Month: May 2017

Types of Worker Accounts

There are different kinds of Worker accounts. When you create a new Worker account, you are asked what to select a “Worker type.” Below is a description of each type and also a how they are different. Workers may be switched from one user type to another at any point when the worker is clocked out.

  1. Hourly Worker:  Hourly Worker is the standard Worker type and is automatically selected since this is how the majority of SYNCrew Workers are set up. Hourly workers use a specific phone to clock in, clock out, take meal breaks, snap pictures, and view their hours worked. See more about Hourly Worker Type.
  2. Non-Hourly worker: Non-hourly workers can use the mobile app primarily to collect photographs and share their current location. They are not able to see their time worked, take meal breaks or change tasks to track milage and travel time. See more about Non-Hourly Worker Type.
  3. Manager: Manager Workers use the app to track their own time and breaks and are able to take pictures. They can also add and view time for themselves and Managed workers both from the app or by logging into work.syncrew.com See more about Manager Worker Type.
  4. Managed Worker: Managed worker accounts are for employees who do not use the app and have their hours entered by an administrator or a Manager Worker (described above). See more about Managed Worker Type.

Below is where you select the Worker Type in when editing a Worker account:

Add New Project

The Quick Add menu is the fastest way to add a new Project for your Workers to clock in to. If you have a lot of projects to add (10 or more), you might prefer to use the project importer described here.

To add a new project:

  1. Click on “Quick Add” in the menu at the left
  2. Select “Add New Project”
  3. Fill in all required fields. For reference, “Name” is what shows up in the app and the admin portal while “address” is where the GPS pin will be set.
  4. Click “Save” to add the project. If you have other projects to add, click “Save & New”

Your project should be visible in the Admin portal immediately and on Worker phone apps within a few minutes (assuming they have a data connection on their phone).

Add Worker Time

When you need to add time to a Worker’s records because they did not or could not from their phone.

Quick Add

  1. Click on “Quick Add” in the left navigation panel
  2. Select “Add Worker Time”
  3. Fill in all required fields.
    1. You may select multiple Workers at one time
    2. The break time you select will NOT deduct time from the time worked (example: select 8 hours worked, 30 minute break, and 8am start will create a day from 8am to 4:30pm with 30 minutes break at noon)
    3. The system will prevent you from creating overlapping time
  4. Click “Submit” to add the hours for the employee. If you have other hours to add, click “Submit & Add more time”.

Worker Time Review

Time can also be added easily on the worker time review page by clicking the green “+” icon on the blank day or clicking into the day and selectiong “add time before” or “add time after.” More info on Worker Time Review can be seen ON THIS PAGE.

If you have trouble: If you have trouble adding hours (typically because of overlapping time issues), please email support@syncrew.com what hours you want added and we will resolve the issue and add the hours for you.

How to reactivate an employee who was previously deactivated

If an employee returns to the company or was accidentally deactivated, follow these instructions to make them active again.

  1. To Enable a Worker or Admin account, click “settings” on the left navigation panel and then select “manage users”
  2. In the filter at the top, select either “Inactive” or “all” and click “go”
  3. Find the user you wish to enable. For larger companies, we use the browsers search feature (usually CTRL+F) and type the name.
  4. Click the “enable” button in that row.
  5. The main user page will reload with a confirmation message at the top.

Optional field: Employee ID

The Employee ID field is designed to let companies enter a value that connects to payroll or other systems. When you enable it, a new field will show up anytime you edit a Worker’s profile but existing employees will not have a value in this field until you add one manually.

Please note this is NOT designed for secure Personally identifiable information (PII) like Social Security numbers.  DO NOT PUT SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS IN THIS FIELD!

How to enable Employee ID field:

  1. Select “Settings” in the navigation panel at the left
  2. Select “configuration”
  3. Scroll down to the App Configuration Options
  4. put a check mark next to “Use Employee ID”

How to set up an employee who is both a Worker and Admin

Sometimes, an employee needs to track their own hours or take photos in the field AND has responsibilities that require admin access. In this case, please follow the instructions below:

  1. Create a Worker account
  2. Create an Amin account
  3. After the admin account is created, click on that user’s admin account to go back and edit it
  4. At the top, click “Link Worker” at the top.
  5. Select a worker and now click save.

The user now has two accounts, but they are linked and if they have the worker web portal enabled, will be able to switch back and forth easily.

What web browsers work with SYNCrew

SYNCrew is a web-based application so it mostly works in any web browser on any computer. That said, some SYNCrew features may not work in all conditions. Below are the computer and browsers that we test in and you can expect 100% compatibility. If you are having issues with other configurations, please let us know as we may be able to support your preferred setup.

Types of Computers: SYNCrew works on all currently supported versions of Windows and macOS. Additionally, you can access the admin portal through the web browser on most cell phones and tablets.

Supported Browsers:

  • Google Chrome
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • Microsoft Edge (please note this is NOT the same as Internet Explorer)
  • Apple Safari

Internet Explorer has been replaced by Microsoft Edge and there are known issues with some features and Internet Explorer. If you have issues, please try one of the supported browsers above. If you still have issues on while using one of the browsers above, please contact us at support@syncrew.com.

For information on supported phones for the worker app, please go here.

How to disable or inactivate a worker

Below is how to disable a user’s access when they leave your company’s employment (quit, fired, terminated, etc) or change roles such that they do not need their SYNCrew account. Nothing in SYNCrew is ever deleted and all data that a user created remains in place should you need it at a later date.

  1. To Disable either a Worker or Admin account, go the Admin tab and then click on “Users” in the left panel.
  2. Find the user you wish to disable. For larger companies, we use the browsers search feature (usually CTRL+F) and type the name.
  3. Click the red “Disable” button at the right and confirm when asked. See below if you get an alert that the worker is still clocked in.
  4. Note that the user is no longer visible on your teams page, you you can still see them in Reports, Photos and Maps tabs because their data is saved. If the employee returns and you need to reactivate them, follow these instructions.

Note if the worker is still clocked in: If the user you are archiving is a Worker, they must be clocked out. If they are not, you will see a pop up where you can clock the user out. Upon clicking “Clock out worker,” you will need to fill in the time of their final clock out along with any option fields your company has enabled. The system will create the clockout and deactivate the user.

Employee took a picture, but it’s not showing up in the portal

SYNCrew is designed to work even when there is no data (cell or wifi) connection. As a result, there are times when an employee will have taken a photo to clock out but it is not on the dashboard. As soon as the app is open and there is a connection, these events will send with the time of when they were taken. (For example, if the employee clocks out at 4pm but the event does not send until they get home to wifi at 6pm, the clockout will register at 4pm since the photo was taken then).

How will we know? There is no way for the admin portal to alert you to this since there has not been an internet connection to send the alert! The employee, however, will see a red circle with a number in it. To send the events, have the employee open the app while they have a data connection (cell or wifi). Below is a screenshot of the red circle and the number 5 indicates that this user has 5 photos left to send:

Slow Internet Connections: If an employee has a very slow Internet connection, sometimes the events will not send but the phone will still show it has an Internet connection. If this happens and you need to have the event send immediately, please instruct the employee to put the phone near a window or step outside while keeping the app open.

What phones does SYNCrew work on?

SYNCrew works on most phones made in the last 4 years that run iOS (iPhone) and Google’s Android operating system and we have seen it work on older phones as well. We aim to keep core timekeeping features working on all phones and “fancier” features (like inspections, forms, scheduling, and work orders) working on phones with operating systems released in the last 3 years.

If you have a question about a specific handset, please contact your account manager or support@syncrew.com with the brand, mode, and version of the operating system.

If a Worker is having trouble with the app (downloading, installing, using, crashing, etc.), please have them contact SYNCrew at 415-968-1593 so we can assist them directly.