Time Tracking and Attendance

Recording working hours is compulsory for the entire workforce in Spain, and records must be kept for four years at the labour inspectorate's disposal. Meeting that obligation should not force everyone to clock in the same way: office-based staff use the browser, anyone starting their day at a customer site uses the phone with geolocation, and where identification has to be beyond doubt a terminal with a biometric reader is installed.

What turns a clock-in into useful information is matching it against the planned shift. Deviations surface on their own (late starts, early finishes, unclosed days, extra hours) and are justified with a reason, so the exception ends up documented rather than mentioned in passing.

From there, hours worked feed pre-payroll, project costing and absence reporting without anyone transcribing them anywhere.

What the law requires

What a company must record, and for how long

Recording working time is compulsory for the entire workforce in Spain, including part-time contracts and remote workers. The obligation has three parts worth separating, because they are met in different ways:

Recording the specific start and end time of each person's working day, day by day. A monthly total of hours is not enough.
Keeping records for four years at the disposal of the labour inspectorate, the workers and their representatives.
Making them reliable and unalterable, meaning they cannot be changed afterwards without leaving a trace.

That last point is what rules out the shared spreadsheet, which technically records but proves nothing. Here every clock-in carries its timestamp, its origin and its user, and later corrections are recorded for what they are: a modification with its reason and its author.

How people clock in

Each role clocks in the way that suits it

Forcing the whole company to clock in the same way is the fastest route to a badly kept record. An office administrator and a field installer do not start their day in the same place.

From the browser

For anyone working at a desk. One click to start and another to finish, with breaks if the company records them.

From a phone

For anyone starting the day at a customer site or on a job, with optional geolocation of the clock-in point. This is what makes recording viable for field teams without making them come through the office.

From a physical terminal

At the site entrance, with a card or a biometric reader where the activity requires identifying the person beyond doubt. Records upload to the system on their own.

Every route feeds the same record, so your workforce can clock in three different ways and the report is still one.

Planned versus worked

A clock-in only informs when compared against something

A list of entries and exits meets the law but says nothing on its own. What turns that data into management is matching it against the planned shift: then the differences appear, and those are the only thing you need to look at.

Late starts and early finishes, with their recurrence per person and per site.
Unclosed days, which are usually oversights rather than absences and are best corrected the same day.
Hours beyond the plan, the ones that end up being argued over in a payslip or a tribunal.
Unjustified absences as opposed to those with approved leave.

Exceptions are justified with a reason and stay documented. From there, hours feed pre-payroll and project costing without anyone transcribing them, which is where they get lost and where errors creep in.

See time tracking in a demo

Clearing things up

Frequently asked questions

Answers to what we get asked most.

What exactly does the working time record law require?

Recording each person's specific start and end time day by day (a monthly total is not enough) keeping those records for four years at the disposal of the labour inspectorate and the workers, and making them reliable and unalterable. That last requirement is what rules out a shared spreadsheet.

How can each employee clock in?

From the browser, from a phone with optional geolocation, or from a physical terminal at the entrance with a card or biometric reader. They can be combined: your workforce can clock in three different ways and the record and reports are still one.

Can clock-ins be corrected?

Yes, but not silently. Every correction is recorded for what it is (a modification with its reason, its date and its author) which is exactly what the requirement for reliable, unalterable records demands.

What information do I get beyond compliance?

The comparison against the planned shift: late starts, early finishes, unclosed days, hours beyond plan and unjustified absences. The resulting hours feed pre-payroll and project costing without anyone transcribing them.

HR and time tracking

Time records, shifts, holidays, payroll preparation, contracts and training in one place, with an employee portal and everything documented for an inspection.