Handling Salary and Wages - Part 2

In my last post we talked about the nightmare that my father went through by not properly protecting himself when it comes to payroll. As promised from last week, I will share with you what are the best practices in recording employees' hours, wages, and salary. Before getting into that, here are some things that you definitely should not do:

1. Be Lazy - Do not treat an hourly employee as if he were a salaried employee. This is where a business owner is being lazy. The business owner does not want to go through the hassle of recording the employee's hours, instead he just pays the employee a set amount per week
2. Be Stingy - Don't be stingy and not pay the first hour of overtime. Some employers do this so that employees will think twice before clocking in overtime. If they go over, they do not get paid that 41st hour of work. The problem is, this is illegal and could get you into big trouble.
3. Be Old-Fashioned - Stop using paper punch card systems. There are many cloud-based solutions now, and the market is full of good options. You can find a vendor who can offer it at a very reasonable price. 

The previous point above leads us to the best practice of recording employees' hours and wages. The answer is simple: use a cloud-based time clock. In today's world, it is very easy. There are tons of cloud-based time clocks on the market. The options are many, including having your employees punch in at a desktop, kiosk, cash register, a time clock, a tablet, or even on their phone. Since there are so many cloud-based time clocks in the market, it is up to you to decide what type of system works best for you and what falls within your budget.

While doing your research, keep in mind that each vendor offers different features. There are time clock vendors that just cover your bare minimum of recording when employees clock in and clock out. Then there are other ones that are very sophisticated with biometric scanners, can track vacation and sick days, statistics on employee's lateness, and even lock out employees from punching in late or punching out early.

If you need help with picking out a time clock vendor, feel free to send me a message and I can point you in the right direction.

Next week, I will cover the difference between an hourly and a salaried employee.