Time Tracking and Timesheet Management in Shopify POS

Implementation of time tracking platforms is one of the most common practices in the retail industry these days. Given how convenient having your staff's worked hours digitally saved is, retailers are switching from manual or non-existent hour registers to this kind of platform.

It's also important to mention that not only employees are capable of registering their shifts among other useful features, but they can do it right from your store's main work tool, which is the Shopify POS system. This makes it even easier for them to clock in/out as soon as they arrive at the store.

This article will show you why accurate time tracking routines are necessary for both employees and employers and how beneficial they can be in the long term. You will also learn how to implement these practices right into your Shopify POS system.

Why Is It Important for a Business to Keep Track of Employee Hours?

From a retail business' point of view, having an accurate and proper timesheet of employees' worked hours is completely necessary if you want to maintain a certain level of productivity within your staff.  Using a time tracking system creates a transparent environment where employees specify what activities they did and how many hours they worked. Not to mention how easy payroll tasks become by having a clear description of every single hour each employee worked in the month.

Time tracking software also provides managers with 24/7 access to information, so even if they're not in the store to supervise employees, the system provides them with information in real-time whenever they like. This way, managers can remotely check for compliance of the staff's shifts no matter where they are.

Benefits of Time Tracking for Employers

Payroll and Overtime Payment Accuracy: When payroll time comes, you should have all of your employees' timesheets ready to be confirmed and calculate the exact amount based on the hours they've worked. Employees are able to clock in and out whenever they start and finish their shifts, this way, there's a record of all the activities they perform. Time trackers make it easier for you to check for overtime/time-off and accurately pay your staff the specific hours they provided. Of course, having software capable of automating these processes is the most ideal thing to implement.

Employees' Performance Overview: Having a straight record of each worker's timesheet allows managers to check out how their staff's performance is doing. It can be helpful for monthly performance evaluations, trial months, and any kind of audit your business structure implements.

Measure Profitability and Productivity: Since every shift is being recorded, having a registry of both the hours worked by your staff and the sales performance will give you the ability to use KPIs to measure profitability and productivity. This means you can evaluate and compare how many sales per hour your staff is capable of achieving.

Transparency and Trust Building: Even if you already have effective team communication with your staff, having a system capable of providing information on their current performance is perfect for creating confidence and making sure your productivity expectations are being met.

Benefits of Time Tracking for Employees

Focusing on Tasks: Knowing that your clock is ticking and your managers are able to watch every now and then how's your performance will make you focus on the tasks your

Legit Registry of Worked Hours and Overtime: Having an automated timesheet highly reduces the probability of registering the wrong shifts, and even if a mistake is made, you can always ask the admin to edit, delete, or create a new correct shift to your timesheets.

Better Self-organization: Registering the activities you perform during your shift gives you a later overview or estimate of how many hours a task can take you. Getting to know this may help you to accurately adapt and arrange your daily activities into your schedule.  

Reducing Procrastination: It can be very helpful to control and track the time you spend on your work when your mind wants constant breaks. By setting short breaks between every couple of hours of work, you can boost your focus and rest for a few minutes as a reward.

Knowing Co-Workers Available Times: Sometimes you might need a co-worker's help, but you don't know when to contact them. Having a time tracking software allows you to see which employee is available, and in case they're not, it'll show when they'll be.

How Does a Bad Time Tracking Affect Your Business?

Retail stores have a bit fewer problems than big companies when it comes to managing their employees, timesheets, and payroll, but if they do not adhere to standard procedures and keep detailed records of the staff's hours worked, things can get messy. Sometimes employers make mistakes during payroll time without being aware of them. Some of the most common complications retailers experience for not having a proper tracking system are incorrectly calculated extra hours, failing to pay minimum wages, missing to pay all hours worked, incorrectly classifying staff members.

Best Shopify Tailored Solution

After reading the facts mentioned above, some of the common questions among retail owners might be  "Can you clock in on Shopify POS?", "Can I do payroll through Shopify?", "How can I track my employees' time?", or "How do you keep track of employee hours?". Here are the answers:

Even though it's not possible to use a Shopify POS time clock natively, you can always use a third-party app right from the Shopify POS app store. This way, you can add a lot of useful features to your business and have access to them with just a few clicks on your POS system.

The Leading Employee Management Platform for POS Stores in Shopify

EasyTeam has proven its true value among the Shopify POS community by providing highly convenient features for human capital management, including employee scheduling, timesheets, sales & commissions (to measure sales performance), and customizable checklists. So, if you're currently managing an hourly team, these features may become your best allies.

In this opportunity, as it has been discussed throughout the article, the main focus is the Timesheets feature. Here's a brief description of what this function has to offer:

Watch Native Tutorials

There are lots of user-friendly tutorials available so any type of user can learn all the features provided by the app.

Exporting Timesheets

On the upper-right bar, you have the option to Export all of your employees' timesheets in a single CSV file, this way there's no need to manually copy and paste each employee's data in a document.

Filter Employees

You have the option to filter your staff both with the Search Bar by writing their name/last name, or with the Department Filter option. When filtering employees based on their department, the system automatically displays all departments registered on your store's database, and if you're not able to see them, you can edit your employees' personal information and add a department in the Staff section of the page.

View/Edit Employee's Time Cards

If there's a specific employee's time card you'd like to check, you can filter the data as mentioned before and once you've found your person, you can click on the View button and the Time Card will be displayed. Here you'll be able to edit, delete, or add new shifts in case a mistake was made and also Export this specific employee's timesheet. This is really helpful to manage shift trades between workers, rectify time clock schedule mistakes, etc.

Filter your Timesheets by a Specific Date Range

Thanks to the calendar option, you can also see who was working on a particular day or range of days. When a date is selected, the tool will show the employees' names, their hourly wages/salaries, and how much money they're owed.

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