A time clock feature where employees can check-in instead of punch in.
The check-in feature allows employees to let employers know when they are present for work, or that a particular project/job is being performed. Employers can receive alerts via email or text message when an employee has checked in. Some small businesses have employees who do not need to punch in or out. Instead, these types of businesses may be more concerned about whether or not their employees are where they are supposed to be at the time they are supposed to be.
If a company has salary workers who do not punch in, they can check-in to show when they are at work. The employee check-in feature simply allows employees the option to basically say, “Hey, I’m here,” once they have arrived to work. This feature is also used for employees who are working after midnight. Workers also have the capability to check in periodically throughout their work shift to alert management that they are still on the clock.
With many companies paying their employees with a set salary instead of by the hour, it may not be necessary for these employees to clock in since employee time tracking may not be a priority to them. Exempt and nonexempt employees require separate laws in which an organization must abide by. See our article on time tracking for exempt versus nonexempt employees to learn what those differences are.
The Admin of the time clock account will have two options to assign the check-in feature for their employees to use, and can also be paired with Departments, Jobs, Customers, Tasks and Projects.
1. If you have a variety of employees who you would like to punch in and others who you would like to check in, then you can turn this feature on by simply going into the settings of a specific employee. From here you will turn on ‘Allow Check In’ under the General tab and Additional Options section. That particular employee will now be allowed to check in when he or she arrives to work and the check-in button will be visible. If this feature is not turned on, then the check-in button will not be visible to the employee.
2. The next option is for the Admin of the time clock account to set up Employee Groups. This allows the Administrator to set and maintain their own default settings for one or more employees once the group is created. After doing so, the feature for employees to check in can be turned on and it will apply to all the employees within the group rather than selecting each one individually.
It is important to note that time cards do not reflect time worked from when an employee checks in. However, an employer does have the capability to see the GPS location from where the employee has checked in. This gives assurance that the employee is where they are supposed to be when they use the time clock check-in feature.
Know who's in and on the clock.
