ATLANTA -- Lathem Time Corporation, one of the world's leading designers and manufacturers of time and attendance products for small business, today released TouchStation, a biometric time system that uses fingerprint technology to identify employees and eliminate buddy punching.
The TouchStation Biometric Time System uses a touch sensor that stores up to 50 individual fingerprints. It connects to a computer and comes with Lathem's PayClock EZ software, which automatically calculates worked hours, including overtime, tracks sick and vacation time and provides 22 standard time and labor reports. The TouchStation system exports hours directly from the PayClock EZ software to most major payroll providers, including ADP and Paychex. The system offers seamless integration with the latest QuickBooks accounting products for a complete "touch-to-paycheck" solution.
Unlike other fingerprint systems on the market, TouchStation's unique, stand-alone design allows employees to clock in and out without interacting with the host computer or software. This capability is critical to small businesses whose employees can clock in using any existing PC without interrupting the current user. It also eliminates the need to invest in a dedicated PC. TouchStation can be installed on any computer across a Local Area Network.
Here's how it works. When an employee places his or her finger on the sensor, TouchStation will scan the fingerprint and compare it to the stored fingerprints. When the fingerprint is matched, a record of the punch will be added to the database. The display will show the employee's name, in or out status, and total hours worked for the pay period. An optional remote finger sensor allows individual employees to clock in and out at their own computers across a Local Area Network, or even across the Internet.
"We are excited to offer our customers the latest innovation in biometric time and attendance products," said Lance Whipple, Lathem Time director of marketing. "One of the greatest challenges in time and attendance is buddy punching. This system eliminates that problem using fingerprint technology that provides instant identification of the employee."
Kimberly Wilson, officer manager at Dura-Deck, Inc., a small, family-owned business in Tampa, said TouchStation takes the headache out of managing the company's 25 employees, most of whom are laborers. "The biometric system is the only system for us now and forever," Wilson said. "When our employees arrive at work, they are supposed to tend to their duties automatically, while management finalizes the morning schedule with contractors. Since no one is available to monitor the time clock, we had a whole group of employees who would arrive up to 45 minutes after their hand-written time card stated. The only answer was to man the time clock to 'catch' who was here at what time and who was clocking in for others. This would stir up some hard feelings in our family-run business. TouchStation is the best answer for us. If it were a card-based system, an employee could still clock in for someone else."
"I would recommend (and already have!) this system to anyone with employees," Wilson continued. "Payclock EZ is just that - easy. It does the work for you and allows you to manipulate it at your own discretion. The whole system is a perfect combination of checks and balances. The TouchStation combined with the PayClock EZ software eliminates several steps (especially manual entry of time cards) in the already complicated payroll process."
