A surprising number of Belgian SMEs still track working time in a shared spreadsheet or on a paper sign-in sheet. It feels low-effort, and for a very small team it can work passably well. But as headcount grows and labour-law obligations tighten, the cracks start to show: disputed start times, missing entries, and hours spent reconciling data before payroll.
How clocking in and out works in Tikkit
Tikkit offers three practical ways for employees to register their time:
- Mobile app: the natural choice for remote workers or staff moving between sites. A single tap starts or ends a shift.
- Web browser: convenient on a fixed workstation or any shared computer.
- Shared tablet kiosk: a popular setup at workshop entrances, warehouse doors or retail back offices, where an entire team can clock in on one screen as they arrive.
Whichever method an employee uses, the timestamp is generated by the Tikkit server the moment the action is performed. The device clock is irrelevant. The server clock is what counts.
Why server timestamps matter more than you might think
In a spreadsheet, nothing prevents someone from typing "08:00" when they actually arrived at 08:50. It may happen through honest forgetfulness or simple convenience. With a paper sheet, entries are sometimes filled in retrospectively at the end of a shift.
Server-stamped timestamps close that gap:
- The record is immediate and objective: the server captures the precise moment of the action, with no human intermediary involved.
- The audit trail is tamper-evident: any subsequent correction is logged separately, showing who made the change and when. The original record, or the absence of one, remains visible.
- Data flows directly into downstream processes: payroll calculation, overtime monitoring and compliance reporting can draw on the same dataset without any manual re-entry.
Belgian labour law sets clear boundaries around daily and weekly working time, the standard 38-hour week, and the conditions under which overtime is permitted. Demonstrating compliance during a social inspection requires records that can withstand scrutiny. A spreadsheet with manually typed times is unlikely to satisfy that standard.
Handling corrections and edge cases
Employees forget to clock in. It is one of the most common issues in any time-tracking rollout, and no system eliminates it entirely. Tikkit handles this pragmatically: a manager can apply a correction, but that correction is recorded as a distinct event in the audit log. The fact that no original clock-in existed is preserved. The system stays flexible without compromising integrity.
Absences, leave requests and sick days are managed within the same platform. That means a team leader or HR contact can see a complete picture of availability and worked time in one place, rather than cross-referencing a time-tracker with a separate leave calendar.
Preparing for what is coming
Belgium is progressively expanding its requirements around electronic working-time registration, with a significant deadline on the horizon for many sectors. If you want a clear picture of what the 2027 mandate means for your business, now is a sensible time to move to a system that already meets the expected technical requirements. Transitioning takes time: processes need adjusting, employees need briefing, and historical data needs to be structured correctly.
Organisations that adopt a compliant digital system early arrive at regulatory deadlines with far less disruption.
Accurate time registration is not a bureaucratic exercise. It is the foundation for correct pay, fair scheduling and a transparent employment relationship. The goal with Tikkit is to make that foundation as frictionless as possible for everyone involved.