Time and attendance software is a time-tracking application used for payroll purposes, allowing companies to track, edit, and approve employee hours, which are then integrated into payroll systems to compute compensation.

This software can help you stay on top of employee attendance by streamlining the way your team tracks time. Time and attendance solutions make it easier to track time—and pay your employees for their time.

The key benefits of using time and attendance software include time saving automations, seamless integrations with payroll, customizable policies to fit specific organizational needs, proactive notifications and approval chains to manage and resolve issues before they occur, detailed reports, improved compliance safeguards, and a user-friendly, self-service interface to streamline the whole process for both managers and employees.

Time tracking is important because it allows for accurate tracking, editing, and approval of employee hours, which are essential for payroll processing, compliance with labor laws, and gaining insights into workforce productivity. Whether you're a part of a small business with fewer employees or a large enterprise managing thousands of schedules, time tracking systems can help you track employee work hours more efficiently and effectively.

Rippling’s unified data structure and modern functionality unlocks key differentiators compared to other T&A systems. With Rippling, you're able to fully integrate from check-in to paycheck, automate away busywork with workflows, and customize policies for complete control.

Time and attendance systems ensure compliance with labor laws through automated enforcement of breaks and overtime, real-time alerts for non-compliance issues, pre-built policies that regularly updated to reflect current labor laws, integration with payroll for accurate and compliant payment, and audit trails to track compliance from start to finish.  

Overall, cloud-based, online time and attendance management systems offer greater efficiency, flexibility, and accuracy compared to traditional systems. Online time tracking software removes manual processes such as paper time sheets or punch cards, provides access from anywhere with an internet connection, supports remote work and flexible schedules, seamlessly integrates with payroll, HR, and other management systems, ensures accurate and efficient time data transfer, and provides advanced reporting tools and ensure compliance with labor laws through automated updates and features.

Yes—employees can easily clock in and clock out through Rippling's mobile time clock app for iOS and Android. Additionally, managers and payroll admins can easily view, edit, add, and approve employee timesheets directly from their mobile devices.