How to use the punch clock through a computer or tablet

It is possible to clock 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 clock 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' time recordings
• 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 clock 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" -> "Punch clock and time recording".

Click on "Open punch clock" and you will then get both the link and 6-digit code you need for the punch clock:

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.

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 clock 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 clock in to. It is the same approach when the employee has to clock out.

When clocking out from a shift, the employee can write a comment, if needed. This might be relevant for you, if they clock 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 clocked 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 clock 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' time recordings

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 clocked in to their shift or break as well as who clocked out from their shift or break.

Furthermore, you can view the employees' time recordings in the menu item "Smartplan Time". In the menu item, you can see all the time recordings that have been made today. This means that if you for example look here at 01:00, you will only see shifts that have started after midnight. However, you can also click on "Show shifts from yesterday" under each location and then you will be shown yesterday's shifts.

If you need to correct the attendance for one of the shifts or approve it, you can click on the gear-icon on the shift:

Finally, it is also possible to see your employees' time recordings in the tab "Hours & Salary". Here you can get an overview of the hours and approve them.

The employee's hours are highlighted in red because it deviates from the planned hours. In this case, the employee didn't have a planned shift in the rota and therefore, we want to make you aware of this. To the right, you can approve the employee's attendance.

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:

• If an expected end time should be specified if shifts aren't planned in advance
• Should the employees register breaks in the punch clock
• How should the hours be calculated when employees clock in before their shifts start
• How should Smartplan handle clock out after the shifts scheduled hours
• Consequences when employees do not clock in
• Whether Smartplan should automatically approve time recordings

All of these settings can be found the same place as the link and the 6-digit passcode for the punch clock. Just go to "Settings" -> "Punch clock and time recording".

At the bottom of this page, you can also choose if the employees should be allowed to edit their time recordings manually. This setting is independent of the punch clock.