The Federal Labour Court has decided that the obligation of employers to systematically record working hours, as stipulated by the ECJ, already applies to all German companies! This is a result of EU law in Section 3 Paragraph 2 No. 1 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Many companies are now obliged to introduce a suitable solution quickly and precisely.
Turning this obligation into an opportunity and gaining greater added value and benefit for operational purposes is now a perfect opportunity. Many craft and service companies that are mobile every day and do their work on-site for well-known companies and organizations are often obliged to comply with all regulations by their clients for compliance/legality reasons. These include the Minimum Wage Act (MiLoG), the tax clearance certificate in the construction sector and the Supply Chain Act.
Time recording can serve as proof of performance to customers and thus for invoicing. Organizational reasons can also speak in favor of a modern solution using apps: business processes can be optimized, communication and collaboration solutions are available and the essentials can be kept in view quickly and easily. A time recording app can therefore become a central tool for every service company.
Time recording using time sheets, Excel templates or digitally?
The simplest form is to manually record working hours on time sheets or by entering them into an Excel table. However, this type of time recording has a high potential for errors and is time-consuming and hardly possible on the go. The data must be laboriously transferred manually to other systems such as payroll or invoicing. In addition, the recorded data can be subsequently changed or can easily be viewed by unauthorized persons.
Mobile companies are therefore well advised to give their employees a digital time recording solution with which they can record their working hours independently via smartphone, tablet or PC. This ensures that times are fully documented and legible. They can also be assigned specifically to customers and projects, which makes subsequent evaluation much easier. Time recording software or apps automatically synchronize working hours in the system and also remind employees to enter their times. The fact that nothing has to be entered into the system manually saves several work steps. The data is usually collected in a central location and can be evaluated and processed immediately by the administration. Time recordings are available on a daily basis, and time-consuming and nerve-wracking month-end activities are a thing of the past.
Time recording software as required
There are many providers on the mobile time recording market. It is therefore worthwhile for service companies to consider in advance which functions they need and want to combine. This in turn depends on the specific requirements of the company and the industry or on any systems that may already exist. In the catering industry, a system for pure working time recording is usually sufficient, whereas in the trades or construction industry, activity recording, trips to customers or construction sites and emergency planning are often also necessary. More comprehensive software solutions that record the relevant data are then available for this.
ArealPilot 360° for Android by Arealcontrol, which has won multiple awards since 2010
This app fulfils several functions in any industry. Mobile time recording includes flexible and operationally defined activities wherever they occur, e.g. driving, breaks, maintenance, service, refueling, loading, unloading, customs, waiting, etc. The desired activities are defined for each customer in the telematics portal, which are automatically synchronised to all apps for all people and can then be selected in the app, simply by touching a button and optionally adding further inputs.
Thanks to a wide range of customisation options, the electronic time recording system meets the requirements of a wide range of service companies - from trades to building management and the real estate industry to courier services and transport/logistics companies.
The software answers the question "Who performed what activity, where and for how long" with one click. Arealcontrol's mobile time recording software not only makes everyday work easier for service providers, but also enables them to meet all legal requirements.
A further level is the "planning of assignments and activities" per person. Maintenance tours, deployment planning and their scheduling can be done directly in the portal in the app. Time recording thus becomes a planning system and thus offers corresponding optimization options.
At the beginning of 2022, the ArealPilot 360° app in combination with vehicle telematics won the German Telematics Prize 2022 in the Field Service category and is currently nominated for the German Telematics Award 2022. The prizes and awards are awarded by two media companies, each with scientific supervision, and have been considered the "Oscar of the telematics industry" for years.
