Attendance Automation

Employees clock in and clock out. The system handles everything else — creating the attendance record, calculating hours, deducting breaks, and aligning times to the rota. Managers only need to step in for exceptions.

What the System Does for You

Without Automation	With Automation
Manager creates an attendance record for each employee each day	Record created automatically when the employee clocks in
Manager calculates start time, end time, and total hours	Hours calculated instantly when the employee clocks out
Manager checks the rota and deducts break time by hand	Break time pulled from the rota or applied automatically
Manager adjusts clock times when employees are a few minutes early or late	Hours aligned to the rota schedule automatically
Manager cross-references attendance with the rota	Rota and attendance linked — scheduled vs. actual shown side by side

How It Works by Default

When an employee clocks in, the system creates their attendance record. When they clock out, the system:

1. Uses the rota times for paid hours — if the employee has a scheduled shift, the rota start and end times are used for payroll. The actual clock times are saved on the record for reference, but they do not change the paid hours.
2. Deducts break time — if the rota shift has a break defined, that break is used. Otherwise a default is applied (see below).
3. Links the record to the rota — the attendance record shows scheduled start, end, and planned hours alongside the actual clock times.

At a Glance

Sarah is scheduled 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM with a 30-minute break (7:30 paid):

Scenario	Clock In	Clock Out	Hours Paid
Early arrival, stays late	8:50 AM	5:40 PM	7:30
Arrives 20 min late	9:20 AM	5:30 PM	7:30
Leaves 1.5 hours early	9:00 AM	4:00 PM	7:30
On time	9:00 AM	5:30 PM	7:30

The paid hours always match the rota. The actual clock times are visible on the record so the manager can see exactly when the employee arrived and left. If someone arrives late or leaves early, the manager decides whether to make a deduction — the system gives the information, the manager makes the call.

How Break Deductions Work

Employees do not need to clock breaks. The system handles break deductions automatically using this logic:

Situation	What Happens
Rota shift has a break time defined (e.g., 45 min)	That break is deducted
Rota shift has no break, shift is over 6.5 hours	Default 30-minute break is deducted
Rota shift has no break, shift is under 6.5 hours	No break deducted

Adjusting Records Manually

Managers can override the paid hours on any attendance record at any time. For example, if Sarah arrived 20 minutes late and the manager wants to deduct that time, they can adjust the hours.

The scheduled rota times and actual clock times are never changed by manual adjustments. They are kept on the record permanently for audit purposes — you always have the original data regardless of any overrides.

Multi-Location Support

For organisations with multiple locations, the system matches clock-ins to rota shifts by location. An employee clocking in at Location A is matched to their rota shift at Location A, not a shift at another location. Employees can have separate attendance records for different locations on the same day.

Example: Priya works at two clinics. She is scheduled at Clinic North from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM and Clinic South from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Each clock-in creates a separate attendance record linked to the correct location’s rota shift.

Employee Comments

If an employee adds a note when clocking in or out (e.g., “arrived late due to train delay”), the comment is automatically saved on the attendance record. Managers can see it without needing to ask the employee.

What Managers Still Need to Do

• Review attendance periodically — check for forgotten clock-outs or unusually long shifts
• Handle incomplete records — if an employee forgets to clock out, the record stays open until a Clock Out is added manually
• Approve timesheets — attendance feeds into timesheets, which still need manager sign-off before payroll

Alternative Time Rounding Options

The default setup uses the rota times for all paid hours. If this does not suit your team — for example, if you want to capture overtime based on the actual clock-out time — alternative rounding options are available.

See Time Rounding Alternatives for details.

Related Pages

• Timesheets — view and manage attendance records
• Creating Rotas — set up employee shift schedules
• Time Clock — how employees clock in and out