--- title: Making the Switch - The Benefits of Upgrading Paper Time Cards to an Automated System --- [![logo-optimized](https://blog.synerion.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-optimized.jpeg?width=185&height=69&name=logo-optimized.jpeg "logo-optimized")](https://www.synerion.com) - [Client Support](https://www.synerion.com/client-support/) - [Request a Demo](https://offers.synerion.com/request-a-demo) - [Contact Us](https://offers.synerion.com/ca-contact-us) - [FR](https://www.synerion.com/fr/our-people/) - [Products](https://www.synerion.com/agile/) - [Agile Workforce Suite](https://www.synerion.com/agile/) - [Enterprise Suite](https://www.synerion.com/enterprise-suite/) - [Solutions](https://www.synerion.com/workforce-management/) - [Workforce Management](https://www.synerion.com/workforce-management/) - [Time & Attendance](https://www.synerion.com/time-attendance/) - [Time Clocks](https://www.synerion.com/time-clocks/) - [Employee Scheduling](https://www.synerion.com/employee-scheduling/) - [Absence Management](https://www.synerion.com/absence-management/) - [Labour Costing](https://www.synerion.com/labour-costing/) - [Mobile & Tablet](https://www.synerion.com/mobile-tablet/) - [Reporting & Analytics](https://www.synerion.com/reporting-analytics/) - [Integrations](https://www.synerion.com/integrations/) - [Why Choose Us](https://www.synerion.com/why-choose-us/) - [Why Choose Us](https://www.synerion.com/why-choose-us/) - [Our People](https://www.synerion.com/our-people/) - [Blog](https://blog.synerion.com/) - [Products](https://www.synerion.com/agile/) - [Agile Workforce Suite](https://www.synerion.com/agile/) - [Enterprise Suite](https://www.synerion.com/enterprise-suite/) - [Solutions](https://www.synerion.com/workforce-management/) - [Workforce Management](https://www.synerion.com/workforce-management/) - [Time & Attendance](https://www.synerion.com/time-attendance/) - [Time Clocks](https://www.synerion.com/time-clocks/) - [Employee Scheduling](https://www.synerion.com/employee-scheduling/) - [Absence Management](https://www.synerion.com/absence-management/) - [Labour Costing](https://www.synerion.com/labour-costing/) - [Mobile & Tablet](https://www.synerion.com/mobile-tablet/) - [Reporting & Analytics](https://www.synerion.com/reporting-analytics/) - [Integrations](https://www.synerion.com/integrations/) - [Industries](https://www.synerion.com/manufacturing/) - [Why Choose Us](https://www.synerion.com/why-choose-us/) - [Our People](https://www.synerion.com/our-people/) - [Blog](https://blog.synerion.com/) - [Client Support](https://www.synerion.com/client-support/) - [Request a Demo](https://offers.synerion.com/request-a-demo) Menu ## Synerion Blog # Making the Switch - The Benefits of Upgrading Paper Time Cards to an Automated System [Team Synerion](https://blog.synerion.com/author/team-synerion) Feb 13, 2012 5:09:00 AM You’ve adapted and evolved your business on multiple levels as technology changes and opportunities have presented themselves to increase workforce productivity, but your employees are still punching in on time cards. It’s time to realize that time cards are a thing of the past. Sure, they worked well for tracking time and attendance before, but while they prove to manage time, they require unnecessary resources and produce avoidable errors costing your organization time and money on a daily basis. Upgrading your payroll system to an automated time and attendance software can eliminate these problems, while saving you 2-5% of your payroll costs annually. **Punch Cards Cost Money** Punch cards require multiple steps. Employees take time to punch in, punch out, the HR department then have to calculate the hours each employee has worked and equate the other factors such as vacation pay, into the process to determine the accurate amount due to the employee. As well, buddy punching is very common. Buddy punching is when an employee punches the [time clock](http://www.synerion.com/glossary/t/#%7BF64ACC0C-52C6-4D87-B910-05C12EE3C8C7%7D)on behalf of another employee, who is leaving early, arriving late, absent from work or not scheduled for work that day. This is a time and attendance issue that allows employees to get paid for time in which they are not on the job, and is the basis for payroll fraud or time theft. Studies show that buddy punching can account for up to 5% of total [payroll](http://www.synerion.com/glossary/p/#%7BD156ACE0-F1FE-419D-A360-E09D064ED36A%7D)costs, which can costs companies thousands or even millions of lost dollars per year. **Time and Attendance Software Systems Save Money** An **automated time and attendance systems** reduces human errors and tracks employees’ attendance by using advanced methods such as biometrics. Upgrading to an automated time and attendance system can not only save you money, but increase your productivity through a variety of workforce management solutions such as activity costing, labour forecasting and absentee management. There are multiple benefits and uses associated with a **[time and attendance software system](http://www.synerion.com/time-attendance-software/).** To learn more about how these can benefit your organization, [click here.](http://www.synerion.com/time-attendance-software/) [Blog](https://blog.synerion.com/topic/blog) ## Read On ### [Employee Time and Attendance - Out of the Box vs. Automated Time and Attendance Systems With smaller organizations, they have a limited amount of resources and limited budget, so when...](https://blog.synerion.com/employee-time-and-attendance-out-of-the-box-vs-automated-time-and-attendance-systems) ### [Time and Attendance in a Small Business Environment Your may have heard our new small business solution advertisements on 680news during the last few...](https://blog.synerion.com/time-and-attendance-in-a-small-business-environment) ### [Take Full Advantage Of Training On Your New Time and Attendance Software! So you have just completed the purchase of one of the best Time and Attendance Systems on the...](https://blog.synerion.com/take-full-advantage-of-training-on-your-new-time-and-attendance-software) ![Synerion](https://blog.synerion.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Synerion_April2020/images/footer-logo-300x111.png) Synerion is an award winning leader in cloud workforce management software with over 30 years of experience, 5,000,000 users, and 7,000 installations globally. Synerion offers time and labour, advanced scheduling, absence management, labour allocation, timesheets, coreHR and more. 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