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Missing Check-Out Reminders help you keep employee timesheets accurate and up to date, without the need to manually chase staff who have forgotten to check out.
WorkSmarter's Missing Check-Out Reminders help you keep employee timesheets accurate and up to date, without the need to manually chase staff who have forgotten to check out.
Whether an employee forgets to check out at the end of their working day, leaves a break running or checks in outside their scheduled hours, WorkSmarter can automatically send reminders and notify managers when action is needed.
This helps businesses maintain more accurate time and attendance records, reduce administration and ensure managers stay informed.
This feature is optional and is switched off by default for all companies.
To enable it:
Log in to your WorkSmarter account.
From the sidebar, go to Organisation → Company Settings.
Locate the Missing Check-Out Notifications section.
Switch on the feature.
Choose your preferred reminder and manager notification settings.
You can customise when reminders are sent, how long the system waits before notifying managers and whether Account Owners should also receive notifications.
Once enabled, WorkSmarter will automatically monitor open timesheet entries and send the relevant notifications.
WorkSmarter automatically identifies when an employee may have forgotten to check out or end a break.
Forgotten Check-Out
If an employee is still checked in after their scheduled working day has finished, WorkSmarter will send a Missing Check-Out Reminder.
The reminder is sent after their scheduled finish time, plus your company's chosen grace period.
For example, if an employee is scheduled to finish at 5:00 pm and your grace period is 30 minutes, their reminder will be sent at 5:30 pm if they remain checked in.
If the timesheet remains open, reminders can continue on subsequent scheduled working days, for up to seven days after the original check-in.
Forgotten Break
If an employee forgets to end their break, WorkSmarter can send a reminder asking them to return from their break and check out.
There are two types of reminders:
Long Break Reminder: Sent when an employee has remained on a break for two hours.
Missing Check-Out Reminder: Sent when an employee is still on a break after their scheduled working day has ended, including the grace period.
Employees will receive no more than one reminder per break, per calendar day. If both reminders are due, only the one due first will be sent that day.
After the first reminder, any further notifications for that break will be Missing Check-Out Reminders on later days.
Unscheduled Check-Ins
If an employee checks in when they have no scheduled shift, or after their scheduled working day has ended, WorkSmarter will notify their manager.
The employee won't receive a Missing Check-Out Reminder on the day of that unscheduled check-in. However, if their timesheet remains open, reminders can begin on a subsequent scheduled working day after the entry rolls over.
A Long Break Reminder may still be sent if they remain on a break for two hours.
WorkSmarter helps managers stay informed when employees forget to check out or record time outside their scheduled working hours.
There are three ways managers can be notified.
1. Missing Check-Out Escalations
If an employee hasn't checked out after receiving their reminder, WorkSmarter can automatically escalate the issue to their manager.
The escalation is sent after the grace period and the additional escalation delay have passed.
For example:
Scheduled finish time: 5:00 pm
Employee reminder: 5:30 pm
Manager escalation: 6:00 pm
These times are based on the default settings of 30 minutes for both the grace period and escalation delay.
Only one escalation is sent for each timesheet entry.
2. Unscheduled Check-In Alerts
Managers can also receive notifications when employees check in outside their scheduled working hours.
This includes employees who:
Check in on a day when they aren't scheduled to work.
Check in after their scheduled shift has finished.
Start or return from a break outside their scheduled working hours.
These alerts are normally sent within five minutes of the check-in.
A separate alert can be generated for each qualifying check-in, including returning from a break.
3. Daily Summary – Missing Check-Outs
Managers can also see outstanding check-outs within their WorkSmarter Daily Summary.
A new Missing Check-Outs section highlights timesheet entries that have remained open overnight.
This includes employees who are still checked in or have an unfinished break.
The summary provides details of the outstanding entry, along with a link to the relevant timesheet.
Entries can continue appearing in the Daily Summary while they remain open, for up to seven days after the original check-in.
For overnight workers, an entry won't appear in the first morning's summary if the shift is expected to continue past midnight.
By default, notifications are sent to the managers of the employee's departments.
If an employee doesn't have a department manager, notifications will be sent to the Account Owners instead.
You can also switch on Notify Owner if you would like Account Owners to receive these notifications in addition to department managers.
This option is switched off by default.
Employees will never receive manager notifications relating to their own timesheet.
Yes. WorkSmarter allows Account Managers to configure Missing Check-Out Notifications to suit their company's working arrangements.
From Organisation → Company Settings → Missing Check-Out Notifications, you can manage the available options.
These include:
Enable Missing Check-Out Notifications: The main switch controlling the feature.
Grace Period: Determines how long after the scheduled finish time WorkSmarter waits before sending a reminder.
Notify Managers: Controls manager notifications and is enabled by default within the feature settings.
Escalation Delay: Determines how long WorkSmarter waits after the employee's reminder is due before notifying their manager. This can be set between 0 and 240 minutes, in five-minute increments, with a default of 30 minutes.
Notify Owner: Optionally includes Account Owners in manager notifications.
The two-hour Long Break Reminder is fixed and cannot be adjusted.
Will Employees Receive Reminders Every Day?
Not necessarily. Reminders are based on the employee's scheduled working days.
If an employee has an outstanding check-in but isn't scheduled to work on a particular day, they won't receive a Missing Check-Out Reminder that day.
Reminders stop seven days after the original check-in. For an unfinished break, break reminders stop seven days after the break began.
What Happens if an Employee Works a Night Shift?
WorkSmarter recognises that some employees work beyond midnight.
For example, if an employee works from 10:00 pm until 6:00 am, their reminder will be calculated from their 6:00 am finish time, rather than midnight.
Night shifts are also excluded from the first morning's Missing Check-Outs summary where rolling over at midnight is expected.
Can Managers End an Employee's Break?
Yes. Managers can return an employee from a break directly from the Timesheets Table.
This is particularly useful if an employee has forgotten to end their break and their manager needs to correct their current timesheet status.
Will Managers Receive Repeated Escalations?
No. A Missing Check-Out Escalation is sent only once per timesheet entry.
However, an outstanding timesheet can continue appearing in the Daily Summary, and employees can receive further reminders on scheduled working days.
Will Archived or Terminated Employees Appear in the Daily Summary?
No. Open timesheet entries belonging to archived or terminated employees are excluded from the Missing Check-Outs section.
Can I Leave This Feature Switched Off?
Yes. Missing Check-Out Notifications are completely optional.
The feature is disabled by default and can be enabled whenever your business is ready to use it.
From your WorkSmarter account:
Go to Services → Timesheets.
Access your team's timesheets.
Review the relevant employee's entries and make any necessary adjustments, subject to your permissions.
For more information, see our related Help Centre articles:
If you have any questions about setting up Missing Check-Out Reminders or managing employee timesheets, our friendly WorkSmarter support team will be happy to help.
Our friendly team will be happy to help answer any questions you may have.
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