Employee Time Tracking in CRM: Shifts, Breaks, Timesheets

“What time did you get in?” In the office, you can see it for yourself; when people work remotely, you can't see it at all. At the end of the month, the accountant pieces the timesheet together from managers' memories, and disputes over late arrivals are settled on emotion. Employee time tracking in a CRM gives you simple numbers: when the day started, how long the breaks lasted and who worked how much.

Start of the day, breaks, end of the day

Employees click “Start work,” “Break” and “Finish workday” on the “My time” screen or on the workday widget in the sidebar. The time of each event is set by the server, so changing the clock on your phone won't help. If a day was closed by mistake, it can be resumed within four hours, and it counts as the same shift.

• Default breaks: a 60-minute unpaid lunch, two paid 15-minute breaks and a “personal matter” break with a comment. Limits, the number per day and manager approval are all configurable.
• Going over the limit is highlighted, but the break isn't cut short.
• Lock during breaks: the CRM is covered by a screen, and the server doesn't accept changes until the employee is back. You can turn it off in the settings.
• “Away from computer” with a reason, such as a call, a team meeting or a site visit, counts as working time.

Schedules and holidays

Schedules can be five-day, individual, shift-based, part-time or flexible; hours are set per weekday, and overnight shifts are supported. Schedules are versioned: a new rule applies from the date you choose, and past days are calculated under the old one. For specific dates, there are exceptions and holiday calendars with shortened and rescheduled days, ready-made for Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine; you can also upload your own from a CSV file.

Late arrivals and overtime

A late arrival is the difference between the actual and planned start of the day, with a 10-minute grace period by default; leaving early is calculated the same way from the end of the shift. Overtime is anything above the daily norm. If the day isn't started on time, the CRM acts step by step:

• at the planned start of the shift, a “Start your workday” window appears;
• 5 minutes later, a second reminder;
• 15 minutes later, a full-screen warning;
• after an hour, the day is marked as a non-working day and the manager gets a notification. After that, the day can only be started with a reason for being late.

What the manager sees

The “Team today” screen shows each employee's status and the “Late arrival,” “Break over limit” and “Needs review” flags, with filters and past days. An employee submits a correction request with a required reason and attachments and sends a day, week or month for approval; once a day is approved, it can't be changed. You can also ask Emy AI “who was late today” or “how much overtime was there this month,” within your permissions.

Payroll timesheet

The “Payroll timesheet” app keeps an “employee × days” grid for a month or half a month in the official formats of Uzbekistan (T-13), Kazakhstan, Moldova and Romania. Attendance codes can be adjusted to your company. The “Fill from time tracking” button carries over the hours of approved days and doesn't touch cells filled in manually. The timesheet is closed and signed, cell edits are logged, and it exports to XLSX, CSV or PDF.

Reminders instead of manual checks

The CRM sends reminders on its own if the day hasn't been started or finished, a break has run long or the timesheet hasn't been submitted. If an employee misses three reminders in a row, the message goes to their manager. By default, a day left open closes itself three hours after the end of the shift.

How to get started

1. Turn on “Time tracking” and “Payroll timesheet” in the marketplace.
2. Set a schedule and your country's holiday calendar.
3. Configure breaks and decide whether you want the CRM locked during breaks.
4. For the first week, just watch “Team today” and give the team time to get used to it.
5. At the end of the month, fill the timesheet from time tracking and export the form.

We covered how to ask Emy about your team in plain words in our article on the AI assistant in CRM.