Good catch: Angel Knutzen in Kiel relies on timeCard from REINER SCT
Dirk Bruhn is the fifth generation to run his business in the center of Kiel. Once founded as a feed store – Bruhn’s grandfather, for example, catered for the horses used in the construction of the Kiel Canal – the company added whatever its customers wanted: whether seeds for fruit and vegetables, lawn and garden, zoo or fishing supplies. Since a major fire in 2012 and the reconstruction, the zoo area has been rented out and Bruhn is now only responsible for the fishing area. His motto: observe the market with one eye and look ahead with the other, making quick but well-considered decisions. The decision to no longer manually record the hours worked by employees was therefore also well thought out. This should save administrative work, especially for the management. The company’s IT service provider, Nord IT Hamburg GmbH, recommended the solutions from REINER SCT. “A good recommendation – we have remained loyal to the system to this day,” says Bruhn. What he likes most about the solution: “After the two-hour introduction, I had no more questions – it just works,” says Bruhn.
Even easier with transponders
Since the reopening after the major fire in 2013, Angel Knutzen has switched to the transponder solution. “It works even easier than the old magnetic card solution – just hold it up and you’re done,” says the entrepreneur. In the past, the magnetic cards were sometimes stacked at the terminal. It has sometimes happened that a colleague has “co-stamped” for others, says Bruhn looking back. Today, employees are required to carry their chip with them at all times. This reduces the potential for abuse. Each employee is created in the PC with their master data and assigned a transponder number. When employees hold their transponder, the size of a shopping chip, to the terminal in the administration wing, their arrival and departure times are automatically recorded. At the terminal, employees can immediately see whether the booking has worked and view its current status. This allows them to see whether they have accumulated plus or minus hours and how many vacation days are still available without having to go to the payroll office. The employees are highly satisfied with the solution. Above all, they appreciate the fact that their hours worked are automatically recorded in minute detail and can therefore be billed fairly. This employee fairness was a key aspect for the purchase of the system at the time, says Bruhn.
Legal requirements are automatically fulfilled
With electronic time recording, the fishing business not only achieves greater transparency for employees and less manual effort, but also complies with legal requirements. This is because, as an employer, he is obliged to record the hours worked by employees and to keep them available for inspection by customs on a daily basis at all times. “The program is very extensive – but we only use part of it,” says Bruhn. This is because Angel Knutzen has fixed working hours, for example, and no smoking breaks are allowed. The system therefore does not have to take such special features into account. However, the statutory breaks and vacation days are automatically deducted by the system. Bruhn then sends the data directly to the tax consultant and health insurance company each month for further processing. “It’s all very clear and practical,” says Bruhn. What he also likes: “All important events are displayed in the calendar – including the birthdays or anniversaries of my employees stored in the master data. This means that nothing is overlooked and I only need to look at one system.”
And what else? The bottom line!
Dirk Bruhn’s conclusion: The system is very easy to understand and operate and is also inexpensive. “It really couldn’t be easier,” says Bruhn happily.
