When a ransomware attack shut everything down, Tucson Unified School District had just two weeks to get time and attendance back online.
With payroll deadlines looming and 7,500 employees depending on accurate, on-time pay, there was no room for missteps. Time tracking was offline. Payroll visibility was gone. And the district had no fallback plan.
In that moment, Tucson Unified turned to the one partner it trusted to move quickly and get it right — TimeClock Plus.
Here’s how the district recovered from a cyberattack, rebuilt its time and attendance system in record time, and restored confidence across payroll and operations.
When a system change went wrong — then everything stopped
For nearly five years, Tucson Unified ran time and attendance through TimeClock Plus without issue. But after a leadership change, the district selected a new provider and began a transition away from TimeClock Plus. At the time, the district was hesitant to move to the cloud and believed an alternative solution would be a better fit.
That transition quickly ran into trouble.
The onboarding process stretched on. Promised features didn’t work. Key employee data disappeared. Even basic tasks became difficult.
“You cannot have glitches with people’s pay,” said Belinda Tilford, Time and Attendance Coordinator. “It took a lot of extra effort to use this other platform. So much time was wasted trying to find the employee hours we needed — information that was always easy to access in TimeClock Plus.”
Clocking in and out, once routine, became a source of frustration.
“The process wasn’t user-friendly at all,” Tilford added. “It took a lot of extra effort just to do basic things.”
The district spent 18 months trying to make the new system work. Then, just as patience ran out, a ransomware attack shut everything down.
Internal systems were locked. Access to data disappeared overnight. The district’s old on-premise TimeClock Plus environment was unreachable. Payroll teams had no visibility into time data, and pay deadlines were fast approaching.
There was no functioning system. And no margin for error.
A trusted partner, rebuilt fast
When the ransomware attack hit, Tucson Unified didn’t debate its next move. The district already knew who could help, and with payroll deadlines approaching, there was no time to experiment or take risks. TimeClock Plus already understood the district’s structure and urgency, which allowed the team to move quickly and focus on rebuilding instead of onboarding. That existing trust made it possible to restore time and attendance without missing a pay cycle.
Back online before the next pay cycle
From the moment the ransomware hit, TimeClock Plus went to work rebuilding the system from the ground up. The entire ecosystem needed to be rebuilt from scratch. Within just 48 hours, all 7,500 district employees were live in the system. The solution was fully operational and integrated across all 91 sites in two weeks.
Cloud access enabled speed and resilience
Though the district had previously been hesitant to adopt a cloud-based model, that shift enabled such a quick recovery. TimeClock Plus rebuilt job codes and roles, adding new ones to help refine backend workflows.
With cloud access in place, the system was more agile and easier to manage moving forward. There was no fallback to paper, and employees could clock in and out on working time clocks by the next pay period.
Hands-on support, day and night
What stood out most was the support. Support from TimeClock Plus definitely didn’t stop at deployment.
“It was all hands-on deck right after the security breach,” Tilford recalled. “I’m so glad the TimeClock Plus team was there for us — at all hours — to make the implementation smooth.”
The team walked Tucson United through every step and stay engaged. “The knowledge base was critical,” Tilford said. “They kept showing us how to make the system work better for us.”
On-time payroll, no paper backup, and renewed confidence
Thanks to the rapid rebuild, Tucson Unified avoided what could have been a payroll crisis.
There were no missed paychecks. No emergency paper tracking. No delays tied to missing data. Payroll ran on time, even in the aftermath of a cyberattack.
“We would not have been able to process payroll so quickly after the ransomware attack without TimeClock Plus,” said Tilford. “Nearly a year after being back on TimeClock Plus, we continue to be happy with how consistent and dependable the software is.”
The district returned not just to a working system, but to one it fully trusts.
A partnership built to last
Tilford’s team knows what’s at stake when systems fail. And with TimeClock Plus, she no longer worries about unplanned downtime, data loss, or support silence.
“Our margin for error is so slim. It’s people’s pay we’re dealing with, and they can’t afford mistakes.”
Even now, every interaction with TimeClock Plus feels like the right decision.
“Every time I call, I have a positive experience. Everyone is incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. I’ve never had any issues.”
TimeClock Plus didn’t just help Tucson Unified recover. It gave the district the tools, the partnership, and the confidence to move forward — stronger than before.
TCP Software’s employee scheduling and time and attendance solutions are flexible and scalable to accommodate your business and employees as you grow.
From TimeClock Plus, which automates even the most complex payroll calculations and leave management requests, to Humanity Schedule for dynamic employee scheduling that saves you time and money, we have everything you need to meet your organization’s needs, no matter how unique. Plus, with Aladtec, we offer 24/7 public safety scheduling solutions for your hometown heroes.
Ready to learn how TCP Software takes the pain out of employee scheduling and time tracking? Speak with an expert today.
