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Clocking

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Your clocking options and set-up guide

If you're looking to streamline employee time-tracking in your business, whether it's for office-based or remote teams, foundU offers you 2 efficient options for Clocking. 

  • Clock on site with an iPad via the foundU Clock App and/or
  • Allow employees to clock in with their mobile devices via the Employee App.

See the image below to see the functions of clocking on both the Clock App and the Employee App. 

In this article, we will cover:

  • The minimum requirements for using clocking on an iPad (the foundU Clock App) or on a personal mobile device.
  • Setting up your chosen clocking configuration.
  • Once you have decided on the best Clocking option or options for your business, you can use your platform settings to automate some of your clocking needs.
  • Depending on your business, you may have different venues or Operations that would like to use a combination of the Clock App and the Employee App, as well as different settings in various locations if this is the case, Operation-based clock settings will be useful.
  • Capturing information from your employees upon clocking out using the Clock-in/out questionnaire.
  • How to use the Clock settings tester to understand, in real-time, how the settings will impact your clocking.

  If your business uses clocking with an iPad via the Clock App, another option for your employees to clock via an iPad in the workplace is to scan a QR code. It can make the clocking process quicker as the employee does not need to remember and enter a Clock ID and passcode. If you would like more information on how to enable clocking with a QR Code, please see our helpful guide here!

System requirements for iPads & Mobile devices

iPad system requirements & current foundU Clock App version

If you'd like to use the foundU Clock App to have your employees clock in and out, you'll need to download the appropriate App and ensure:

  1. That the device is compatible and has the minimum system requirements.
  2. For the best experience, you'll want to be running the most current version of the foundU Clock App. Your initial download will always be the most current version of the Clock App, but be sure to keep it up to date.

  You can always refer to the App Store here to see the current system requirements to run the foundU Clock App. Refer to the section titled 'Information'.

Device system requirements

The foundU Clock app has been built for iOS devices and therefore is not supported on tablets other than iPads. Compatible devices are listed below.

    • Requires iOS 14 or later versions.
    • The App is compatible with the iPad Air 2 and later, iPad mini 4 and later, iPad 5th gen and later, and all iPad Pro models.
    • Any models before these are not supported.

 

Current Clock App Version

Having the latest version of an app ensures the latest features, improved security, and the best experience. Therefore, you must keep your applications updated. You'll want to be running the most current Clock App version. The most current version of the Clock App can always be found here.

    • You can check the version of your Clock App by looking at the bottom right corner of your iPad.
    • You can also see the device system information via Operations > Approved Operations > Select your Operation > Settings Cog > Clock Installation > Device Info.

If you find your App is outdated, please navigate to the App Store and locate the App and Update. 

  Hot tip: Change your settings in the App Store/ Play Store to enable automatic App updates to ensure you always have the latest version and therefore any updated features.

 Looking to update your Clock App to the latest version? See our guide here.

Mobile device system requirements

The foundU Employee App is available on both Apple and Android devices and will allow your employees to clock in and out on their phones.

Employees should have already downloaded the App at the start of their employment or when your business moved across to foundU, if not they can do so at any time.

They will need to ensure their device meets the requirements for Clocking. This includes:

  1. That the device is compatible and has the minimum system requirements.
  2. They'll need the most current version of the foundU Employee App. Your initial download will always be the most current version, but be sure to keep it up to date.
  3. Location settings are enabled for the Employee App so that the employee's location can be determined for Geolocation clocking. Always encourage employees to use 'Precise location' for location settings instead of approximate location so that the App can sufficiently geolocate the employee for clocking.

  To see the current system requirements for Apple and Android phones, use the handy links below! System requirements can be found in the section titled 'Information'.

If you need to check the software version on your mobile device, this is generally located in the Settings section on both iPhones and Android.

  Hot tip: Change your settings in the App Store to enable automatic App updates to ensure you always have the latest version and therefore any updated features.

Your Clocking Options

Employee App (Includes set Geofence/ Geolocation set-up)

To use the clocking features on the Employee App you will need to perform a few key steps before your employees can begin clocking:

    • Enable the Employee App in the Clock Settings.
    • Set up geolocation for each of your rosters.
    • Toggle on 'Enable Employee Clock' in all applicable employees.
    • Employees will need to ensure they Download and set up their Employee App.

Let's cover each in more detail:

Set Up Download

Enable the Employee App in Clock Settings

To enable employees to use the Employee App you will first need to allow permission in your Clock Settings.

To switch on the Employee Clock App Settings or to adjust the settings:

  1. Select the hamburger icon to open the full menu and select Platform Settings > Clock Settings.
  2. Scroll down to the Employee Clock App Settings section.
  3. Ensure that 'Allow employees to clock in or out with their Employee App' is toggled to Yes.

The below settings are recommended, however, you can adjust them to suit your business needs.

 

Setting up Geolocation

The Employee App is designed to use an employee's mobile device, Geolocation (GPS), to clock in and out.

Upon selecting Clock In through the Employee App, employees will be prompted for permission to use their GPS location on their mobile devices.

    • The GPS location is then used to check if the employee is within the location boundary zone set by your business and either allows the employee to clock in/out or informs them that they can't clock in/out until they're within the location zone.
    • Admins can then see the location from where employees are clocking and manage Approve Shifts as normal.
    • Employees will need to ensure they have their mobile location settings turned on to use their mobile's GPS location.

The boundary zone or area from which employees can clock in or out is set per Roster.

To set up your geolocation boundary:

  1. Navigate to Work > Rosters > Expand the operation > Select the Settings icon next to the roster. 

  2. From here, you will be able to edit the Roster details, communications, and roster location.
  3. You are then able to select the boundary (clock-in area) in 2 ways:
    • You can enter a Boundary Radius (e.g. 200m) and press Save.
      This will set the boundary based on the address you entered.
    • Select Or draw radius on the map button to expand the map, then the Draw Clock Boundary button.
      • First, you'll need to select on the map to centre the map location near the area you would like to select.
      • Click a second time and draw out the circle to lock in the location. This will then set the new radius based on the drawn boundary and press Save.

  Hot tip: If your employees will be clocking in in a built-up area with many buildings, please consider setting your geolocation boundary to at least 250m. This will increase the effectiveness of your clocking by allowing phone towers to locate the phone.

 

Enable Employee App clocking on an Employee's Profile

In order to clock with the Employee App, individual employees will need to be given permission to Clock in through their Employee App:

  1. In People > Approved People, search for your desired employee.
  2. In the Employee profile, enable the toggle for 'Employee Clock Enabled'.
  3. You can also enable multiple employees at the same time through Approved People > Bulk Actions and selecting 'Enable Employee Clock'.

      Hot tip:     The 'Enable Employee Clock' option will appear in Bulk Actions once you have selected all required employees. 

The foundU Clock App (Includes setup Clock App)

If you would like to use the Clock App for your business' clocking needs, you will need to complete the steps below. 

    • Download the Clock App on your devices.
    • Enable the Clock App in the Clock Settings.
    • Set up the new Clock App.
    • Employees will need to ensure they know their Clock ID & passcode and set up their Employee App and can then begin clocking.

Let's cover each in more detail: 

Download Set Up Passcode

Before you can get started, the first step is to install the Clock App on your iPad.

  Hot tip: You can download the Clock App on an Apple iPhone, but for an optimal experience, we recommend an iPad.

To download the Clock App:

  1. Navigate to the App store on your iPad.
  2. Search for the foundU Clock app and install.

     

  3. Open the Clock app and log in.
  4. To make sure your iPad does not lock out, go to Settings > Display & Brightness.
  5. Set Auto-lock to Never.
  6. Set Night Shift to Off.
  7. Your Clock App is installed; however, before it is ready for use, it will need to be linked to an Operation; continue to the next tab for instructions.

  Hot tip: You can use the foundU Clock App in a vertical or horizontal mode so you can choose which best suits your needs.

Clock Settings

Platform clock settings

There are many different options & settings available to customise the clocking experience for your employees and also the shift approval process for your managers.

Clock settings can be set up to apply to:

    • Your entire platform - From the main menu > Platform Settings > Clock Settings.
    • A specific operation - This is an override for specific operations, please see the 'Customise Clock settings per operation' section below for further information. 

The clock settings are broken up into 3 groups.

    • Clock General - These settings apply to all clocking arrangements.
    • Clock App - These settings apply to iPad clocking specifically. 
    • Employee Clock App - These settings apply to employee app clocking specifically.

 

Clock General Settings

  • Enable Clock App
    • This must be enabled for employees to clock in using either method.
  • Can Employee use the apps to record their breaks?
    • With this toggle enabled, employees will have the ability to clock in/out of their rostered breaks. 
  • Employees must provide a reason for clocking in if they were not rostered to work
    • In the case where an employee clocks in without a rostered shift, they must provide a reason as to why. This reason will be displayed in the clock log & in Approve Shifts.
  • Ignore clocked break duration and start time in favour of original rostered break duration and start time?
    • With this toggle enabled, the rostered break duration and start time will apply to the shift regardless of the time clocked.

      For example, if an employee is rostered a 30-minute break at 11 am but only clocks 25 mins at 10 am, 30 minute break starting at 11 am will still be applied in Approve Shifts.
  • Automatically approve shifts that are clocked within specified time thresholds
    • With this toggle enabled, if an employee clocks in pretty close to their rostered time, the shift will be automatically approved for you. Automatically approved shifts can still be edited in Approve Shifts.
  • Use the rostered start time if employee clocks in between X minutes early and X minutes late.
    • The start time of the shift that is set for approval in Approve Shifts will be adjusted to the rostered time if the clock-in time falls within the specified range. 
  • Use the rostered finish time if employee clocks out between X minutes early and X minutes late.
    • The end time of the shift that is set for approval in Approve Shifts will be adjusted to the rostered time if the clock-out time falls within the specified range. 
  • Require a reason for clock in if more than X minutes early or X mins late.
    • Force the employee to provide a reason for clocking in outside of the specified range. This reason is stored in the clock log and in Approve Shifts.
  • Require a reason for clock out if more than X minutes early or X mins late.
    • Force the employee to provide a reason for clocking in outside of the specified range. This reason is stored in the clock log and in Approve Shifts.
  • Auto adjust clock in/out times?
    • This setting is used for circumstances where employees may start or finish a shift early/ late (e.g. if they are called in early or asked to stay late); as such, their clock times will far exceed their roster start/ end time. 

      When enabled the affected shift's Approve time in Approve Shifts will adjust and round by:
      • By increments of (5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 mins)
      • Adjust forward after X mins

        For example, with this setting set to increments of 15 minutes and to adjust forward after 7 minutes.
        • When clocking out at 5:07 pm, the shift would adjust forward to 5:15 pm.
        • However, if clocking out at 5:06 pm, the shift would not adjust forward and would sit at 5:00 pm. 

  Hot tip: When editing these settings, use the Settings Tester located to the right of your settings. This will help you to understand how the changes you are making will affect your clocking & approvals. See the below accordion for more information. 

 

Clock App Settings

In addition to the Clock General settings, there are specific settings that relate to the Clock App (iPads).

  • Employees can sign in using an access card (QR code).
    • Employees will be able to clock in using a QR code instead of typing their ID and password. You can read more about QR clocking here. 
  • Automatically complete employee clocking when using access card.
    • Employees will automatically be clocked in or out of their shift without the need to touch the iPad at all. Requiring comments upon clocking in or out will still require the iPad to handled. 
  • Require employee to take a photo upon clocking in/out.
    • A photo will be taken of your employee using the camera on the iPad as they clock in/out. This photo can be viewed in the Clock Log or Approve Shifts.
  • Employees must select a roster when clocking in without a shift.
    • When an employee clocks in without having a rostered shift for that day, this setting will force them to select which roster they are working on.
    • With this setting disabled, it is optional for the employee to select a roster. When no roster is selected the shift will sit in an unassigned state in Approve Shifts. 
  • Employees must enter their break time taken upon clocking out.
    • Employee can submit the start time and duration of their break when clocking out. This then flows through to Approve Shifts.
  • Log out of Clock App by clicking the logo.
    • With this enabled, selecting the foundU logo on the app will sign the device out and break the connection with your operation.
    • Disabling this will prevent accidental log out of the app by employees. 
  • Display a message to all employees when clocking in.
    • Displays the message you input to your employees as they clock in. 

 

Employee Clock App Settings

In addition to the Clock General settings, there are specific settings that relate to employees clocking through their phones via the Employee App.

  • Allow employees to clock in or out with their Employee App.
    • With this toggle disabled, employees will not be able to clock on their phones.
      With this enabled, the ability to clock on a phone is granted on an individual basis. 
  • Allow employees to clock in or out without location settings turned on.
    • Without location settings enabled on the employee's phone, foundU will not be able to confirm that the employee is within the location specified on your roster. 
  • Allow employees to clock in or out when they're out of the location zone.
    • With this toggle enabled, employees who are outside of the specified location will still be able to clock in / out. This is particularly useful for rosters that do not have a fixed address.
      If location services are enabled, foundU will record the location that the employee clocked in/out from regardless.
  • Automatically approve shifts if clocked times are within thresholds specified in Clock General.
    • With this toggle enabled, the settings for automatic approval in Clock General will apply to employees clocking on their phones. This is designed so that you can have different rules for your employees who clock on their phones to the ones who clock on iPads. 

As you change/ alter your settings, a notification bar will come up on the bottom of your screen asking you to save your changes. You can make multiple changes at once. 

Clock settings to speed up shift approvals

To assist with shift approvals, there are opportunities to adjust your clock settings to automatically edit and even approve shifts if specific conditions are met. 

All of these settings below are talked about individually to highlight how they work. They can and should be used together to meet your clocking and approval requirements! Play around with the settings and the tester to see how they interact. 

Automate shift approvals

You may want to automatically approve shifts if they are close enough to the rostered shift times.

Assuming your employees generally clock in or out very close to their rostered times, this will save you time approving shifts.

To turn on this setting:

  1. Navigate to Platform Settings > Clock Settings.
  2. Enable the toggle 'Automatically approve shifts that are clocked within specified time thresholds'.
  3. Set the threshold times in minutes.   
  4. If you would like the feature to work with employee shifts who have clocked on their phone, there is an additional toggle to enable it. Scroll to the  Employee Clock App section and enable the toggle 'Automatically approve shifts if clocked times are within thresholds specified in Clock General'. If not, skip this step. 
  5. Select Save at the bottom of the page.

SCENARIO

We'll use the following example to look at how different clocking times will behave.

We have set the automatic approvals to trigger if an employee clocks in up to 10 minutes early and out 10 minutes late. The rostered shift starts at 9:00 am and finishes at 5:00 pm. 

You can see in the below images, using the Settings tester available in clock settings, the following results.

  • Clocking in at 8:51 am & out at 5:07 pm - Auto-approved (within specified thresholds)
  • Clocking in at 8:45 am & out at 5:07 pm - Not auto-approved (clock in time outside specified thresholds)
  • Clocking in at 8:51 am & out at 5:11 pm - Not auto-approved (clock out time outside specified thresholds)

 

Reduce the amount of unassigned shifts in Approve Shifts

When an employee clocks in without having a rostered shift on that day, this shift will be placed in an unassigned state. Unassigned shifts must be assigned to a roster by an admin user. However, you can reduce the need to edit these types of shifts by enabling the following setting.

To enable this setting:

  1. Navigate to Platform Settings > Clock Settings > Clock App.
  2. Enable the toggle 'Employees must select a roster when clocking in without a shift'.
  3. Select Save at the bottom of the page.
  4. The below image highlights what this looks like for your employees when they clock in.

 

Enforce rostered break start time & duration instead of the clocked times & duration

It's not uncommon for an employee who is rostered a 30-minute break to not take exactly 30 minutes. You may find that employees come back to work a couple of minutes early or take an additional couple of minutes. If you don't want to pay to the exact minute worked, and you'd like to save some time with editing shift break durations, you can specify that the rostered break duration is used regardless of what is clocked.

  Please note: With this setting enabled, it is a good idea to visually check your employee's break times to ensure nobody is having very long or short breaks. This can be seen in Approve Shifts. 

  Hot tip: You may want to use this setting along with Roster Break Rules. This feature will automatically set a start time and duration for a break when creating a roster. Then, when approving shifts, this clock setting will enforce the time set on the roster.

To enable this setting:

  1. Navigate to Platform Settings > Clock Settings> Clock General.
  2. Enable the toggle 'Ignore clocked break duration in favour of original rostered break duration'.
  3. Select Save at the bottom of the page. 

  Please note: If the above setting is 'off' and your employees do not clock in/out for breaks, the platform will consider the employees to have not taken breaks at all. In this case, you may want to ensure that the setting 'Employees must enter their break time and duration taken upon clocking out', to ensure a break time is captured and will flow through to Approve shifts.

 

Using the rostered start or finish times

If you're not paying your employees to the minute, you can set the shift start & end times to use what is rostered based on thresholds that you specify. 

This setting is used for circumstances where employees tend to start a bit too early or late (e.g. clock in before they are ready for work); as such, their clock times will by a few minutes, exceed their roster start/ end time.

To adjust these settings:

  1. Navigate to Platform Settings > Clock Settings> Clock General.
  2. Edit the available timing fields & use the Settings tester to the right to ensure it's behaving the way you expect. 
  3. Select Save at the bottom of the page. 

SCENARIO

We'll use the following example to look at how different clocking times will interact with this setting.

We have set the rostered start time to be used if an employee clocks in up to 5 mins early but not late at all. We have also set the rostered end time to be used if an employee clocks out up to 5 mins late but not early at all. The rostered shift starts at 9:00 am and finishes at 5:00 pm. 

use_rostered_time.png

  • Clocking in at 8:56 am & out at 5:01 pm - Use rostered time (within specified thresholds)
  • Clocking in at 8:50 am & out at 4:58 pm - Use clocked times (clocked in too early and clocked out too early)

 

Automatically adjust times incrementally

If you're not wanting to pay your employees to the minute, you may instead prefer to pay based on round numbers! There is a setting that can adjusted for this purpose where times can be adjusted in increments of 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 minutes. 

This setting is used for circumstances where employees may start or finish a shift early/ late (e.g. if they are called in early or asked to stay late); as such, their clock times will far exceed their roster start/ end time.

To adjust these settings:

  1. Navigate to Platform Settings > Clock Settings> Clock General.
  2. Enable the toggle 'Auto adjust clock in/out times'
  3. Set the increment that you'd like to work with.
  4. Set the number of minutes into that increment that should trigger it to adjust forward. 
  5. Select Save at the bottom of the page. 

SCENARIO

We'll use the following example to look at how different clocking times will interact with this setting.

We have set the times to be adjusted in increments of 15 minutes which will adjust forward after 7 minutes. The rostered shift starts at 9:00 am and finishes at 5:00 pm. 

  • Clocking in at 9:00 am & out at 5:06 pm - Rounded down (Less than the time specified to adjust forward)
  • Clocking in at 9:00 am & out at 5:07 pm - Rounded up (equal to the time specified to adjust forward)

Customise Clock settings per operation
Depending on your business, you may have different venues or Operations that require their Clock settings to be used in differing ways. If so, Operation-based Clock settings will allow you to have a different group of Clock settings for different Operations. This may be useful for businesses such as:
    • Multi-site operations that would like different clocking rules per site.
    • Franchises with different venues.
    • Labour hire businesses.
    • As well as businesses with different functional locations such as HO sites, warehouses and truck drivers who all may need to clock differently.

What you need to consider before you start:

    • What are your current Platform Clock Settings, as these are your Default Clock Settings?
    • What clocking options do your clients/operations use (or want to use)- Employee App or Clock App?
    • How many Operations do you have?
    • How many require customisation?

 

Accessing your Operation Clock settings

To begin setting your Clock Settings per Operation:

  1. Navigate to Operations > Approved Operations > Select your required Operation.
  2. You can navigate to your Operation settings by either:
    • Selecting the cog icon.
    • On the right-hand side from 'Operation Override', select Clock General.

  Hot tip: The orange light will indicate which Clock settings are overridden for this Operation.

 

Editing your Operation Clock Settings

Within your Operation Settings, you will be able to visually see which settings are being overridden.  Orange lights will indicate any current Operation Overrides.

To make changes:

  1. Depending on where you want to make changes, scroll down or use the menu on the left for quick access.
  2. Slide the toggle on or off to make a change. In the example below, we have made 2 changes
    • Ie. turned on 'Require employee to take a photo upon clocking in'
    • Ie. turned off 'Employees must select roster when clocking without a shift'
  3. Unsaved changes are indicated by blue lights. To make these settings active, select Save in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen.
  4. Remember to use the Settings Tester to the right to ensure your changes are going to behave in the way you want. 

You can press Reset to Default to return to the original Platform settings at any time. Please note each portion of the Clock setting menu has its own Reset to Default button. (see below image)

 

Bulk Apply Operation Clock Settings

You may need to apply many settings to multiple Operations at once. For instance, all of your QLD venues have just started recording their break duration and you would like to have the rostered break duration flow through to Approve Shifts.

To make this change to multiple venues at once:

  1. Navigate to Operations > Approved Operations.
  2. Select which operations you would like to change by ticking the boxes next to the names.
  3. Select Bulk Actions > Apply Clock setting Overrides to Filtered.

Ask your employees a question when they clock in and out *NEW

One useful feature of using foundU's timekeeping is the ability to ask your employees a set question when clocking in or out. This question will be presented to employees who use either the Clock App or the Employee App and are required to respond.  

Your employees' responses are stored in both the Clock Log and Approve Shifts.

Some examples of a clock in question you may like to ask might be:

    • Have you checked in with the duty manager/ site manager before starting your shift?
    • Have you completed the most recent training prior to starting your shift?
    • Can you confirm you are prepared for your shift (your uniform is complete)?
    • Do you have any flu-like symptoms or are experiencing a fever? 

Some examples of a clock out question you may like to ask might be:

    • Have you had a good day at work? (Mental health check)
    • Have you had or seen an incident or near miss at work today? If so, please provide us with more information.
    • Have you completed your post-shift checklist/ tasks assigned to you?
    • Have you taken all of their unpaid/paid breaks on your shift?

 

Enable and Customise

When setting up a clocking question, you are adding a single question to be asked when an employee clocks in and/or out. The question will be in a multiple-choice format. Depending on the answer chosen by your employees, you can decide if a further free-text response is required.

For example, if your question is "Have you checked in with the duty manager/ site manager before starting your shift?" the responses can be:

  • Yes - When selected, no further action is required. 
  • No - When selected the employee is required to provide further information. 

How to add clocking questions:

  1. Navigate to Platform Settings > Clock Settings.
  2. In the Clock General section, locate and enable the setting:
    • Display a question when employees clock in.
    • Display a question when employees clock out.
  3. Enter your question and answers.
  4. Select + Add another answer to provide more options for your employees, or select Remove last answer to delete.
  5. Turn on the toggle 'Require a comment for answer X' on any answer you would like further information provided for. 
    • You can set as many selectable answers as you need. Please bear in mind that only one answer may be selected by your employee. 
  6. Save your changes. 

SCENARIO

We'll use the following example to illustrate how this feature can be used.

We've configured our clock settings to ask our employees whether they have taken their paid breaks. If they answer "no", they will be required to provide a reason why not.

Jacinta clocks in and out of her shift on her mobile using the Employee App. On this particular day, the store was quite busy and she did not take her paid break.  

Upon clocking out, Jacinta is asked whether she took her paid breaks or not. She selects "No" and types in the reason for her answer.



The information provided by Jacinta can be found in Approve Shifts, which her manager can review by selecting the highlighted speaking icon. 

Additionally, this icon can also provide any early/ late comments provided by your employees. To see photos captured, select the image icon.  



 

View or export Clocking question responses

In addition to seeing the responses to clocking questions on an employee's shift in Approve Shifts, you may also want to view it in a way that you can export the data; this way you can drill down on the responses you have received. The best places to do this will be:

  • Use the 'show only shifts with questionnaire comments' checkbox in Approve shifts to filter by shifts with responses. You can also export using the Approve Shifts CSV Export.

  • Use the Clock Log. You can view them individually using the details icon below or export the Clock log to CSV as well, to see comments in bulk.

Selecting the highlighted icon will display all comments & photos collected for this shift.

Test your clock settings 

As you configure or adjust your clock settings, you can see, in real-time, how the settings will impact your clocking. This is done by using the Settings Tester to the right of your clock settings. 

  • The Settings Tester is based on a rostered shift that starts at 9:00 am & finishes at 5:00 pm. 
  • The clock in and out times can be adjusted in the top timing fields.
  • The times below that reflect what will be defaulted in the Approve Shifts menu under the scenario you create. These settings affect the Approve Shifts menu, not the clock log. Shifts can still be edited in Approve Shifts, regardless of these settings. 

Using the Settings Tester

  1. Adjust the clock in & clock out times around this 9 - 5 shift to see how your settings will behave. 
  2. Adjust your settings to see how the changes will impact your clocking approvals. 
  3. The settings that can be tested include:
    • Automatically approve shifts that are clocked within specified time thresholds.
    • Require a reason for clock in if more than X minutes early or X minutes late.
    • Require a reason for clock out if more than X minutes early or X minutes late.
    • Auto adjust clock in/out times?

The below gif highlights how the Settings Tester updates based on altering the clocking times and relevant settings.

Clocking FAQs

FAQs

My employee has forgotten to clock in/ out. Can I adjust clock times?

For compliance purposes, clock times can only be recorded when an employee clocks for their shift. If an employee fails to clock in, their time will not be recorded.

However, you can adjust and approve times in Approve Shift to ensure that your employee is paid for the time worked.

Where can I view an employee's clock times?

An employee's clock times can be viewed in 2 places, both of these can be located from Time & attendance:

  • Approve Shifts - Their clock times will display on their shifts for any casual and non-salaried employees.
  • Clock Log - Complies a list of all employee clock times. Additionally, the Clock Log can be filtered to display just your salaried employees.  

Is there a way I can automate shift approvals using clocking?

Yes! There are 4 clock settings to assist you with automating the approved time for your employee's shifts; these are:

  • Ignore clocked break duration and start time in favour of original rostered break duration and start time? - This will apply the rostered break start time and duration when approving shifts. This can be used with Roster Break Rules to automatically apply your breaks when rostering. 
  • Automatically approve shifts that are clocked within specified time thresholds - This will automatically approve shifts when they are clocked within a specified threshold.  
  • Use the rostered start/ finish time if the employee clocks in between - Approve times will default to rostered start/ finish times when clocked within a specified threshold. 
  • Auto adjust clock in/out times? - This setting will round approve times to the nearest increment (e.g. 15 minutes). This is used when a shift's clock times far exceed the rostered start/ finish time (e.g. When employees stay back to work).

For further information on setting up these settings, please refer to the "Clock settings to speed up shift approvals" section above. 

Can an employee clock in without a shift?

Absolutely! Employees can clock in either on the iPad or from their phone (when they are within their geofence) without a shift.

When an employee clocks in without a shift, it will create an unassigned shift in Approve Shifts for approval. There are 2 main use cases where an unassigned shift has been created:

  • Employee clocks in without a shift (e.g. is called in to work).
  • Employee ends their shift instead of starting their break (these are 2 different buttons). As such, when they clock in, a new shift is created. 

We have lost wifi. Do you know if my employee clock can be used while offline?

If you are tracking time using the foundU Clock App on an iPad, your employees can continue clocking in and out. Once you regain connectivity, the clock times will be sent to your platform.

If your employees are using the Employee App on their phones to track time, internet connectivity is necessary. If internet connectivity is lost, your employees will be unable to clock in or out. If you work in a rural area, you may prefer to use the Submit Shifts feature to capture employee times.

Can my salaried staff clock?

Yes, your salaried employees can use foundU for timekeeping!

However, there is no requirement for salaried employees to clock, as their shifts do not go through to Approve Shifts for approval.

If you prefer your salaried employees to track their hours by clocking, you can advise them on which roster to clock against and view their clock times from the Time & attendance > Clock Log.

What is a geofence, and what does it have to do with clocking?

A geofence is used by employees who clock in using the Employee App on their phones.

It is an invisible boundary set to each roster that prevents employee clocking unless they are inside the boundary. This ensures that employees are on-site before they can clock in.

For further reading, please see the "Employee App (Includes set Geofence/ Geolocation set-up)" section above for more details.

How does the Timezone set in my roster configuration affect the clock times of my employees?

Roster timezones in the roster configuration help to ensure accuracy in clocking by giving the system information about where (which timezone) the employee is likely to be clocking in.

For example:

  • Use a specific timezone in your roster configuration, when your employees will be clocking their times in one appropriate timezone.
    • I.e. All employees on the Brisbane cafe roster should be clocking in using AEST times, so we select the 'Australia/Brisbane' timezone.
  • Use the 'No Timezone (use device location)' option, when employees are operating throughout different states but all clocking on one roster (geofence not enabled).
    • I.e. All employees on the State managers roster will be clocking on in multiple timezones, so we select the 'No Timezone'  option.

Daylight saving time is approaching, and I am unsure about when my employees should clock in and out during the time change. Can you provide guidance on clocking during daylight saving time?

There are a few key things to note around Daylight saving time (DST) that will be of interest to you:

  • DST will not affect rostered shift times of your employees - This means they should have no confusion about when to attend or leave work.
  • DST only affects overnight shifts (starting before and ending after 2 am), so normal day shifts will never be affected.
  • During DST employees should clock in and out as normal.
  • Device settings such as 'automatic date and time updates' on an employee's phone or business iPad may affect times that are displayed in the platform during DST, please refer to our guide below on how to make changes to shift duration time to ensure payroll accruracy.

You'll be able to edit and make changes to shifts that have been affected by DST where needed. We recommend reading our detailed guide on Daylight Saving Time (DST).

I'd like to use the Clock questionnaire, can I use multiple clocking questions?

When using customised clocking questions, you are limited to:

  • 1 question for clocking in.
  • 1 question for clocking out.

However, each of these questions can have multiple responses. By adding more response choices to your question, you can gain better data from your employees. You can also require a comment for specific answers to gain more understanding as to why an employee has answered in a specfic way.

For example, your clock in question could be:

"We are heading into the new semester. Have you updated your availability?"

Responses can be:

  • Yes
  • No - provide a reason why
  • I am not a student
  • No updates required
  • Not applicable

Why can't my employee clock out? When my employee tried to clock out, there was only a clock in button available.

In your platform the 'Maximum shift duration' setting determines both the maximum length of a shift and how long your employees clocking window is. 

If your employee tries to 'clock out' for their shift outside of this window, they will be unable to. Instead, they will only have the option to clock in for a new unassigned shift.

  • When this occurs, the shifts will require an edit in Time & attendance > Approve Shifts. 

If your buisness requires a larger clocking window, the 'Maximum shift duration' will need to be updated. Please see our aritcle on Work Defaults, for further details. 

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