We're building the 1st weatherproof, battery-powered, Bluetooth employee timeclock for iPhone, Android and Windows smartphones Support this Project on Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/750881510/extreme-blue-weatherproof-bluetooth-employee-timec One of the biggest headaches for companies in the building trades and other outdoor occupations is keeping track of their employees' hours where power is not available and weather is unpredictable. Because the workers are out in the field, it's difficult for them to punch a clock, and hand-written timesheets just aren't accurate, as well as a huge source of math errors. Our Kickstarter project—the first Bluetooth-enabled, weatherproof electronic timeclock that connects to iPhone, Android and Windows smartphones —solves this problem. With the help of our backers: 1. We'll create a weatherproof, battery-powered electronic timeclock that securely collects employees' clock-ins and clock-outs. 2. We'll add Bluetooth connectivity so a supervisor can quickly and easily download the data to his or her smartphone. 3. And finally, we'll build apps—for iPhone, Android and Windows smartphones—that allow the supervisor to edit the data, insert missing punches and calculate each employee's work hours right on the phone. If they want more capability, they can upload the data to the cloud so the main office can use our Windows-based software to run reports, apply more advanced pay policies and export data to popular payroll software and services such as Quickbooks or ADP. We're calling this new product TimePilot Extreme Blue. We're partway there already, but we need your help to finish the job. Right now, we build and sell a weatherproof, battery-powered timeclock in a cast-aluminum housing that simply downloads the clock-ins and clock-outs to a USB drive, which is used to move the data to a PC running our software. This was a good start, but not good enough. Extreme Blue will be in a new rugged plastic housing that is more flexible and durable than our current aluminum housing. The product will incorporate Bluetooth for data collection with smartphones but still have the option to use a USB drive. This project will cut the cord to the PC. Collecting the data with a smartphone is much more convenient than using a USB drive--there's no need to drive back to the office PC or lug along a laptop to see your data--and it also allows supervisors to do all the work in the field on the phone. No one is in a better position to fill in missing punches than the on-site supervisor. Other benefits of using Bluetooth and a smartphone to collect data include: Easy to use. Each employee clocks in and out by tapping their nearly indestructible iButton to a sensor on the clock. Supervisors simply tap a special manager's iButton to the clock to download the data to their smartphones. Secure. The Extreme Blue clock can be fastened to any flat surface and padlocked. Weatherproof. It can handle heat, rain, snow and freezing temperatures down to -20 F (-29C). Flexible. In its simplest use, the supervisor can collect clock-in and clock-out data from one or several clocks, use his or her smartphone to calculate work hours and cut employees' paychecks right in the cab of their truck. In a more advanced use, multiple supervisors can collect data from multiple clocks at multiple work sites, and then use Dropbox, a free cloud service, to upload the data to a computer or server at the main office. At the office, the data from each supervisor is merged into a single database and TimePilot's Windows-based software is used to prepare the data for the organization's payroll software or service. Accurate. The date and time on each Extreme Blue timeclock will be synchronized to the smartphone every time data is collected. The date and time on smartphones are constantly updated by the cell phone service provider, so the Extreme Blue clocks will remain accurate. Low cost. Our goal is to be a fraction of the cost of other products. And unlike cloud services offered by other timeclock companies, Dropbox is free, so there are no monthly subscription fees. Video used with permission. Video Copyright (c) of its respective owner.

• published: 08 Jan 2014
• views: 9