Technology news

Mon, 1 Aug 2011

StoreForce launches retail biometric tool

A biometric time and attendance clock tool that automates payroll data collection and is claimed to maximise customer value in retail has been launched by StoreForce.

Designed to connect to the software provider’s existing labour-scheduling device to create an integrated solution, the combination means specialty retailers can monitor staff and customer levels quickly and accurately, the supplier reports.

The biometric device, which can store thousands of employees’ details, is easy to install and takes seconds to use. Staff clock on and off shift by pressing a finger on the device, which scans the fingerprint and matches it with a digital representation stored on the system. Its precision also means payroll fraud is harder to commit.

Chris Noble, technical director of StoreForce, said many retailers still risk payroll errors by submitting data on paper or by keying in hours to web-based systems. ‘Once the biometric device has updated the system, our labour scheduling tool has accurate payroll data that can be fed automatically into the payroll system,’ said Noble.

StoreForce’s labour-scheduling solution is also intended to help increase the number of people who walk into large stores and decide to spend money. Noble explains: ‘We count the number of people walking into a store using a hardware device and link that with their point-of-sale information and the labour-scheduling information. This gives the retailer a host of real-time metrics so they can manage their business better. In difficult times such as these, making the most of customers in the stores is a big deal,’ he added.

The biometric tool can be integrated into any payroll system as StoreForce writes a bespoke customer interface for each required system.