Q. We have Extreme Blue Enhanced and three construction sites with Extreme Blue timeclocks. Can one person load data from all three into their smartphone before sending the data to the main office?

A. Yes, you can collect from all 3 clocks with one smartphone before sending. If you use a USB drive to collect your data, you can also collect the data from all three clocks before returning to the main office and downloading it to the TimePilot software.

Q. I have an employee who is a sub-contractor and is using TimePilot to submit his time. Our regular employees receive overtime pay, but the sub-contractor does not. How do I set this one particular employee up so he receives no overtime hours?

A. The key phrase here is "Pay Type." When you set up TimePilot, you created a Pay Type, which is a combination of your company's policies (including overtime) and assigned it to each employee.

For this sub-contractor, you'll need to create a second Pay Type, with no overtime, and apply it to him or her. Here's how:

  1. Start TimePilot Central and click the "Setup" menu, then "Add a Pay Type."
  2. Give the new Pay Type a name and answer the questions that appear. When you get to "Do employees of this Pay Type qualify for overtime pay?" click "No."
  3. When you're done creating the new Pay Type, click "Save."

Now you'll apply the new Pay Type to the sub-contractor.

  1.  Double-click the sub-contractor's name in TimePilot Central to open their profile.
  2. In the "Pay Type" area, click the button to open the drop-down menu and choose the name of the new Pay Type you just created.
  3. Click Save.

Any overtime hours accumulated during the current pay period before making the change will be changed to regular hours and all hours will appear as regular house from this point on.

Q. If I had more than one TimePilot timeclock, would I be able to tell which location my employees are clocking in at? We have 4 to 5 jobsites running at a time and I need to be able to tell who clocked in at which location.

A. Yes. When you set up your clocks, you'll give each a name. If you give each clock the name of its location, each transaction in TimePilot Central will display the name of the clock where the transactions took place.

Look for a column called "Clock Name." Don't see it? It's probably turned off. To learn how to turn it on, see the lead article in this newsletter issue from May 2015.  

Q. We are currently using 3 Extreme Blue clocks with the Enterprise software. We want to add 2 Vetro clocks for in-house use. Can I buy the "Additional TimePilot Vetro Clocks" and use them with our existing software?

A. Yes you can. A hallmark of TimePilot Extreme Blue Enhanced, Tap, Vetro and TimePilot PC is that all four products will work together.

To get the new Vetros up and running on your system, start TimePilot Central, then open Clock Manager by clicking "Setup" > "Clock Manager."

Once in Clock Manager, click its "Setup" menu and choose "New Clock Wizard." The wizard will step you through the setup process.


Timely quotes

"The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is."

—Author CS Lewis

Source

"Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time,' is like saying, 'I don't want to.'"

—Chinese philosopher
Lao Tzu

Source

"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana."

—Author and professor
Anthony G. Oettinger

Source

Welcome!
TimePilot newsletter No. 47

Whether you're a current or future TimePilot customer, we're glad to see you.

Every month we'll offer news about TimePilot products, tips on how to use them more efficiently, some of the "cool stuff" our employees have come across and a special deal available only to those who receive this newsletter!

In this issue:

  • TimePilot Q&A:Loading data into the TimePilot smartphone app from three sites; setting up subcontractors; associating a location with your clocks.
  • TimePilot Lead Story: Connecting Vetro to your network.
  • Cool Stuff: Sandstand.
  • The Deal: 25% off iButtons.

Connecting your Vetro
to your network

One of TimePilot Vetro's best features is that it can be used all by itself or connected to a local area network.

Let's say you've been using your Vetro on its own, collecting your data with a USB drive, and now you'd like to connect the clock to your network.

There are quite a few benefits to this:

  • Clock-ins and clock-outs are sent immediately to the TimePilot database, giving you a real-time view of who's in and who's out when you run Clock Manager (or Vetro Data Manager, if you have the Retail version of our software). Clock Manager and Vetro Data Manager act as "bridges" between the clocks and the TimePilot database.
  • You don't need to use the USB drive to collect your data. (Though that option is still available if, for instance, your network goes down.)
  • The clock will now get its time from the network server, instead of the clock's internal chip. If there's a power outage, as soon as your server comes back on line your clock will display the correct time.
  • If your employees clock in and out with their TimePilot ID numbers, they can see their accumulated hours when they clock out. (See the end of this article for details.)
  • If you add TimePilot's "Power Over Ethernet Kit," you don't even need a power outlet near the clock—your network cable can carry the power it needs.

Frequently, TimePilot customers ask for advice on moving their system to their network. Here's the procedure (for this example, we'll use Vetro Data Manager; if you have the Professional or Enterprise version of our software, just substitute "Clock Manager" in the instructions below):

  1. First, make sure the Vetro clock itself is ready to be connected to the network. Go to the clock and press 99 > OK > your 6-digit password > #5 Network. At this screen, make sure DHCP is "on." If DCHP is off, press #1 to turn it on. Now press the ESC key on the clock until you're back to the clock face.
  2. Plug an Ethernet cable into the bottom of the clock. Plug the other end into your router/switch.
  3. At your PC, start TimePilot Central and click the "Setup" menu, then "Vetro Data Manager." You will see the icon representing your clock. You may have installed the TimePilot Central software on more than one computer, but only one PC should have Vetro Data Manager installed.
  4. Right-click on the clock's icon and uncheck the "Disable Network Communications." You will now see a red square appear in the upper left corner of the icon on your screen. That indicates that the software is establishing a network link with the clock.
  5. When the connection is established, the square will turn green and the setup process is complete. This may take a minute or two.

Now, as long as the Vetro Data Manager is running, the data collected by the clock will flow into the TimePilot database. If you need to restart your computer at any time, you must start the Vetro Data Manager again to establish the network connection. If the Vetro Data Manager is closed, all transactions will be held in the clock's memory until the connection is made again. (The clock's memory can hold up to 12,000 transactions.)

Checking employee hours at the clock

OK, you're all set up on the network and Clock Manager/Vetro Data Manager is running. How can your employees can see their accumulated hours for the workweek when they clock out?

You'll need to do a couple of quick things first:

  1. Start TimePilot Central, then click the "Setup" menu and "Profile Setup."
  2. Click the name of the first person who will be able to clock in and out with their ID, then click the "Edit a Profile" button.
  3. The employee's Payroll Profile will appear. On the right side of the profile, in the "Identification" box, make sure there's a check in the "Enable User ID Entry" box. Next to the box is the employee's User ID, which they'll enter at the clock.
  4. Click "Save," and repeat steps 2 and 3 for each employee.

Now your employees can enter their ID on the Vetro clock to view their accumulated hours. Note: The employee must be clocked out to do this; if they're clocked in, there's no way the system can calculate the employee's hours because that number is changing all the time.

If an employee has missed punches (created an "exception" in TimePilot Central), their hours will simply show as "--:--" until the necessary corrections have been made.


TimePilot makes a splash at the Fastenal show: CEO Doug Marsh (left) answers questions about TimePilot systems from attendees at the Fastenal Customer Industrial & Construction Expo last month in Nashville.
TimePilot makes a splash at the Fastenal show: CEO Doug Marsh (left) answers questions about TimePilot systems from attendees at the Fastenal Customer Industrial & Construction Expo last month in Nashville.

Photo by Mike Dies

This month’s special offer to TimePilot newsletter readers:

25% off iButtons!

25% off iButtons in 11 colors.

Choose your color, choose your quantity!

5 iButtons: $30 (regularly $39.50)
10 iButtons: $44 (reg. $59)
30 iButtons: $119 (reg. $159)
50 iButtons: $187 (reg. $249)
100 iButtons: $337 (reg. $449)
200 iButtons: $536 (reg. $715)

These prices are available for a limited time. To learn more about the deal, click here, visit www.TimePilot.com/newsletter/newsletter4.htm or call us at 1-630-879-6400.

Every once in a while, our employees come across “cool stuff.”
This is where they share their finds.

Sandstrand makes a day at the beach more fun.Sandstand

If you've ever been to beach, you know one of the worst things is getting sand in your drink or on your food. Or you have an ice-cold can of whatever, and a minute after setting it down in the hot sand, it's warm.

Here's the solution—just in time for beach season: Sandstand.

It's a wooden tabletop platform attached to a post that keeps your drinks, food, sunglasses, etc., out of the sand.

Sandstand comes in walnut, hard maple or cherry. The top includes sunglass loops, beverage holders and a handle; on the underside are bottle openers, a threaded base for the post, and storage clips for the post when it's not being used.

It's easy to carry, simple to set up and does what it's supposed to do. Starts at $75.

Sandstand.com

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