The time and attendance industry is one of those industries that if you've haven't been involved with it then it may be hard to really know who the players are, what the trends are, what features will benefit you the most, what is considered good pricing for the features offered and what type of maintenance/service should be demanded.

If you ask anyone who the players are in this industry you'd be hard pressed to get any answers. This is because time clock systems and workforce management systems are not typically a hot topic. These systems are only used by those who handle payroll, HR or time and labor costing. Secondly, back only about 2-3 years ago, the model for the manufacturers was to have its channels sell and service the systems. Today, with more manufacturers in the market place, the manufacturers are starting to sell direct in the hopes of generating more sales and name recognition. In many cases all this direct selling amounts to is the manufacturers 'picking off' higher end deals and leaving the resellers with the customers they don't want to deal with. In some cases I cannot argue with that approach because depending upon what dealers are in what areas of the country, a manufacturer may not feel that dealer can handle the level of expertise the sale and support may require.

Suffice it to say that the resellers are not thrilled about this. The relationships between manufacturers and their channels may be strained. There are so many offerings on the market today to collect and manage worked hours that not many have brand recognition. You can search on a variety of sites that compare time clock systems, none of which you may even recognize. This is what makes it difficult to embrace a time tracking solution.

Payroll companies are correct in partnering up with reputable time and attendance firms because the two offerings compliment one another and make for a more solid and comprehensive offering to the buyer. Unfortunately, even the largest of payroll companies (and you can guess who I may be referring to) may offer this comprehensive solution, but there do exist better options to choose from with more features, better reports and ease of use.

For instance, ADP offers Kronos for time collection systems. Unfortunately, with this 'marriage of convenience' the customer is forced to rent time clock hardware if they want the total ADP solution for time collection AND payroll. I am still hard pressed to find any client of theirs who can rave about their support or service. Other time collection offerings exist that can be integrated with ADP, you don't have to rent the hardware, the reports run circles around the ADP/Kronos offering and these other time collection software offerings have features that are vital to not getting sued such as traceability reporting on time card changes.

My purpose is not to beat up the biggest player out there; I just want to show that there are many options that can work well. This is why we're providing unbiased, insider information about this industry, its vendors and the products that are available.