10 Ways Time Off Request Software Saves You Money

Time is money. Business owners understand this common phrase better than anyone. Training a team to work together generates success, but not if there are issues with tracking employees’ time.

Even though everyone’s allowed to take time away from work, sometimes that creates unnecessary roadblocks for their team and the company. These are 10 ways time off request software saves you money and prevents missed goals or deadlines.

1. Minimize Payroll Errors

Logging numerical data seems easy, but it can easily present room for error. Employees might forget to clock their overtime or may add more time to their weekly timesheet than they really worked. Sometimes this happens because people are exhausted, but it’s preventable with time off request software.

Software programs automate tracking employees’ time down to the second. Management will always have an exact recording of their team’s schedule. No one will have to log overtime hours to fix simple clocking mistakes, and companies won’t pay anyone for the time they didn’t invest in their work.

2. Reduce Time Theft

People imagine others stealing pens and notebooks when they picture workplace theft, but time theft is more common. It happens when people deliberately steal time with certain activities, like extending their lunch period without including it on their timesheet or taking care of personal things like scheduling doctor’s appointments.

Time off request software gives everyone a quick way to block off time for those activities. If they need to schedule an appointment or take a break for their mental health, they’re more likely to send a quick request than steal the time to prevent days of emailing back and forth.

3. Maximize Employee Productivity

Many employees feel they have to go to work even when they’re sick. They might not feel comfortable personally addressing their manager about getting paid time off (PTO) because they know hours worked are everything in the workplace.

A simple software program gives them an easy way to stay home when they need to because it’s always available. It could also explain when they’re entitled to time off. Parents may need to step away from work to help their children with school due to COVID-19 closures. The Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) gave parents 12 weeks of PTO no matter what their company’s existing time-off rules were.

It’s up to management to clarify when people can take time off. If they have a software program that explains everything and makes it simple to send a request, they can return to work with restored energy. They’ll be more productive when they aren’t feeling under the weather or stressed about taking care of their kids.

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4. Prevent Unnecessary Employee Overtime

Overtime also cuts into a company’s payroll budget. When team members have to fix hours worked in time clock logs, the business has to pay extra hours to rectify the situation. Overtime could also include minutes or hours that employees didn’t actually work, whether they logged it deliberately or forgot to edit their logs after a long week.

Scheduling managers can check pre-approved schedules with what’s happening in real-time if they invest in time off request software. If something doesn’t look right or upcoming PTO approvals don’t match company policies, they can resolve issues immediately before overtime payments go out.

5. End Buddy Punching

Sometimes an employee knows they’re going to be late to work. They might get stuck in traffic or leave late due to complications at home. They could text a friend who’s already at the office to clock in for them because they’re only a few minutes behind.

Even though both people involved mean well, this is a practice known as “buddy punching.” It steals time from the workplace and costs companies big time while processing paychecks. Management never wants to pay people for the time they weren’t at work, but software programs can reduce how often this happens.

When people are running behind, they can send a quick request for fifteen minutes off through an app on their phone. It’s much simpler for anyone on the go and saves companies from paying for buddy punching.

6. Avoid Fair Labor Lawsuits

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) created a national policy to ensure overtime pay for qualified workers. If those employees don’t receive one and a half times their standard hourly rate, they can sue. Fair Labor lawsuits might happen if a company doesn’t have a simple way for people to request and track time-off requests.

Business owners and HR representatives can save their companies time and money by using software programs to keep track of every request. If an employee gets a lawyer involved and needs to ensure they were paid fairly for their overtime, print a quick spreadsheet of their past timesheets and approved PTO periods to avoid lawsuits and miscommunication.

7. Streamline Administrative Tasks

There are endless administrative duties for people to tackle while they’re on the clock. Streamlining as many of these as possible frees their schedule for more productive tasks. Instead of calculating hours and schedules on a spreadsheet for a few hours, an employee could work on a project improving marketing or consumer experiences.

It’s better to direct employees to do things that directly increase profits and improve a company’s reputation. Juggling numbers in scheduling software takes people away from using their time more efficiently. Time off request software and mobile apps save you money by reducing how long employees need for more important tasks.

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8. Centralize Scheduling Data

Larger companies often employ numerous people to cover scheduling and time clock needs. Communication may fall apart if team members have to find information in multiple places to decide how to hand out shifts and when to grant time off.

Centralizing scheduling data makes it easier for everyone to understand who can get time away from work and who needs more hours. Utilizing a software program to handle all PTO-related issues makes it easier to communicate and clarify between schedulers and other employees.

9. Improve Company Transparency

People may not request time off because they don’t understand or remember the company’s PTO policies. Sometimes people earn weeks of PTO that don’t cycle over into the next year and never use them because they’re confused and don’t know whom to ask.

Time off request software and mobile apps improve company transparency by giving everyone access to one collective place for sending requests and checking policy documents. Management should detail PTO qualifications and how to check any remaining PTO to prevent miscommunication.

10. Expedite Team Communication

When someone needs time off, they likely send an email to their manager. Their manager then sends the request to another manager, who may contact HR or whichever department handles PTO for a company. Forwarding emails or sending IMs requires much more time than sending a request directly to the right person through a software program.

Expedite team communication by minimizing forwarded email chains through the management team. If the person who grants requests is the only person involved, everyone else will become more productive because they gain more free time.

Time Off Request Software Saves You Money

These are 10 ways time off request software saves you money, but they’re just the start. Streamlining and centralizing communication allows people to become more productive and the workday to be more straightforward. Every business will benefit from improved team focus and well-rested employees.

About Author: This article is written by a marketing team member at HR Cloud. HR Cloud is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications & engagement, and rewards & recognition. Our user-friendly software increases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk.