{"id":5330,"date":"2021-01-19T11:23:55","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T11:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/docs.daftra.com\/tutorial\/%d8%a5%d8%b6%d8%a7%d9%81%d8%a9-%d9%88%d8%b1%d8%af%d9%8a%d8%a9\/"},"modified":"2026-11-08T10:18:45","modified_gmt":"2026-11-08T10:18:45","slug":"adding-a-shift","status":"publish","type":"tutorial","link":"https:\/\/docs.daftra.com\/en\/tutorial\/adding-a-shift\/","title":{"rendered":"Add an Employee Shift"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A shift defines the employee’s working days and times: the start and end of the shift, the period in which sign-in is allowed, the period in which sign-out is allowed, and the lateness grace period. Based on it, the system evaluates the employee’s attendance logs when calculating attendance. This guide explains adding both types of shift, setting up night shifts that end the next day, assigning the shift to employees, and all restrictions and messages, including the “out of shift range” message.<\/p>\n

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Required permissions<\/span>Manage Attendance Settings<\/strong> or Edit General Settings<\/strong>, with the Employee Attendance app enabled<\/strong><\/a>.<\/div>\n
Access path<\/span>From the main menu: Attendance<\/strong> \u2192 Shifts Management<\/strong><\/a> \u2192 New Shift<\/strong>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Contents<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The two shift types<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Steps to add a shift<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Attendance rules<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  4. How attendance logs are evaluated<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Night shifts that end the next day<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  6. The “out of shift range” message<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Recalculate attendance after editing the shift<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  8. Assign the shift to employees<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  9. Edit and delete a shift<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  10. Error messages and solutions<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  11. FAQs<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    The two shift types<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Type<\/th>\nWhen to use it<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
    Standard<\/strong><\/td>\nThe same times for all the selected working days.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Advanced<\/strong><\/td>\nDifferent times for each day, such as a shorter working day at the end of the week.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Steps to add a shift<\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. From the main menu, click Attendance<\/strong>, then Shifts Management<\/strong><\/a>.<\/li>\n
    2. Click New Shift<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    3. Enter the Name<\/strong> (required and unique), choose the Type<\/strong>, and you can choose a Color<\/strong> to distinguish the shift.<\/li>\n
    4. In the Week Days<\/strong> table, turn on Work Day<\/strong> for each day the employee works. Days that aren’t turned on are considered weekend days. You can also turn on Calculate Attendance on Off Days<\/strong> if you want attendance calculated even on days off.<\/li>\n
    5. Enter the attendance rules<\/a>: once for the Standard type, and for each day in the Advanced type.<\/li>\n
    6. Check the Shift Preview<\/strong>; it shows the Sign-in window<\/strong> and the Sign-out window<\/strong> on a timeline, and shows what falls on the Next day<\/strong> (marked +1).<\/li>\n
    7. Click Save<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Attendance rules<\/h2>\n

      All times use the 24-hour format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Field<\/th>\nMeaning<\/th>\nDefault<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
      On Duty Time<\/strong><\/td>\nThe work start time, and lateness is calculated from it.<\/td>\n09:00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Off Duty Time<\/strong><\/td>\nThe work end time, and early leaving is calculated from it. Expected working hours = off duty time \u2212 on duty time.<\/td>\n17:00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Start of Sign-In<\/strong><\/td>\nThe earliest time a sign-in log is accepted.<\/td>\n07:00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      End of Sign-In<\/strong><\/td>\nThe latest time a sign-in log is accepted.<\/td>\n11:00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Start of Sign-Out<\/strong><\/td>\nThe earliest time a sign-out log is accepted.<\/td>\n15:00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      End of Sign-Out<\/strong><\/td>\nThe latest time a sign-out log is accepted.<\/td>\n19:00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Lateness grace period<\/strong><\/td>\nThe minutes allowed after the on duty time without counting lateness.<\/td>\n15 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Start late time<\/strong><\/td>\nAfter On Duty Time + Lateness grace period<\/strong>: lateness is counted only after the grace period ends. From On Duty Time<\/strong>: if the employee exceeds the grace period, the full lateness is counted from the on duty time.<\/td>\nAfter On Duty Time + Lateness grace period<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
      \n

      \ud83d\udec8<\/span><\/p>\n

      Note:<\/strong> When creating a new shift, changing On Duty Time<\/strong> or Off Duty Time<\/strong> fills in the sign-in and sign-out times automatically (two hours before and after each time if the shift is longer than 4 hours, and one hour if it’s shorter). Always review these times, especially in night shifts. There’s no grace period field for early leaving; early leaving is handled with leave permissions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      How attendance logs are evaluated<\/h2>\n

      When calculating attendance, the system classifies each log based on the period it falls in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Log<\/th>\nTreated as<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
      Between Start of Sign-In<\/strong> and End of Sign-In<\/strong><\/td>\nThe first log = Sign In<\/strong>, and the ones after it = Repeated Sign In<\/strong>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Between Start of Sign-Out<\/strong> and End of Sign-Out<\/strong><\/td>\nThe last log = Sign Out<\/strong>, and the ones before it = Repeated Sign Out<\/strong>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Outside both periods<\/td>\nAn invalid<\/strong> log that isn’t included in the calculation. See The “out of shift range” message<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

      The day status: valid sign-in and sign-out logs = present; sign-in only = Sign In Only<\/strong>; sign-out only = Sign Out Only<\/strong>; no valid logs = Absent<\/strong> (or Day Off<\/strong> if it’s a weekend day).<\/p>\n

      Night shifts that end the next day<\/h2>\n

      The system supports shifts that start on one day and end on the next day, and you don’t need to edit any dates manually. If the Off Duty Time<\/strong> is earlier than the On Duty Time<\/strong>, the system considers it on the next day, and the same goes for the sign-out period if its times are earlier than End of Sign-In<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      Example: a shift from 18:00 in the evening to 09:00 the next morning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Field<\/th>\nValue<\/th>\nDay<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
      Start of Sign-In<\/strong><\/td>\n16:00<\/td>\nShift day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      On Duty Time<\/strong><\/td>\n18:00<\/td>\nShift day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      End of Sign-In<\/strong><\/td>\n22:00<\/td>\nShift day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Start of Sign-Out<\/strong><\/td>\n06:00<\/td>\nNext day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Off Duty Time<\/strong><\/td>\n09:00<\/td>\nNext day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      End of Sign-Out<\/strong><\/td>\n11:00<\/td>\nNext day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

      This way, the sign-in log is accepted from 16:00 to 22:00, and the sign-out log from 06:00 to 11:00 the next morning, and the attendance day is recorded on the sign-in date.<\/p>\n

      \n

      \u26a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Warning:<\/strong> The automatic fill when creating a night shift may set unsuitable log times (such as sign-out from 08:00 to 10:00), so a sign-out log at 07:00 is rejected. Set the four times manually as in the example. The system doesn’t prevent you from saving overlapping or out-of-order times; check the preview before saving.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      \ud83d\udec8<\/span><\/p>\n

      Note:<\/strong> A night shift follows the sign-in day. For example, Thursday night into Friday follows Thursday<\/strong>‘s rules, so Thursday must be a Work Day<\/strong>, even if Friday is a day off.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      The “out of shift range” message<\/h2>\n

      After attendance is calculated, any log that doesn’t fall within the sign-in period or the sign-out period of any day becomes invalid<\/strong>, and its reason appears. The reasons, in order:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Reason<\/th>\nWhen<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
      No shift assigned<\/strong><\/td>\nThe employee doesn’t have a shift.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Weekend<\/strong><\/td>\nThe log’s day isn’t a working day in their shift.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Leave<\/strong><\/td>\nThe employee is on approved leave.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Out of shift range<\/strong><\/td>\nOther than the above: the log is outside both the sign-in and sign-out periods.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

      In a night shift, this usually appears for the morning sign-out log, because the sign-out period doesn’t include the log time, so the day becomes Sign In Only<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      The fix:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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      1. Open the shift from Shifts Management<\/strong><\/a>, and click Edit<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
      2. Widen the log period that doesn’t include the logs, such as Start of Sign-Out<\/strong> 06:00 and End of Sign-Out<\/strong> 11:00 in the night shift.<\/li>\n
      3. Click Save<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
      4. Recalculate attendance for the previous days as in the next section, so the logs are evaluated again.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Recalculate attendance after editing the shift<\/h2>\n

        Editing the shift doesn’t recalculate previous days automatically. To apply it to a full period (such as a month) at once:<\/p>\n

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        1. Open Attendance Days<\/strong><\/a> and click Calculate Attendance<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
        2. Set the period From<\/strong> and To<\/strong>, and the employees. In night shifts, make the To<\/strong> date one day after the last night, so the last night’s sign-out log is read.<\/li>\n
        3. If you edited days manually before and want them recalculated too, select Overwrite Manual Attendance Day<\/strong>; otherwise the manual days stay as they are.<\/li>\n
        4. Click Calculate<\/strong>; a message appears confirming that the days in the period were calculated successfully.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n