How to use the punch clock through a computer or tablet
It is possible to punch in and out to a shift both through a computer, tablet or mobile phone. In this article we will look at how you can let your employees punch in and out through a stationary device (computer/tablet) at work. You can read more about:
- How you open the punch clock
- What happens when you have several locations
- How the browser punch clock is being used
- How you can check your employees' punch times
- How you can customize the punch clock to your needs
However, if you do not want to use a computer or tablet for the punch clock, you can allow the employees to punch in and out through their Smartplan app instead. You can read much more about how to use the punch clock through the app in this article.
How to open the punch clock
In order to get access to the punch clock, you have to find the link and the 6-digits passcode for the browser punch clock under "Settings" -> "Smartplan Settings" -> "Smartplan Time".
Click on the link to open the punch clock. After clicking on the link, you will be asked to fill out the 6-digits passcode. This will activate your punch clock so that your employees are able to use it.
Nice to know: If you have trouble remembering the 6-digit passcode, you can change it. Simply click on the digits and you will get the opportunity to enter a new passcode of your choice. Don't forget to hit "Save" afterwards.
Also nice to know: If you don't want to open your Smartplan account every time that you want to use the punch clock, you could try to use the bookmark feature of your browser or you could create a desktop shortcut for quick access.
When you have the location division enabled
When you have 2 or more locations on your account and you decided to allocate your staff to these locations, your browser punch clock will change as well.
If you have activated the feature, you will still receive a punch clock link that is valid for all the users on the account. However, on top of that you will also receive an individual link for each of your locations. This way, when your employees use the punch clock, they will only see the members and punch clock activity of the location they are assigned to.
The Punch Clock Passcode is valid for all of the locations.
Please note: When you limited the visibility of data to only those locations, that employees have been assigned to, then the general punch clock link for the whole of the account will be disabled. We do that in order to prevent that your employees can view the names and working times of the member of other locations.
So in that case, you can only use the punch clock links for individual locations:
How the browser punch clock is being used
When you have activated the punch clock, this is the surface that everybody will be able to see:
Your employees can then punch in and out simply by clicking on their own names. They will then be prompted to fill out a personal 4-digit code. If they do not remember their code, they can click on the link at the bottom in order to receive it by email:
After filling out the 4-digit code, they have to choose which shift they would like to punch in to. It is the same approach when the employee has to punch out.
When punching out from a shift, the employee can write a comment, if needed. This might be relevant for you, if they punch out before the shift would have officially ended, for instance.
If your employees have a non-paid break, you can choose that the employees have to register their breaks through the punch clock as well. You can choose whether they have to register the break during the shift or after having punched out from their shift. However, if they have a paid break, they should not register their break in Smartplan, as breaks will be subtracted from the employee's attendance in "Hours & Salary".
It is also possible to create shifts directly in the punch clock. This might be relevant if you do not have your complete schedule planned beforehand, and your employees have to create their own shifts which you can afterwards approve.
You can read about creating shifts though the punch clock in this article.
As mentioned in the beginning of this article, it is possible to punch in and out through a mobile phone as well. You can read about how employees are using the punch clock in their Smartplan app in this article.
How to check your employees' punch times
Any activity happening in the Punch Clock can be viewed on the right side of your browser punch clock, as soon as it is activated. Here you will see in chronological order, who punched in to their shift or break as well as who punched out from their shift or break.
Please note: This window, including the punch clock activity, is visible to everyone who has access to the device that it is activated on. If you want to keep the individual employees punch clock data hidden from each other, we recommend you to use the mobile punch clock (Smartplan app) instead.
Additionally, it is always possible to see your employees' hours in the tab "Hours & Salary". Here you can get an overview of the hours and approve them.
When an employee has used the punch clock, it might look like this:
The employee has changed her meeting time compared to what had been planned and therefore, the attendance is highlighted in red. According to the schedule, the employee had to work from 3 pm to 10 pm. But the employee has punched in a few minutes earlier and also left earlier than planned. To the right, it is possible to approve the employee's hours. If the employee has created a new shift in the punch clock, this is also where you can approve it.
It is possible to get more information about the shift, if you click on the meeting time in the column "Changes to attended time":
In the activity log you can see all the changes that have been made to a shift, and who made these changes.
The employee's hours can be corrected by the employee or an administrator. Then it will also appear in the activity log - both when it was changed, and by whom.
How to customise the punch clock to your needs
It might be different how companies can benefit from using the punch clock and therefore, you can also choose your own settings regarding:
- Who can edit time attendance
- Should the employees register breaks in the punch clock
- How should the hours be calculated when employees punch in before their shifts start
- How should Smartplan handle punch out after the shifts scheduled hours
- Consequences when employees do not punch in
- Whether Smartplan should automatically approve punch times
All of these settings can be found the same place as the link and the 6-digits passcode for the punch clock. Just go to "Settings" -> "Smartplan Settings" -> "Smartplan Time".
Please be aware: You can not configure punch clock settings on a user level or for specific locations. Even when you have the location division enabled and you have several punch clocks for your different locations, the punch clock settings will still be applied to all of the account.