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Time Tracking

Admin

Brother POS includes a built-in time tracking system for monitoring employee work hours. Employees clock in and out directly from the POS register, and managers can review time records in the admin panel.

Time tracking entries

Feature flag required

Time tracking is only available when Enable Time Tracking (enable_time_tracking) is enabled in your store settings. Navigate to Settings > Edit Settings > Operations tab and toggle on Enable Time Tracking.

Time Tracking Settings​

The Operations tab of your store settings exposes a few options that control how the clock behaves store-wide. They appear once Enable Time Tracking is on.

SettingWhat it does
Break trackingWhich break buttons appear on the time clock. Choose Paid & unpaid breaks (the default), Unpaid breaks only, Paid breaks only, or No breaks (hides break buttons entirely).
Auto clock-out after (hours)Automatically closes any shift left open past this many hours, so a forgotten clock-out records a sensible length instead of running indefinitely. 0 = off. A common value is 16.

Configurable Break Tracking​

By default the clock offers both a Paid Break and an Unpaid Break button. If your store only uses one kind of break -- or none at all -- set Break tracking accordingly:

  • Paid & unpaid breaks -- both buttons shown side by side.
  • Unpaid breaks only / Paid breaks only -- a single full-width break button.
  • No breaks -- no break buttons; staff clock in and out only.

This setting applies everywhere the clock appears, including the login-screen Time Clock on the POS.

Auto Clock-Out for Forgotten Punches​

When Auto clock-out after (hours) is set above zero, an hourly background job closes any shift that is still on the clock past that limit. The shift is recorded as exactly that many hours (clock-in time plus the limit), not the time until the job ran, so a forgotten punch does not bloat the timesheet.

Auto-closed entries:

  • Have any open breaks ended automatically.
  • Are flagged as auto clocked out with a note (e.g., "Auto clocked out after 16h (no manual clock-out)").
  • Are logged to the Activity Logs with a warning severity so you can spot which shifts were closed by the system.
Treat auto clock-outs as a safety net, not a record of hours

The auto clock-out keeps a forgotten shift from running forever, but the recorded length is a cap -- not the employee's real hours. Review any auto-closed entry and amend the clock-out time to the employee's actual departure before running payroll.

How Time Tracking Works​

  1. An employee clocks in at the start of their shift.
  2. The system records the clock-in timestamp.
  3. The employee works their shift normally.
  4. At the end of the shift, the employee clocks out.
  5. The system records the clock-out timestamp and calculates total hours.

Clock-in and clock-out events are tied to the employee's user account. Each event captures the exact timestamp and the device used.

Accessing Time Records​

  1. Log in to the Admin Panel.
  2. Click Time Tracking in the top navigation bar.
  3. The time tracking dashboard loads with this week's records by default.

Viewing Time Records​

Time Record Table​

ColumnDescription
EmployeeName of the employee.
DateThe date of the shift.
Clock InTime the employee clocked in.
Clock OutTime the employee clocked out (or "Active" if still clocked in).
Total HoursCalculated hours worked (displayed as decimal hours rounded to 2 decimal places).
StatusActive (Clocked In or On Break) or Completed.

Filtering Records​

Use the filter controls to narrow your view:

  • Date Range -- Select a start and end date.
  • Employee -- Filter by specific employee.
  • Status -- Show only flagged or edited records.

Active Shifts​

The top of the time tracking page shows stats cards with aggregate counts: the number of employees currently Clocked In and the number currently On Break. Individual employee names are not shown in the stats cards.

Clocking In and Out​

From the POS Register​

  1. On the POS login screen, tap Clock In.
  2. Enter your PIN or credentials.
  3. The system records the clock-in time.
  4. To clock out, tap your name in the header and select Clock Out.

Employees clock in and out from the POS register during normal operation. Managers and admins can also amend, add, and delete time records from the admin panel (see below).

Amending Time Records​

Managers and admins can correct time records directly from the admin time tracking page. This is essential for handling the everyday mistakes staff make while learning the clock -- forgotten clock-ins, forgotten clock-outs, and wrong times.

Manager or admin only

Editing, adding, and deleting time records is restricted to managers and admins. Clerks cannot amend time records.

Edit a Time Card​

  1. Open the time entry you want to correct.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. Adjust the clock-in time, clock-out time, and/or notes.
  4. Save. The total hours recalculate automatically from the new times.

Leaving the clock-out time blank marks the entry as still on the clock (active).

Add a Time Card by Hand​

If an employee forgot to clock in entirely, you can create the shift manually:

  1. Click Add Time Entry.
  2. Pick the employee and enter the clock-in time (and clock-out time, if the shift is finished).
  3. Save. Leaving the clock-out blank leaves the employee on the clock.

Delete a Time Card​

Click Delete on an erroneous entry to remove it.

All amendments are logged

Every manual add, edit, and delete is recorded in the Activity Logs and Audit Trail with the manager's name, so there is always a record of who changed a time card. Validation still blocks a clock-out time that is before the clock-in time.

How Hours Are Calculated​

ItemHow it counts
Total hours (paid time)Gross shift duration minus non-paid breaks only.
Paid breaksCounted as paid time -- they are not deducted from total hours.
Unpaid / lunch breaksDeducted from total hours.
Paid breaks count toward pay

Paid breaks are compensated, so they are included in an employee's paid hours. Only unpaid and lunch breaks reduce the paid total. For example, an 8-hour shift with a 30-minute paid break and a 60-minute lunch yields 7.0 paid hours (8h minus the 1h lunch; the paid break is not deducted).

Setting Hourly Rates​

Each employee has an hourly rate on their staff profile. The rate is what drives the Payroll Summary report (hours × rate = gross pay).

  1. Go to Staff and open the employee's profile.
  2. Enter their Hourly Rate.
  3. Save.
Set rates before running payroll

Employees with no rate set show $0.00 gross pay on the Payroll Summary, and the report flags that rates are missing. Set a rate on every employee you pay hourly before relying on the payroll numbers.

Exporting Timesheets​

Export the filtered time records as a CSV for payroll. The export includes date, employee, clock-in, clock-out, total hours, break time, work time, and status.

Active (still-clocked-in) entries are handled gracefully in the export -- they show "Still clocked in" for the clock-out and fall back to the running work time for the totals, so you can export a sheet even while employees are on the clock.

For a pay-period roll-up of hours and gross pay per employee, use the Payroll Summary report instead.

Best Practices​

  • Train employees on clock procedures -- Ensure everyone knows how to clock in and out from the POS register.
  • Review weekly -- Check time records at least weekly to catch errors before payroll processing.
  • Monitor the stats cards -- Keep an eye on the Clocked In and On Break counts to ensure shifts are tracked correctly.

What's Next?​