Clock-in & out

Timely captures clock-in/out at the moment of the shift so your timesheets aren't reconstructed Friday afternoon from memory. Two modes, both available from a paid plan up.

Two ways to clock in

Pick one or both per location — they're not mutually exclusive. Salaried staff with phones can punch via SMS link; floor staff who share a tablet at the worksite can use kiosk.

SMS-link mode (no app, no shared device)

Every employee who has SMS shift alerts enabled gets a one-tap link in the alert text. Tapping the link opens a punch page on their phone:

1. They see their name and the shift detail to confirm "yes, this is me."
2. The browser asks for location permission.
3. The page checks their GPS coords against the worksite location.
4. A time entry is written, and they see a "Clocked in at 9:03 AM" confirmation.

When they're done, the same link still works for clock-out for up to 4 hours after the scheduled shift end (configurable per location).

Identity proof: the link was delivered to the phone number on file. Phone possession = identity.

Location proof: browser geolocation. If they're outside the configured radius (default 100 m), the punch is still recorded but flagged in your Needs Review queue.

Kiosk mode (shared tablet, PIN entry)

For teams without smartphones — a tablet sits at the worksite running a roster page. Employee taps their name, enters a 4-digit PIN, done.

• Setup: Settings → Locations → edit a location → Clock-in & out → toggle "In-store kiosk" → Generate kiosk URL → paste into the tablet's browser and bookmark it.
• PINs: Set per employee under Team → edit employee → Kiosk PIN.
• Brute force: 5 wrong PINs locks the employee out for 15 minutes. Manager can reset the PIN to clear the lockout.
• No GPS: the kiosk is at the worksite by definition. We don't ask for browser geolocation on the kiosk page.

Setting up SMS-link mode

1. Settings → Locations → edit a location.
2. Scroll to Clock-in & out.
3. Toggle SMS link on.
4. Pin the worksite on the map so we know where "on-site" is. Search for the address; the map drops a pin. Drag the pin to fine-tune (e.g. the staff entrance, not the lobby).
5. Set the radius — default 100 m. A small office can drop to 50 m; a large building or campus might widen to 200–500 m.
6. Set the grace window — how long after the scheduled shift end the punch link stays valid. Default 4 hours.
7. Save.

From then on, every shift-alert SMS to that location includes the punch link automatically. No template edits required — if you customize your SMS template later, just include {clock_in.link} where you want the URL.

Setting up kiosk mode

1. Settings → Locations → edit a location → Clock-in & out → toggle In-store kiosk.
2. Click Generate kiosk URL. A signed URL appears in a copy field.
3. Open the URL on the device that'll live at the worksite. Bookmark it.
4. Set each employee's PIN under Team → edit employee → Kiosk PIN.

The kiosk URL is valid for 1 year. If a tablet is lost or stolen, hit Rotate URL (revoke old) in the same panel — the old URL stops working immediately. You'll need to re-pin the new URL on every kiosk device.

What gets recorded

Every clock-in writes a row to your timesheet with:

• Employee, location, org
• Clock-in timestamp (and clock-out when they finish)
• GPS coordinates and distance from worksite (SMS-link mode only)
• Method (sms_gps, kiosk, or manual for manager backfills)
• Whether the punch was inside the radius — drives the Needs Review tab on Timesheets

A manager can edit any entry from the Timesheets page; every edit is logged with the editor, timestamp, and a required reason for the audit trail.

Plan availability

Clock-in (both modes) is available on Starter and higher. The Free tier doesn't get it because Free doesn't include SMS — the punch link rides the same shift-alert SMS that Free users don't receive.