FAQs—Version 2.92 and below

 

Q. I'm updating my TimePilot software, and the software has asked for my product number. Where do I find it?

A. Your product number is the first four digits of your registration number. You can find your registration number on a sticker on the inside front cover of your user manual.

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Q. I'm planning on upgrading or reinstalling my TimePilot software. Will I lose the employees I have already set up on the system or their transactions?

A. No, you won't. The employee and transaction data won't be affected. That information is held in a database that's separate from the TimePilot program.

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Q. What reports can the TimePilot software create?

A. Reports come in three main categories, all of which include multiple options:

  • Employee report. This is a printable report on a single employee, a group of employees or all employees. You'll choose which information to include from a list of 16 categories that include regular hours, overtime hours, total hours, sick hours and vacation hours.
  • Summary report. This is a printable report on a group of employees. The employees can be grouped by pay type (salaried and hourly, for instance), by department or by shift.
  • Tardy report. This is a printable report on a group of employees that lists the number of times they clocked in early or late or clocked out early or late. It also gives a total of those minutes in each category and then adds all the results together so supervisors can see if an employee is working more or fewer hours than he or she should.

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Q. Can I export transaction data to a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel?

A. Yes, you can. What you'll be doing is creating an "export file definition" with just the categories of information you want. Click here to view detailed instructions in PDF format.

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Q. How do I check my iButtons to make sure they're working correctly?

A. iButtons have a very long lifespan and are extremely durable. Though they may resemble a watch battery, they contain no power source to run down. They're guaranteed for 10 years, but we've found they usually last far beyond that time. However, like any other product, there is a chance (miniscule in our experience) one could be flawed. Here's how to test your iButtons:

  1. Tap the iButton to a timeclock station that's receiving power. The station does not need to be connected to a computer, nor does the iButton have to be set up on the system.
  2. If the timeclock emits a sound or any text appears on the LCD screen, the iButton is working correctly.

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Q. I've installed the TimePilot software, but when I try to register it, nothing happens. What should I do? (Note: This also can occur when you update your TimePilot software.)

A. Here's what to do:

  1. Exit the Registration Process. If the TimePilot software is running, shut it down.
  2. Re-start the TimePilot software. You'll be asked if you want to register. Click "Yes."
  3. Make sure the "Protect my computer and data ..." box is not checked. The box shown at right will appear. Make sure that the “Protect my computer…” box is NOT checked. The TimePilot software needs to save information to the Windows Registry. It cannot do that if the box is checked, and that will prevent the program from operating properly.
  4. Click OK and continue through the registration process.

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Q: Occasionally I receive a "No Communications" message on my TimePilot Standard timeclock. How do I correct this issue?

A: There are three things to check:

  1. Check all cable connections between the computer, the TimePilot USB adaptor and the timeclock station to make sure they are secure.
  2. Turn off your computer's power-saving settings, including those for the USB ports. Here's how:

    1. Click the "Start" button at the bottom of your screen and choose "Control Panel."
    2. Click "System." The System Properties box will open.
    3. Click the Hardware tab, then the Device Manager button. The Device Manager box will open.
    4. Device Manager screenExpand the "Universal Serial Bus controllers" by clicking on the + to the left of the words (see screenshot at right).
    5. Device Manager closeupRight-click on the first "USB Root Hub" item that appears (See screenshot at right) and choose "Properties" from the pop-up menu.
    6. Click the "Power Management" tab and uncheck the "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" box. Click OK.
    7. Repeat the process above for each of the USB Root Hubs that appears in the Device Manager menu, then close the Device Manager box and click OK to close the Control Panel.
  3. On some computers, the USB ports are sub-standard. If you're going to use the TimePilot system on such a machine, you'll need to connect the TimePilot USB Adaptor to a powered USB hub, which then connects to your USB port. The hub reduces electronic noise on the USB port. Be sure to use a "powered" hub--one that comes with its own power supply and plugs into an electrical outlet. These inexpensive devices are available at any store that sells computer supplies.

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Q. When an employee clocks in, a "Please try again" message appears on the TimePilot Standard timeclock's screen, and I get a message in Hardware Manager telling me there was an error opening AccHours.int file.

A. This error was triggered by an automatic update to the Windows XP operating system issued by Microsoft that was distributed in July, 2007. To get your TimePilot system working again, update your TimePilot software to the most recent version. Here's how:

  1. Click the Windows "Start" button and choose "All Programs."
  2. Find the entry for TimePilot, and place your cursor atop it.
  3. A pop-up menu will appear. One of the options will be TimePilot Utilities. Put your cursor atop that option and another pop-up menu will appear.
  4. Click on "TimePilot Update Utility" and follow the instructions that appear.

This will update your software to the latest version and should eliminate the errors. If the problem persists, run TimePilot's "Repair Database" function, by opening Transaction Manager, clicking the "Edit" menu, choosing "Administrator" and then "Repair Database."

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Q. On my TimePilot Standard system, when an employee clocks in, "--:--" is displayed on the clock's screen instead of the employee's accumulated hours. What's wrong?

A. The "--:--" is by design and not a problem. It's a signal to the employee that they have created an "exception." What this means is that at some point they did one of the following:

  • Forgot to clock out or in.
  • Clocked in when they should have clocked out.
  • Clocked out when they should have clocked in.

As a result, their transactions don't have the necessary alternating "IN" and "OUT" pattern. (The exception should also be spotted by a supervisor using the password-protected Transaction Manager in the TimePilot software. The software will display the employee's name in red.)

To make the correction, the supervisor will open Transaction Manager, view the employee's transactions and make the appropriate changes to restore the perfect in/out pattern. When the supervisor clicks the employee's name, just his or her transactions are displayed. In the list of transactions, clock-ins are identified by a red triangle to the left of the employee’s name; clock-outs are blank. A perfect set of transactions for an employee will have lines with a red triangle alternating with blank lines. TimePilot will display in red what it believes to be the incorrect transaction.

The clock will display the accumulated hours correctly the next time the employee clocks in.

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Q: I receive an error message when I run reports in Current Transactions. How do I correct this?

A: This is typically caused by unextracted old transactions in Current Transactions. It is important to extract your data after a pay period has completed. Any transactions older than 30 days should be extracted or deleted.

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Q. When I clock in or out, why doesn't the transaction show up immediately?

A. If you have Transaction Manager running and displaying transactions, it will not automatically refresh with any changes that have occurred since the transactions were last displayed. Transaction Manager is not intended to be a real-time transaction viewer. To see any changes to the database, click on a different employee's name to display their transactions, and then click back on the original employee's name. Any new transactions should now be displayed.

Also, the On Site and Off Site buttons do not create a transaction in the database. To create transactions that are used to calculate time, the employee should use the In and Out buttons and not the On Site/Off Site buttons.

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Q. Occasionally when I start a TimePilot program it begins a reinstall of the software and asks me to insert the TimePilot installation disk into my CD drive. Why does this happen?

A. This is typically caused by anti-spyware software that may be running on your computer. In particular, a program called Spy Sweeper identifies a TimePilot file called "TPreg.dll" as spyware and removes the file, which forces TimePilot to reinstall when any TimePilot program is launched. To stop this, start Spy Sweeper and select "AD topics" as an item to always keep. This will keep Spy Sweeper from removing this file when it scans your PC for spyware. The exact process or steps in Spy Sweeper depends on the version that you have. Check your Spy Sweeper user manual for details.

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Q. Why aren't my Auto Lunch transactions showing up in Transactions Manager?

A. When viewing transactions in "Current Transactions," the Auto Lunch transactions will not appear, but the Auto Lunch time will be subtracted from the employee time when the total hours are viewed on the clock. (This assumes Auto-Lunch is enabled for this employee. See "Set up Auto Lunch" in the Instruction Manual). When you process payroll, you must first extract your pay period and make any necessary corrections, then click on the Edit Menu and "Insert Auto Lunch Transactions." For details, see the "Payroll Processing" section of the manual.

For the TimePilot Extreme manual in PDF format, click here; click here for the TimePilot Standard manual; and here for the TimePilot PC manual.

Also, make sure Auto Lunch is configured properly. In order for Auto Lunch to work properly, you must do two things: Enable Auto Lunch in each employee's profile and set the appropriate value in the Auto Lunch setup in Configuration Manager.

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Q. How do I set the amount of time subtracted by Auto Lunch for each employee?

A. The amount of time subtracted by Auto Lunch is determined by the employee's shift schedule. Use Configuration Manager to edit the shift schedule you assigned to the employee so that the number of minutes between the lunch time Out and lunch time In is correct.

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Q. Why aren't my holiday transactions showing up in Transaction Manager?

A. Holiday transactions can only be inserted after the pay period is extracted. After the pay period is extracted, open it in Transaction Manager, click the Edit Menu, then "Insert Holiday Transactions." Before you extract the pay period, it's a good idea to open Configuration Manager and double-check that your holiday schedule is correct.

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Q. Why aren't my holidays inserted automatically?

A. It is easier for the supervisor checking or editing their employees' transactions to work without the holiday transactions in the way. We recommend this procedure: 1. Extract the pay period; 2. Make corrections, if necessary; 3. Insert holiday transactions (Start Transaction Manager, then click the Edit menu and "Insert Holiday Transactions"); 4. Create reports for final review.

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Q. Why aren't the In/Out buttons working when I clock in or out?

A. You probably have the In/Out buttons disabled. To enable them, start Configuration Manager, click the Options Menu, and choose "Station Options." That's where you can enable the In/Out keys.

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Q. Why aren't the On Site/Off Site buttons working?

A. The On Site/Off Site buttons probably are disabled. To enable them, start Configuration Manager, click the Options Menu, and choose "Station Options." That's where you can enable the On Site/Off Site keys.

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Q. Why can't I send a message to an employee?

A. You need to enable messaging in Configuration Manager. To do so, start Configuration Manager, click the Options Menu, and choose "Station Options." Click "Enable Messaging."

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Q. Why didn't some of my transactions get extracted?

A. Check the pay period definition to make sure that the beginning of the pay period, including the time of day, is set correctly. To view the definition, start Configuration Manager, then click the Setup menu and choose "Pay Periods."

Also, make sure that each employee is assigned to the correct company. When a pay period is extracted it removes transactions from "Current Transactions" to a defined period of time for a specific company. The removed transactions are now referred to a "Past Pay Period" or an "Extracted Pay Period." All transactions within a past pay period are specific to a company and the period of time.

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Q. Why don't vacation, holiday or sick hours show up in my Summary Report's Regular Total column when the hours are inserted in Transaction Manager?

A. Use Configuration Manager to check the employee's Pay Type and make sure that he or she qualifies for holiday, vacation or sick time. For example, if an employee is assigned a Pay Type that qualifies for holiday time, then any hours inserted either automatically or manually will be added to the "Regular Total" in the reports.

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Q. My employees do not work a regular schedule. Do I need to set up a shift schedule?

A. Yes. But even though you must assign a shift schedule to each employee, the employee is not forced to adhere to those shift times. A shift schedule assigned to an employee is only relevant if you are keeping track of tardiness or are using the "Snap-To" or "Auto Lunch" function with the employee.

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Q. How can I change the User ID?

A. The User ID, which is assigned to each employee when they are set up in Configuration Manager, can be modified, but we don't recommend it. (To see a list of your employees' User IDs, start Configuration Manager, click the File Menu and choose View/Print Employee Setup.) The TimePilot software uses the  ID to connect all information throughout the software for each employee. If the employee's User ID is changed, then the software will have no name to connect to the old clock-in and clock-out data. If it is absolutely necessary to modify the User ID, you can do so by selecting "Edit User ID" from the "Setup" menu in Configuration Manager.

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Q. How do I set up TimePilot to work with my payroll software?

A. Most of the payroll export modules provided by TimePilot require that the contents of the "Alternate ID" field in each employee's profile match the ID associated with the employee in the payroll software. Therefore, you will need to enter the payroll software's ID number for the employee into TimePilot's "Alternate ID" field. Note: Any changes made to the "Alternate ID" field after a pay period has been extracted will not be reflected in that pay period. To force changes made in Configuration Manager after a pay period has been extracted, open the extracted period in Transaction Manager, click the Edit menu, choose "Administrator" and select "Update Company and Employee Data."

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Q. What is the Alternate ID used for?

A. The Alternate ID field is used to associate employees set up in TimePilot with any ID numbering system that your company may already be using for the employees, such as within your accounting or payroll system. The ID is simply for your reference.

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Q. How do I restrict an employee from clocking in and out, but not remove him or her from the system?

A. Uncheck the "Active" checkbox in the employee's profile. This will prohibit the employee from clocking in and out but will allow the employees' information to remain in the system for processing payroll. Marking an employee "Inactive" is recommended over deleting an employee. If an employee is deleted, all past information associated with this employee will have no name connected to it.

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Q. How do I reassign an iButton?

A. First, call up the profile of the employee who will not be using the iButton anymore and delete the iButton number. Next, assign the iButton to the new employee as if it was a new iButton. This is commonly done when an employee leaves the company and turns in their iButton so it can be used by another employee.

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Q. How do I disable an iButton for an employee?

A. In the employee's profile, simply delete the iButton number in the "iButton" number field. This is commonly done when an employee loses his or her iButton and a new one has not yet been issued.

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Q. Can I edit transactions after I extract the pay period?

A. Yes, you can modify transactions just as you could before you extracted.

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Q. When I run a report in Current Transactions, the date range on the report is for the past 30 days. How can I show the current pay period?

A. In Current Transactions, the default report will encompass all of the transactions within the last 30 days. Any transactions older than 30 days will not be counted. To show the current pay period, select "Extended Time Frame" in the report setup screen and select the desired date range.

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Q. I'm about to install the TimePilot software for the first time, but I can't find the registration number. Where is it?

A. Check the inside cover of your Instruction Manual. There should be a sticker there that contains your registration number. If you're still having problems, please contact us.
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Q. In Transaction Manager, an employee's name is in red in the employee list, which signifies an exception, so when I check his or her transactions, why don't I see any exceptions?

A. In the menu bar, click Edit > Administrator > Repair Data Base. When the repair process is complete, click OK. This should solve the problem.

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