# Auto clock-out

> How Timed automatically clocks out employees who forget, with options for max hours and grace periods.

When an employee forgets to clock out, their record stays open indefinitely — which throws off worked hours, payroll exports, and dashboards. **Auto clock-out** is a company-wide option that checks every 15 minutes and closes any record that's run too long.

To enable it: open **Settings → Clocking & approvals**, tick **Auto clock-out employees at end of shift**, and save. From the next check onwards, records are closed automatically when they meet the rules below.

## How the deadline is calculated

For each open clock-in, Timed decides when to close it based on the employee's shift:

| Situation | Deadline used |
|---|---|
| Employee has a shift schedule for today | Shift end time **+ grace period** (in your company's timezone). |
| Employee has a shift but no schedule for today's day of the week | Falls back to **max hours** (default 11) since clock-in. |
| No shift attached at all | **Max hours** since clock-in (default 11). |
| Overnight shift (end time earlier than start time) | Shift end on the next calendar day + grace period. |

The grace period is the **Grace Period (minutes)** setting under **Settings → Clocking & approvals**. Auto clock-out never happens before the shift ends.

The max hours limit defaults to 11 and can't be changed in Settings. If you need longer (for example, 24-hour security shifts), contact Timed support and we'll adjust it for your company.

## What gets recorded

When Timed closes a record:

- The clock-out time is set to the time the record was closed.
- The record is flagged as **Auto Clocked Out** on the Attendance Report and included in the auto clock-out reports.
- Any variance is recalculated against the new worked time.

## The notification email

If you've chosen recipients for the auto clock-out alert, Timed emails them a summary grouped by location each time records are closed:

- Employee name + payroll number
- Clock in (HH:MM)
- Clock out (HH:MM — the auto-close time)
- Hours worked (decimal)

The **Forced clock-out report** is a separate email sent just after midnight. It covers the **previous day**, including both automatic and manually forced clock-outs — useful as a morning audit. If you haven't picked separate recipients for it, it goes to the auto clock-out alert recipients.

## Setting recipients

1. Open **Settings → Notifications**.
2. Under **Auto clock-out alert**, tick the users who should receive the alert.
3. Optionally, tick users under **Forced clock-out report**.
4. Save.

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Auto clock-out is on but nobody is being closed | No open record has passed its deadline yet (shift end + grace, or 11 hours since clock-in). It's working — there's just nothing to close. |
| Employee was auto-closed too early | Check that the employee's shift schedule is set up for the right day of the week, and that the grace period is what you expect. |
| Employee with a 24-hour shift keeps getting auto-closed at 11h | The max-hours fallback applied because the shift had no schedule for that day of the week, or no end time. Add a schedule with an explicit end time. |
| Recipients aren't getting the email | No users are selected under **Auto clock-out alert** in **Settings → Notifications**. |

If something still looks wrong, contact Timed support and we'll check the auto clock-out history for your company.