POS version 7.02 released 4-11-08.

[daleadmin]

Cash Register version 7.02 has been uploaded.

Here is a description of the new features. http://www.dhpos.com/pos702b1.pdf

Upgrade instructions http://keyhut.com/upgrade.htm

Download page http://keyhut.com/pos3.htm

Dale

[daleadmin]

Does anyone have any feedback on the time clock app? Is anyone using it?

Dale

[cwathen]

Dale,

Not yet upgraded the Kebab shop DHPOS site I am responsible for up to version 7.02 yet, The guy who runs this place used to used RM Plus (proper food EPOS system) at his old store which has a fully password protected timeclock in place which I know he will want hence why I asked for it when timeclock was in beta testing.

BUT I did get my own employer to agree to me trialling DHPOS in our store for timeclock only as the company wanted to implement a timeclock system and our own EPOS system (Reference Point) does not have such a facility (sadly they won't be able to move to DHPOS 'proper' as it isn't multisite and can't track serial numbers or warranties, which we need).

We've been using timeclock for a few weeks now and this has generally been well received. Staff particularly like the simple keypresses (does't get much simpler than 'F5, PIN, Ctrl+Ins, Escape') and the way that it's exactly the same process to clock in and out - in this respect you've got a great implementation there Dale.

A couple of suggestions though:

LAYOUT/IMPLEMENTATION - At present the working week is fixed to run from Sunday-Saturday. At every place I've ever worked at (don't know if the US is generally different to the UK), the working week runs from Monday-Sunday. We also prefer to use week commencing rather than week ending dates for timesheets. Is there any way to allow the setup to be customised so the timesheet can fit in better with the way the company's existing scheduling procedures work?

CORRECTIONS - At our store we've got myself (I'm the assistant manager) along wth the store manager and our supervisor assigned as 'supervisors' on the system. During the first week or so staff often forgot to clock in/out at the right time so we needed to use the 'correct time punch' feature. However, when we correct something it only appears in addition to the actual time punch (if any) which leads to messy looking timesheets. I realise that this is by design and emulates the way a manual timeclock machine would work, but is it possible to provide an option where a supervisor's correction will simply replace the original punch rather than being added in addition? From a readability point of view, this would make the timesheets much better.

PAYROLL! - Although the system is great at recording time, if any business wants to use it to calculate payroll they'd need to manually transcribe the figures to pay rates. Would it be possible to add the facility to assign employees a pay rate and then calculate their pay (ideally with an 'overtime rate' which would kick in past a set number of hours)? Surely if this is done it would also be easy enough (admittedly through my Excel using, non programmer's eyes) to have a field where you can add extra pay in (the three details we would need would be Bonus, Expenses and overtime if this needs to be added manually).

Otherwise, a great new feature, IMO worthy of more than a .02 version increment!

[daleadmin]

No, no, no ,no, no, this is not supposed to be happening. Remember that my whole point in creating the time sheet program was to get people to SHUT UP about it. I feel dirty for doing this and I know that I have done evil and will spend quite a bit time in purgatory for this when I die. But to compensate for that I was never to hear about the time sheet program ever again.

This is apparently not working out as I had expected. is suicide my only option? But then I have that "purgatory" thing waiting for me.

But let me answer this post anyway.

Every place that I have worked at here runs their payroll weeks from Sunday to Saturday just the way God intended and the way it is printed on calendars. After all Sunday is the beginning end of the week and Saturday is the ending end of the week so Saturday and Sunday are the "week ends" or weekend. At least that sounds good to me. Also the payroll weeks here named after the day the week finishes. And that is the way it is going to stay. I could rewrite the program to have the 2 options but then what about our Jewish users who have weeks that run from Saturday to Friday? More options? Remember that I did not want to do this in the first place. However a much easier solution for me is for you to move to the U.S. where weeks fit the time clock program.

I gave the "corrections" thing quite a bit of thought before I implimented it. And my thought was that under some conditions the folks in charge of payroll would like to know when the person did actually punch in and when they were supposed to punch in (and it was corrected to.) Why they would want both is beyond my comprehension but the information is there if you want it and you can ignore it if you don't want it. But the main point is that I would not have to return to the program to put it in and spend more time in purgatory. So needless to say I am not going back to the program to take it out.

One of my main fears when writing the program that would make me wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat is that someone would want me to extend the time clock program into a payroll package. I no longer have to worry that this may happen. One of the truly fun things about a payroll program is that there is an infinite number of parameters that you can setup in that type of program. For example...

Are breaks paid or not?
How long are breaks?
How about lunches?
If they are paid are they at the same rate?
If someone gets a raise does it apply to the whole week or can the rate change in the middle of the week?
Are different pay categories (sick, jury dury, bereavement, vacation, etc.) paid at a different rate?
Is overtime paid only for more than 40 hours a week or more than 8 hours in a day, or both.
Depending of the day of the week or time of day to you pay time and a half, double time, triple time?
Is time of day or week combined with overtime? How?
Medical & dental plan deductions.
Wage garnishment.
Etc.
You don't do any of the above? Other companies do.

Ok, now we come to the FUN part. Government regulations. For every city in America with home rule powers, most counties, every U.S. state, the U.S. federal government, and all other national governments please list the following regulations concerning with-holding income tax, 401K plans, disability tax, head tax, retirement plan insurance, etc, Etc, ETC.

Take your time, I can wait.
Dale

[cwathen]

Dale,

I do wonder if you've ever had bad treatment at the hands of an evil clocking in/clocking out system, because you seem to be extremely against them for reasons I can't quite work out. My present employer is the first one which didn't have a timeclock system (at least until your software went in there a few weeks ago). I've never really had an issue with them, and there are two big POSITIVES about a timeclock which I don't feel you recognise.

Firstly, if you have a timeclock then it will record when staff work BEYOND what they have to - all those times when people turn up 20 minutes early or stay 10 minutes late add up to a surprising number of hours over the course of the year. With a timeclock this extra time is confirmed and can be paid without argument. Where you are being paid based on what is printed on a roster, and where claiming for your extra time involves a long convulated process (which most employees won't bother with) the inevitable result is that you end up doing unpaid overtime.

Secondly, the sad fact is that just because someone has a job that doesn't make them an honest person beyond reproach. In any store of significant scale, where an employee persisitantly turns up a bit late, slips out a bit early or takes too much time for their lunchbreach, the manager may never notice. But without a timeclock system they will just be paid based on what their roster says they are supposed to have done and end up effectively defrauding their employer out of a significant number of hours during the course of the year.

If you're someone who turns up to work on time, doesn't 'play' the system, and also expects to be paid for any extra time that you serve, then I see no problem with having a timeclock. Having seen things from both sides of the fence, I'd much rather work for someone that has a timeclock and records things properly, than one who just works from a roster and relies on management to notice any variations from it.

With regards to payroll, the list of criteria you cite as necessary assumes that you would need the implementation to stretch as far as being able to put a blank payslip into the printer and have DHPOS print it off for you. I'm not suggesting that you'd need to take things to that level - there are plenty of commercial EPOS sytems which simply print off a 'payroll report' listing the number of hours each employee has worked and derive a figure based on their current pay rate, along with allowing overtime past a pre-set number of hours and any relevant bonuses to be added. The actual business of whether or not to pay breaks, taxation and other deducations is done by the accountant using their own software.

As much as you seem to hate it, the timeclock has got to be one of the best features you've ever added to DHPOS, and IMO it deserves to be viewed as a serious feature to be developed rather than just something you've put in to shut some people up.

And in fairness - you did ask if anyone was using the timeclock feature, which would seem to invite feedback!

[daleadmin]

Guilty, I did ask

Dale

[Robert_Nel]

Like time clock feature , however cannot use it as I use a Timeclock program that is free up to three employees and does the payroll . Running a Pub , the staff sometimes arrive late after their starting time and also work late , going into over time . They like using the time clock because there is no arguments when they receive their pay . When I used a register I had to transfer all the detail into a spread sheet to work out their pay and print payslips , there were disputes about time worked. Also handy for keeping records automatically on PC .