Configure Clock-In Rules
Clock-in rules control whether a technician must be clocked in before a job can be assigned to them. When the mandatory clock-in setting is enabled, the assignment workflow enforces this — an advisor attempting to assign a job to a technician who has not clocked in will be blocked, not just warned.
This setting exists because in a busy workshop, jobs can be assigned in advance — the advisor books tomorrow’s work today. But for live, same-day assignments, you want to know that the technician is actually on the floor before committing a customer’s vehicle to their queue. A job assigned to a technician who hasn’t arrived yet can sit idle for an hour before anyone realises the tech is running late, causing downstream delays and broken promise times.
Who can configure clock-in rules: Location Manager, Org Admin, Account Owner.
How clock-in status works in BayWise
A technician’s clock-in status is managed through the Clock In / Clock Out feature. When a technician clocks in at the start of their shift, their status changes to On Floor. When they clock out, their status returns to Off Floor.
This status is visible to advisors in the technician selector during job assignment. An advisor can always see which technicians are currently on the floor and which are not.
Clock-in rules determine what happens when an advisor selects a technician who is Off Floor:
| Setting | What happens |
|---|---|
| Mandatory clock-in enabled | Assignment is blocked. The advisor cannot save the assignment until the technician clocks in. |
| Mandatory clock-in disabled | Assignment proceeds with a warning indicator shown. The advisor can see the tech is off the floor but can still assign the job. |
Enable or disable mandatory clock-in
Open Settings
From the main navigation, click Settings (the cog icon in the tab bar).
Navigate to Operations
In the Settings panel, select the Operations tab.
Find the Clock-In Rules section
Scroll to the Clock-In Rules section. You will see the Require clock-in for assignment toggle.
Toggle the setting
- Toggle on — mandatory clock-in is enforced. Advisors cannot assign jobs to technicians who are not clocked in.
- Toggle off — advisory mode only. Advisors are shown a warning when assigning to an off-floor technician but the assignment is not blocked.
Save
Click Save. The change takes effect immediately for all new job assignments in this location.
Al Futtaim Auto in Dubai uses mandatory clock-in across their operations. Their 18-technician workshop found that without it, jobs were occasionally assigned to a technician who hadn’t arrived yet, causing delays that only surfaced during the mid-day review — by which time the job was already an hour behind and the customer’s afternoon collection was at risk.
When to use mandatory clock-in
Use mandatory clock-in when:
- Your workshop runs formal shift management, with technicians clocking in and out at defined shift boundaries.
- You have 6 or more technicians where an advisor may not personally know who is present at any given moment.
- Your promise times are tight and you cannot afford jobs being assigned to technicians who are not yet on the floor.
- You operate multiple shifts (e.g., morning and afternoon shift) and need the scheduling system to respect shift starts.
- Your management team reviews assignment accuracy and shift compliance as a KPI.
Leave mandatory clock-in off when:
- You run a small workshop of 2–4 technicians where the advisor has direct line-of-sight to who is present.
- Your technicians are not consistently using the clock-in feature and you are still rolling out the habit.
- You sometimes pre-assign tomorrow’s jobs today, where the technician is intentionally not yet clocked in.
- Your workflow relies on the service manager verbally confirming who is in, and formal clock-in compliance is a future goal rather than a current practice.
Pre-assigning jobs for future shifts
One practical consideration: when you pre-assign a job for tomorrow, the technician is naturally not clocked in yet. If mandatory clock-in is enabled, the system will block that assignment.
The recommended approach for pre-assignment with mandatory clock-in enabled:
- Create the job and leave the technician assignment blank.
- When the technician clocks in at the start of their shift, assign the job at that point.
Alternatively, some workshops use a “pre-assign mode” workflow where the advisor confirms the technician is confirmed to work that day (via their roster) and assigns the job knowing it will be locked until clock-in time. In this case, disabling mandatory clock-in and relying on the advisory warning may be a better fit for your workflow.
If you have mandatory clock-in enabled and your technicians do not consistently clock in at the start of their shift, you will encounter daily friction — advisors blocked from assigning jobs until they chase technicians to clock in. Before enabling this setting, confirm with your team that clock-in compliance is in place. Roll out the clock-in habit first, then enable mandatory enforcement.
What advisors see
With mandatory clock-in off:
When an advisor opens the technician assignment panel for a job and selects a technician who is not clocked in, a small indicator (a clock icon with an amber colour) appears next to the technician’s name. The advisor can still proceed. The assignment saves without error.
With mandatory clock-in on:
When an advisor selects a technician who is not clocked in, the same indicator appears but the Assign button is disabled. A message reads: “[Technician name] is not clocked in. Ask them to clock in before assigning this job.” The advisor cannot proceed until the technician clocks in, at which point the assignment button becomes active.
This design means advisors always know the clock-in status — the enforcement level simply controls whether they are stopped or warned.
Multi-location clock-in rules
Clock-in rules are configured per location. A central service location with 20 technicians might use mandatory clock-in, while a smaller satellite location with 3 technicians might leave it off.
Switch to the relevant location using the Location Switcher in the top bar before making changes.
If your MSO headquarters manages operations templates, clock-in rules can be included in a published template. Locations that accept the template will inherit the setting. See Publish Templates to Locations.
Common questions
If a technician is clocked in but not assigned to a specific job, can they still appear in the assignment list? Yes. Clock-in status is a binary on-floor / off-floor status. It is not linked to whether the technician already has jobs assigned. A clocked-in technician can appear in the assignment list regardless of how full their queue is. Job load management and availability is handled separately through the calendar view.
Can a technician clock in remotely (e.g., from their phone before arriving)? Clock-in is currently performed at the workshop using BayWise on the workshop’s device. Remote or mobile clock-in is not supported in this release. A technician must be physically using the BayWise interface to clock in.
What if a technician forgets to clock in but is physically in the workshop? Any user with a role that permits clock-in management (Member, Location Manager, and above) can clock in a technician on their behalf. This is the standard resolution when a tech forgets.
Does enabling mandatory clock-in affect jobs that have already been assigned? No. The setting only governs the assignment moment. Jobs that were already assigned before the setting was turned on are unaffected. The check is performed at assignment time, not retroactively.
Can I require clock-in for some job types but not others? Not currently. The mandatory clock-in rule is a single on/off toggle for the whole location. It does not discriminate by job type, service category, or urgency level.
We track technician hours for payroll through clock-in records. Does BayWise export this data? BayWise clock-in records are visible in the technician reports section. Payroll export integrations are on the product roadmap but are not available in the current release. For now, clock-in history can be reviewed per technician in their profile or in the daily report.