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TimePilot Central 5: Frequently asked questions

Q. What is "the Cloud"?

In its early days of the internet, if you had a spreadsheet, for instance, you’d save it to your hard drive, which sat in the same metal box as the rest of your computer.

Nowadays, distance means nothing (at least in terms of computers!). You can save that spreadsheet to a server 8,000 miles away just as easily as you can save it to the hard drive that sits inside your computer, inches away from your keyboard. Realizing that, companies like Microsoft and Amazon have connected servers (essentially stacks and stacks of hard drives) to the Internet and offered customers the ability to easily store their files—documents, pictures, clock-in and clock-out data, etc., in what they refer to as "the Cloud." (TimePilot uses Microsoft's Cloud service, called Azure.)

This has several benefits:

• Easy file backup: If your hard drive dies, your crucial files are backed up and can be downloaded from the "Cloud" server.
• Easy access: You can access your Cloud files fron anywhere there's an internet connection (pretty much anywhere in the world!).
• Better security: You might be pretty good at fending off hackers, but we'll bet the people at Microsoft are better.

Why is it called "the Cloud"? Probably because the online server could be located anywhere in the world, and the term "the Cloud" implies that exact location doesn’t matter.

Q. The number of my employees varies from month to month. How is that handled?

A. Monthly subscribers can add or subtract employee licenses from month to month. Annual subscribers can add licenses during the year by contacting our Sales Department—the annual cost will be pro-rated—but they cannot subtract licenses until their subscription year is up.

Q. How will I know when it's time to renew?

A. As you approach your renewal date, you'll see a renewal reminder in TimePilot Central with a link you can click to renew.

Q. My remote workers don't have smartphones. How can they clock in?

A. If their on-site supervisor has a smartphone, he can clock in each member of the crew using the smartphone app.

Q. I need to know who's available at my remote sites all through the workday. Is there a way to tell that?

A. Yes—TimePilot Central 5 includes a real-time In/Out Board that lists all employees and places a green arrow next to the names of those who are clocked in at any moment.

Q. We have an accomplished IT person and we're confident she can handle having the TimePilot database on our network server. Is there any other benefit to having our database on the Cloud?

A. Yes, several:

• Real-time access to your database even when you're nowhere near your network.
• No need to worry about crashed hard drives or hackers.
• Should you need support, TimePilot's technical support staff can easily access your database to diagnose problems. (Many of the support questions they receive involve TimePilot databases on local area networks.)
• One additional benefit: Cloud-based TimePilot Central 5 includes free unlimited phone and email tech support. (Regular price: $149 per year.)

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Interested?

Contact us at 630-879-6400 or sales@timepilot.com

(Our iPhone and Android smartphone apps are free, as is TimePilot PC. Subscription prices do not include time clock hardware.)

Monthly Plan

(Does not include time clock hardware.)

$20 per month for management software + $2 per employee per month.

Annual Plan
(Get 2 months free over monthly plan cost!)

(Does not include time clock hardware.)

$200 per year for management software + $20 per employee per year.