Running TimeClick on a Mac Computer

Bobby Gailey Head of Sales and Customer Success

TimeClick is powerful employee time clock software that can make payroll processing easier, but as of the time of this posting, TimeClick is available on Windows operating systems only. This means that any computer with a Windows OS (from as early as Windows XP) is able to run TimeClick with ease. This includes any Windows tablets that are running full Windows software (sorry Windows RT tablet, this doesn’t include you). This works really well for the vast majority of our user base, but Apple computers command a growing percentage of business computers. We would like TimeClick to be cross-platform program and hope to make that a reality in the coming years.

Until that time, here are some suggestions for users to be able to run TimeClick while using Mac computers. Unfortunately with each option there is some set up involved, but you should be able to find a solution to running TimeClick if you have a Mac computer that will work for you.

1. Using a Remote Login to Connect to a PC with TimeClick Installed

Ok, so this one actually does require a Windows computer with TimeClick installed. But if you have TimeClick installed on a PC and you want to be able to clock in or access reports from your Mac, then this is an ideal solution because the mac computer remotely connects to the PC and uses the TimeClick license installed. And since you’re using a pre-existing TimeClick installation, it doesn’t actually count toward your license count.

Here’s a guide to get set up. http://www.techrepublic.com/article/pro-tip-remote-desktop-on-mac-what-you-need-to-know/

Pros:

• You can use TimeClick from your Mac computer.
• Your Mac computer won’t count toward your license count.

Cons:

• Set-up can prove to be complicated.
• Adds an extra step to clocking in and out.

2. Installing Windows on a BootCamp Partition

A simple solution to running a Windows program on your Mac is installing a Windows OS on your Mac. Mac computers can run the Windows operating system surprisingly well. BootCamp partitions off a section of your hard drive that is dedicated to the Windows installation and you can choose to boot up your Windows OS installation or your Mac OS. TimeClick installs on your Windows partition just like it would on any PC and runs flawlessly.

Here’s a guide to getting Windows installed via BootCamp. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201468

Pros:

• TimeClick runs just it would on any PC.
• BootCamp is already a part of Mac OS X.

Cons:

• Requires you to purchase Windows operating system.
• Clocking in our out requires you to boot up in Windows mode.

3. Installing Windows onto a Virtual Box and Installing TimeClick

This last option involves installing a copy of a Windows operating system onto a virtual box on your Mac operating system. What’s cool about this is that Windows can be run at the same time as your Mac OS, so there’s no rebooting required. And since TimeClick requires very little in the way of system resources, it will run perfectly in a virtual Windows environment. This method still requires purchasing a copy of Windows to run in your virtual box, but you do have options for how you install it. Parallels is a great choice that will allow you to run Windows applications right alongside your Mac applications as though they were native to Mac OS X. If you’re looking for a free option, you should definitely check out VirtualBox, which will also allow you to run TimeClick on a virtual copy of Windows.

Here’s a guide to setting up Windows on Virtualbox. https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch01.html

Pros:

• Run TimeClick concurrently without having to reboot.
• VirtualBox is a free service.

Cons:

• Requires you to have a copy of Windows.
• Can require some set up.
• Windows TimeClick workstations may not be able to connect to a TimeClick database located on a virtualized Mac machine.

These were just a few of the options available for using TimeClick on a Mac computer. If you need the flexibility of using a Mac operating system, then one of these options should work for you until a Mac version of TimeClick is available.