Handling Exceptions
Find and deal with late starts, no-shows, early finishes, missing clock-outs, long shifts, missed breaks, client disputes, unapproved shifts, flagged clocks, clocks that landed in a locked week and offline kiosk conflicts.
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Before You Start
Who can use the Exceptions page.
Before you start
- Agency console: the Coordinator preset, Admin or super admin can review, fix and dismiss. The Read-only preset can look but not change anything.
- Client dashboard: a Manager or Admin. A Viewer cannot open the page.
- Fixing a time needs the right to edit time (the Coordinator preset has it). Payroll can read timesheets but not edit them.
Open Exceptions
Pick a period and where to look.
Agency console: Time & Pay > Exceptions. Client dashboard: Time & Pay > Exceptions.
Choose the period
Pick a Period: Last 7 days (the default), This week, Last week, This month, Last month or Custom. Custom shows From and To dates.
Narrow it down
In the agency console, choose a Client and a Site. The client dashboard is fixed to your own organisation, so it has a Site filter only.
Apply
Click Apply. The heading shows how many open exceptions there are. Missing clock-outs and client disputes include anything still open from earlier periods, so nothing drops off the list just because the period moved on.
Open a tab
Click a tab. The number on each tab is how many open items it has. Each row shows the worker, date, site, the booked times, a coloured flag and the detail, with the action links on the right. Rows show 50 to a page with Previous and Next.
The 12 Tabs
Each tab is one kind of exception.
| Tab | What it catches | How to clear it |
|---|---|---|
| Late starts | Clocked in more than the client's late grace after the booked start (10 minutes unless the client sets another). A shift that is running with no clock-in shows here as "Not arrived, 30m past start". | Fix the entry, or dismiss with a reason |
| No-shows | A booked shift that has finished with no clock-in, or that was marked no-show or AWOL. A shift that has not started is never a no-show, and a running one is "not arrived yet" (on Late starts). A covered shift keeps the absent worker's no-show. | Dismiss with a reason, or open the rota |
| Clocked on a cancelled booking | A worker clocked on a booking that had been cancelled, swapped, covered, or marked sick, AWOL or no-show. The time counts as worked; under a no-pay cancelled-shift policy a cancelled booking's hours are not paid. | Check the booking and the hours. To pay an unpaid one, reinstate the booking on the rota; or dismiss with a reason |
| Early finishes | Clocked out before the booked end, beyond the grace. | Fix the entry, or dismiss |
| Missing clock-outs | A shift still open past the booked end plus 30 minutes, or open more than 14 hours with no booking, or open 18 hours or more whatever the booking. | Must be fixed: it cannot be dismissed |
| Excessive hours | A shift longer than the site's maximum, or a worker over the weekly limit. | Fix the entry, or dismiss |
| Missed breaks | A shift over the break threshold with no break recorded. | Fix the entry, or dismiss |
| Client disputes | Shifts the client has queried, open or under review. | Resolve the query |
| Not client-approved | Closed shifts the client has not approved yet. | The client approves, or you follow up |
| Flagged clocks | Clocks with a risk flag: every PIN clock, off-site or weak GPS, and identity warnings. | Check, then dismiss |
| Clocked into a locked week | A clock recorded after its pay week was locked, for example from a kiosk that was offline and replayed its clocks late. | Paid as an adjustment on Close week (see below) |
| Offline conflicts | A kiosk replayed an offline clock that clashed with a shift already recorded. | Add as shift or Dismiss |
A no-show appears on Today > Live activity as soon as the worker is past the late grace. It only moves to the No-shows tab here once the booked shift has ended.
Fixing an Exception
Go straight to the right screen.
The links on each row take you to the place where the problem is fixed:
| Link | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Fix entry | The time entry. Change the times, break or pay adjustment with a reason. See Editing Time Entries. |
| Close at booked end | Agency console only, on a missing clock-out with a booking. Click it, then click again to confirm. The shift closes at the booked end with the reason "Forgot to clock out". |
| Open rota | The Shifts board for that week, for a late start or a no-show. |
| Timesheets | Timesheets filtered to that worker and day (or week). |
| Open query | Schedule > Queries, for a client dispute. See Shift Queries. |
Every correction keeps the original times, needs a reason and is written to the audit log. If second approval is switched on, your change waits on Schedule > Adjustments for someone else to approve.
Dismissing an Exception
When the exception is fine as it is.
Click Dismiss
On the row, click Dismiss. It is offered on Late starts, No-shows, Clocked on a cancelled booking, Early finishes, Excessive hours, Missed breaks and Flagged clocks.
Choose a reason
Pick a Reason: Authorised by the client, Agreed with client, Worker spoken to, Hours corrected elsewhere, Clock was correct, or Other. A Note is required for Other.
Confirm
Click Yes, dismiss. The row is hidden and the dismissal is written to the audit log.
Bring one back
Tick Show dismissed and click Apply. Dismissed rows show who dismissed them and why. Click Restore to put one back on the list.
Clocked into a Locked Week
Late clocks after payroll has locked the week.
A worker is never refused at the kiosk because a week is locked. If a clock lands in a week that payroll has already locked, the clock is kept, the locked week and its Sage file do not change, and the shift is listed on this tab. The flag tells you where it stands:
| Flag | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pay in week of (date) | Still to pay. Pay and invoice it as an adjustment in that week. |
| Week unlocked: approve it there | Someone unlocked the original week. Approve the shift in its own week instead. |
| Paid as adjustment | Payroll has marked it paid on Close week. |
| Paid in its own week | The week was unlocked, the shift approved and the week locked again. |
The tab itself has no buttons. Payroll settles each one in the agency console on Time & Pay > Close week for the week that pays it: Mark paid with a note of how it was paid, or Set clock-out first if the shift is still open. The client dashboard can see the list but cannot mark shifts paid. See Closing the Pay Week.
Exporting
For the client or your records.
Click Export this tab (CSV) for the open tab, or Export all (CSV) for every tab. The export follows the filters on screen, including Show dismissed. Each export is written to the audit log. The Offline conflicts tab exports its own list.
Rules and Limits
Where the numbers come from.
Troubleshooting
Common questions.
| What you see | Why, and what to do |
|---|---|
| A worker is late on Live activity but not on No-shows | The shift is still running. It shows on Late starts as "Not arrived" and moves to No-shows when the booked shift ends. |
| No Dismiss link on a row | That tab cannot be dismissed. Fix the entry or resolve the query instead. |
| No Close at booked end link | It only shows in the agency console, on a missing clock-out that matches a booking. In the client dashboard use Fix entry and the Missed clock-out box on the entry. |
| The fix is refused as locked | The shift is in a locked pay period. See Financial Locks for who can unlock. |
Know who turned up, and pay every hour right.
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