Punch to Paycheck

If a co-worker/friend asks you to clock in for her, do you do it? Payroll professionals know better. They know that buddy-punching isn’t a favor you do for a friend, it’s an act of fraud against your employer – one that could get you fired at least, in prison at worst.

But do your fellow employees know that buddy-punching is fraud? It can be a difficult conversation between an employer and the employees, but consider this: More than 70 percent of companies suffer losses of up to five percent as a result of buddy-punching. The good news is, there are sure-fire ways to stop it.

Automated time and attendance software can solve the buddy-punching problem. First, it eliminates the opportunity. Every employee has to log in with their own password, and because the password allows anyone who knows it to know other information besides time and attendance, there are built-in incentives to keep it private.

Beyond that, you could choose the card-swipe option – only the holder of the employee’s card could “punch” them in. Or to make buddy-punching absolutely impossible, many companies are opting for biometric time and attendance solutions for the ultimate in security.

iEmployee offers each of these options for time and attendance, plus the online tracking system improves payroll accuracy and eliminated the need for paper timesheets or punch cards.

To learn more about the perils of buddy-punching, download our free white paper ‘How to Stop Budget Leaks.”