Location settings: every switch explained

▶ 3:03

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Every location has its own settings. Open Settings, then Locations. Each switch here applies to this location only, and hovering any of them shows what it does. Shift swaps and covers lets employees offer a shift to a coworker, or trade one. Nothing changes until a manager approves it. Break attestations: at clock-out, the employee confirms whether they got their breaks. A missed break is recorded together with their answer, which becomes your evidence.

Weekly digest sends each employee a Monday recap of their hours. They can opt out in the app. Approve availability changes means a change to someone's availability waits for your okay, and the number is how many days' notice they must give. Switched off, the change takes effect on the date they pick, and you are told what changed.

Paid time off adds a vacation option to the time-off request form. Sick leave is separate and is not affected by this switch. In-app breaks lets employees start and end their breaks from the phone app or the web portal. Clocking in stays wherever your clock mode says; this only opens the break buttons. On-duty alerts sends real-time alerts only to the managers who are punched in or scheduled right now. If nobody is on duty, every manager is alerted, so alerts never go silent. Leave it off if you do not schedule your managers.

Early clock-in lock stops employees clocking in too early for a scheduled shift. Earlier than the grace window needs a manager PIN. Late or unscheduled punches are never blocked. The number beside it is the grace window. Set it to five, and a shift at nine can start at eight fifty-five. Flag punches beyond: a punch more than this many minutes before or after the schedule is flagged on the Clock Station, the Time Entries report, your daily digest and the payroll review. The punch still counts. It is a coaching flag, and it works for POS punches too.

Short-break PIN protects break lengths. Ending a meal before thirty minutes, or a rest before ten, needs a manager's PIN. When a manager authorizes an early return it is recorded under their name, and the short break stays on the record exactly as it happened. Where is that PIN? Each manager finds their own under Settings, then My Account.

The Manager PIN card. Show PIN reveals your private six-digit code, and Reset makes a new one. It is only for manager actions. It is not an employee clock-in PIN, so keep it to yourself. Back on Locations. Break-over reminder pings the employee when the break you provide is up and they have not punched back in. The minutes beside it are the breaks you actually give, rest fifteen and meal thirty-five here. A break that runs well past them is flagged as ran long.

The Kiosk chip opens the tablet setup. Below it, Departments group this location's team, like Front of House and Back of House. Type a name, add it, then assign people on the Team page. A shift lead assigned to a department manages just their crew. Managers and admins always see everyone. That is Location Settings.

Every switch on Settings → Locations applies to that one location only, and hovering any switch shows what it does. The video walks the card top to bottom; the steps below say what each switch changes the moment you flip it. Switches are off by default unless noted — nothing here changes pay, and nothing deletes a record.

1. 1

   Shift swaps & covers

   Employees can offer a scheduled shift to a coworker (a cover) or trade shifts. The coworker agrees in the app, then a manager approves — nothing on the schedule changes before that. Off: the Shift Swaps tab disappears for that location's staff.

2. 2

   Break attestations

   At clock-out the employee confirms whether they got their meal and rest breaks. A missed break is recorded together with the employee's own answer, which becomes your evidence. On the kiosk the question is asked at the tablet; for POS-clocked teams the Attestation Station asks right after the punch; the app and web portal always carry the questions. In a state with no meal/rest mandate the switch reads N/A.

3. 3

   Weekly digest

   Every Monday each employee at this location gets a recap of their hours (email, and SMS if texting is enabled in Billing). Employees can opt out individually in their app settings.

4. 4

   Approve availability changes · days' notice

   On: a change to an employee's availability waits for a manager's approval before it takes effect. Off: it takes effect on the date the employee picks, after the notice period, and you are notified with what changed. The number beside it is how many days out a change must start (0 = right away); published weeks inside the notice period keep the availability you planned against.

5. 5

   Paid time off (PTO)

   Adds a vacation option to the employee's time-off request form. Advance notice, blackout windows, eligibility and each person's allowance live on the Paid Time Off page. Sick leave is separate and is not affected by this switch.

6. 6

   In-app breaks

   Employees can start and end their rest and meal breaks from the phone app or the web portal. Clocking in and out stays wherever your clock mode says (tablet, POS or schedule) — this only opens the break buttons. In clock modes that record breaks themselves it shows as always on.

7. 7

   On-duty alerts

   Real-time alerts (violations, late breaks, at-risk crews, kiosk offline, swap requests) page only the managers who are punched in or scheduled right now at this location. If nobody is on duty, every manager is alerted as usual — alerts never go silent. Owners and workplace-concern reports are unaffected. Leave it off if you do not schedule your managers.

8. 8

   Early clock-in lock · grace

   Scheduled employees can clock in only from the grace window before their shift (set the minutes beside the switch — 5 means a 9:00 shift can start at 8:55). Earlier than that needs a manager PIN at the entrance tablet. Late arrivals and unscheduled punches are never blocked. Phone-app employees need the latest app version to enter a manager PIN; the tablet always can.

9. 9

   Flag punches beyond N min of the schedule

   A punch more than this many minutes before the scheduled start or after the scheduled end is flagged on the Clock Station, the Time Entries report, your daily digest and the payroll review. The punch stands — this is a coaching flag, not a block — and it works for POS punches too. In Schedule Clock mode only manual or retroactive punches can be flagged.

10. 10

    Short-break PIN

    Ending a meal break before 30 minutes, or a rest break before 10, needs a manager's 6-digit PIN. If a manager authorizes an early return, the authorization is recorded under their name and the short break stays on the record exactly as it happened — the PIN protects the break length, it never rewrites what was taken.

11. 11

    Where managers find their Manager PIN

    Each manager has their own private 6-digit code under Settings → My Account → Manager PIN — Show PIN reveals it, Reset generates a new one (the old one stops working). It authorizes an early clock-in or an early return from a break where those locks are on, and kiosk device actions like unpairing a tablet. It is not an employee clock-in PIN: keep it to yourself.

12. 12

    Break-over reminder · rest / meal minutes

    Pings the employee (push + text) when the break length you provide is up and they have not punched back in. The rest and meal minutes beside it are the breaks you actually give (legal minimums are 10 and 30); the reminder fires at that length. A break running more than 5 minutes past it is flagged as ran long whether or not the reminder is on. It never fires early and stays quiet if they are already back.

13. 13

    Kiosk chip and Departments

    The Kiosk on / Manage chip opens the entrance-tablet setup. Departments group this location's team (Front of House / Back of House…): type a name, click Add, then assign people on the Team page. A shift lead assigned to a department manages just their crew; managers and admins always see everyone and can filter by department.