Shifts, grace minutes and late marking
Updated 2026-11-07
What it is
A shift is a named start and end time, such as "General 09:30 – 18:30", with a number of grace minutes. PunchMe uses the employee's shift to decide if a check-in is late, and to close forgotten check-outs at the shift end time.
A shift does not stop anyone from punching early or late. It only decides the status.
Who uses it
- Owner: full access.
- Users with
shifts.createandshifts.editadd and change shifts. Out of the box, only the Office Manager role has these. HR and Office HR roles haveshifts.viewonly. - Users with
employees.editassign a shift to an employee. - Employees see their shift on the app's Home tab, in the Shift tile.
Where to find it
- Setup → Shifts: list, add and edit shifts.
- Employees → open an employee → Details → Shift: pick the shift for that person.
- During first-time setup, the Default shift step creates your first shift.
Shift fields
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Name | A label you choose, such as "Morning" or "Night" |
| Start | Shift start time, 24-hour |
| End | Shift end time. An end earlier than the start means the shift crosses midnight |
| Late after (grace minutes) | Minutes after the start before a check-in counts as late. 0 to 240 |
| Office | A label for which office the shift belongs to. It does not limit who can use it |
When a check-in is late
A check-in is late when the check-in minute is after the shift start plus the grace minutes. PunchMe compares whole minutes in the office's local time.
Example: shift starts at 09:30 with 10 grace minutes.
| Check-in | Status |
|---|---|
| 09:25 | Present |
| 09:40 | Present |
| 09:40:59 | Present (same minute) |
| 09:41 | Late |
The status is set once, at check-in. Checking out early does not make the day late. It can make it a half day; see Absent and half day.
Turning it on or off
There is no switch. Late marking applies to everyone who has a shift. To stop late marking for one person, clear their Shift field. To be more lenient, raise the grace minutes.
Employees with no shift are always marked present on check-in.
What happens with a shift and without one
| With a shift | Without a shift | |
|---|---|---|
| Late marking | Yes, after start + grace | Never late |
| Forgotten check-out closed at | Shift end time | 23:59:59 local time |
| App Shift tile | Shows start – end | "Not set" |
| Half day at check-out | Yes, from hours worked | Yes, from hours worked |
Night shifts
Set an end time earlier than the start, for example 22:00 to 06:00. PunchMe treats it as crossing midnight:
- The record belongs to the date of check-in.
- Late marking counts from the evening start. With 15 grace minutes, a check-in at 22:16 or at 01:00 after midnight is late. A check-in before the start, such as 21:50, is present.
- Check-out the next morning finds the open check-in, as long as it is within 20 hours.
- A forgotten check-out is closed at 06:00 on the next day.
Forgotten check-outs
Every 15 minutes, PunchMe closes any check-in that has been open for more than 20 hours. The check-out is set to the shift end time (or 23:59:59 without a shift). The status is kept. It is not changed to half day. If the employee did work less, fix the day with a correction.
Changing it midway
- Editing a shift's times or grace: applies from the next check-in. Days already marked late or present keep their status.
- Moving an employee to another shift: same. Today's check-in keeps the status it got. The new shift's end time is used if PunchMe later closes a forgotten check-out.
- Deleting a shift: employees on it are treated as having no shift. They are no longer marked late.
- Fixing past days: edit the day or approve a correction. PunchMe does not re-mark old days.
Limits and edge cases
- One shift per employee. There is no rotating roster or weekly shift plan.
- Grace minutes: 0 to 240.
- A shift has no break times and no minimum hours. Half day uses Half day below (hours) in Settings → Work policy, which is one value for the whole company.
- Early check-out is not tracked as a separate status.
- On a night shift, a check-in after midnight is compared with the start time as a time of day. For a 22:00 start, a check-in at 00:30 is marked present, not late. If this matters to you, review night-shift check-ins after midnight by hand.
- Late is worked out in the employee's home office timezone.
- Overtime uses the shift's length. See Overtime and comp-off.
Related
Common questions
Can different employees have different shifts?
Yes. Create as many shifts as you need in Setup → Shifts, then pick one on each employee's Details.
Can I set shifts in bulk?
Assign the shift on each employee, or include the shift when you import employees. There is no bulk shift change screen.
Someone was marked late because their shift was wrong. How do I fix it?
Fix their shift first so it doesn't happen again. Then edit that day, or ask them to raise a correction, and set the status to present. See Corrections.
Does the grace period carry over, like 3 late days make a half day?
No. PunchMe has no late-count penalty rule. Each day's status stands on its own.
What does the Office field on a shift do?
It is a label, to keep shifts organised when you have several offices. Any employee can be given any shift.