How to Choose Timekeeping and PTO Software for Your Practice

“How much PTO do I have left?”

It’s a reasonable question. So is, “Did you approve my request for Friday?” Neither should require your office manager to stop what they’re doing, open a spreadsheet, check a calendar, and reconstruct the answer.

That’s a good place to start when you’re choosing timekeeping and PTO software. Look at the work you’re already doing, including the interruptions nobody puts on a timesheet. Then ask a vendor to show you how its system would handle that work in your practice.

Bring your actual practice into the demo

Before you book a demonstration, write down a few situations your team regularly handles. Maybe employees work different schedules, someone splits their time between locations, or your PTO policy requires you to track accruals.

Bring your written policy, too. A system that tracks time off still needs to be set up to reflect the rules you’ve adopted. Ask how those rules are configured, who checks the setup, and what happens when your policy changes.

You’ll learn more from watching a vendor work through one of your ordinary weeks than from watching a polished tour of every feature.

Follow a request from beginning to end

Ask to see what an employee sees when they check their available time and submit a request. Can they tell whether it’s pending or approved? Will you both be looking at the same information?

Then switch to the manager’s view. What information is available when you decide whether to approve that Friday off? Can you see other approved requests? How will the employee know your decision?

You still have to make the staffing decision. Having two new patients scheduled and your most experienced assistant already out that day matters. The useful question is whether the system makes it easier to gather the information you need, rather than sending you hunting through several places.

Follow the hours all the way to payroll

Next, ask the vendor to show you a normal timecard and one with a mistake. Someone forgot to clock out. Who fixes it? Can you see what changed? How does the employee review it?

If your team works different shifts or locations, use those examples in the demonstration. Find out how you’ll review hours before payroll and identify something that needs attention.

“Integrates with payroll” deserves a follow-up question. Does information transfer directly, or will someone export and upload a file? Which payroll providers are supported? What still needs to be reviewed or entered manually?

Those details matter to the person who has to run payroll on a busy Monday.

Know what you’re buying and who will help

Get the full price for your team, including any separate charges for payroll, setup, or additional employees. Ask who handles the move from your current system and what training your manager will receive.

Also, separate software support from HR advice. Help correcting a setting is different from help deciding what your PTO policy should say. Understand which kind of help is included before you need it.

Where backstageHR™ fits

CEDR’s backstageHR™ brings timekeeping and PTO tracking together with employee records and document storage. Separately priced payroll services can connect with that timekeeping and PTO information.

Direct software support is included. Access to CEDR’s HR advisors for unlimited HR compliance and problem-solving can be added to the software-only plan. An employee handbook can also be added. Ask CEDR which level of support and services fit best for your practice’s HR needs.

Explore backstageHR™ and ask us to walk through your practice’s needs.