Payroll fraud costs businesses millions of dollars each year, and the abuse of time clocks is a large part of that. If you're a manager or supervisor tired of your employees getting away with time theft, here are just four ways to prevent it.


1. Buy A New Time Clock

New time clocks can drastically reduce the amount of payroll fraud committed each day. If it's from a different brand as your previous clock, your employees won't know all the little tricks for fooling it; in some cases, a shiny new machine won't even have loopholes to exploit. So your first step against time theft should definitely be the purchase of a new time clock.


2. Consider Biometric Software

Time clock software comes in two major varieties: manual and biometric. Manual timekeeping is the traditional kind with badges, codes and punch cards; biometric timekeeping uses fingerprints or even retinal scans to determine the identity of employees in a foolproof way. You won't have to worry about "buddy punching" on a biometric system!


3. Penalize Rule Breakers

If you catch someone behaving fraudulently at the time clock, don't ignore it. Not only will this send a bad message to the employee in question, but it will also allow for the flourishing of time theft when your staff knows they won't be punished for it. The next time someone lies about their overtime, punish them accordingly.


4. Create Break Schedules

If your office has a laissez-faire attitude towards break times, you're encouraging time theft without even realizing it. Instead of letting employees take breaks with zero accountability for when and where, put them on a schedule where everyone goes at a specified time and no one can leave until the previous person comes back. They'll start encouraging each other to be on time.


These are just a few ways to banish time theft once and for all. You don't have to be one of the many businesses suffering from this preventable problem. Just take the proper precautions and watch your time troubles sort themselves out.