Who should use this attendance checklist?

Managers, team leads, HR staff, and small business owners who are setting up or tidying up how they track employee attendance. It works for in-office, remote, and hybrid teams.

How often should I run through the checklist?

Do the setup and rules sections once when you start or when policies change. Use the daily tracking items every working day, and the review items once a week and before each payroll run.

Can I edit the checklist for my own team?

Yes. The download is a plain Markdown file, so you can add, remove, or reword items to match your workweek, leave rules, and tools before sharing it with your team.

Checklist

Employee Attendance Checklist

This is a practical, ready-to-use checklist for setting up and running employee attendance. Work through each item to make sure your basics, rules, daily tracking, and reviews are all covered. It is free to use and download as a Markdown file, so you can copy it into your own docs or tools.

Download the checklistFree · Markdown (.md)

Set up the basics

Choose a single attendance tracking method and confirm everyone uses it
Add each employee with their name, role, and start date
Set standard working hours and the workweek for each person or team
Record time zones for any remote or distributed employees
List paid holidays and non-working days for the year
Give every new hire a short guide on how to clock in and out

Define the rules

Write down what counts as on time, late, and absent
Set a grace period for late arrivals and share the exact minutes
Define how breaks and lunch are logged and whether they are paid
Document the process for requesting and approving time off
State how far in advance leave requests should be submitted
Explain what to do when someone is sick or has an emergency

Track day to day

Confirm each employee clocks in at the start of their shift
Confirm each employee clocks out at the end of their shift
Check that breaks are logged accurately every day
Follow up on any missing or incomplete time entries the same day
Log approved leave and mark the reason for each absence
Flag repeated lateness or unplanned absences as they happen

Review and improve

Review the attendance summary at the end of each week
Compare recorded hours against scheduled hours before payroll
Correct any errors and note who approved each change
Talk with employees who show a pattern of attendance issues
Check totals for overtime, leave balances, and unpaid time
Update the rules and this checklist when policies change

How to use this checklist

1Open the checklist and go through the Set up the basics group first to get every employee and rule in place.
2Use the Track day to day group as a routine, ticking items each day so nothing slips through.
3Run the Review and improve group weekly and before payroll to catch errors and spot patterns early.

Do it automatically in Tickin

AttendanceEmployee attendance software that fits your schedule

Frequently asked questions

Who should use this attendance checklist?: Managers, team leads, HR staff, and small business owners who are setting up or tidying up how they track employee attendance. It works for in-office, remote, and hybrid teams.
How often should I run through the checklist?: Do the setup and rules sections once when you start or when policies change. Use the daily tracking items every working day, and the review items once a week and before each payroll run.
Can I edit the checklist for my own team?: Yes. The download is a plain Markdown file, so you can add, remove, or reword items to match your workweek, leave rules, and tools before sharing it with your team.