I’m looking into a punch clock/time card solution that will flow will with Samba and a touchscreen (no keyboard). I noticed Time Trex has a function called Desktop Quick Punch. Does anyone know if this is available in the Community Edition?
I’ve also been looking into Virtual Time Clock by Redcort. They have a similar system, but it costs quite a bit more. Are there any suggestions on which is the better software and if Time Trex community edition will meet my needs of employees easily clocking in and out at a touchscreen Samba POS Terminal.
I’ve seen some of the integration tutorials and I think its a little beyond my needs right now.
If all you need is a basic Time Clock we have built one within SambaPOS itself you can follow the tutorials if you like.
TimeTrex is not just a time clock its complete payroll. The community edition does not support the Desktop Quick Punch that they are talking about however you do not need it if you access the API. For example I use TimeTrex along with my SambaPOS Time Clock the reason is I want the Payroll function of TimeTrex.
Example of flow on my system is the employee chooses Clock In from SambaPOS and it clocks them in and records their punch in both SambaPOS and TimeTrex automatically.
Here is a short video demonstrating it. NOTE: This is SambaPOS version 5 which is in Beta test right now but due out this month some time.
I will demonstrate the Punch Editor and show reports will also show how it integrates with TimeTrex in a few minutes.
If I type that in the web browser it will record a punch for user 1. I have automated this with the new jscript support in v5.
The script looks like this:
Note this example is setup for only 2 test employees, Jesse and Melissa
function punch(employee){
if (employee == 'Jesse'){
var user = 2;
}
else if (employee == 'Melissa'){
var user = 12;
}
var url = 'http://localhost:8085/api/soap/punch.php?user='+user;
web.Download(url);
}
Here is the punch.php:
This file is put inside your timetrex/api/soap folder in your Timetrex installation.
<?php
require_once('../../classes/modules/api/client/TimeTrexClientAPI.class.php');
/*
Global variables
*/
$TIMETREX_URL = 'http://localhost:8085/api/soap/api.php';
$TIMETREX_USERNAME = 'USERNAME';
$TIMETREX_PASSWORD = 'PASSWORD';
$api_session = new TimeTrexClientAPI();
$api_session->Login( $TIMETREX_USERNAME, $TIMETREX_PASSWORD );
if ( $TIMETREX_SESSION_ID == FALSE ) {
echo "Login Failed!
\n";
exit;
}
echo "Session ID: $TIMETREX_SESSION_ID
\n";
$punch_obj = new TimeTrexClientAPI( 'Punch' );
$punch_data = array(
'user_id' => $_GET["user"],
'station_id' => 1,
'type_id' => 10,
//'status_id' => 10, //status type of in 10 , out 20
//'created_by' => 1,
'time_stamp' => time()
);
try{
$result = $punch_obj->setPunch( $punch_data );
if ( $result->isValid() === TRUE ) {
echo "Punch added successfully.
\n";
$insert_id = $result->getResult(); //Get punch new ID on success.
} else {
echo "Punch save failed.
\n";
print $result; //Show error messages
}
}catch(Exception $e){
echo $e->getMessage();
}
?>
Here is the Rule that handles the Time Clock punches showing where I inserted the action to initiate the timetrex punch.
That may seem very confusing to you because I did not show the entire setup. I wanted to show you that its possible to do several things.
You dont need third party software to build a Time Clock into SambaPOS
If you want to use Timetrex for Payroll but still want the SambaPOS Time Clock solution you can!
I am currently writing a very in depth tutorial that will be available with v5 to show this complex setup. I am also writing a Configuration Task for it that will install the entire setup for you and allow you to customize it to your needs without needing to touch Rules, Actions etc. All of this will be available with v5.
NOTE: These examples are specific to my setup which I will share but its not the ONLY way to do this.
The integration tutorial that I posted was complex yes but with v5 its very simple. No requiring .bat files or anything fancy its all driven through the API. However like I demonstrated above if you just want a basic time clock you don’t even need TimeTrex you can do it with just SambaPOS.
Here are the two main tutorials for TimeClocks with SambaPOS:
Note Punch Editor will be v5 only so its not shown also these tutorials might change once v5 releases.
Hey @Jesse . Based on these two tutorials what is the advantage or disadvantage to using user vs entities to track punch in’s. I currently use entities to assign a waiter to the ticket. Just curious if it matters which way I go.
@kendash Hey Jesse, will this be built into V5? I’m about 2-3 weeks to open. I’ve wired my network and I think the tutorials are still a little over my head. I know V5 is on the horizon from what I hear.
It will not be built in. SambaPOS avoids built in solutions for the simple fact that it wants to stay fliexible so people can configure it specifically to their own business needs. However that said v5 will have a new feature called Configuration Tasks these will be supported by the development team and will support Community Projects as well. I am working on one right now for v5 hope to have it done soon.
What are Configuration Tasks? Well they are Step by Step driven automation that will ask you questions to set up the system to your specification for you. Example is Fast Cash Buttons It might ask you what Payment Type you wish to use for the button and then it will create all the rules and actions and commands for you.
I highly recommend you go through tutorials though it will benefit you to understand how your system is working. This will allow you to fix things very fast if they go wrong.
All of the demonstrations above are from within SambaPOS. Timetrex was not used for any of the time keeping, wage calculations, or hours etc.