Working without a network

The honest overview

The app is in preparation, but not yet submitted to the stores. Until then, the browser and the terminal carry everyday work without a network — with the limits set out below.

How offline recording works in principle

All three methods — app, browser, terminal — follow the same rules. That explains why nothing arrives twice:

1. When you clock in or out without a network, the clock event is saved locally on the device.
2. The device visibly shows that clock events have not yet been transmitted (“2 clock events waiting for network”).
3. As soon as there is a connection again, they are sent automatically — in the order of the clock time.
4. Each clock event carries its own identifier. If the same clock event is transmitted twice — for example because the connection drops in the middle of the process — the server recognises this and creates it only once.

Browser: the queue

The clock-in page in the browser buffers clock-in and clock-out when there is no connection. What you need to know:

• The page must already be open. Zeitflex does not store pages with business data on the device — a cached timesheet from yesterday would look like the truth. Anyone who reloads the app or signs in again without a network therefore sees the “No connection” page. Anyone who already has the clock-in page open keeps clocking.
• The button shows the state including the waiting clock events. After an offline clock-in it says “Clock out”, even if the server does not know anything yet.
• Transmission happens by itself. On Android even when the browser tab was closed long ago. On the iPhone it happens as soon as the page is next loaded or comes back online — so briefly open the app there once you have reception again.
• You can see what is still missing. The status line shows the number of waiting clock events; empty means: everything has been transmitted.

Breaks cannot be booked in the browser without a network — the queue only knows clock-in and clock-out. With a network, you book a break by clocking out and clocking in again with Break; a break not recorded without a network is added later by management.

Terminal without a network: 72 hours

The wall terminal is built for the warehouse, the basement and the building site — in other words exactly for places without a network. It also starts without a connection after a power cut and shows the person tiles from its last known data.

• The data lasts 72 hours. A weekend plus a public holiday does not bring the terminal to a halt. After three days without a network it no longer shows tiles, but the instruction to note clock-in and clock-out times by hand and have them added at the office. Anyone without a network for that long has an infrastructure problem that a tablet silently carrying on would only hide.
• From 12 hours on, the age is shown. After a night shift the data is from the previous day — normal, but the terminal says so. Anyone hired after the terminal last had a network is missing from the tablet and notes their times on paper.
• Clock-in and clock-out only. Breaks go through the app or the browser.
• The PIN is carried along sealed. Without a network the terminal cannot check whether the PIN is correct. It encrypts the input so that only the server can read it — there is never a PIN in plain text on the tablet, not even as a hash. It is checked on upload.
• Time yes, attribution with reservation. If it turns out on upload that the PIN was wrong, the clock event is still created — work actually done must not disappear because of a mistyped digit — but marked unmistakably as unverified: with a note in the timesheet, not approved, and the tablet tells the person to report to the office. Whether the time counts is then decided by a human, not by software.

When the server rejects

Most waiting clock events are simply accepted on upload. In some cases the server rejects them — and then the rule is: the server wins. A rejected clock event is not retried and not silently deleted. It stays in a red box until the person has acknowledged it, with the notice that it was not counted.

In all cases the way forward is the same: management enters the time in the timesheet via Add late entry, with a reason. How this works is described under Correcting a forgotten clock entry.

The terminal response “PIN not confirmed” is not a rejection: the time has been created, just unverified. It appears in the timesheet with a note and waits for management's decision.

What else you can do today

For building sites and routes without reception:

1. Have people clock in at the depot, where there is a network. Whether the journey from the business to the building site counts as working time is governed by the employment contract or collective agreement — Zeitflex does not decide that.
2. Or: open the clock-in page in the phone browser before setting off and leave it open. Then everyone clocks in the dead zone, and the transmission happens on the way back.
3. Or: note the times on a slip of paper and have management add them later. The way is described under Correcting a forgotten clock entry.

For businesses with unreliable Wi-Fi:

Connect the tablet terminal permanently to the network with a LAN adapter or give it its own SIM card. The 72 hours are a safety net for an outage, not for continuous operation: without a network the list of people becomes outdated, and the PIN check is postponed until later.

When Zeitflex itself is disrupted

Check the status page. It states in plain language which areas are affected and since when. If clocking is disrupted: anyone who has the clock-in page open keeps clocking into the queue; everyone else records on paper (name, date, start, end, break) and adds the times as soon as everything works again.

Frequently asked questions

I clocked in in a dead zone, then clocked out on the computer. What counts?

Both count, as a rule. If the server objects when you clock out (“no running entry”), the page first uploads everything waiting — your offline clock-in goes along and is accepted, after which the second press on Clock out takes effect. Only if the contradiction still remains afterwards is exactly the one contradicting clock event marked as undeliverable and shown to you; management then adds the time.

The terminal shows “Data too old”. What should I do?

The terminal has had no network for more than 72 hours, and the list of names is therefore no longer reliable — someone might have left. Note clock-in and clock-out times by hand, have them added at the office and reconnect the tablet to the network — it then fetches the current list and uploads all waiting clock events.

Do I have to open my phone specially after getting back?

On Android, no — the browser uploads the queue in the background. On the iPhone, yes: open the clock-in page once as soon as you have reception again. The status line shows whether anything is still waiting.

I entered the wrong PIN at the terminal without a network. Is the time lost?

No. The clock event is created on upload, but marked as unverified and not approved. Report to the office — management confirms or corrects the entry with a reason.

Still stuck?

Get in touch via support and describe exactly where the network is missing. For some cases (depot without reception, basement, underground car park) there are solutions that have nothing to do with software. The ways to clock in and out are described under Clocking in and out — the options; adding times later under Correcting a forgotten clock entry.