbers involved and layout of the entrance area and specific clocking location.

These are all options that easyLog is happy to discuss now or in the post-pandemic, and probably more hygiene-conscious, world into which businesses will emerge. Until that time, please stay safe.

Phone us now on 01892 834406 or request a callback