clocking in with QR codes

Apr

2023

Celebrating 50 years of the barcode – the forerunner of the QR code

It’s hard to remember a time when barcodes weren’t absolutely everywhere – first they appeared on our groceries, then spread to books, membership cards, parcels, concert tickets and even runners’ bibs. But the barcode that we know today dates back just 50 years – to 3 April 1973.

That was when the US grocery industry adopted the first universal product code (UPC), a linear barcode developed by IBM based on an earlier concept by Norman Joseph Woodland, inspired by Morse Code. Designed to reduce costs and make stock taking easier, linear barcodes and the scanners needed to read them were gradually introduced to supermarkets in the 1970s.

From barcodes to QR codes – and recording staff attendance

QR, or quick response, codes followed soon after in 1994, invented by Japanese firm Denso Wave for tracking car parts. Their easy readability – particularly with the advent of smartphones – and greater data storage capacity meant they were quickly put to a growing range of uses, from product tracking and staff management to marketing.

easyLog’s QR code apps tap into this flexibility to create a range of low-cost and versatile management tools.

Our QR employee clocking apps, for example, use free-to-download QR codes and workers’ own smartphones or company tablets to provide simple but dependable attendance recording systems for businesses of any type and size.

We also have QR code apps that are used to time jobs on factory production lines, monitor site visits and night checks – for example in the construction, security and care industries – and even record the location of a dog sitter’s charges. In fact, we have found QR codes provide an affordable solution for almost any task where attendance at a given location needs to be recorded quickly and easily, along with any other information needed to identify, analyse and report on the work undertaken.

Find out more about our QR code apps

For more information speak to one of our team on 01892 834406 or request a callback.

Coincidentally, 3 April 1973 was not just a historic date for barcodes – it was also the day Motorola demonstrated the first handheld mobile phone.

Aug

2022

Flexible QR codes for fuss-free time recording of every business process

You may not have noticed but there has been a quiet revolution in monitoring staff attendance. Low-cost, app-based products using free-to-download QR codes and employees’ own smartphones or company tablets have made reliable and efficient clocking-in systems affordable for the first time for many businesses – particularly smaller employers, who are now able to benefit from faster, more accurate timesheet management.

QR codes: the simplest, cheapest and most effective solution

But the usefulness and convenience of QR code apps, such as easyLog’s Location Clock, extends way beyond a simple, cost-effective employee clocking option. easyLog customers have been coming to us with an increasingly varied range of attendance tracking dilemmas which we have been able to resolve simply, cheaply and effectively with QR code apps.

The key to the solution’s appeal is that it can be used to record a specific employee’s attendance at a given location quickly and easily, along with any other information needed to identify, analyse and report on the work undertaken. This makes it an ideal option for a wide variety of uses, from identifying different work areas in a cleaning contract or building site to logging tasks on a factory production line.

To show just how versatile QR codes can be, here are a few of the projects currently using adapted or customised versions of easyLog’s core QR code attendance apps.

Staff clocking and logging work in a factory

Most of our customers opt for the standard implementation of QR clocking where employees scan a QR code at a specific location using the easyLog app on their phones. But this is not the only way of doing things.

A customer recently chose an alternative version, where workers are each given a badge with an identifying QR code that they use to clock in and out by scanning it at a fixed Windows tablet.

The same process is used on the factory production line. Machinery and other production areas are provided with wall-mounted tablets. When employees start a process, they simply scan their QR code badge to identify themselves and select the task they are about to start from a dropdown list.

Monitoring cleaning staff visits

A cleaning company with a contract to clean multiple schools uses our QR clocking app to record visit data, ensuring that they not only have accurate timesheet information but also details of who cleaned every location and at what time. The employees install the app on their smartphone and then use it to scan a QR code in every room on arrival and exit. Simple but reliable.

Helping a dog sitting service keep track

A daytime pet-sitting service that looks after people’s dogs while they are at work needed a dependable method of tracking when each dog had been delivered back to its owners at the end of the day. Using an easyLog app, they now scan an identifying QR code on each dog’s cage when it is returned, so there is an instant record that can be checked at any point in the delivery round.

Pilot and driver check-ins

A specialist aviation company uses an easyLog QR code app to monitor the departure and arrival times of its pilots and drivers. They clock in and out using their phones to scan a QR code at each location, providing an accurate log of their working hours. If no QR code is available, on a new route for example, the app uses geolocation data instead.

Timing work on a livery yard

QR codes are placed in each stable on a livery yard and scanned by the employee using their smartphone when they enter and leave to record that each stable has been mucked out and how long it took.

Find out more

All our apps can be adapted to suit individual requirements, often without the need for bespoke development. For more information about our versatile QR code attendance apps, visit our employee clocking website or speak to one of our team.

Mar

2021

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.

Jan

2021

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.

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.

clocking in with QR codes

Celebrating 50 years of the barcode – the forerunner of the QR code

It’s thanks to supermarkets’ adoption of barcodes in the 1970s that we can record staff attendance with QR codes today

Flexible QR codes for fuss-free time recording of every business process

The low-cost tracking option for everything from pilots and dog sitters to factory production lines

Hygienic QR code attendance recording – at a very affordable price

Show clients that cleaning is being done with a QR code attendance app

Clocking in with a QR code: cheaper than chips!

Phone us now on 01892 834406 or request a callback