Automating Attendance Tracking with Zoho Cliq Developer Platform

Automating Attendance Tracking with Zoho Cliq Developer Platform

I wish remote work were permanently mandated so we could join work calls from a movie theatre or even while skydiving! But wait, it's time to wake up! The alarm has snoozed twice, and your team has already logged on for the day.



Keeping tabs on attendance shouldn't feel like guiding a flock of rebellious sheep. Hence, let's automate check-in and check-out notifications using the Zoho Cliq Platform Schedulers and the Zoho People API, eliminating the guesswork in attendance management and reducing the risk of errors associated with manual monitoring.

How does this solution benefit a business?

  1. Real-time reminders reduce instances of ghost check-ins and ensure accurate recording of everyone's logged hours.
  2. Essential for attendance tracking, payroll accuracy, compliance with labour laws, and audits.
  3. The entire team stays informed, fostering a cohesive workflow that eliminates the need for micromanagement.      
Pre-requisites:  

Before beginning to script the code below, we must create a connection in Cliq with Zoho People. Once a connection is created and connected, you can use it in Deluge integration tasks and invoke URL scripts to access data from the required service.

Create a Zoho People default connection with any unique name with the scopes - ZohoPeople.Attendance.ALL , ZohoPeople.forms.ALL and ZohoPeople.leave.ALL

ⓘ Document for reference : Connections in Cliq 

 

How to obtain or locate the channel unique name in Cliq?

  • Navigate to the top right corner of the channel and locate the three dots. Click it.

  • In the menu that appears, select "Channel info" and a pop-up will open, displaying detailed channel information.

Hover over the "Connectors" section and click it. Under "API Parameters," you will find the Channel ID and unique name.
We need to create two schedulers, specifically one for check-in and another for check-out.
  1. After a successful login in Cliq, hover to the top right corner and click your profile. Post clicking, navigate to Bots & Tools > Schedulers.
  2. On the right, click the "Create Scheduler" button.
  3. To learn more about schedulers and their purposes, refer to the Introduction to Schedulers.
  4. Create a scheduler using your preferred name. Specify the following details: the scheduler name and a description.  

  1. For the recurring period, choose the type "Weekly." Select Monday through Friday and set the time of execution to 11 AM or any other time that aligns with your company's check-in time, or customise the recurring period based on your specific use case.
  2. Finally, click "Save & edit code" and paste the following code.
  1. currentDate = zoho.currentdate;
  2. currentDateString = currentDate.toString("dd-MMM-yyyy");
  3. fromIndex = 1;
  4. toIndex = 200;
  5. // Get all active users
  6. users = zoho.people.getRecords("employee",fromIndex,toIndex,{},"{CONNECTION_LINK_NAME}");
  7. usersList = List();
  8. usersList.addAll(users);
  9. iterations = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25};
  10. // Get All Employees ( 4000 MAX )
  11. if(users.size() == 200)
  12. {
  13. for each  iteration in iterations
  14. {
  15. fromIndex = fromIndex + toIndex;
  16. toIndex = toIndex + 200;
  17. users = zoho.people.getRecords("employee",fromIndex,toIndex,{},"{CONNECTION_LINK_NAME}");
  18. if(users.size() > 0 && users.size() == 200)
  19. {
  20. usersList.addAll(users);
  21. }
  22. else if(users.size() > 0 && users.size() < 200)
  23. {
  24. usersList.addAll(users);
  25. break;
  26. }
  27. else
  28. {
  29. break;
  30. }
  31. }
  32. }
  33.  
  34. // Get all the employees checkedin from the morning.
  35. getAttendenceEntries = invokeurl
  36. [
  37. url :"https://people.zoho.com/api/attendance/fetchLatestAttEntries?duration=240"
  38. type :GET
  39. connection:"{CONNECTION_LINK_NAME}"
  40. ];
  41. latestAttendanceRecords = getAttendenceEntries.get("response").get("result");
  42. checkedInUsers = List();
  43. for each  userRecord in latestAttendanceRecords
  44. {
  45. checkedInEmployeeEmail = userRecord.get("emailId");
  46. checkedInUsers.add(checkedInEmployeeEmail);
  47. }
  48.  
  49. // Get all the employees who applied for leave both approved and pending ( Remove PENDING to exclude only the leave approved employees )
  50. leaveApprovedEmployees = invokeurl
  51. [
  52. url :"https://people.zoho.com/api/v2/leavetracker/leaves/records?from=" + currentDateString + "&to=" + currentDateString + "&dateFormat=dd-MMM-yyyy&approvalStatus=[APPROVED,PENDING]"
  53. type :GET
  54. connection:"{CONNECTION_LINK_NAME}"
  55. ];
  56. info  leaveApprovedEmployees;
  57. leaveApprovedEmployeesList = List();
  58. for each  member in leaveApprovedEmployees.get("records")
  59. {
  60. leaveApprovedEmployeesList.add(member.get("EmployeeId"));
  61. }
  62. info leaveApprovedEmployeesList;
  63.  
  64.  
  65. // Add the users to yet to checkin list if they are not checked from the morning and not applied for leave
  66. usersYetToCheckIn = list();
  67. for each  user in usersList
  68. {
  69. employeeEmail = user.get("EmailID");
  70. employeeId = user.get("EmployeeID");
  71.     employeeStatus = user.get("Employeestatus");
  72. if(!checkedInUsers.contains(employeeEmail) && !leaveApprovedEmployeesList.contains(employeeId) && employeeStatus.equals("Active"))
  73. {
  74. usersYetToCheckIn.add(employeeEmail);
  75. }
  76. }
  77.  
  78. // Mention the list of users in the channel.
  79. if(usersYetToCheckIn.size() == 0)
  80. {
  81. info "No users were found yet to checked-in at 11 PM today. Great to see everyone wrapping in on time! ✅";
  82. }
  83. else
  84. {
  85. usersYetToCheckInString = "";
  86. for each  user in usersYetToCheckIn
  87. {
  88. usersYetToCheckInString = usersYetToCheckInString + "[" + user + "](mail:" + user + ") \n";
  89. }
  90. usersYetToCheckInString = usersYetToCheckInString.subString(0,usersYetToCheckInString.length() - 2);
  91. response = Map();
  92. card = Map();
  93. card.put("title","Employees who haven’t checked in yet ( " + usersYetToCheckIn.size() + " )");
  94. card.put("thumbnail","https://i.pinimg.com/originals/85/e9/f3/85e9f3f5ac31fc5aab586e208297f43d.gif");
  95. card.put("theme","modern-inline");
  96. response.put("card",card);
  97. response.put("text",usersYetToCheckInString);
  98. info zoho.cliq.postToChannel("{CHANNEL_UNIQUE_NAME}",response);
  99. }

  1. Now, let's follow the same steps and create a scheduler for checkout reminders. Under the recurring period, choose the type as "Weekly." Select Monday through Friday and set the time of execution to 7 PM or any other time that aligns with your company's checkout time, or customise the recurring period based on your specific use case.
  2. Click "Save & edit code" and paste the following code.
  1. attendanceResponse = invokeurl
  2. [
  3. url :"https://people.zoho.com/api/attendance/fetchLatestAttEntries?duration=600"
  4. type :GET
  5. connection:"{CONNECTION_LINK_NAME}"
  6. ];
  7. info attendanceResponse;
  8. todayDate = zoho.currenttime.toString("YYYY-MM-dd");
  9. latestAttendanceRecords = attendanceResponse.get("response").get("result");
  10. usersWithoutCheckout = list();
  11. if(latestAttendanceRecords.size() > 0)
  12. {
  13. for each  userRecord in latestAttendanceRecords
  14. {
  15. userEmail = userRecord.get("emailId");
  16. dailyEntries = userRecord.get("entries");
  17. for each  dailyEntry in dailyEntries
  18. {
  19. if(dailyEntry.containsKey(todayDate))
  20. {
  21. todayEntryDetails = dailyEntry.get(todayDate);
  22. attendanceLogs = todayEntryDetails.get("attEntries");
  23. for each  logEntry in attendanceLogs
  24. {
  25. if(!logEntry.containsKey("checkOutTime"))
  26. {
  27. usersWithoutCheckout.add("{@" + userEmail + "}");
  28. }
  29. }
  30. }
  31. }
  32. }
  33. }
  34. usersWithoutCheckoutString = usersWithoutCheckout.toString("\n");
  35. if(usersWithoutCheckoutString.trim().length() == 0){
  36. usersWithoutCheckoutString = "No users were found checked-in after 7 PM today. Great to see everyone wrapping up on time! ✅";
  37. }
  38. response = Map();
  39. card = Map();
  40. card.put("title","List of users who remain checked in ( " + usersWithoutCheckout.size() + " )");
  41. card.put("thumbnail","https://media.tenor.com/Hd8nLZZTPRYAAAAi/alarm-clock-alarm.gif");
  42. card.put("theme","modern-inline");
  43. response.put("card",card);
  44. response.put("text",usersWithoutCheckoutString);
  45. info zoho.cliq.postToChannel("{CHANNEL_UNIQUE_NAME}",response);

Wrapping up and checking out for the day, hopefully

Whether you're from HR, tired of chasing attendance logs, or an enthusiastic team lead trying to increase your team's visibility and adjust workload accordingly, Cliq Platform's schedulers are essential and ensure that accurate tracking is consistent and compliance is maintained. Additionally, this would be scalable to handle organizations of any size.

If attendance tracking is a binge-watchable series, what plot twist would these reminders add to your team's script? Let us know in the comments below!

    • Sticky Posts

    • Automate attendance tracking with Zoho Cliq Developer Platform

      I wish remote work were permanently mandated so we could join work calls from a movie theatre or even while skydiving! But wait, it's time to wake up! The alarm has snoozed twice, and your team has already logged on for the day. Keeping tabs on attendance
    • Automating Employee Birthday Notifications in Zoho Cliq

      Have you ever missed a birthday and felt like the office Grinch? Fear not, the Cliq Developer Platform has got your back! With Zoho Cliq's Schedulers, you can be the office party-cipant who never forgets a single cake, balloon, or awkward rendition of
    • Customer payment alerts in Zoho Cliq

      For businesses that depend on cash flow, payment updates are essential for operational decision-making and go beyond simple accounting entries. The sales team needs to be notified when invoices are cleared so that upcoming orders can be released. In contrast,
    • Accelerate Github code reviews with Zoho Cliq Platform's link handlers

      Code reviews are critical, and they can get buried in conversations or lost when using multiple tools. With the Cliq Platform's link handlers, let's transform shared Github pull request links into interactive, real-time code reviews on channels. Share
    • App Spotlight : PagerDuty for Zoho Cliq

      App Spotlight brings you hand-picked apps to enhance the power of your Zoho apps and tools. Visit the Zoho Marketplace to explore all of our apps, integrations, and extensions. In today's fast-paced world, seizing every moment is essential for operational
      • Recent Topics

      • Zoho CRM App - Links

        Hi  Is there are plan for making Custom Links available in the Zoho CRM Android App? I can't see them being added? Thanks Gene
      • Templates

        Trying to sort out / get rid of unwanted invoice templates, the error msgs are not at all helpful. Surely it's easy to amend the error msg by including a list of the names of the customers / vendors that use it, denying deletion or making it inactive
      • Contacts limit in basic vs standard - what counts? Are customers contacts?

        I’ve been using books for a number years for my small business. I only ever work with 20 clients at any given time. I do purchase services from a number of vendors to run my business, so there are some comtacts there too. I used to use the basic package,
      • Finding missing records

        I have a challenge and I am not really sure where to start with it. I can't find any similar threads on here, can anyone help: I have two forms, FormA and FormB. Both forms have records that contain a field called Job_Number. What I am trying to achieve
      • Updates for Zoho Campaigns: Merge tag, footer, and autoresponder migration

        Hello everyone, We'd like to inform you of some upcoming changes with regard to Zoho Campaigns. We understand that change can be difficult, but we're dedicated to ensuring a smooth transition while keeping you all informed and engaged throughout the process.
      • What's New in Zoho Inventory | August – October 2025

        Hello customers, The last quarter has been incredibly productive! We've released a powerful slate of new features and enhancements in Zoho Inventory designed to give you better control, greater efficiency, and expanded functionality across your inventory
      • Let's Talk Recruit: Meet Zia, your all-in-one AI assistant (Part-2)

        Welcome back to Let’s Talk Recruit series. In Part 1, we introduced Zia and how AI is reshaping the way recruiters work. This time, we’re taking a closer look at how far Zia has come and how each update continues to simplify your everyday tasks. When
      • Zoho Developer - Feature Request Platform

        Zoho Developer is one of the most underatted platform in zoho ecosystem, however, it may just be what zoho needs to welcome more people to use Zoho Services. The more developers you have creating zoho creator applications and zoho extensions the more
      • Last/Previous month in relative date filter

        In the relative date filter, what is the difference between "Last 2 months" and "Previous 2 months"? So, if we are on 25-July, then is my understanding correct of the following: Last 2 months :=:      25-May~24 July Previous 2 months :=:     01-May~30-June Thanks.
      • Tags get removed from notes on mobile

        I don't know why this keeps happening even after all these app updates but if you log out and log back into the app or you reinstall it, all the tags you assigned to your notes get taken off, but if you go on the desktop version the tags are still there.
      • Introducing Lead Capture: Empower exhibitors to capture leads effortlessly

        Events provide a great opportunity for exhibitors to generate awareness and engage with potential customers. Efficiently distributing attendee information to exhibitors through a seamless and secure way is of paramount importance. Introducing Lead Capture
      • Work Order Creation Issue

        Dear Team, I would like to inquire about the daily limit for Work Order creation in Zoho FSM. Yesterday (02/05/2025) at around 6:30 PM GST, I attempted to create a Work Order, but I have been unable to do so since then. Please find the attached image
      • URGENT: ChatGPT Extension Failing With “gpt-3 Access Error” (Priority Support)

        Appreciate support reviewing this urgently. I am a Priority Support member and need immediate clarification on a recurring issue involving the ChatGPT extensions inside Zoho Desk. Both extensions — including the version created and published by Zoho —
      • Zoho Desk iOS update: Custom buttons, follow/ unfollow option on tickets

        Hello everyone! In the most recent Zoho Desk iOS app update, we have brought in support to access the custom buttons configured on web app(desk.zoho.com). Using custom buttons you can seamlessly execute predefined actions directly from their mobile devices,
      • Zoho pdf suit

        Pl. design products with following feature: 1. Please add all features given in Ilovepdf website to work on pdf files. It is mandatory to use pdf in court work. 2. Courts have prescribed New Times Roman, pl. add this font as well 3. Indexing, signature
      • Zoho Not Working

        Today Zoho not wokring
      • Dynamically autofill fields with URL parameters

        I have a zoho form embedded in my organization's WP website. Our users find their account with a search tool, and then can select to open this page with the embedded form. The URL of the page holds the parameter that I need, but I cannot figure out how
      • Integrate Projects for Desk KB article release tasks

        Could you please look into the possibility of integrating project tasks for Zoho Desk article release processes? We are looking for an internal integration between Zoho Projects and Zoho Desk's KB article drafting, reviewing and releasing tasks. We could
      • Issue in Annual Leave

        We created a policy to credit 21 days at the Start of the Year An employee has taken 16 days of leaves thought the year, so we expect to see 5 Leaves remaining right? But Zoho People is Showing 12 Days of Leave Balance Available If we check the Leave
      • Use the searchBy parameter to find user by email address

        I'm trying to find a user is Zoho Desk via the Api. In the documentation I see that there is the possibility to add a searchBy parameter in the request. But I can't find how the search values should be formatted. I've tried multiple things and get either
      • Zoho CRM Community Digest - September 2025 | Part 2

        Hello Everyone! Mid-September vibes: fresh tips, smart hacks, and practical Zoho CRM updates all in one place. Let’s dive in. Product Updates: The All-New Address Field! The new Address field type makes it easier to capture complete addresses in one structured
      • Zoho Vault API: Create new Secrets

        Hello, I attempt to Post Secrets to the vault, since the encrypted entries are almost impossible to decrypt, since there is no documentation on how to decrypt them. Like with the lack of documentation on how to descrypt, there are missing information regarding on how to create new secrets/post secrets. Source: https://www.zoho.com/vault/api/#create-a-new-secret When I try to send JSON Informationen as a POST-Request I only receive the error message: {     "operation": {         "result": {             "error_code": "",
      • CRM and Finance Tab - Add Invoice "Subject " Column

        When On a contact in CRM, and you click the Zoho Finace tab, how can I put in the invoice subject line? Or even a custom field for this.  We need to see what that invoice is for, without opening it.   If we have tons of invoices we need a way to quick
      • Collections Management: #4 Before, During & After Payment Processing

        "Mark, I think the payment link isn't working. Can you send it again?" Staring at a message, Mark got on his phone. This was the third time the same customer had asked him that week. A few minutes later, another message came, "Hey, the invoice total seems
      • Account name not populating when importing contacts

        When importing a csv file to add contacts the account name is blank? Every other filed gets mapped and imported correctly, i.e contact name, phone number. However not the account name which I have mapped to "company" field in my csv file
      • Suggestion to improve zoho writer

        I am using your product, I believe it is very useful, however, i was writing a note and I needed to draw an arrow in different angles to explain a point and I couldn't. it would be helpful, to add draw functions to the zoho writer. thanks
      • webhook basic authentication

        II want to use a webhook to send out a SMS. Unfortunately Twilio does not use an authToken but basic authentication. I created the webhook as POST and get this url: https://{username}:{password}@api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{account}/Messages?body=<BODY>&to=+155555555&from=+1555555555
      • Custom function return type

        Hi, How do I create a custom deluge function in Zoho CRM that returns a string? e.g. Setup->Workflow->Custom Functions->Configure->Write own During create or edit of the function I don't see a way to change the default 'void' to anything else. Adding
      • Issue with Hour Calculation in Zoho People Attendance Module

        I have noticed an issue in the attendance regularization feature of Zoho People. When trying to regularize past dates, the total working hours are not calculated correctly. For example, if I enter a check-in and check-out time for a previous day, the
      • Push Notification for New Bookings in Zoho Bookings App

        when a someone schedules an appointment through the booking page, is there any option to receive a push notification in the mobile app?
      • Automation in Zoho Sprints

        Hi. I have a Sprints board with the following statuses: ToDo, InProgress, CodeReview, Testing, Preprod, Live When a ticket is moved from e.g. Testing to Preprod, the following tags should be modified: remove 'tested OK' remove 'ready for Preprod' add
      • Export Purchase orders as Excel

        Is it possible to export purchase orders as excel rather than PDF? Our suppliers don't want orders made in PDF, they need it to be excel
      • Draft & Schedule Emails Directly in Bigin

        Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're happy to announce a few recent enhancements we've made to email in Bigin. We'll go over each one in detail, but here's a quick overview: Previously, you couldn't draft or schedule emails in Bigin, but
      • TDS Filing

        Is there any option for automatic 26Q and 24Q filing in Zoho books. Even Tally has this option. Why don't Zoho has this ? Is there any customisation available for this ?
      • Zia’s AI Assist now helps you write clearer notes — in seconds

        After helping recruiters craft job descriptions, emails, and assessments, Zia’s AI Assist is now stepping in to make note-taking effortless too. Whether you’re recording feedback after an interview or sharing quick updates with your team, you can now
      • Shortcut to fill a range of cells

        Good evening: I'm writing because I haven't been able to find a feature that allows you to select a range of cells, type in one of them, and then use a key combination to type in all of them. In Excel, the keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+Enter. I haven't found
      • Object required error

        Hi, I am getting an 'Object required' error on the line Call HideColumnsOutsideRange(ws, startOfWeek, endOfWeek) when I run the ShowCurrentWeek macro but not when I run the ShowCurrentMonth macro. Any ideas? Regards, GW Option Explicit Sub HideColumnsOutsideRange(ws
      • Zoho CRM - Rename "Estimates" in CRM Finance Suite Integration to "Quotes"

        I'm not sure if it's been 2 or 3 years now since Zoho Books renamed Estimates to Quotes. I still see "Estimates" in the Zoho CRM integration. Could this be added to Translation settings so that some customisation could be made on an account by account
      • Its 2022, can our customers log into CRM on their mobiles? Zoho Response: Maybe Later

        I am a long time Zoho CRM user. I have just started using the client portal feature. On the plus side I have found it very fast and very easy (for someone used to the CRM config) to set up a subset of module views that make a potentially extremely useful
      • New Series Announcement - Ecommerce Marketing Tips

        Running an online business is more than just having a website. It’s about getting the right customers to discover you, trust you, and keep coming back. To support your growth journey, we’re launching a weekly Marketing Tips series right here on Zoho Commerce
      • Next Page