Attendance
Attendance turns two timestamps into a policy outcome. This page covers every setting that affects what the register says.
How a day is recorded
Each attendance record holds a check-in timestamp, a check-out timestamp, any break deduction, and a derived status. The status is computed from your policy rather than chosen by hand, so the register stays consistent regardless of who is administering it that week.
- The employee checks in from the portal or the desktop app.
- The system compares the time against the employee’s shift start plus the grace window.
- At check-out, worked hours are computed and the configured break is deducted.
- Status is derived: present, late, half-day or absent.
- Leave and holidays override the status where they apply.
Shift settings
Shifts are assigned per employee, not per company, which is what makes rotating rosters and flexible teams workable in one system.
| Field | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Shift start | The reference time a normal day begins | 09:30 |
| Shift end | The reference time it ends | 18:30 |
| Grace window | Minutes after shift start that still count as on time | 15 |
| Break minutes | Unpaid break deducted from worked hours | 45 |
| Half-day threshold | Minimum worked hours to avoid an absent mark | 4:30 |
| Week off | Days excluded from the register | Saturday, Sunday |
Late policy
A late mark on its own is usually not the outcome an employer wants; the policy is normally cumulative. Configure how many late marks convert into a half-day deduction and over what period they are counted.
A common configuration is three late marks in a calendar month equalling one half-day. Set the counting period to match your payroll cycle rather than a rolling window, or the deduction will land in an unexpected month.
Regularisation
When somebody forgets to check in, the correct fix is a request rather than an edit. The employee raises a regularisation request with the intended times and a reason; the reporting manager approves or rejects it. The approved entry replaces the missing one and the request stays attached to the record.
- Set a monthly limit so regularisation does not become the normal way to mark attendance.
- Rejected requests remain visible, which matters when a pattern is being discussed.
- Administrator edits are separate from regularisation and are recorded in the audit log.
The payroll export
Export the register for any date range as CSV. The columns are stable, so a spreadsheet or payroll import mapping built once keeps working.
employee_code,name,department,present_days,absent_days,
late_marks,half_days,leave_days,holidays,worked_hours,
overtime_hours,period_start,period_end
The same data is available from the REST API if you would rather the export happened on a schedule with nobody clicking.
Related
Frequently asked
Can attendance be marked from a mobile browser?
Yes. The portal is responsive and check-in works from a phone browser without installing anything.
What happens on a holiday or week off?
Days on the holiday calendar and configured week-offs are excluded from the register, so they do not produce absent marks or consume leave balance.
Can we bulk-correct a month?
An administrator can edit entries, and every edit is written to the audit log with who made it. Employee-initiated corrections go through regularisation instead.
Something missing from the docs?
Tell us what you were looking for at support@employeedeskcrm.com and we will add it here.
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