How to punch in without having a shift in the schedule

In this article we will go through:

• Your overview of the employees' punch times
• How the employees can punch in through computer or tablet
• How the employees can punch in through the app

Get an overview of your employees' punch times

If an employee creates a new shift in the punch clock, the hours for the shifts will automatically be added to "Hours & Salary".

When an employee has to punch in without having a shift, they have to register their position and which location they want to use (if there are more than one location on the account). Next, they will be asked to choose an expected end-time for the shift.

The expected end-time will be added to the schedule, which means that you will be able to see for how long the employee expect to be working. In "Hours & Salary", you can see when the employees has actually punched in and out from the shift in the column "Changes to attended time".

This means that in "Hours & Salary" you will be able to compare the expected end-time with the actual end-time of the shift.

With this function, you do not have to create shifts for your employees. Instead, you can simply let them create their shifts through the punch clock. If you want to do it like this you only have to create and publish an empty schedule for a period, and then your employees will be able to create shifts themselves.

How to punch in using a computer or tablet without having a shift in the schedule

Within the punch clock, the employees have to click on their name and enter their 4-digits password. Then they will be able to choose "Create shift and clock in":

Now the employee has to pick their position and add an estimate on when the shift ends.

The information given for the shift is now summarized once again and the employee can clock in to his shift:

Afterwards, you will be redirected back to the start page of the time clock. You will receive a confirmation of the punching process and you can also see when exactly you have punched in for the newly created shift:

How to punch in through the app without having a shift in the schedule

The employees will only be able to punch in and out from the app, if an administrator has activated the function on the account. This can be done in "Settings" -> "Smartplan Settings" -> "Smartplan Time".

It is still necessary that the employees are within one of the areas that have been determined on the account. You can see how you can create areas here: punch in and out through the app

The employees can create a shift by clicking on "Me" followed by the punch clock icon in the top right corner. Then they will be able to choose "Create shift and clock in to it". Then they should choose, which location they want to use, which position the shift should have and when they expect to leave work.

The expected end-time will be visible in the schedule, and in "Hours & Salary" you will be able to see both when they expected the shift to end and when they have actually punched out from the shift.

The employee can now begin their shift by clicking on "Clock in to shift".

The newly created shift is now shown in the user profile under 'Shifts' and the previous duration of the shift since clocking in is displayed. In addition, the shift is now also listed in the rota, showing its expected end as well:

Further, admins are also able see in "Hours & Salary" when the newly created shift is expected to end and when the employee actually logged off from the shift.

You want to learn more about the Hours & Salary? Then take a look at this article.