First-time setup
Set LanaTime up in this order. Each step uses what the steps before it created: an employee needs a department, a shift needs timetables, and a schedule needs both. Following the order means you never have to come back and fill in a field you skipped.
Your ticks are kept in this browser only.
Set up one department with two or three employees, let them punch for a few days, and check the Attendance Report (step 15). When the figures are right, add everyone else. Correcting a rule for three people is easier than for three hundred.
1. Company details
Why: the company name and logo appear on reports and in notifications.
Where: System › Company Setting
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Company Name | Your organisation's name as it should appear on reports. |
| Address, Email, Phone Number, Nationality | Contact details shown on reports. |
| Logo | Select Browse and choose an image. The page recommends 200 × 75 pixels. |
| Show In Report | Whether the company details are printed on reports. |
| Employee Login Block | When ticked, employees cannot sign in on the Employee Self tab of the web site. Staff users are not affected. |
Save: select Ok. Check: open the page again; your values are shown.
2. Master settings
Why: these switches change how LanaTime treats punches and personnel numbers everywhere. Decide them before you add employees.
Where: System › Master Settings
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Yearly leave limit updated on | The month and day on which yearly leave limits start again. |
| Minimum Difference Between Two Punches | Intended to treat punches closer together than this as one (double punches). Not verified: the value is saved, but no code in the web application reads it; it is probably applied by the separate device service. |
| Personnel No and Device Id is Same | Yes: the personnel number is the number stored in the device. No: they can differ. Choose before adding employees. |
| Auto Timetable | Enabled: for employees without a schedule, LanaTime picks the timetable whose check-in window contains the first punch of the day. |
| Device Maintenance Port | The port of the LanaTime device service (the site the devices connect to). The Device Maintenance commands on the Device Management page are sent through it, so it must match the port that service runs on. |
| Calculation including seconds | No: seconds are ignored when punches are compared with the timetable. |
3. Roles and users
Why: each person who works in LanaTime needs their own user, and a role decides what they can open and change.
Where: System › Role, then System › User
- Open System › Role, select Add and type a Role Name such as HR Officer.
- On the tabs Personnel, Device, Attendance, Payroll and System, tick the pages and actions this role may use (for example Department › Add, Export, Modify, Delete). Select Ok.
- Open System › User, select Add, enter the Username, password, names and e-mail, and choose the Role.
- Optional: limit the user to some departments (Authorize Department) or areas (Authorize Area). If you choose none, the user can see all departments and areas.
- Select Ok.The user appears in the list and can sign in on the User Login tab.
Full details: Users, roles and permissions.
4. Departments and positions
Why: every employee belongs to a department; reports, approvers and user permissions follow the department tree.
Where: Personnel › Department and Personnel › Position
- Select Add. Enter the Department No. and select Check to see that it is free.
- Enter the Department name and choose a Parent Department (leave empty for a top-level department).
- Select Save and New for the next department, or Ok when done.The tree on the right of the Department list shows your structure.
- Add job titles under Personnel › Position the same way (Position No., Position, Parent Position).
Many departments at once: use Import on the Department list (Excel .xlsx files only; the import window shows a template). See Departments.
5. Areas
Why: an area groups devices, usually one site or building. Employees are linked to areas so their details are sent to the right devices.
Where: Device › Area
Select Add, enter Area Code, Area Name, optionally a Parent Area and Remarks, and select Ok. A new installation already contains Default Area.
6. Devices
Why: devices send the punches. They must be registered in LanaTime and pointed at your server.
Where: Device › Device Management
- Select Add. Enter a Device Name (for example Main Entrance) and the Serial Number exactly as the device shows it.
- Check the Port No (default
4370), choose the Area and the device's Time Zone, keep Real-Time Data Upload ticked, and select Ok. - On the device itself, set the server address and port (the ADMS / cloud server settings). See Connect a device to LanaTime.When the device connects, its status, model, firmware and counts appear in the list.
The number of devices you can add is limited by your licence. System › About shows the licensed count and how many are used.
7. Timetables
Why: a timetable is one working period: when work starts and ends and when check-in and check-out are accepted. Shifts are built from timetables.
Where: Attendance › Timetable
Example for an office day of 09:00 to 18:00: Check-In Start Time 08:00, check-in 09:00, Check-In End Time 10:00, Check-Out Start Time 17:00, Check-out 18:00, Check-Out End Time 19:00 (these are the values the form suggests). Field by field: Create a timetable.
8. Shifts
Why: a shift repeats timetables over a cycle (for example a week: Monday to Friday on the office timetable).
Where: Attendance › Shift. See Create a shift.
9. Attendance rules
Why: the rule decides the weekend days and how late arrival, early leaving, missing punches, short days and overtime are counted.
Where: Attendance › Rule. Every employee uses the Default rule unless you give them another one. See Attendance rules.
10. Holidays, leave types and outdoor types
- Attendance › Holiday: public holidays (Name Of Holiday, Start Date, Duration). Use Holiday Group if different groups of employees have different holidays.
- Attendance › Leave Type: the kinds of leave (for example Annual Leave, Sick Leave), their unit, limits and report symbol.
- Attendance › Outdoor Type: the kinds of work away from the office (Inspection, Meeting, Training …).
Details: Holidays and leave types.
11. Employees
Why: attendance is calculated per employee. Each employee's record links them to a department, shift, rule, holiday group and area.
Where: Personnel › Personnel › Add, or Import for many at once.
Required: Device ID (the number the employee uses on the device) and Department. Choose the Shift, Employee Rule, Holiday Group and Area created above, and set Date Of Attendance Start: days before it are not counted. See Add an employee.
12. Send employees to devices and enrol fingerprints
On Device › Device Management, use Device Maintenance › Send Employee To Device so each device knows its people, then enrol fingerprints or faces on the device (or use Enroll Fingerprint By Device). See Device Maintenance.
13. Schedules
If you did not choose a shift on each employee, give shifts to groups under Attendance › Schedule › Add Schedule (or move many people at once with Set Shift on the Shift page). See Schedules.
14. Approvers and notifications
- Approvers: on Personnel › Department, select departments and choose Set Approver. Requests from those departments then go to that approver; without one, a system user approves them.
- Notifications: set up e-mail (and SMS or WhatsApp if you use them) under System › Notification Settings, then switch on the rules you want. See Notifications.
15. Test with real punches and check the result
- Ask two or three employees to punch on the device for a few days.
- Open Attendance › Transactions and find their punches.Each punch shows the personnel number, time, device and area.
- Open Attendance › Attendance Report, select the employees and dates, select Calculate, choose Daily Attendance and select Search.
- Check each day's symbol against what really happened. If something is wrong, use Investigating a wrong result.
16. Backup, and payroll if you use it
- Create a first backup under System › Backup, and agree with IT how often backups are taken and copied to another place. See Backup.
- For payroll, continue with Set up payroll.