Category: User Management

SYNCrew has different types of users based on each person’s role at your company. This section discusses these roles and how to create and manage them

SYNCrew Kiosk

This article discusses what the app is and how workers use it. Read THIS ARTICLE OVER HERE about how to set it up.

What is the Kiosk app?

The Kiosk app allows multiple workers to log in using the same device. That is different from the traditional SYNCrew app that is designed to be used exclusively by a single worker. Often times, the device is a tablet but it also runs on phones. Both Android and iOS (ipads) are supported. The most common use cases for the kiosk app are:

  • On-site workers who do not move around like factory, warehouse, or office workers. In these cases, typically an iPad or Android tablet will be secured to a wall near the entrance.
  • Workers who don’t want to use their own phones and where the company does not want to use the manager/managed worker setup. In these cases, the kiosk app is loaded onto a managers phone and the workers ask to use it when they punch in or out.

How workers use the kiosk

Once the Kiosk is set up, a worker simply opens the app on the phone or tablet and clocks in or out in just a few seconds, like this:

CLOCK IN:

1) Enter phone number and note that language can be changed here as well in the upper-right

2) The worker fills in any info that is required (based on your app’s setup). The camera will automatically take a selfie when the worker clicks “clock in.”

3) The app will confirm the clock in was completed

4) The app automatically returns to the main ready screen for the next worker to use

CLOCK OUT:

1) Just as at the start, the worker enters their phone number and clicks “Go”

2) The worker fills in any information the app was set up to collect and takes a selfie photo when clicks either:

Clock out: to clock out for the day

Leave location: to leave this location, but keep their clock running

3) The app will confirm that the clock out was completed

4) The app automatically returns to the main ready screen for the next worker to use

Set up the Kiosk app

The Kiosk app is meant to be set up by an Admin. Your company can have different kinds of kiosks in different places and for different uses. Please read about setting up the kiosk app HERE.

As always, if you have any trouble or questions, please reach out to your account manager or support@syncrew.com and we’ll be happy to help you out!

Setting up a SYNCrew Kiosk app

This article discusses how to set up the kiosk app on a new device or at a new location. Read THIS ARTICLE OVER HERE to learn about what the app is and how workers use it.

Initial setup

1) Log in using an ADMIN user. The admin will set up the kiosk first, then workers can use it.

If you plan to have people in the field set these up and those people do not have admin accounts already, you can create a limited admin account for them so they can do this. LEARN ABOUT LIMITED ADMIN USERS

2) After you log in, you will be presented with this setup screen. The left side of the screen relates to setting up which project the kiosk is located at and the right side deals with how to manage your custom fields.

Project Selection:

Pre-pick project: Search for the project where the kiosk is located and click on it. Once you select it, you will see the name shown at the top of the screen (red box at right).

To clear the currently selected project, click “clear”.

Worker select project: You can leave the project blank so that the worker will need to select the project when they clock in. This is similar to not having the project locked above, except if it is blank, there will be no project pre-selected.

In most situations, you will want to “Lock” the project by clicking the box (orange arrow at right). If the project is “locked,” workers will not be able to clock into different projects from this Kiosk app. If you leave it unlocked, the selected project will show up and be pre-selected, but the workers can change it at clock in time.

If you are unsure about which of these options will be best for your situation, please reach out to us anytime at support@syncrew.com

Custom Fields:

What you see on the right side of the setup screen is based on your company’s settings. You can learn more about custom fields here.

When the screen loads, each row shows the name of the custom field. For each entry, you can:

  1. Enter a default value. For example, if you enter “1234” in the work order number field, when a worker clocks out, this field will have “1234” in it automatically, but the worker can edit it.
  2. Lock that value. Following the prior example, if you click “lock” next to the work order number field, when a worker goes to clock out, “1234” will be pre-filled and they will NOT be able to change it.

If you leave all this blank, the worker will just be required to enter all the information when they clock out.

Once all your settings are done, click “SAVE” and your kiosk app is ready to use. You should see the screen below that your workers will use to clock in. If you ever need to edit the settings, click the

As always, if you have any trouble or questions, please reach out to your account manager or support@syncrew.com and we’ll be happy to help you out!

Settings for each individual worker

This article talks about settings that can be set for a specific worker account. If you want to see about company-wide settings for ALL workers, see this article HERE.

The system is highly configurable so if you do not see how to do what you want here, please contact us at support@syncrew.com or in the chat box at the bottom-right.

All the individual settings can be accessed clicking on Settings –> manage users, then clicking the worker’s name.

  • Worker Type: Worker type impacts how the app functions and is not an indicator of the worker’s position or title. Details of these types have their own article HERE.
  • Work.syncrew.com options: There are three options related to work.syncrew.com. There is more information about the worker portal HERE available but here is a quick summary:
    • Allow to view time at work.syncrew.com – This will allow a worker to go to www.syncrew.com and click “worker login” and view their hours. Since Hourly Workers and Manager Workers can easily see this in their app, this is mostly used for Managed Workers (whose time is added by others)
    • Allow to add time at work.syncrew.com – This will allow a worker to add time in the Worker Portal. This is most commonly used by office employees. Be sure to enable the option above for this.
    • “Allow to edit time at work.syncrew.com” – this final option allows the worker to edit their time from the BOTH the Worker Portal and the app directly. If you select this check box alone, the worker will only be able to edit the time from their app
  • Allow to upload photos from the photo gallery – Check this box to allow workers to upload progress photos from their camera’s pictures. This does NOT allow uploading photos for clock in and clock out. This is convenient for workers but since the photos are taken from the phone’s memory, SYNCrew cannot guarantee when or where they were taken and a watermark is applied to note this. If this box is NOT checked, the only way a worker can get a picture into SYNCrew is to take it in real-time with the app.
  • Don’t require photos: There may be some workers who you don’t want to require to take a photo at their clock in and clock out. Checking this box will make it so the worker will skip the photo at clock in and out, but they can still take progress photos and the app works identically in all other ways.
  • Allow user to edit their own time: If you want your employee to be able to edit their own time from the app, click the box next to “allow to edit time at work.syncrew.com”. Note this is referenced above but it’s commonly asked about and we wanted to highlight it.
  • Name: This is how the worker’s name will show up in the admin portal. Typically it is just the workers proper name like, “John Smith” but it sometimes has additional information like nick-names. If you with to have this field not be the property name, but need a property name to connect to payroll, you can do that by enabling the “Employee ID” field or another custom field – learn more HERE.
  • Email: This is the worker’s email and it’s optional since worker’s log in primarily with their phone numbers. If you do put an email address in here, they worker can also use that to log in.
  • Phone: This should be the worker’s cell phone number. They will use this as their primary login and they can reset their password from the app if they can get text messages at this number.
  • Team: Each worker is assigned to a team and this is where you set that. Learn more about teams HERE.
  • Skills: Each employee has skills that are a subset of the skills that a company has. You can read more about company skills HERE.
    • Each worker has a list of skills and must have at least one skill enabled. To change the skills, edit the list in their employee profile settings by putting a check box next to the desired skills and then click save.
    • If the employee only has one skill, all their work will automatically get assigned to it. If more then one skill is set up for a given employee, they will be prompted to select the appropriate skill at each clock in.
  • Hourly Cost rate: This is typically the employees wage but some clients put the fully-burdened rate in. This rate is used in the budgets, labor cost in Work Block reports and anywhere else labor cost is referenced.
  • Hourly Billing rate: This rate is shown on the project and worker profile pages – anywhere labor billable values are referenced.
  • Regular Hours: Start and End time are the time that this employee typically starts work. Workers will be able to work different hours than these, but these times are what the system uses for reminders to start work. These default to the values that were set in Settings –> Configuration.

    To prevent workers from clocking in before their start time, go to Settings –> Configuration, scroll down to the “General” section, and then check the box next to “Enforce clock in time” (then scroll down to the bottom and click “save”).
  • Tolerance: This is how many minutes the system will wait before sending a notification. For example, if the worker’s start time is set to 8am and the tolerance is set to 15 minutes, the system will wait until 8:15am before sending the reminder the clock in.

Worker Portal

Most SYNCrew users use the app in the field, but many companies have at least a few people in the office and want to have them log hours in SYNCrew as well. This feature allows those users to add hours from a web browser.

Enable Access

Access to the Worker Portal is on a worker-by-worker basis so you can enable only for those who need it. To enable access, go to their worker profile in the Admin section and check the boxes circled to allow the appropriate level of access for that user. Click Save.

If the Worker is ALSO an admin user, you can link the accounts together. Doing this will allow them to log into the admin portal and quickly go to their worker portal by going to the menu shown at right so they can manage their own hours.

To set up this connection, go to the person’s admin account and click “Link worker.” Then search for their worker account and click save.

How to use

Once a Worker is set up, they can access the portal by going to www.syncrew.com and clicking “employee login” at the top-right. Then they log in with the same phone number and password they use to log into the app. You can reset it for them if they have forgotten it.

Once they log in, they will have several options (these can vary a bit based on the level of access provided in their settings). They can track in real-time, add time in the past, or edit past hours.

Track in Live Time: Some users will want to track hours as they work. To do that, they can select the project and skill (circled in red below) and click “start working.” The screen will then show a clock for how long they have been at work and they can change task, clock out, or even upload a photo.

Add past time: The easiest way to add past time is to do it while clocked out. When the user is clocked out, they will see the information and buttons circled at the bottom of the screen shown below.

To add time, pick the day you want to add by clicking on the blue box with the date. To see a different week, click the arrows to the left or right of the blue boxes to go to the next week. Once you have the day selected, pick the project, skill (plus any optional fields your company has), select the number hours and minutes for that task. Once that is complete, click one of the buttons to add the hours:

  • Add hours in beginning: Adds hours before the earliest event. For example, if the hours currently show 9am to 3pm, using this option to add an hour will add the time from 8am to 9am.
  • Add hours at end: Adds hours at the end of the currently entered hours. In the example above, this hour would be added from 3pm to 4pm.

You can enter more time by following the same process.

Edit time: Sometimes time needs to be edited after the fact. Doing so can be done for prior days only (so you cannot do this “today”). To edit the time, simply click on the time shown in the “Total” colum (circled in red below) and change the time in the pop-over that opens.

Limited Admin vs. Full Admin

When you create an admin user, you have the option to create a Full Admin or a Limited Admin. If you have questions about who should have what kind of admin login, please contact your account manager our our support team to discuss the details of your company’s situation.

Full Admin: A Full Admin can do and change everything. For small companies, it is usual for everybody to be a full admin.

Parent Admin: This is a special kind of admin that companies with multiple SYNCrew locations have. They are effectively Full Admin who can switch between locations. 

Limited Admin: A Limited Admin is exactly what the name says, limited in the following ways:

  • No Admin Access: No Limited Admin may access the “Admin” tab to edit settings, add/remove users, add/remove projects
  • Options: Depending on your goals, the limited admin can be further edited as follows: Full Report Access: By default, limited admin can run reports but will only see data from projects they have access to. There is an option to make them able to see report data for
    • Disable Editing Privileges: By default, a Limited Admin can edit data they can see. You may disable their editing privileges so they can not make edits. This effectively makes them a “view only” user
    • Disable Manage Menu: By default, limited admin users can access the manage menu. Clicking this option prevents the limited admin from seeing the menu or accessing its features (timesheets, worker time review, etc.)
    • Project Type: By default, limited admin can see all projects. If you select the option “Limited Projects” in this menu, you can then pick which projects this admin can see. Some companies use this to give their clients access to view activity for just that client’s locations. Others use this to make it easier for managers to see only the projects they are managing
    • Full Report Access: This option does two things:
      • 1) If projects are limited as described above, then this will allow the Limited Admin to run reports across all projects
      • 2) This allows Limited Admin to access Timesheets in the manage menu
    • Quick Add Menu: By default, Limited Admin do not have access to the Quick Add menu in the left-navigation. You can enable a Limited Admin to be able to add worker time OR add projects OR new workers (or any combination of the three). If none is selected, the Quick Add menu will not be shown to the Limited Admin

Here are the options you will see once you toggle an Admin user to be a Limited Admin:

  • Shown in green below is where you select whether a user should be a full or limited admin
  • Shown in red below are the options for a limited admin

Worker Type: Manager

The “Manager Worker” is a user type for onsite managers who need to add time for other employees. They manage their own time as they go (just like an Hourly Worker) and then they can add time for any Managed Worker. Note that Managers are NOT able to add hours for Hourly Workers, Non-Hourly Workers, or other Managers.

  1. Manage their own time: Most Manager users start their day by clocking in, taking breaks, and snapping photos.
  2. Add hours for others:
    1. Identical time to their own: Each time they clock out or change task, they have the opportunity to add time for others. As they clock out, the app will ask who worked with them and the Manager can then select as many Managed Workers as they had that day.
                 
    2. Add any other hours: The Manager can add hours for Managed Workers who worked at a different project, performed a different skill, or worked different hours. By using the “add time” option from the menu, these hours can be added from the app in just a few seconds.
               

 

Related posts:

Worker Type: 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. They are not able to log into the SYNCrew app to take photos or log hours. They may be given a login to the Worker Portal where they can view their hours and the system is able to generate timesheets for them. Because these users do not need to log in, the only information required to create an account is their name.

All Manager Workers and Admin users can create hours for any Managed Worker.

Related posts:

Worker Type: 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. This user type is typically used by hourly employees but some companies use it for contractors who find it convenient to see their time worked.

Below are examples of how the SYNCrew app looks for Hourly Workers and some notes about how it differs from other user types:

  1. Pick a project screen: This is the screen where the Worker selects the project they are going to start working at. Note the red at the bottom to note this Worker is clocked out and the clock showing no time has been worked today. A clocked in worker will have a green bar indicating that they are traveling between jobs, but still on the clock. A meal break can be taken from this screen by clicking the three orange bars at the top left.
  2. Clocked in screen: This is the screen that hourly workers see when they are clocked into a project. Again, we see that the time worked clock is prominently displayed for this user. The take break button is prominently displayed to remind Hourly Workers to take their required meal periods
  3. My Time screen: Hourly workers can view their hours worked for prior days and the current pay period.

 

Related posts:

 

Worker Type: Non-Hourly Worker

“Non-Hourly Worker” is selected for Workers who will 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 mileage and travel time. Some companies prefer to use the Non-hourly Worker type for managers or sub-contractors who are not paid hourly.

Below are examples of how the SYNCrew app looks for Non-Hourly Workers and some notes about how it differs from other user types:

  1. “Check In” Screen: In the Non-Hourly Worker app, there are no clocks and the langues is based on “checking in” rather then “clocking in”
  2. “Checked in” Screen: After the Non-Hourly Worker selects a project, the screen below is what they see while on-site. Again, there are no clocks and the options to take a break are removed since these Workers are not logging those details.

 

Related posts:

Reset password for Worker app (also how to resend the app download link)

In the event that an employee forgets their password, it can be reset in one of the following two ways:

Reset from Admin portal: In most cases, Workers will just reset their password using the link in the app (described below). If they do not see that or it does not work for them (most often because the phone number in SYNCrew does not match what they are entering), they may ask an Admin to reset their password and this is how to do it:

  1. Click “Settings” in the left navigation panel and then click “Manage Users” from the sub-men.
  2. Find the user you wish to reset the password for. For larger companies, we use the browsers search feature (usually CTRL+F) and type the name.
  3. Click on that users name to open their profile.
  4. Click “Reset Password” at the bottom of the page (you may need to scroll).
  5. Type the same password in both fields on the next page and click “Save”
  6. A text message with the new password will be sent to the Worker automatically with the link to download that app and their password.

Reset from the app: Workers can reset their password directly form the app. On the login screen, there is a “reset password” button. When they click this button, the app will ask them to enter their phone number. If the phone number is assigned to an active worker they will receive a text back with a new password to log in with.