Time Attendance System for Hardware and Building Supply Shops in Kenya: Setup Guide

01Why hardware and building supply shops need a time attendance record

Hardware shops open early for contractors, and one missing storekeeper can stall the whole morning.

• Yard hands, storekeepers and sales staff start at different times
• Casual loaders are paid by memory
• The owner is out sourcing stock and cannot watch the gate

A paper register or a verbal "I was here" cannot settle these. A fingerprint terminal records when each person actually arrives and leaves, and the software turns that into a report payroll can use.

02How attendance works at hardware and building supply shops

Hardware shops open early to catch builders and fundis on their way to site, and close late. Counter staff and storekeepers work fixed shifts, while yard hands and loaders may be casual and come in on busy days. Saturday is usually the busiest day.

03Where to put the terminal

Place the terminal inside the staff door near the stores, not at the front counter. If the yard has a separate gate, a second terminal there covers the loaders.

Count how many people arrive at the same time. If a queue forms at shift change, add a second terminal instead of asking staff to wait. See where to install a ZKTeco K40 Pro and how many employees one terminal can handle.

04Setting it up in ZKBio Time.Net

This is the order we follow when we set up a system for hardware and building supply shops. Each step has its own guide with screenshots.

1. Install the software, then add the terminal over TCP/IP.
2. Create departments or areas that match how you are organised (departments and areas).
3. Add staff one by one or import them from Excel, then enrol their fingerprints.
4. Create a Counter, Store and Yard department, and enrol casual loaders as soon as they start working.
5. Press Calculate and check the first day's report before you trust the numbers (Calculate attendance).

05Reports you will actually use

Check the late report on Monday mornings and the monthly hours for casual loaders before you pay them.

They all come from the standard reports: daily report, late and early report, and export to Excel for payroll.

06Supply and installation by Qyvea

Qyvea Limited supplies ZKTeco attendance terminals, installs them, configures the software, enrols your staff and trains whoever runs payroll. We work in Nairobi and deliver countrywide. See ZKTeco K40 price in Kenya or message us on WhatsApp for a quote.

07A typical scenario

A hardware owner paid casual loaders from a notebook kept by the yard supervisor. Two loaders disagreed over how many days they had worked that month. A terminal at the yard gate gave each loader a punch record, and the argument ended with a one-page printout.

Illustrative example based on common cases, not a named customer.

08Common mistakes

• Leaving casual loaders out because they are not permanent.
• Putting the terminal behind a stack of stock where nobody can reach it.
• Not setting Saturday as a normal working day.

09Quick checklist

1. Count staff and entrances before you buy.
2. Write the working hours down as timetables.
3. Enrol everyone, including casual and part-time staff.
4. Run a one-week trial and compare it with your old register.
5. Name one person who owns the reports.

10Frequently asked questions