Tip 22: How to allow employees to check in and out, and then automatically calculate their total work hours
Hi everyone,
Keeping accurate track of employee hours is crucial to smoothly running business. So this week, we wanted to go over how you can automate this whole process using Zoho Creator. With this tip, you'll learn how to set up a page that will make it easy for your employees to check in and out, and help you track their work hours on a daily basis.
To do this, let's create a sample application called Attendance App, and show you how you can use it to track the total work hours of each of your employees.
Application flow
- Employees can check in and out by simply clicking on a button
- Once the employee checks out, the total working hours will be calculated and updated in the admin report
- Managers and administrators can then monitor the total work hours of each employee on a daily basis
To do this, we need to create the following components:
- Attendance form used to record the check in and check out times
- Dashboard with check in and check out buttons, and two reports
- A way for users to be given access to the application
- A report for employees to view their check-in and check-out times
- A report where the admin can view the details of all employees
Step 1: Create the attendance form
First, we need to create the attendance form to record the times. This form can be hidden, as the check-ins and check-outs are automatically recorded by clicking on the buttons on the page.
Fields on the attendance form:
- Email (Email field)
- Check-in time (Date-Time field)
- Check-out time (Date-Time field)
- Total time (Single line field)
- Status (Drop down field)
Step 2: Create functions for the check in and check out buttons
Now, let's create the two functions we need to record the check-in and check-out times. All you need to do is go to Workflows, click New Functions, and add some code snippets.
Function 1: To record the check-in time
The Check In button on the page calls a function, which adds a record to the attendance form. Use the below code to create the checkintime function:
- void login.checkintime()
- {
- fet = Attendance_form[Check_in_time == today &&Email == zoho.loginuserid];
- // This condition is to prevent an employee from checking in multiple times on the same day.
- if(fet.count() == 0)
- {
- new = insert into Attendance_form
- [
- Added_User=zoho.loginuser
- Email=zoho.loginuserid
- Check_in_time=zoho.currenttime
- Status="Checked In"
- ];
- } .
- // This adds a record in the attendance form, which captures the logged-in employee's email and the current time, and sets the status as "Checked In".
- openUrl("https://app.zohocreator.com/ownername/attendance-app/report-embed/User_report?zc_SecHeader=false&Email=" + zoho.loginuserid,"iframe","zohoview");
- // OpenURL will help you refresh the user-based report (embedded in the page) to display only the login-based entries.
- }
Function 2: To record the check-out time
Now, let's create a function that helps us record the check-out time. The Check Out button captures the check-out time, fetches the record containing the check-in time of the corresponding user, and calculates the total working time, which is the difference between the check-out and check-in times in the hours:minutes format.
- void login.checkouttime()
- {
- fet = Attendance_form[Check_in_time == today && Check_out_time == null && Email == zoho.loginuserid];
- //This condition checks the record based on the logged-in user and today's date, which has the check-out time as null. It avoids multiple check-outs and ensures the record is added by the corresponding user.
- if(fet.ID > 0)
- {
- fet.Check_out_time=zoho.currenttime;
- mil_sec = (fet.Check_out_time - fet.Check_in_time);
- actual_minutes = mil_sec / (1000 * 60);
- //1000 -> mill sec to sec, 60 -> sec to min
- mins = actual_minutes.toLong() % 60;
- // % 60 -> Exclude Hours
- hours = (actual_minutes / 60).toLong();
- // 60 -> min to hour, % 24 (optional) -> Exclude Days
- time_string = hours + " : " + mins;
- fet.Total_time=time_string;
- fet.Status="Checked Out";
- }
- else
- {
- // This part handles cases where the user checks in for a night shift, and by the time they check out, the date will have changed. In this case, we use zoho.currentdate.subDay(1) to get the previous date's record. This will be executed only if there isn't any matching record for today's date.
- fet1 = Attendance_form[Check_in_time == zoho.currentdate.subDay(1) && Check_out_time == null && Email == zoho.loginuserid];
- if(fet1.ID > 0)
- {
- fet1.Check_out_time=zoho.currenttime;
- mil_sec = (fet1.Check_out_time - fet1.Check_in_time);
- actual_minutes = mil_sec / (1000 * 60);
- //1000 -> mill sec to sec, 60 -> sec to min
- mins = actual_minutes.toLong() % 60;
- // % 60 -> Exclude Hours
- hours = (actual_minutes / 60).toLong();
- // 60 -> min to hour, % 24 (optional) -> Exclude Days
- time_string = hours + " : " + mins;
- fet1.Total_time=time_string;
- fet1.Status="Checked Out";
- }
- }
- openUrl("https://app.zohocreator.com/<workspaceName>/attendance-app/report-embed/User_report?zc_SecHeader=false&Email=" + zoho.loginuserid,"iframe","zohoview");
- // And this code refreshes the user-based report on the page to display the filtered login-based record with the updated check-out time and the total time.
Step 3: Add the buttons to the dashboard and link them to the functions
Once you've created both functions, you need to create two buttons—Check In and Check Out—on your dashboard, and link the function to these buttons. When a user clicks on them the function is executed and the time is captured.
To do that follow these steps:
- Go to the page builder.
- Drag and drop a button onto the page builder, and you'll see a new window appear, where you can add other elements.
- Choose the Action type you want to perform—in this case, Execute function.
- Choose the function that needs to be executed (refer to the screenshot below).
- Create both buttons and repeat these steps.
Step 4: Add the reports to the dashboard
Admin dashboard:
To track employee working hours
This dashboard will help the admin keep track of employee work hours. Apart from the two buttons on the page, there are two reports, which are embedded using an HTML snippet.
- The list report will dynamically display records based on the logged-in user (for example: if Employee A is logged in, they can only view their own times).
- The Kanban report will list all the users who've checked in on that day, and it can only be viewed by the admins of the application.
Now let's embed these two reports on the dashboard. To do that, we need to drag and drop the HTML snippet onto the page builder and write the script below:
- <%
- {
- a = "https://app.zohocreator.com/ownername/attendance-app/report-embed/User_report?zc_SecHeader=false&Email=" + zoho.loginuserid;
- %>
- <iframe name='zohoview' height='400' width='100%' frameborder='0' scrolling='Auto' src='<%=a%>'></iframe>
- <%
- if(zoho.loginuserid == zoho.adminuserid)
- {
- %>
- <div elName='zc-component' viewLinkName='Admin' params='zc_Header=true'>
- Loading View...</div>
- <%
- }
- }
- %>
In the code above, we're embedding the user report using an iframe, so that the user report (iframe) is automatically refreshed after a user clicks on Check In or Check Out. We've also hidden the secondary header present on the user report by setting up zc_SecHeader=false to prevent users from manually adding or modifying the record from the report. The logged-in user filter can be directly applied on the report, or by using the parameter "Email=" + zoho.loginuserid" in the URL.
The admin report is added using a DIV tag, and is displayed only to the account's super admin using the if condition. if(zoho.loginuserid == zoho.adminuserid)
If required, we can add other non-admin emails using the criteria below to make the admin report available for those particular users:
The admin will also have the option to check out users, in case they forget at the end of their shift.
Admin report
The Kanban report is created using the status field, which is a dropdown field, and you can add the code in On Update of the Status Field.For example, when the admin drags the record from the Check in time column to the Check out time column, the user will be automatically checked out.
You need to choose Edited for Run when a record is while creating the workflow.
Below is the script you need to write in On Update of the Status Field, so that when the record is dragged and dropped to the Check out time column on the Kanban report, the check-out time will be captured.
- if(input.Status == "Checked Out" && input.Check_out_time == null)
- {
- input.Check_out_time = zoho.currenttime;
- mil_sec = (input.Check_out_time - input.Check_in_time);
- actual_minutes = mil_sec / (1000 * 60);
- //1000 -> mill sec to sec, 60 -> sec to min
- mins = actual_minutes.toLong() % 60;
- // % 60 -> Exclude Hours
- hours = (actual_minutes / 60).toLong();
- // 60 -> min to hour, % 24 (optional) -> Exclude Days
- time_string = hours + " : " + mins;
- input.Total_time = time_string;
- }
We've also added a filter to the admin report, that will allow the admin to view all the employees who checked in and out for the day. And, if required, you can edit it by week or month, depending on your requirements.
Note: We will soon roll out the hoursBetween function, which can be used to find the difference between the check in and check out times. This function will return the difference of hours between the given start and end date-time values.
We hope this tip was useful for you! If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below, and we'll be happy to address them for you!
Access your files securely from anywhere
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Sejal Dattani
Muhammad Umar Akram
Sejal Dattani
jsantander
akshay motihar
Sticky Posts
ANZ In-Person Zoho User Group Meetups: Focusing on Zoho Creator & Zoho Flow (September 2024)
Hello, Zoho Community! Calling all Zoho users in Australia! We're thrilled to announce the next series of Zoho User Group (ZUG) Meetups, continuing the success of our previous sessions. These meetups are a great opportunity to learn, network, and engage[SESSION ENDED] Ask the Experts #07| Live Q&A: Building workflows with Blueprint in Zoho Creator |
Hello, Post the release of Zoho Creator Blueprint last month, we're happy to tell you that we'll be launching a new 'Ask the Experts' session on 16th September (Thursday) this month focussing on creating blueprints in Zoho Creator. The session will beZoho Creator Community Webinars | October - November 2020 [Completed]
Hello everyone, I’m happy to announce that Zoho Creator is hosting a new Community Webinar Series starting this October. This series is a learning initiative aimed at our developer community, where every session will take spotlight use cases focused onCommunity Learning Webinar - Zoho Creator Blueprint & other release updates | July 29, 2021
Dear developers, This June, the Creator team unveiled a slew of updates including UI enhancements to the Detail View of reports, an new capabilities in Data Import and Connections, and most important of all, the release of Blueprint in Creator. CustomizeCommunity Learning Webinar: Delve deep into the core concepts of Zoho Creator | 17th June, 2021
Dear developers, Every customer has unique business needs and unique problems to solve. To be able to give solutions to these problems, to get over any stumbling blocks and to be able to build applications expeditiously that tailor to specific needs,
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
Zoho CRM Plus Resources
Zoho Books Resources
Zoho Subscriptions Resources
Zoho Projects Resources
Zoho Sprints Resources
Qntrl Resources
Zoho Creator Resources
Zoho CRM Resources
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
Has CSS Changed for Common Elements?
I noticed today that the standard title headings on my Forms and Reports display smaller in size than before. Google Dev Tools (attached), seems to confirm my suspicion. Something appears to be overriding the 1.375rem to 1.125rem. The font size on theText field alignment
Is it possible to align text in the text field? Or even better, is there a possibility to have a field which accepts only numbers?email moderation issue when email is sent in the name of a mail group
Symptom: an email that is sent by a mail group moderator in the name of a moderated mail group is held back for approval. Reproduction: Create a moderated mail group with members and moderators. Allow that mails can be sent in the name of the group (extendedPipeline in Custom Modules
I love the way the Sales Pipeline looks and functions with reports. I would like to add the save pipeline features and visualization to a custom module, however, I only see that these pipelines are only available for the Deals module. Is there a way to add pipelines to custom modules?Tip #53- Remote Billing: Your End-to-End Billing Solution in Zoho Assist- 'Insider Insights'
Manual invoicing, after every remote support session, can be time-consuming and often error-prone. As an MSP, IT admin, or even a freelance support technician, it may become overwhelming to keep track of session time, service rates, and client invoices.Record history and ticket interaction tab in contacts and accounts
Hello everyone! We have improved the History tab to help users trace updates in the interaction activity logs of the Contacts and Accounts detail pages in the Customer Module. This enhancement make it easier to get clear details about who made each update,sync views to sheet
Im looking to sync my views aka reports in analytics to zoho sheets, when data is updated in analytics it also should be updated in sheets, till now zoho sheets only offer raw data connection and it is not enough as these reports are difficult to re-doIs there an API to "File a Ticket" in Desk
Hi, Is there an API to "File a Ticket" in Desk to zoho projects?Keyboard UX for Assemblies
The new Assembly module has a counter-intuitive behavior that ought to be corrected. When an Assembly is ready to be entered, there are two options given, the blue-highlighted "Assemble" and the gray "Save as Draft". This correctly implies that the normalMapping a new Ticket in Zoho Desk to an Account or Deal in Zoho CRM manually
Is there any way for me to map an existing ticket in Zoho desk to an account or Deal within Zoho CRM? Sometimes people use different email to put in a ticket than the one that we have in the CRM, but it's still the same person. We would like to be ableHow to Move Behavior, Acquisition, Polls & Forms Data from Zoho PageSense to Zoho Analytics?
Hi Zoho Community, I'm looking for a way to transfer data from Zoho PageSense to Zoho Analytics, specifically: Behavioral data (clicks, scrolls, heatmaps, etc.) Acquisition data (traffic sources, campaigns, etc.) Polls and forms data As far as I can tell:Why can't I see images uploaded by other users in the Library for Campaigns
We are several users of zoho Campaign. I have uploaded visuals of our company, but my team members can't see them.zoho sheet stuck
I Need help. ZOHO sheets stuck on the loading screen. I've already deleted the system cache and cookies of my browser (google chrome) but it's still not opening.Tip of the Week #78 – Cut response time with multichannel shared inboxes
If you’ve ever felt your team juggling between multiple email accounts, social pages, and chat apps just to reply to customers, you’re not alone. Managing conversations in multiple channels can quickly turn messy. Important messages across inboxes, repliesNeed a way to run a client script longet than 10 seconds
By The Grace of G-D. Hi, Currently, Client Scripts are Timing out at 10 seconds. We have complex logics that needs more time. Can you add a feature request to increase the timeout?FSM Improvement Idea - Show an Import button when there is no data
I am setting up FSM for a client and I noticed that there is no option to import data, see screenshot below. Even when you click Create Contact there is only an option to Import from Zoho Invoice. It is only after you add at lease 1 record that the ImportUnable to Send Different Email Templates for Different Documents in Zoho Sign
Hello Zoho Community, I am facing a limitation with Zoho Sign regarding email notifications sent to customers when a document is sent for signing. Currently, whenever I send any template/document for signing, the email notification that goes to the customerTimeline Tracking Support for records updates via module import and bulk write api
Note: This update is currently available in Early Access and will soon be rolled out across all data centers (DCs) and for all editions of Zoho CRM. The update will be available to all users within your organization, regardless of their profiles or roles.UI Improvement - Ability to Collapse Flow
The UI for Flow is generally pretty good. However, when multiple decision trees are used, the layout can get pretty convoluted and hard-to-follow (see one of my Flows below): In these cases, even the auto-arrange fails to make this something that a normalTasks Statuses
Hi, The task status "Completed" is a final status which closes the task. We need to have a status "Cancelled". However, when the status is set to "Cancelled", the task prompt still has a blue button to Close Task. When the customer clicks that and closesAdd Lookup Field in Tasks Module
Hello, I have a need to add a Lookup field in addition to the ones that are already there in the Tasks module. I've seen this thread and so understand that the reason lookup fields may not be part of it is that there are already links to the tables (Create New Tasks Layout in CRM
I am able to do this in Leads, Contacts, Meetings, Calls - every other module, but cannot create a new layout in tasks. I have the appropriate access but it's simply not appearing as an option. Only "Standard" option shows. Please help!Whatsapp Connection Status still "Pending" after migration
Hello, I migrated my WhatsApp API to Zoho from another provider a day ago. So far the connection status is still “Pending”. There is a problem? How long does it usually take?Using IMAP configuration for shared email inboxes
Our customer service team utilizes shared email boxes to allow multiple people to view and handle incoming customer requests. For example, the customer sends an email to info@xxxx.com and multiple people can view it and handle the request. How can I configureAuto-sync field of lookup value
This feature has been requested many times in the discussion Field of Lookup Announcement and this post aims to track it separately. At the moment the value of a 'field of lookup' is a snapshot but once the parent lookup field is updated the values diverge.Zoho Recruit Subscription
Hello Zoho Recruit Team, Good day! I would like to inquire about your recruitment subscription plans and would also like to verify the current subscription our company is enrolled in under Zoho Recruit. Thank you, and I look forward to your response.Keyboard shortcut M key
I'm trying to customize my keyboard shortcuts and assign the "m" key. But it says the key is already assigned. I've looked through all my shortcuts and can't see any assigned "m". When I select an email and press the M key, nothing happens. What is theIs it possible to create a meeting in Zoho Crm which automatically creates a Google Meet link?
We are using Google's own "Zoho CRM for Google" integration and also Zoho's "Google Apps Sync" tools, but none of them provide us with the ability to create a meeting in Zoho CRM that then adds a Google Meet link into the meeting. Is this something thatEnsure Consistent Service Delivery with Comprehensive Job Sheets
We are elated to announce that one of the most requested features is now live: Job Sheets. They are customizable, reusable forms that serve as a checklist for the services that technicians need to carry out and as a tool for data collection. While onBill automation in Zoho Books
Hi I am looking for 3rd-party options for bill automation in zoho which are economical and preferably have accurate scanning. What options do I have? Zoho's native scanning is a bit priceyAutomatic Portal invite
We have numerous customers we move through a blueprint in deals, when they get to a certain point we need to give them portal access, how can this be done through deluge or a workflow? Latest Update (December 2025): The option to automate portal invitationsMarketer's Space: Why mobile optimization deserves a place in your email strategy
Hello Marketers, Welcome back to Marketer's Space! Today, we'll talk about the importance of creating mobile-friendly email designs. While mobile phones were once used only to make phone calls, today they're used for almost everything, including texting,Enhancements in Canvas
Dear All, Greetings! Canvas lets you design the record details page to suit your brand or business preferences. We are glad to introduce the following enhancements to uplift your design experience. Reusable Components Style Presets Let's go! ReusableIntroducing Dark Mode / Light Mode : A New Look For Your CRM
Hello Users, We are excited to announce a highly anticipated feature - the launch of Day, Night and Auto Mode implementation in Zoho CRM's NextGen user interface! This feature is designed to provide a visually appealing and comfortable experience forABN with Legal Entity Name
Hi, How can I execute this? The ABN number is entered in Accounts Module and ideally, it should display or suggest the correct Legal Entity Name based on the ABN lookup. ex. Account Name: JPG Resources ABN Number: 65 067 761 871 Legal Entity Name: (autoZoho Cliq not working on airplanes
Hi, My team and I have been having this constant issue of cliq not working when connected to an airplane's wifi. Is there a reason for this? We have tried on different Airlines and it doesn't work on any of them. We need assistance here since we are constantlyUnify Overlapping Functionalities Across Zoho Products
Hi Zoho One Team, We would like to raise a concern about the current overlap of core functionalities across various Zoho applications. While Zoho offers a rich suite of tools, many applications include similar or identical features—such as shift management,Detailed Account Reports - Add Running Balance
When one clicks into an account from a report (say P/L or Balance Sheet), the default reports have the Debit, Credit, and then the Amount. The Amount column (last one) is duplicate information. It would be far better and fit more peoples' use cases ifIssue: Ticket Export Does Not Include Ticket Threads
Dear Zoho Desk Support Team, I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to bring to your attention that the current ticket export feature in Zoho Desk does not seem to include the ticket threads or conversation history. When exporting tickets, only the summaryPushover Notification Module
Hello, it would be good if there would be a "Pushover" (https://pushover.net/) module besides the standard SMS module. Pushover is now very well known, especially in IT, and is becoming more and more popular. The biggest advantage are the customizableNext Page