Timesheets: What They Are and How to Use Them | Sling by Toast

[ Timesheets: What They Are and How to Use Them

Timesheets: What They Are and How to Use Them

Timesheets are an integral part of every business, large or small. Whether you use them to track a straight eight-hour shift or as part of a project-management strategy, understanding the inner workings of your employees’ timesheets is essential for business success. In this article, the management experts at Sling tell you everything you need to know about this important business tool.

What Are Timesheets?

At their most basic, timesheets are pieces of paper (or forms/templates) your employees use to track when they work. The simplest timesheets record the date and the time employees started and ended their workdays. This type of timesheet is most common in retail and foodservice where employees work a single shift and position, and tracking the time spent on specific tasks isn’t important.

More complex timesheets record the actual activities on which employees spent their time during the workday. This is especially useful for businesses that take on numerous clients and projects throughout the year. These businesses need to know how much time their employees are spending on marketing, creation, distribution, customer service, and a whole host of other tasks.

Why Use Timesheets?

Achieve Accurate Payroll: Calculate accurate payroll by adding up the hours worked in a week and multiplying it by the employee’s pay rate.
Analyze Qualifications: Monitor how well your employees are working and determine if a specific employee might qualify for a new project, role, or job.
Highlight Expertise: Reveal if an employee is developing an area of expertise that may be beneficial for future projects.
Submit Client Invoices: Accurately report hours worked to the clients who use your services.
Identify Training Needs: Discover when an employee needs additional training for a certain task.
Manage Workloads: Distribute the workload more equitably to increase productivity by understanding where your employees spend the most effort.
Measure Efficiency: Uncover activities within your workflow that are less efficient and modify and improve your processes.
Build a Historical Database: Create a reference for future projects by putting concrete numbers to common tasks.
Improve Estimates: Give more accurate estimates to your clients about time, costs, and resources based on past timesheets.
Enhance Agility: Properly tracking time helps you become more agile and adapt to problems along the way.

How Do You Use Timesheets?

For Straight Shift Work

Timesheets for straight shift work are similar to punch cards in that they record employees’ names, the date, and the start and end time they worked. At the end of the pay period, total the hours worked, verify that those numbers are correct, and use that information to calculate payroll.

For Project Tracking

Your employees record their names and the date, the project on which they are working, and the task within that project. Finally, they record the start and stop time for each task. Use the timesheets to calculate payroll and gain insight into your employees’ productivity, efficiency, and engagement.

How to Manage Employee Timesheets

1) Explain Why Timesheets are Important

Explain to your team how you use their numbers not only to calculate their paycheck but also to refine and improve the way your business operates.

2) Set Rules and Regulations

Set clear rules so that employees know exactly how to handle their timesheets from start to finish.

3) Teach Your Team

Take time to teach your team how to work through the process, and review it once or twice a year to ensure everyone is on the same page.

4) Categorize Time

Implement a system of categories or tags for employees to label each block of time they work. Examples include billable hours, non-billable hours, regular hourly rate, and different jobs.

5) Use Timesheet Automation

Modern time tracking apps help simplify the process with timesheet automation.

6) Send Timesheet Reminders

Send out reminders a few days before the due date to ensure timesheets are submitted on time.

7) Approve the Timesheets

Have someone approve the timesheets before they are processed to prevent mistakes from getting out of control.

The Best Alternative to Paper Timesheets

The best alternative to paper or punch-card timesheets is a cloud-based app like Sling. The Sling software suite brings together three essential toolsets: scheduling, time tracking, and labor cost reporting and control.

With Sling, you can create employees’ work schedules in minutes, easily sync timesheets with payroll, schedule, manage time off, keep track of availability, and organize shift-trade requests. For more free resources to help you manage your business better, organize and schedule your team, and track and calculate labor costs, visit Sling.

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May 23, 2024
Jordan Van Maanen

Employee Timekeeping: What It Is and Why It Matters

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Employee Timekeeping: What It Is and Why It Matters

Employee timekeeping is a foundational element of every business, large and small. But once a process is up and running, few managers give it a second thought, save at the end of the pay period when they have to process the numbers and cut checks.

This is a shame because reviewing your timekeeping system periodically is one of the best ways to drive your business forward.

In this article, we discuss why timekeeping matters and how you can improve the process for everyone involved.

Timekeeping Defined

Timekeeping is the process of tracking and reporting the hours an employee spends at work. Timekeeping is typically divided into two distinct categories:

Total time
Time on task

For a business that pays team members by the hour (be it part-time or full-time), total time is the difference between just two numbers: when they arrive at work and when they leave work.

In some cases, a business may require team members to clock out during breaks and clock back in when they return so that management can create a more accurate picture of their total time on the job.

For a business that pays team members a salary, timekeeping is often used as a means to record time on task and to better observe and control project costs. In that case, employees may not clock in when they arrive and clock out when they leave.

Why Timekeeping Matters

Timekeeping matters for several reasons, besides the obvious need to pay your employees for their time:

Payroll: Timekeeping provides all the numbers necessary to calculate and process employee payroll. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes many of the rules on this subject but allows each business to choose its own timekeeping system.
Invoicing: Accurate timekeeping gives you the numbers you need to get your invoices out on time so that you can get paid sooner.
Planning: Timekeeping records provide the data effective planning is based on. When you know that a specific project took X hours last year, you can use that as a metric for future projects.
Team Management: Employee timekeeping is a gateway to more effective team management by allowing managers to identify efficiencies among team members.

Timekeeping Best Practices

To improve your timekeeping process, consider these best practices:

Abide by all timekeeping laws: Ensure your business complies with local, state, and federal timekeeping regulations.
Choose the right timekeeping system: Implement a system that simplifies the tracking and recordkeeping process for both employees and managers.
Set up your system for simplicity: Use straightforward methods such as military time and rounding to make time calculations easier.
Implement automation: Use modern timekeeping software to automate wage settings, labor cost forecasting, and payroll report generation.
Backup the data: Keep backups of all timekeeping and payroll records as required by the FLSA.
Build a culture that values timekeeping: Encourage accurate timekeeping as part of your company culture to ensure payroll accuracy.
Give your team plenty of help: Provide instructions and hands-on training for new time-tracking systems.
Save the data: Retain hour and payroll information according to local, state, and federal laws.
Examine work hour numbers: Periodic analysis of timekeeping data can help optimize team management.
Review timekeeping practices periodically: Regular reviews can improve the timekeeping process based on feedback and audits.

Timekeeping and the Restaurant Industry

With multiple shifts overlapping throughout the day and a combination of full-time, part-time, and salaried employees coming and going, the restaurant industry is especially reliant on effective timekeeping to keep everything working efficiently.

It doesn’t matter if you run a restaurant, cafe, coffee shop, food truck, catering business, or other type of food-service establishment. The timekeeping software you choose should include tools that make your job — and your employees’ jobs — easier.

An integrated time clock is essential, but it should also integrate with other necessary features, including employee scheduling, team communication, task management, third-party integrations, employee document tracking, and labor compliance.

An all-in-one, restaurant-specific solution that includes everything you and your team need to organize and manage the daily grind is what you want to look for.

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May 23, 2024
Jordan Van Maanen

Effective Strategies for Managing Employee Absenteeism: Insights from Sling by Toast

[ Managing Employee Absenteeism: A Comprehensive Guide

Managing Employee Absenteeism: A Comprehensive Guide

Employee absenteeism can have a serious impact on your business. While occasional absences are understandable, frequent absenteeism can become a habit that negatively affects employee engagement, company culture, and your bottom line. In this article, the management experts at Sling by Toast provide a comprehensive guide to manage employee absenteeism effectively.

Strategies for Reducing Employee Absenteeism

1. Schedule to Avoid Absenteeism

Start by creating the best work schedule for your team, taking into account employees’ work preferences and time-off requests. Cloud-based scheduling tools like Sling can help you manage these efficiently, contributing to higher employee satisfaction and retention.

2. Create a Clear Absenteeism Policy

Establish a clear absenteeism policy within your employee handbook. Define what constitutes an absence and outline the repercussions of unexcused absences. This clarity helps manage expectations and standards.

3. Make Low Absenteeism Rates Part of Your Strategy

Incorporate absenteeism management into your business’s strategy implementation. Addressing absenteeism at the functional level strategy can help prevent it from becoming a problem.

4. Enforce the Absenteeism Policy

Once your policy is in place, enforce it consistently and fairly. Address no call, no show absences immediately to prevent disruptions in workflows and underscore the seriousness of the policy.

5. Be Realistic About Absences

Recognize that emergencies happen. Allow for a limited number of unexcused absences to accommodate unforeseen events, but ensure follow-ups upon their return to avoid habitual absenteeism.

6. Provide Options

Give your employees alternatives to taking the day off entirely. Options like unpaid leave or holiday pay can reduce absenteeism by providing flexibility for personal matters.

7. Get Creative with Scheduling

Consider flexible work schedules such as four 10-hour days or a 9/80 workweek to provide employees with better work-life balance, reducing the need for unplanned absences.

8. Give Employees Control of Their Schedules

Empower employees to manage their schedules by allowing them to swap shifts and find replacements. Tools like Sling facilitate this process easily and efficiently.

9. Implement Return-to-Work Interviews

Conduct return-to-work interviews to understand the reason behind absences and remind employees of the policy. This reinforces the seriousness and keeps absenteeism in check.

10. Measure Absenteeism Rates

Track and analyze absenteeism to identify patterns. Use scheduling software like Sling to monitor attendance and ensure employees clock-in only when present.

11. Institute Incentives for Low Absenteeism

Encourage low absenteeism through positive reinforcement. Offer incentives such as bonuses or team outings to promote a culture of attendance.

12. Investigate the Root of the Problem

Identify and address underlying issues that may cause chronic absenteeism. Understanding and resolving such issues can improve employee satisfaction and reduce absenteeism.

13. Prioritize Absenteeism Management

Make absenteeism management a priority. Implement software solutions like Sling to monitor and manage absence levels effectively.

Conclusion

Proactive absenteeism management can improve team productivity and maintain a healthy work culture. Visit GetSling.com for more resources to help you manage your business better, organize and schedule your team, and track labor costs effectively.

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May 23, 2024
Jordan Van Maanen

How Flextime Scheduling Enhances Work/Life Balance and Boosts Business Productivity

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Flextime: What Is It and Should Your Company Use It?

Work/life balance is vital for your employees’ health, happiness, and well-being. And, as many employers are discovering, it’s essential for their productivity as well. That’s why increasingly more managers are offering flextime instead of the strict 9-to-5 workday.

In this article, the productivity experts at Sling show you all the benefits of this unique work schedule.

What is Flextime?

Flextime is a flexible schedule in which workers can alter workday start and finish times. Employees are still required to work a set number of hours per day (e.g., eight) or per week (e.g., 40), but they are allowed to choose when — within agreed-upon limits — they will clock in and when they will clock out.

How Flextime Works

It’s those "agreed-upon limits" that make flextime unique as a work scheduling practice. If you implement flextime in your business, you might set the following restrictions on when your employees can work:

May start work no earlier than 5 a.m.
May finish work no later than 9 p.m.

With the above example, an employee could begin work at 5 a.m., work eight hours, and finish at 1 p.m. Or their workday could start at 1 p.m. and end at 9 p.m.

This is fine if employees work autonomously. But if they work together as part of a team, you could run into some problems. That’s why flextime usually incorporates core time. Core time is set hours when all employees must be present. It’s during this span of time that meetings and collaboration occur between employees working different flexible schedules.

Example of Flextime

For example, if you used the flextime limits listed above (not earlier than 5 a.m. and not later than 9 p.m.), your core time might be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Here’s a hypothetical team schedule — including a one-hour lunch break — built around this core time:

Sarah: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Chuck: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Ellie: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Anna: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Diane: 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Morgan: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

As you can see, all seven team members start and end at different times, but they’re all present between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. (the core time).

Benefits of Flextime for Employees

Allows for easier childcare
Allows for continuing education
Allows employees to avoid rush hour
Improves mental health
Reduces conflict between coworkers

Benefits of Flextime for Businesses

Person sitting in the middle of a clock painting on ground

Boosts morale
Promotes collaboration
Lowers absenteeism and tardiness
Facilitates recruiting
Reduces costs

How to Set Up Your Flextime Schedule

Talk to your employees first
Set core time limits
Write instructions and guidelines
Allow your employees to schedule their own flextime

Calendar for setting up flextime schedule

Make Scheduling Flextime Simple with Sling

When you offer the option of flextime to your employees, you give them a bit of freedom within a very structured system. Ditching the 9-5 — or at least being flexible about when hours are worked — helps your team members feel more in control of their own schedules.

We’re not advocating cutting employee hours down to part-time. Rather, we suggest trying new ways to accumulate 40 hours each week. Here are a few examples of flexible schedules that might work in your business:

Four 10-hour days
Rotating shifts
9-hour shifts Monday through Thursday and a 4-hour shift on Friday
80 hours in 9 days and then the 10th day off
6.5-hour shifts 6 days a week

Flextime is a wonderful incentive for your employees, but it is also a nightmare to schedule. That doesn’t mean you have to chuck the idea completely. Instead, incorporate a cloud-based employee management app, like Sling, to give you and your employees the ability and freedom to create the schedule that works for your business.

Employees can access Sling anytime from their phones, mobile devices, or desktop computers. They can request time off, find their own substitutes, tweak their schedules to fit their needs, and so much more.

The power and flexibility that Sling offers make flextime a very real option for businesses large and small. For more free resources to help you manage your business better, organize and schedule your team, and track and calculate labor costs, visit GetSling.com today.

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May 23, 2024
Jordan Van Maanen

Elevate Your Team Management with Sling by Toast: Features and Benefits Explored

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Sling by Toast: Elevating Team Management for Better Efficiency

The journey of Sling continues under the banner of Sling by Toast. Learn more about the enhanced capabilities and comprehensive features now available to streamline your team management processes with ease and efficiency.

Key Features

Why Choose Sling by Toast?

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May 23, 2024
Jordan Van Maanen

Sling Scheduling