TimePilot Tap

Getting Your Tap Up and Running

There are two methods to get your Tap up and running, and they’re described below. Generally, if you’re new to TimePilot, you should choose Method 1. If you have other TimePilot products and want the clock-ins and clock-outs collected by your Tap clock to appear in your current TimePilot database, you’ll choose Method 2. Please choose the method below that’s right for you.

Method 1

  1. Place the CD into your computer’s CD drive. When the opening screen appears, click "Install TimePilot Software." Choose the "TimePilot Installation Wizard," then follow the instructions to install TimePilot Central and TimePilot Tap Manager. (Note that the software will ask you if you’re installing other TimePilot Products, too. If you didn’t purchase those products, just click "No" for each.)
  2. TimePilot desktop iconsWhen TimePilot Central and the Tap Manager have finished installing, you’ll see their icons on your desktop, as seen at right.
  3. Now you’ll set up your company in TimePilot Central. First, start TimePilot Central by clicking its icon on your desktop. You’ll need your software’s serial number; it’s on a sticker attached to the printed warranty information that came with your product.

    1. The first time you start the software, you’ll be asked if you want to create or open a TimePilot database. Click the "Create a new TimePilot database..." button. (See screenshot at right.) In the TimePilot system, the database is where all employee transactions are stored.
      Create or open a TimePilot Database screenshotGenerally, the database is not kept with the TimePilot software files, much like a letter that you write with word processing software generally is not saved in the same folder as the word processing program. By keeping the data in a separate location, you can uninstall or install the TimePilot software without affecting the data that the system has collected. (Note: If you’re re-installing the software, you may see an existing database listed; if you wish to use that database, click it to highlight it and then click "Open." )
    2. The software will suggest a location for the new database. You can accept that location or change it to any location you want.
    3. After you set up your database, you’ll be taken to the TimePilot Setup Wizard, which guides the first-time user step-by-step through the process of setting up the system. Simply follow the steps, and when you complete a task, the next task will become available.

      The seven-step process includes:
       
      • Add a Company: Here’s where you’ll enter your company information, including name, your pay cycle (weekly, bi-weekly, etc.), whether you want to have rounding applied to your employees, etc. If you have more than one pay cycle, you can create a second "company" with different settings.
      • Setup Wizard screenshotAdd/Edit Overtime Policy: Do you pay overtime to your employees? You can have multiple overtime policies, each with a different set of criteria and payment rates.
      • Add/Edit Pay Types: This is where you’ll set up how your employees will be treated in terms of whether they get overtime, vacation pay, holiday pay, etc. You can have multiple pay types; for instance, one for salaried employees and another for hourly employees.
      • Add/Edit Departments: You’ll enter your company’s departments here. Later, when you’re using the system, you can generate reports grouped by department.
      • Add/Edit Shifts: This is where you create your employees’ shifts. The system uses shift schedules to determine if an employee is early or late.
      • Add/Edit Holiday Schedules: You’ll set up your company holiday schedule here. You can have more than one schedule.
      • Add/Edit Employee Profiles: You’ll add your employees here. Make it easy on yourself: You can use the Tap clock to enter each worker’s iButton serial number. To do so, make sure that the Tap Manager is running and use the USB cable to connect the Tap clock to your computer. Then click the blue "Get iButton Number" on the employee profile screen and touch his or her iButton to one of the probes on the Tap clock. The number will be entered automatically.

      When you finish the process, click OK and the TimePilot Central screen will appear. See the TimePilot Instruction Manual for instructions on how to use TimePilot Central.

  4. Your Tap is ready to go. If TimePilot Tap Manager is running, every time you plug in your Tap the time and date on the clock is updated, the battery recharges and any transactions collected are downloaded into TimePilot Central.

Method 2

  1. Place the CD into your computer’s CD drive. When the opening screen appears, click "Install TimePilot Software." Choose the "TimePilot Installation Menu" (not the "TimePilot Installation Wizard"), then follow the instructions to install only the TimePilot Tap Manager.
  2. Tap Manager IconWhen the Tap Manager has finished installing, you’ll see its icon on your desktop, as seen at right.
  3. The first time you run the Tap Manager, it will automatically connect to your existing TimePilot database. If it can’t find the database on your computer (if you are using TimePilot on a network and your PC isn’t running TimePilot Central, for instance), the software will ask you for the database’s location.
    You can get the location from the person in charge of your TimePilot system. Want to verify that the clock-ins and clock-outs collected by your Tap are going to the correct database? Just click the "Menu" button in the Tap Manager and choose "Options." The location will be displayed in the section titled "Data."
  4. Your Tap is ready to go.