While being a people manager may be one of your passions, struggling with complex timesheets isn’t. Too often, managers still use dated scheduling solutions like spreadsheets — or even pen and paper — to build employee schedules.

But when an employee’s car breaks down or their son is sick at home with a fever, you need an easy way to pivot on the fly. And with new labor laws looming on the horizon, accurate employee time and attendance is more important than ever.

Read on for four reasons employee time and attendance is more important than you think.

1. It’s costing you money

Whether you manage a hip bar, a small hotel chain, or a medical practice, you’ve probably questioned the accuracy of your staff’s reported time. That means you could be paying more than you should for worked hours.

But inaccurate timesheets don’t just frustrate managers, they frustrate employees. A 2018 analysis found that part-time, hourly retail employees had an average turnover rate of 81% that year alone — up from 76% the previous year. And high turnover leads to unnecessary time and money you’ll be spending to onboard new staff.

Save yourself time by using modern time and attendance technology. Instead of having employees mark a physical timesheet as they walk in each morning, employers should have them clock in and out electronically. Some technologies to better the process include:

A biometric kiosk that employees use to clock in and out

An app with geolocation that allows employees to clock in and out through their smartphones

Integrations with payroll systems to easily transfer timesheets

2. You’re making unnecessary mistakes

Getting payroll right is critical to the success of your business. But manually reviewing timesheets or even using Excel spreadsheets is time-consuming. And worse, that process leads to errors.

“I was managing everything through an Excel sheet and I found that I was making a lot of mistakes in terms of scheduling, understanding people’s time off, [and] making sure that hours were properly recorded into the payroll system,” says Michael Finch, owner of Harper Logistics, a ‘last mile’ delivery service. “These errors had a tremendous impact not only on our bottom line, but [on] whether people were getting paid on time and correctly.”

3. New regulations are demanding

Predictive scheduling legislation, also known as “Fair Workweek,” is sweeping the United States. But strict labor regulations isn’t limited to the States. Countries like the United Kingdom and Australia have their own set of labor regulations they must accommodate.

Failure to stay compliant can lead to lawsuits, fines, and even the closing of your business.

If you’re unfamiliar with what these new regulations require of employers, here are just a few of the common requirements:

Advance notice of schedules: Employees must receive notice of their schedules two to four weeks in advance.

Employees must receive notice of their schedules two to four weeks in advance. Part-time equality: Full-time and part-time workers must be treated equally in relation to wages, promotions, benefits, and pay increases.

Full-time and part-time workers must be treated equally in relation to wages, promotions, benefits, and pay increases. No “clopening” shifts: Employees have the right to a specific amount of hours to rest between shifts over the course of two days. Employers must pay a higher rate to employees that opt to work within that rest period.

Employees have the right to a specific amount of hours to rest between shifts over the course of two days. Employers must pay a higher rate to employees that opt to work within that rest period. Right to request: Employees who ask for changes to their schedule or flexible hours within a reasonable timeframe must be free from fear of retaliation from the employer.

4. Your customers expect best-in-class service

Your staff are the face of your business. And it’s up to you to make sure they make a good first — and last — impression if you want customers to come back.

If you manage a hardware store, you need to have experienced staff in the right department. For example, when you schedule an employee in the paint department, that person needs to have knowledge of the products and other technical questions. Otherwise, you’ll leave your customers frustrated — and you could lose out on sales.

Make employee time and attendance a breeze

Having the right staff at the right time can mean the difference between a booming business — and shuttered doors. Find out some of the new trends in the retail business and how you can make employee time and attendance a breeze by downloading our ebook below.