In this article, we will go through how you can let your employees punch in and out through the app. You can read more about:
How to let your employees use the punch clock
If the employees have to use the punch clock in the their app, an administrator has to turn on this function. They can do this in "Settings" -> "Smartplan Settings" -> "Smartplan Time".
As soon as the function has been activated, the employees can use their app to punch in and out, if they are within one of the areas that have been added to the account.
How to add geographical areas
When you have to add an area, you must enter an address and give the area a name. You can add as many areas as you like, which means that you can for example add 50 different areas if this is necessary on your account. It is also possible to adjust the size of the area, if you need a bigger area. If this is the case, you can simply make the orange circle bigger.
When the employee has to punch in and out from the app
Before your employees can use the app to punch in and out, they must allow that the app can have access to their GPS, so that the app can know the location of the employee. The app will only ask for permission to access the GPS, if the function has been turned on by an administrator on the account. When the phone is turned off, the app will not search for employee's location.
This means that it is the GPS in the employee's phone which determines, if they are within one of the areas on the account, and if this is the case they can punch in.
In order to avoid cheating with the hours, it also is not possible for an employee to go into an area, leave it again and then punch in. The moment, they click on "Punch in", we will double-check to make sure that they are within the area. If they are not within the area, they will not be able to punch in.
The employees can also create shifts in the punch clock. This might be relevant, if you do not have a permanent schedule. Then the employees can create their own shifts, and you can afterwards approve them.
You can read more about how to create shifts in the punch clock here: How to use the punch clock in the app as an employee
How to see when your employees have punched in and out
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 writing is 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 who.
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 by going to "Settings" -> "Smartplan Settings" -> "Smartplan Time".
If the employees shouldn't be able to use the punch clock through the app, you can also choose to use a computer or tablet at your workplace instead. You can read more about how to use the punch clock on a computer or tablet in this article.