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Virtual TimeClock '12 continues to punch in on time

05.10.2012
Two years ago, I Redcort Software's and I'm happy to report that the latest version remains substantially unchanged and is still an excellent cross platform solution for tracking employees' work time. Redcort Software also resolved issues associated with new user creation, and it now offers a number of new login options that make it easier to maintain employee privacy and limit access to information about which users are logged in and what projects other employees are working on.

Virtual TimeClock comes in three versions: . The way each of these versions works is essentially the same, with the major difference being the available features and the number of users you're allowed to have in the Basic version. I used Virtual TimeClock Network and Pro Editions for this review, but most of what is covered here is also true of Virtual TimeClock Basic.

At $99, Virtual TimeClock Basic is limited to one time clock and three users. The Pro Edition at $195 allows for an unlimited number of users, but you can only install it on a single computer. The Network Edition has a number of pricing options ranging from $295 for the server application and $50 for each additional user to $1995 for a site license. If you have several offices, there are also options available that will centralize your time clock server while allowing your users to sign in and out at their locations. If you want to give the program a test run, you can a working demo of any version you'd like to try.

Virtual TimeClock is very easy to set up, requiring little more than a company name and a location for your time clock database. The server version of Virtual TimeClock runs as a system daemon. So once it's installed, the time clock database is available on the network even if no one is logged in to the Mac where the application is running. I had the server up and running and the client installed on two Macs and a Windows computer in less than 10 minutes.

Once the application is installed, you'll need to add users to the database for them to log in. Users are added either by entering them individually using Virtual TimeClock's administration tool or you can import your users from either a QuickBooks IIF file or a CSV file.

New user creation, which was such a hassle, is now very easy. One of the issues I had with earlier versions of Virtual TimeClock was the way the program required you to constantly save user information as you moved between fields when creating new users. Redcort has now simplified the process, keeping all user data in a single screen rather than split between multiple tabs.