An Admin's Guide to Enabling Time & Attendance for Employees

The guide provides instructions for enabling BambooHR® Time & Attendance for employees to track their work hours. Administrators can enable this feature for individual employees, multiple employees, or by groups. Key criteria for eligibility include BambooHR access, a hire date, a pay schedule, and an active employment status. The guide outlines necessary steps, such as navigating to employee profiles, selecting options for immediate or scheduled start dates, and troubleshooting common issues. It also details the roles of admins, managers, and employees in this process. Additional sections cover common errors, escalation procedures, and related articles for further assistance. This resource aims to streamline the implementation of time tracking within organizations.

  • May 19, 2026
  • Knowledge

Title
An Admin's Guide to Enabling Time & Attendance for Employees
Article Text
BambooHR Time & Attendance (Formerly BambooHR Time Tracking) is only included as an add-on.

Summary:

This guide explains how to enable BambooHR® Time & Attendance for employees who need to record their worked hours. You can enable Time & Attendance for a single employee, multiple employees at once, or by employee group. It also covers required criteria, start date options, and troubleshooting tips.

Expand AllCollapse All

Table of Contents

Who this is for

  • Admins: Can enable Time & Attendance for all employees or groups.
  • Managers: Can view and approve timesheets once employees are enabled.
  • Employees: Cannot enable Time & Attendance themselves; they gain access once an admin enables it.

Before you start

To prepare an employee profile for Time & Attendance, ensure they meet all criteria:

  1. The employee must have BambooHR access.
    • Must be assigned to an access level.
  2. The employee must have a hire date in BambooHR.
  3. The employee must be assigned to a pay schedule.
  4. The employee must have an active Employment Status.
    • Any standard employment status other than "Terminated".

If you use a BambooHR Time Clock, you must enable Time & Attendance before adding employees to the device. If you use a BambooHR Time Kiosk, employees will sync automatically.

Steps

Enable Time & Attendance for an individual employee
1. 1.Go to the employee’s Profile.2.Click the Action Menu (top-right).3.Hover over Time Tracking > select Enable Time Tracking.4.In the pop-up, choose a group for the employee (if applicable) and when Time Tracking should begin:•Immediately: Enables Time Tracking for the current pay period (including past days).•Next Pay Periods: Choose from one of the next three pay period start dates.5.Click Save.
  1. Go to the employee’s profile.
  2. Click the action menu (top-right).
  3. Hover over Time & Attendance > select Enable Time & Attendance.
  4. In the pop-up, choose a group for the employee (if applicable) and when Time & Attendance should begin:
    • Immediately: Enables Time & Attendance for the current pay period (including past days).
      • Note: You can only choose "Immediately" if the user was hired before the start of the current pay period. If you are assigning a new hire to Time & Attendance, the start date options available will only include future pay period start dates. If the employee’s hire date doesn’t align with the start of a pay period, it won’t appear as a selectable option.
    • Next Pay Periods: Choose from one of the next three pay period start dates.
  5. Click Save.
Enable Time & Attendance for multiple employees
1.Go to Settings > Time & Attendance > Add Employees.2.(Optional) Use filters (department, location, pay type) to narrow the list.3.Select employees. Use Shift/Command to select multiples and move them into the selection box.4.Choose start option:1.Immediately: Access is granted right away.2.Schedule Start Date: Choose a start date aligned with pay schedules.•Review selections and confirm.5.After enabling, check the employee list. Use the calendar icon or Change All Start Dates to adjust.
  1. Go to Settings > Time & Attendance > Add Employees.
  2. If applicable, pick a time tracking group for the employees.
  3. (Optional) Use filters (department, location, pay type) to narrow the list.
  4. Select employees. Use Shift/Command to select multiples and move them into the selection box.
  5. Choose start option:
    1. Immediately: Access is granted right away.
    2. Schedule Start Date: Choose a start date aligned with pay schedules.
      • Review selections and confirm.
  6. After enabling, check the employee list. Use the calendar icon or Change All Start Dates to adjust.
Enable Time & Attendance by group
1.Go to the desired Time Tracking Group.2.Click Add Employees.3.Follow the modal to select employees and define their start date.
  1. Go to the desired Time & Attendance group.
  2. Click Add Employees.
  3. Follow the modal to select employees and define their start date.
Common errors & fixes
  • Employee missing from list
    • Cause: Missing pay schedule, inactive status, or no BambooHR access
    • Fix:
      1. Verify the employee has a pay schedule in Job Information table
      2. Verify Status field on Personal tab
      3. Verify access level on the employee profile by clicking the three-dot icon.
  • Timesheet tab not appearing
    • Cause: Time & Attendance not fully enabled or future start.
    • Fix: Verify start date on the Time & Attendance settings page.
  • Overtime not calculating
    • Cause: Exempt employee or incorrect Overtime State/Province setting
    • Fix:
      1. Verify Overtime Status is Non-Exempt
      2. Verify employee has the correct State or Province
Can I automate time & attendance assignment features for new hires?

It depends on the feature.

All Time & Attendance features require an initial manual setup and assignment. Additionally, Time & Attendance must be enabled manually for each new employee, either from the employee profile or from Time & Attendance settings.

Some related features can automatically include new employees after setup:

For these features, admins can choose All Employees. When this option is selected, any new employee added to Time & Attendance is automatically eligible for the applicable break policy, project, or shift differential.

However, if an admin selects Only Specific Employees for any of these features, new Time & Attendance users must be manually added to the appropriate break policies, projects, or shift differentials.

Escalation & status

Contact BambooHR Support if:

  • Employees meeting all criteria still cannot be added.
  • Scheduled start dates are not applying correctly.
  • Timesheets are not generating after enablement.
URL Name
899228