Occasionally, employees may run into issues when trying to clock in or out. The good news is that most clocking errors are easy to identify and resolve.
This guide covers the most common clocking issues and explains what to check when they occur.
Start with the clock log
The quickest way to investigate a clocking issue is by checking the clock log.
Go to:
Attendance > Clock log
Here you'll be able to see:
Successful clock-ins and clock-outs
Failed clocking attempts
Error messages shown to employees
Location and clocking details
This should always be your first stop when troubleshooting clocking problems.
Error: Outside the allowed radius
If you're using mobile clocking with location restrictions enabled, employees must be within the permitted clocking area before they can clock in.
My employee says they're on site. What should I check?
First, verify that the location's address and map pin are correct.
Sometimes the address is accurate, but the map pin is positioned in the wrong place. This can happen on large sites where the building is set back from the road.
Updating a location's map pin
To update a location:
Go to Settings > Locations
Edit the location
Move the map pin to the correct position
Save your changes.
The clocking radius is measured from this map pin.
Updating a Resource (job site) location
If you're using Resources:
Go to Resources
Select the resource
Move the map pin to the correct location
Save your changes.
The location is correct, but the employee still can't clock in?
The mobile app relies on the device's GPS.
Ask the employee to check that:
Location services are enabled
The app has permission to access their location
It can also help to completely close and reopen the app, which forces the GPS location to refresh.
Error: Missing suggested time or reason
If you're using the 'Clock-out outside radius' setting, employees can clock out after leaving the work site.
When doing so, they must provide:
The time they actually finished work
A reason for clocking out away from the site
If either of these is missing, the clock-out will fail.
The employee simply needs to enter the required information and try again.
Check the setting
To confirm this feature is switched on:
Go to Settings > Attendance
Check the 'Allow clocking out from anywhere' option is ticked.
Error: Employee isn't authorised to use a fixed terminal
If your fixed terminals are restricted to specific locations, employees may see:
"You are not authorised to perform this action."
This usually means their assigned location isn't linked to the terminal they're using.
How to check
Go to Attendance > Fixed terminals
Review the locations assigned to the terminal
Confirm that the employee's location is included
If required, either:
Add the location to an existing terminal, or
Create a new terminal for that location
Once updated, the employee should be able to clock in using their PIN.
Error: Invalid PIN
If an employee enters the wrong PIN, they won't be able to clock in.
To check an employee's PIN:
Open their employee profile
Go to Employment
Check their Time and Attendance PIN.
Important: Careful not to confuse the employee number with the Time & Attendance PIN. They're different values so won't necessarily match.
Employee clocked out, but the timesheet shows a missing end time
If a timesheet shows a missing end time, it's often because the employee selected Start Break instead of End Shift when clocking.
How to check
Open the time entry in the employee's timesheet
Click Log
The log will show which clocking action was selected.
How to reduce these errors
You can prevent employees from accidentally starting breaks when they don't have a scheduled break.
To enable this setting:
Go to Settings > Attendance
Under Restrictions, toggle on the option that only allows employees with scheduled breaks to use the break clocking feature.
Save your changes.
With this setting enabled, employees without scheduled breaks will only see options to clock in and clock out, helping to avoid mistakes.
Still having issues?
If the problem isn't covered above, check the clock log first. In most cases, it will show the exact reason the clocking attempt failed and point you towards the correct solution.