WHITE PAPERNovember 2015

Selection of Time-Attendance System for Small Organizations

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NTS 1. Executive Summary

2. Difficulties in Evaluation

3. Prepare Time-Attendance Requirement List

4. Questions for Ensuring the Right Time-Attendance Solution

4.1. Meeting Exact Needs

4.2. Data Management

4.3. Flexible Enough to Fit with Requirements

4.4. Reports and Charts

4.5. Configuration and Monitoring

4.6. Support and Software Up-gradation

4.7. Product Versatility

4.8. Product Design

4.9. Hardware Reliability

4.10. Connectivity Options

4.11. Manufacturer's Credibility

5. Matrix COSEC SAMAY

6. Conclusion

7. About Matrix

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Purchasing an employee Time-Attendance solution can be a major decision for any organization irrespective of its size. Many purchase criteria must be considered - everything from functionality to integration to cost must be weighed carefully when evaluating Time-Attendance solution.

A good Time-Attendance solution should be able to address all major concerns like buddy punching, manual attendance calculation, manual entry in the payroll system, flexibility in attendance marking for different employees, etc. Ultimately it should help save time, reduce error, improve employee morale, improve productivity and most importantly add value to the business.

This white paper will provide some useful hints with proper explanation, which small organizations can use for selection of Time-Attendance solution.

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? ??Number of Suppliers in the Market: Time-attendance is an unorganized market with many local players and imported devices. It should be noted that Time-Attendance solution is a complete solution and not just a box product like a mobile handset. So vendor selection should be based on the ability to customized, local support, proper training and most importantly should match the needs of an organization.

Selecting the right Time-Attendance solution for the organisation is never an easy process. There are many vendors in the market who offer similar solutions with confusing specifications and at different rates. If the decision maker is not familiar with the system, he or she may get confused because of the following reasons.

DIFFICULTIES IN EVALUATION

ConfusingSpecifications/Features:At the first sight all the features offered by different vendors appear more or less the same. But the depth of a feature and the flexibility that each feature provides is different from vendor to vendor. So the solutions should be evaluated keeping in mind the needs of the organization.

Price Variations:With respect to prices, time-attendance market is very fragmented. Many imported players are offering Time-Attendance solutions at very low prices while some good players are selling their solutions at a higher price. However, as a good decision maker, one should consider the total cost of ownership of the solution. Total cost of ownership includes actual product cost, installation charges, after sales support, customization charges, warranty, down time cost etc.

PREPARE TIME-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT LIST

Time-attendance is very dynamic in nature. No two organizations have identical attendance and leave policies. It may be so that the same organization is following different timings and holidays for different facilities. Various departments like manufacturing, marketing, R&D, etc. within an office differ in their timing, grace period and overtime calculation. Furthermore, people working in the same department need different time-attendance flexibility.

In short, while approaching a time-attendance vendor, you should be very clear with the requirements of your organization. HR team along with the IT team may play a crucial role in selecting the right Time-Attendance solution since it is HR's area of concern.

ŸNumber of Doors Used for Entryand Exit

ŸNumber of Business EntitiesŸWorking HoursŸShift Timings (if applicable)ŸWeekly OffsŸLate-In PolicyŸEarly-Out Policy

ŸOvertime PolicyŸLeave PolicyŸOfficial OutŸTypes of Reports requiredŸPayroll Integration requirement

Others if any…

HR should have complete clarification of attendance policy with respect to following aspects:

Meeting Exact Needs

The intuitive software is at the core of a Time-Attendance solution. The first and most important question you need to answer is whether the time-attendance software designed is applicable for your country, region and meets the requirements of your organization? Time-attendance appl icat ions are designed flexibly to accommodate with local laws, federal laws, culture, industry, size, etc. Therefore, it is necessary that the time-attendance application should be designed specifically to address a l l y o u r n e e d s w i t h o u t compromising any of your organization's needs. It would be a mistake to buy a Time-Attendance solution that offers “universal or standard” software that can work from anywhere.

Data Management

Time-Attendance solution manages all entries, exits, attendance, overtime, leaves, analysis and summaries and other such transactions. All organizations maintain this data on a long term basis for internal usage and sometimes for legal compliance. In a way, this data is as important as accounts and financial data of the organization. Hence, you need easy and fast access to current and h is tor ica l da ta . The T ime-Attendance solution you select

QUESTIONS FOR ENSURING THE RIGHT TIME-ATTENDANCE SOLUTION

An HR or IT person should be very clear on the below mentioned points while evaluating various vendors in the market.

should support strong storage, backup, archival and retrieval methods.

Flexible Enough to Fit with Requirements

When it comes to working hours, leaves, late-ins, early-outs and overtime, all organizations have their own policies and rules. These are like customs and traditions of a culture. They have evolved over a period of time and served you well all these years. It is neither advisable nor necessary to change them overnight. Therefore, you need a Time-Attendance solution that can adapt to your systems with minimum changes. Hence, the solution you select should be flexible enough to adapt to your organization's practices and policies.

Reports and Charts

A good Time-Attendance solution is as good as the output it offers in terms of reports and charts. A proper repor t and char t can drastically reduce data analysis time and improve efficiency. All vendors offer many kinds of time-attendance reports but you should check whether the kinds of reports you require are provided by the respective solution or not. Reports should be informative and in a particular format so that it can be

easi ly used for some other applications like salary calculation. Configuration and Monitoring

If you want to get the most out of your Time-Attendance solution, it must have user-friendly hardware and software configuration. The software should be such that you can manage it easily, without having to go through any kind of special training or putting in extra efforts. Furthermore, the software should provide you with easy monitoring features. You should be able to monitor important data like total absent users, leave detail, real time user data with detail, holiday list, and shift information. This will also help reduce the time HR personnel have to spend after these processes.

Support and Software Up-gradation

Change is the only constant. With time and growth everything will change – number of people, organization structure, policies, local/federal laws, etc. You need to check whether the Time-Attendance solution you are considering can evolve with your changing needs. With respect to support, you should check whether the respective vendor would be able to provide support on a long term basis or not. Furthermore, the solution you select should be such that it can be upgraded as and when required.

Product Versatility

Many technologies are available in the market for time-attendance with their own pros and cons. As a smart buyer you should know which technology is suitable for your application. If you are selecting one technology today e.g. fingerprint and want to add RFID card in it what would be the cost. Will it just be an addition of the card module cost or complete hardware replacement cost? For basic access control application, does the system have door relay port to connect an electronic lock with it? Many such technical aspects need to be considered and matched with your organization's requirements before selecting a Time-Attendance solution.

Product Design

Any system you select should add value to your office interior. It should not look like a patch on the wall. By good design you not only demand aesthetic appeal but also ease of u s e , p r o p e r a u d i o - v i s u a l notifications, environment friendly, dust proof, etc.

Hardware Reliability

High quality materials like gold flash PCBs, industrial grade components, engineering plastic, etc. will add value into the product and increase its life and performance. Many imported vendors are offering their solutions at half the price with lack of product depth and performance. In other words, selection of a Time-Attendance solution should not be on the base of one-time cost but on the total cost of ownership.

Connectivity Options

For user punch data transfer and device configuration, connectivity is required between the device and software. Before you select any solution you should have an idea about the type of infrastructure that will suit your organization. There are products available with multiple connectivity options like Ethernet, Wi-Fi, GPRS, mobile broadband, PoE, manual transfer using USB drive etc. The selection of the solution should be b a s e d o n t h e c o n n e c t i v i t y requirements for your organization.

Manufacturer's Credibility

After understanding a product, you should also check the manufacture's credibility in the market. Who are their existing customers? Whether they are satisfied with the solution or not? How is their support? How is their R&D? Answering such questions will give you confidence and aid you in decision making.

Winner of

Matrix COSEC SAMAY

Matrix COSEC SAMAY is a professional Time-Attendance solution specifically designed to meet the requirements of small organizations. COSEC SAMAY manages the diverse requirements of systematic yet flexible timings with user-wise attendance, shifts and leave policies. Its human-like intelligence calculates attendance and leaves, and integrates this data seamlessly with payroll systems. Matrix COSEC SAMAY dramatically improves productivity and discipline of the organization.

Why COSEC SAMAY?Matrix COSEC SAMAY is a superior Time-Attendance solution compared to many other cheap products available in the market!

OTHERS

Adapt to the organization's real needs.

Allocate manpower for maximum efficiency.

Match organization's exact leaves and holidays policies.

Save time, increase accuracy and reduce cost.

Prevent human-intervention, errors and manipulation.

Monitor manpower status for better control and faster decisions.

Interpret data easily for better andfaster decisions.

Reduce manual work and eliminate errors or manipulation.

Improved aesthetics and ease-of-use.

Reliability and long life.

Reduce wiring cost and improve network reliability.

User-wise Attendance, Late-In, Early-Out, C-OFF and Overtime

Multiple Shifts and Shift Patterns

Various Leave Types, Balance Tracking and Encasement

User-wise Overtime Policy and Automatic Calculation

Auto Push Events from Device to Software with User Photo

Live Status of Attendance, Devices,Shifts and Holiday in a Single Window

Customized Reports in Excel and Graphical Charts with Filters

Direct Integration with Tally and Other Payroll

iF and Red Dot International Awardsfor Product Engineering and Aesthetics

Gold-Flash PCBs, Touch-Sense Keys, Scratch-Proof Plastics and Heavy Duty Components

Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Mobile Broadband (3G/2G) and Power over Ethernet (PoE)

User-wise Timings

Flexible Shifts

Leaves and Holidays

Overtime

Online Events Recording

Live Dashboard

Reports and Charts

Payroll Integration

Award Winning Design

Sturdy Hardware

Multiple Connectivities

FEATURE BENEFITMATRIX COSEC SAMAY

COSEC SAMAY

Reports and Charts

TALLY

Due to continuous technology upgradations, product specifications are subject to change without notice.

Factory39 GIDC, Waghodia, Dist. Vadodara - 391 760, India. Ph: +91 2668 262056/57, Fax: +91 2668 262631

Head Office394 - GIDC, Makarpura, Vadodara - 390 010, India. Ph: +91 265 2630555, Fax: +91 265 2636598 E-mail: Inquiry@MatrixComSec.comSMS ‘MATRIX’ to +91 99987 55555

www.MatrixSecuSol.com

For further information, please contact:

Established in 1991, Matrix is a leader in Telecom and Security solutions for modern businesses and enterprises. An innovative, technology driven and customer focused organization; Matrix is committed to keep pace with the revolutions in the telecom and security industries. With more than 40% of its human resources dedicated to the development of new products, Matrix has launched cutting-edge products like Video Surveillance solutions, Access Control, Time-Attendance, IP-PBX, Universal Gateways, Terminals, Convergence solution, VoIP Gateways and GSM Gateways. These solutions are feature-rich, reliable and conform to the international standards. Having global foot-prints in Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Africa through an extensive network of more than 500 channel partners, Matrix ensures that the products serve the needs of its customers faster and longer. Matrix has gained trust and admiration of customers representing the entire spectrum of industries. Matrix has won many international awards for its innovative products.

MATRIX COMSEC

ABOUT MATRIX

CONCLUSION

Right selection of a Time-Attendance solution will add value to your business and improve productivity and efficiency multifold for many years. So selection should not be overlooked by neglecting many other important parameters mentioned in this white paper. Secondly decision maker should consider the total cost of ownership of owning this product rather one cost.

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