by kathryn@timeclockmts.com | Mar 25, 2011 | New Releases, News
Due to the problems with Boulder time servers and the setting up of a dedicated Time Clock MTS time server I’ve done a rush release of Time Clock MTS version 3.1.3. This new release adjusts the Time Server dropdown on the Tools->Options Security Settings Screen by removing the non-functional time servers and adds the new dedicated server as the default. Note, that I’ve added the new server twice, once using the IP address and once using the domain name. The IP address may need to be used until the domain name record propagates around the internet (which it should do in the next 48 hours). I’ll remove the IP address entry in the next release of the... read more
by Mark Nemtsas | Mar 25, 2011 | News
It appears that the first three time servers that Time Clock MTS can use to set the system time are no longer functional, this is due to extreme load on those servers. The time servers involved are: time-a.timefreq.bldrdoc.gov time-b.timefreq.bldrdoc.gov time-c.timefreq.bldrdoc.gov We’ve tested the following servers and they appear to be working just fine: utcnist2.colorado.edu nist1-chi.ustiming.org nist1-lv.ustiming.org nist1-ny.ustiming.org nisttime.carsoncity.k12.mi.us So for the time being we’d suggest you switch to one of these or enter the details into the custom time server field on the Security Settings Screen. We’re investigating the possibility of setting up our own time server to ensure a more reliable system. Stay tuned for more... read more
by Mark Nemtsas | Mar 25, 2011 | News, Using the Software
I am pleased to announce that we’ve just spun up a dedicated internet time server for users of Time Clock MTS. Here’s the details of the time server: Host Name: time.timeclockmts-online.com IP Address: 97.107.133.228 You might need to use the IP address to refer to this new time server until the DNS record propagates (which it should do within 48 hours or so). To use the new dedicated time server log into Time Clock MTS as the administrator and go to the Tools->Options Security Settings Screen (see the screenshot above). Select “Custom Time Server” from the Internet Time Server dropdown and then enter either the host name or the IP Addrss for the new server. Click the Check button to make sure everything is working then click Save to save the changes. The next release of Time Clock MTS will set this new time server as the default, and ideally this will be the end of the sporadic time server problems we’ve had over the last couple of... read more
by kathryn@timeclockmts.com | Mar 13, 2011 | New Releases, News
I’ve just released Version 3.1.2 of Time Clock MTS in response to a couple of requests from a new user. This user has just thrown out a highly customized time clock system that was developed for their own company but because of maintenance issues and high on-going cost of ownership they have decided to use a commercial offering. There were a couple of reports that the user thought would make Time Clock MTS a lot more useful and I agreed so these reports have now been added. Here’s a list of what has changed in this new release: Added the missing punches report. This report lists off all instances during the reporting period that an employee has an odd number of clock in/out events in a single day. This (as it turns out) is a fairly good indicator that an employee has forgotten to clock in or out during that day. Added the employee notes report. This report lists off all clock in / out events during the reporting period that have a note and displays the note. Fixed the database modification code that adds the employee tip tracking tables for MySQL users. Fixed the detailed punchcard with full notes report that didn’t show the full note occasionally. Fixed a problem with the main program window that could sometimes disappear when the edit times window was... read more
by Mark Nemtsas | Mar 13, 2011 | How To
The recent release of Version 3.1.2 of Time Clock MTS and the addition of the new Missing Punches Report made me realize that we’d never posted up a blog explaining how users of Time Clock MTS could detect when an employee has forgotten to clock in or out. So, here we have a few methods doing this: 1. Make use of the Employee Status Report at the beginning or end of the work day. Run at the end of the work day an employee who has forgotten to clock out will still be shown as clocked in. Conversely, an employee who forgot to clock in at the beginning of the day will still be shown as clocked out. 2. A quick visual scan of the Employee List Interface at the beginning or end of the work day can serve the same purpose as running the Employee Attendance Report described in point one. 3. Periodically run the Punchcard Report. A quick scan of the hours worked over the reporting period should quickly highlight any extra long periods between clock in and outs. You should also look out for extremely short clock periods (for example when an employee forgets to clock in one morning and that afternoon clocks in and back out immediately). Both these indicators can be a sign of an employee forgetting to clock in or out. 4. Institute a policy that requires employees to enter a note when they’ve forgotten to clock in or out and realize this when they go to clock out at the end of the day or back in the next day. Use the... read more
by Mark Nemtsas | Mar 7, 2011 | How To
This Time Clock MTS How To Article covers how to to use Time Clock MTS to record new tips received and edit existing recorded tips. Note that because of the critical need for employees to manage their own tip diary that both employees and the Time Clock MTS administrator can add, edit, and delete tips. Enable Tip Tracking Before anyone can add, edit, or delete tips the Time Clock MTS administrator must enable tip tracking. The process to do this is described in the Enabling Tip Tracking How-To article. Tip Tracking as an Employee vs Tip Tracking as the Time Clock MTS Administrator Employees and the Time Clock MTS administrator have access to exactly the same tools for adding, editing, and deleting employee tips. However, if you’ve got the Employee PIN feature or Employee Fingerprint Security turned on then these security features are applied when employees try to access the tip tracking features. The security features are not applied when Time Clock MTS is in Administrator Mode. The Employee Tip Tracking Screen Employee tips are managed from the Employee Tip Tracking screen which can be seen above. This screen is accessed from the Tips button on the employee time clock, a screenshot of which is shown at the top of this article. The employee tip tracking screen is basically an interactive tip diary. The time range that tips are displayed from can be selected from the time period drop down box. A tip can be edited or deleted by clicking the Edit or Delete link next to that tip. A new tip can be added by clicking the Add... read more
