by Mark Nemtsas | Sep 8, 2016 | How To
This post details the second way that the Employee List Interface of Time Clock MTS can be used with some sort of data reader (such as a barcode scanner, magnetic card reader, or RFID reader). This method relies on a unique identifier being stored with each employee and changing a single setting on the Interface Settings screen. Data and Scanner Requirements The first requirement for this method to a unique number of identifiers that are stored on a bar code, proximity card, or magnetic card. It doesn’t matter too much what the identifiers are as long as they are 255 characters or shorter. They could be pre-programmed fobs, bar codes generated in Excel using a barcode font, your internal ID badges, or a national identity card. Of course you must have means of reading this data and inputting it into a computer via a keyboard wedge or software wedge, which is the de-facto method most card, RFID, and bar code readers use. Store Unique ID’s with Employee Records The first step in the process is to store a unique ID against each employee’s record in Time Clock MTS. This is done on the Employee Information screen (see above). Once you’ve got the employee’s information showing select the Unique ID field and scan the card, RFID fob, or barcode you’ve decided to allocate that employee. Your data reader will populate the field. Once done click the Save button. Repeat for each employee, remembering of course to allocate a different card, fob, or barcode to each employee. Enable the Match Employee Unique ID Setting The next step is to enable the... read more
by Mark Nemtsas | Sep 7, 2016 | New Releases, News
Time Clock MTS Version 6.0.8 has been released. Details of the changes made in this version can be found below. Added a new way of using a bar code scanner, magnetic card reader, or proximity card reader to punch employees in or out. That makes three distinct ways of doing so. This new method only works on the Employee List Interface. Employees have a new “Unique ID” setting available which can be populated with some sort of unique identifier such as a scan from an ID card or perhaps from pre-programmed proximity fobs. Turn on a new setting on the Interface Settings screen called “Match Employee Unique ID” and when you scan an employee’s unique ID they will be matched and then punched in or out. A blog post detailing this method will be posted at a later date. Employees can no longer see de-activated employees on the employee list when checking their own time card details. Pressing N on the main screen no longer pops up the Internet time server debug screen. ALT-N is required... read more
by Mark Nemtsas | Aug 5, 2016 | New Releases, News
Version 6.0.6 of Time Clock MTS is uploading as I write this entry. Changes made to this version include: If the “Enable Tip Tracking” checkbox is not checked the TIPS button on the main screen is now hidden. All database update code is now version dependent. This should (vastly) improve the startup speed of the software. Altered the way some data logging occurs for MySQL and SQL Server. Fixed up an issue with the tblEmployees.blnAlwaysPaySalary column. When using SQL Server no default value was provided which could prevent new employees being... read more
by Mark Nemtsas | Jul 13, 2016 | New Releases, News
Time Clock MTS Version 6.0.5 has been released. It primarily addresses a startup problem with the Client software and the Network PLUS Edition. Details of the changes made are below: Fix put in place for invalid registration key error some Network PLUS Edition users were seeing. Fix put in place for an error being displayed for the Client software on startup when no DatabaseLoc setting in the settings file. Only applicable to Network PLUS Edition users. Fix to stop the software un-registering itself if the system clock was changed. Fix to stop needless error messages being logged when the software started and could not find a database to connect to. Fix to prevent users punching in and out if they force a connection to SQL Server / MySQL and they do not have an appropriate... read more
by Mark Nemtsas | Jul 5, 2016 | Tips and Tricks, Using the Software
Thanks to Chris Sayre, Assistant Chief of the Vinton First Aid Crew, located in Vinton, Virginia. Chris reached out to us asking about Time Clock MTS and was happy to share with us how they are going to use Time Clock MTS. TimeClock MTS is replacing our outdated timeclock system. Our current timeclock system is outdated and crashes all the time. We need a simple replacement that will allow us to track our volunteer’s time for our rewards program. We need a system that will allow us to quickly clock in for emergency calls, even when we are on our units. With the network version of the timeclock we can clock in and out from our units using our wireless network. Chris Sayre Assistant Chief Vinton First Aid... read more
by Mark Nemtsas | Jun 27, 2016 | New Releases, News
As I write this version 6.0.4 of Time Clock MTS is uploading. This release addresses a fairly common request we’ve had since version 6 was released, namely an option to remove color from the reports. It also aims to solve several database performance issues that should improve the speed of the software considerably over thin connections to remote data files. Here are the details of the changes made to this version: Changes have been made to the database access procedures for calculation of payroll and many of the reports to reduce the number of times the software has to access the data file. Should reduce queries by a factor of 5 or more in some cases. “Black and White Reports” setting added to the Tools->Options->Report Settings screen. When set all reports will be displayed and printed in black and white. The Always Pay Salary setting has been removed. It was serving no real purpose as a salaried employee who gets a pro-rated salary based on the number of their hours worked is just an hourly employee. Fixed up some formatting problems with the Simple Attendance Report. Fixed up the Missing Punches report when there were no missing punches. Fixed up various SQL issues with newer versions of the MySQL ODBC drivers. Spent some time working on the Shift and Department objects to stop them querying the data file needlessly. The Employee object now only queries the data file to get the next available employee ID when a new employee is being... read more
