How we automated timecard approvals to save time and spare errors

Silver Creek Materials has business lines across mining, recycling, and composting, which means we have dozens of hourly employees clocking in and out of work across a huge multi-acre facility every day. Our attendance system used to be manual, out-of-date, and disconnected from payroll. Here’s how we leveled up.

The problem: Clumsy clock-ins

Our employees used to clock in and out of shifts with literal punchclocks. Managers sorted through and approved paper timecards one by one, then payroll specialists had to manually input approved hours into a spreadsheet that we used to calculate payroll. 

This archaic system left a lot of room for errors—timecards got lost, hours got incorrectly logged, and payroll got thrown off. There were also opportunities for team members to fraudulently log hours and “buddy punch”—where one employee clocks in on another’s behalf who never showed up—without us knowing. 

The solution: Automated time-tracking and payroll

Since joining Rippling in the beginning of 2024, we ditched our patchwork of disconnected systems and streamlined our entire time and attendance process. Here’s how we brought clock-ins, approvals, and payroll under the same umbrella to save time and spare mistakes.

Step 1: Customize clock-in policy by department

With Rippling Time and Attendance, employees clock in and out electronically instead of punching paper timecards. But the switch was about more than just going from analog to digital. As our super administrator, I can set up different clock-in policies for different teams. 

For instance, we require mining employees to use the kiosks at our worksite to clock in, where they enter a pin and take a photo of themselves to verify their identity.

But since others are cross-trained to work in multiple departments, they can clock in on their phones. This lets us use Rippling’s job codes feature, which we use to track time across different roles. 

Step 2: Set up automated timecard approvals

Now, managers can access a full overview of who’s submitted timecards and who hasn’t.

And they don’t have to process approvals manually. One of the biggest perks of our new system: Rippling automatically routes timecards to managers for sign off ahead of pay runs. It also automatically reminds them to submit approvals ahead of the deadline in case they forget. 

Step 3: Use approved hours to run payroll

Once managers log into their dashboards on Monday mornings to sign off on timecards and resolve any issues, approved hours flow right into payroll. Since we use Rippling for both time and attendance and payroll, we removed all the error-prone manual work that came from reconciling different systems. It’s way simpler to pay our hourly employees since so much of it is automatic now.

The impact

Revamping our timecard system and integrating it with payroll helped us spare hassles, make fewer mistakes, and create a two-way-street accountability culture between managers and employees. 

Time saved

Managers can quickly log into their Rippling dashboards, approve hours, and resolve any issues instead of wading through countless paper timecards. It’s also been a huge time saver for approved hours to flow directly into payroll. Now that so much of the cumbersome admin work is off our plate, our HR team can focus more on employee-facing initiatives, like organizing team get-togethers. 

Errors spared

With our new system, fewer mistakes slip through the cracks. Managers never “lose” hours because of misplaced paper timecards, and payroll admins never inaccurately input attendance data into payroll since approved hours integrate automatically. We aren’t worried about manual errors at all anymore. 

More accountability

Rippling’s made it a lot easier to tell which employees are present or absent from shifts at any given time, across all our worksites. We also have protections against people fudging their hours or clocking in for coworkers who don’t show up. And the culture of accountability swings both ways: employees know when they submit hours, we’ll pay them accurately and on time.