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Clock times import

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Import and manage employee clock times from external clocking systems

The Clock Times Import feature is a great timesaving tool. Its primary purpose is to help customers using external clocking systems to effortlessly add captured times to Approve Shifts.

The imported times go straight into Approve Shifts and the Clock Log, so you won't have to spend time manually editing shifts.

Benefits of using the Clock Times Import include:

  • Clock settings and automations also apply to imported clock times
  • Salaried employees' times can be captured and added to the Clock Log
  • You can create unassigned shifts if your employees are called in
  • Imported clock times won’t overwrite times recorded by other clocking methods

In this article, we will cover:

  • Enabling the Clock Times Import for your platform
  • Exporting shift data and using the Clock Times Import
  • Relevant Data validation fields for this import 

  To learn more about streamlining or automating your shift approvals, please refer to our article on Clock Settings, here.

Enable the clock times import

Want to make things easier? If you're using an external clocking system, just import those times—it's a total time-saver. The Clock Times Import is optional and disabled by default.

If you use any of the various timekeeping methods offered by foundU, there's no need to enable this setting. 

  Please note: Enabling the Clock Import is a platform-wide setting that cannot be overridden per Operation, unlike other Clock Settings. 
 

To enable the Clock Times Import:

  1. From the main menu, navigate to Platform Settings > Clock Settings.
  2. Locate the 'Allow clocked times to be imported' setting and select 'Yes'.
  3. To save your changes, select Save from the taskbar. 

Import clock times

The Clock Times Import is a highly useful tool designed to streamline the process of uploading recorded clock times directly to shifts on the Approve Shift page. 

If you're considering using the Clock Times Import, please review the following information:

  • Unpublished shifts from the roster cannot be used in the import
  • You can add only 1 paid break and 1 unpaid break
  • The import will not overwrite any times entered through other clocking methods
  • If shifts are already approved or declined, importing clock times won't update the shift's approved times

There are 2 ways you can use this import, which one you use will depend on your rostering needs. 

  • If your shifts and employees don't regularly change:
    • You can download a blank Clock Import CSV, then add your times to it.
    • As the employees don't change, you can use this as a template and update it as needed.  
  • If your shifts and employees vary:
    •  You can use the Approve Shifts CSV export to gather the necessary shift data.  
    • Copy this data and add clock times to the Clock Times CSV file, then upload it.
       

Export shift details

When using the Clock Times Import CSV, you don't have to use the Approve Shifts export to complete the document. However, if you choose to use the Approve Shifts CSV export to gather your shift details. Select the following options:

  • Employee ID
  • Employee Name (Optional)
  • Roster ID
  • Rostered Start Date

  Hot tip: Since this will be your regular selection, save your selection as a template by toggling 'Save as template' and naming it. This will streamline your process for future uses.

If you require an Employee ID to include an unrostered shift in your Clock Times Import, you can get this information from the People and Operation Exports. This can also be used to capture the Operation ID. 
 

Import clock times

The next step is to gather your data into a single CSV file and import it. You can choose to do this weekly, all at once, or just add the day's data daily as part of your routine. 

  Permission Reminder: Your admins will require the 'Access CSV Import' permission to use the Clock Times Import. 
 

To begin your import:

  1. Navigate to the main menu > Import/ Export > CSV Import.
  2. From the dropdown menu,  select Clock Times.
  3. Download a blank CSV file by selecting Download Blank File. 

      Hot tip: The Get Field Definitions button is a helpful tool that provides a list of required formatting for each column in the CSV. Mandatory fields are marked with a (*).
  4. Then, add the data from the Approve Shifts CSV Export and the Clock Times from your external system.
  5. To upload your completed CSV, select the Choose file button or drag and drop the file.
  6. Select Import CSV.

Please note: There may be a slight delay between importing your clock times and their appearance in Approve Shifts. 

Data validation

When importing data into foundU, the data must be provided in the correct format. Below, you will find all the information required about the included columns of this import and the accepted formats for editable data.

 Please note: The bold rows in the table below denote mandatory columns in your export. 

Column Name Column definition Editable Accepted format
Date Date of the shift. Y dd/mm/yyyy, d/m/yyyy
Employee ID Unique identifier for the employee.  Y Numerical
Employee Name Employee's full name.  Y N/A
Operation Unique identifier for the Operation. Y Numerical
Roster Unique identifier for the Roster.  Y Numerical
Clock in The time the employee clocked in.  Y hh:mm
Clock out The time the employee clocked out.  Y hh:mm
Unpaid break start The start time of the unpaid break.  Y hh:mm
Unpaid break end The end time of the unpaid break. Y hh:mm
Paid break start The start time of the paid break. Y hh:mm
Paid break end The end time of the paid break.  Y hh:mm

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