A punch ID is the identifying numbers/letters your employees use to clock in and out; usually, this is the same as the employee ID but not always. Most Time and Attendance (TAA) customers cannot assign a new punch ID for an employee themselves; instead, the employee ID (or punch ID also, if they are different) change is entered into your payroll system, and then the employee's record will be modified in TAA when the employee data file is next imported (which is usually done nightly).
Note: The setup for the import of the file provided by your payroll company is part of the TAA implementation process.
To view what punch IDs were assigned to your employees based on date of assignment, go to Viewing Current and Past Punch ID Assignments.
For information about TAA, go to An Introduction to Time and Attendance. For details about the TAA user interface, see Navigating the Time and Attendance Module.
If you are one of the few Synovia customers who do NOT have employee records imported from your payroll system, you can manually assign a new punch ID for an individual employee using the Employees screen, as follows:
Warning: If your employee records ARE imported and you change an employee's punch ID via the steps below, you'll find after your next import that your modifications never happened, as the imported employee file overwrote all your employee records — or that the employee has been duplicated in the database, in which case they won't get credit for the correct work shifts. If you use an import, you MUST instead edit the employee's profile by providing their new punch ID/employee ID to your payroll company.
- Click
>> Employees.
Your first employee record will appear, alphabetically by last name.
- Select the employee's name at the top left of the screen, type part of the name of the worker whose punch ID you need to update, and click the name in the short list that appears.
Note: Alternatively, you can click the drop-down arrow to the right of the employee's name at the top left of the screen, scroll through the list, and select the name you want. - In the Punch ID Assignment section, type the new punch ID in the Enter New ID to Assign field.
- Click Update ID.
A confirmation dialog box will appear.
Caution: Read the warning in this dialog box carefully. If you are attempting to assign a punch ID that already belongs to another employee, the message will be similar to this:
You should check the other employee's record (perhaps on a new tab — see Viewing Employee Records if needed) before continuing, as they will no longer be able to clock in using the punch ID they have been accustomed to if you proceed. - Click Yes.
By default, the effective start date for the new punch ID will be set to today's date.
- If you need to specify a different date for this punch ID to take effect (such as the beginning of the current pay period), follow these steps:
- Click the ID Effective Start Date calendar picker and select the new date.
- Click Update Effective Start Date.
- Click the ID Effective Start Date calendar picker and select the new date.