How clocking and timesheets work

Staff clock in and out on the iPhone. Each stretch of work becomes one timesheet. A manager approves the timesheets that need a look, and the approved ones are exported as a file for payroll.

Clocking

The app records four things: clocking in, starting a break, ending a break, and clocking out. It is done in the iPhone app only; there is no clock-in on the web. You can clock in at any location you work at, with or without a shift.

• Clock in and out on the phone
• Take a break
• Clock in away from the site

One timesheet per shift

A timesheet is not a form anyone fills in. It is worked out from the clock: a clock-in, the breaks after it and the clock-out that closes it. Its hours are clock-in to clock-out with the breaks taken off. When the clock-in matches a shift on a published rota, the timesheet shows the rota’s times beside the worked ones. See How the rota works and Publish the rota: a shift on a draft rota is not matched until the rota is published.

Where a timesheet stands

• On shift: clocked in, not yet clocked out.
• To approve: finished, and something about it was flagged.
• Approved: approved by a manager, or by itself (“· auto”) because nothing was flagged.
• Discarded: thrown out. Its hours do not count.
• Absent: not a timesheet, but a shift on the rota that ended with no clock-in. It becomes No-show or Sick once a manager says which.

What gets flagged

A clock-in or clock-out more than 15 minutes either side of the shift’s scheduled time; a clock-in with no shift; a clock-in from outside the site’s clock-in zone, or with the phone’s location off, where the location has a zone; a clock-out the app had to make because the person forgot; and a time entered by a manager. Everything else is approved without anyone pressing anything.

What managers do

On the web the page is Timesheets under Rota & team. On the phone it is Timesheets inside the Team tab. Both show one location, one week at a time.

• Approve timesheets, and take an approval back
• Edit a timesheet
• Add a timesheet by hand
• Fix a forgotten clock-out
• Discard a timesheet, or restore one
• Record a no-show or sickness

Nothing locks

An approved timesheet can still be edited, un-approved or discarded by someone with the permission. What Yes Chef does instead of locking is keep track: every change is in the timesheet’s History with a name and a time, an approved timesheet changed afterwards is marked Edited, and one changed after it went to payroll is marked Changed since export.

Payroll

There is no link to payroll software. The Export on the Timesheets page downloads the week’s approved timesheets as a CSV file, in one of four layouts, for you to pass on. See Export timesheets for payroll. Time off is separate: see How time off and holiday work.

Who can do what

These are the defaults. An Admin can switch each one on or off per person.

• Employees clock themselves in and out and take breaks. They have none of the permissions below, and cannot be given them.
• Supervisors start with “See timesheets and clock-ins”, “Edit clock-in and clock-out times”, “Approve clock-ins” and “Record no-shows and absences”. Either approving permission lets you approve a timesheet.
• Location Managers and Admins also start with “Approve timesheets”, “Export timesheets”, “See payroll and tips” and “Export payroll”. A Supervisor can be given any of these.