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Help centre / Payroll

Device Log Processing

This is how punches get from the devices into the system: the server reads each device, matches every punch to an employee, shows you the result, and writes the ones you keep into the time log.

1Purpose #

  • A punching device keeps its own log. Nothing in attendance knows about a punch until it is copied into EmpTimeLog — that copy is this screen (the desktop installation relied on a separate service or a linked server for it).
  • Read is safe to repeat: a punch already in the time log is shown as Duplicate and skipped. Clearing the device afterwards is optional and guarded.
  • After Save the punches are ordinary time-log rows: the Time Log Manager pairs them into days, attendance is generated from them.

2A daily download, step by step #

  1. Leave every device unticked (all auto-read devices are read) or tick the ones you want. Optionally set From / To to the days you are processing.
  2. Press Read Devices (F2) . Each device line reports what happened: how many records it holds, how many fell in the window, how many are new, duplicate, unmatched — or why it could not be reached.
  3. Look at the preview. New rows are ticked already. Duplicate rows are greyed — they are already in the time log. Unmatched rows are amber: the device user number has no employee — open the Employee master, put that number in the employee's Device ID, and read again.
  4. Untick any punch you do not want (a test punch by the installer).
  5. Press Save to Time Log (F5) and confirm. The banner reports how many were saved and skipped; with the clear switch on, which devices were cleared and which were kept because something from them was left out.
  6. Go to the Time Log Manager to see the days.

3How to use it #

  1. Read Devices (F2) connects to each chosen device in turn and builds the preview. A device that fails does not stop the others.
  2. Tick All New / Untick All change the Save ticks; only New rows can be ticked.
  3. Save to Time Log (F5) writes the ticked rows in one transaction, re-checking duplicates at that moment.
  4. Reload Devices refreshes the device list after changes on Time Devices.
  5. The preview grid sorts, filters and groups — group by Result or Employee to review quickly.

4Column details #

  • Save — the tick; New rows only.
  • Result — New (will be saved), Duplicate (already in the time log: same employee, same second), Unmatched (no employee carries the device user number).
  • Punch Date & Time — the device's clock. If the device clock is wrong, so are the punches: Test Connection on Time Devices shows the drift.
  • Device User — the enrolment number reported by the device. Emp ID / Employee — the match.
  • In/Out — the state key pressed on the device (Check-in, Check-out, Break …); informational — the Time Log Manager pairs by order, not by this. Verified By — finger, face, card, password. Work Code — the device's work code, when used.
  • Device / Serial — where the punch came from; the serial is stamped on the saved row.

5Shortcut keys #

  • F2 Read Devices · F5 Save to Time Log.

6Why is the preview empty, or a device red? #

  • "SDK is not registered on the API server" — install and regsvr32 the standard SDK on the server (see the Time Devices help); "registered for the other bitness" — the SDK and the application pool must both be 32-bit or both 64-bit.
  • "Could not connect" — the server can not reach the address:port; check the cable, the address, the firewall, a port-forward for a remote device. "did not answer within … seconds" — the device is off, busy with another program, or the timeout is too short for the link.
  • "refuses to answer … wrong communication key" — the Comm Key on Time Devices does not match the device.
  • Everything Unmatched — the employees' Device IDs are not recorded in the Employee master.
  • Everything Duplicate — the device was read before and not cleared; nothing new happened. That is fine.
  • No device listed — register one on Time Devices.

7Rules and integrity #

  • Read writes nothing. The preview is computed on the server and held in your browser until Save.
  • One transaction on Save; duplicates are re-checked at that moment so two operators reading the same device can not double-save a punch. The unique index on (EmpID, EnrollDateTime) is the final guard.
  • Clearing is guarded. A device is cleared only after the commit and only when every punch read from it is saved or already present; an unmatched or un-ticked punch keeps the device's log. A clear that fails is reported — the punches stay saved.
  • Permissions. Saving runs through the EmpTimeLog permission triggers (Create right on the EmpTimeLog object).

8If something does not work #

"No punching device is configured yet. Add one on Time Devices first."
Why
There is nothing to read from until a device is set up.
What to do
Add the device on the Time Device page - its address, port and machine number.
"The devices could not be read: ..." / "No device could be read:" with a list
Why
The machines did not answer - switched off, a wrong address or port, a blocked network, or the SDK missing on the server.
What to do
Check that the device is on and reachable from the SERVER (not from your own machine); the standard SDK port is 4370.
"Port must be between 1 and 65535 (the standard SDK uses 4370)." / "Machine number must be 1 or more." / "Timeout must be at least 1000 milliseconds."
Why
A device setting is outside its range.
What to do
Correct it; the device's own display shows its machine number.
"The branch picked is not one you may use - reload the list and pick again."
Why
The device was attached to a branch outside your own list.
What to do
Pick a branch you cover, or ask an administrator to widen your branch list.
"No new punches are ticked to save. Read the devices first, then tick the rows to keep."
Why
Reading and keeping are two steps on purpose - a read that is not ticked writes nothing.
What to do
Read, look at what came back, tick, then save.
"Unable to save the punches: ..."
Why
The punches could not be written - the reason follows the colon.
What to do
Try again; the device still holds them, so nothing is lost.
The same punches appear twice
Why
A device keeps its logs until they are cleared, so reading the same range again brings them back.
What to do
Tick only the new rows; duplicates of an existing punch are what the day view shows twice.

This is the help InvoiceNET® ERP shows beside the Device Log Processing screen. Whether you have the screen depends on the modules of your licence and the rights your administrator has given you.

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