# Attendance, late and no-show alerts

See who's on the clock and who's late or missing today, get late and no-show alerts, and mark shifts as sick, call-out or no-show.

For: Managers, Admins · On: Web, iOS, Android · [Help Center](https://www.mays.app/help) › [Time clock](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock) · Last updated October 13, 2026 · Mays Team

The top of the **Time Clock** page shows who's on the clock right now and how today's shifts are going. Mays also alerts managers when someone scheduled hasn't clocked in.

This works at locations that build their schedule in Mays (Scheduling, Pro plan).

## Who's working now and today's shifts

**Where:** **Scheduling → Time Clock** on the web. Pick the location in the sidebar.

![The top of the Time Clock page: 2 on the clock now with Owen South (20h 50m) and Olivia South (0m), and the Today table — Emma North Barista 5am–1pm No-show, Owen South Cashier 5:30am–9am Late, Olivia South Barista 5:45am–9am actual 5:44am–now In, and two Upcoming 9am–5pm shifts](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__attendance-and-late-alerts__01-on-the-clock-and-today.45e439574c.png)

**On the clock now** lists everyone with an open punch at the location and how long they've been on. Small icons mark someone **On break** (hover over it to see for how long), **Outside geofence**, or with **No GPS** (no location for that punch). Someone who forgot to clock out yesterday also shows here, with a long time — fix it on the timesheet. The list refreshes every 30 seconds; click **Refresh** to update it now.

**Force clock-out** (the arrow next to a name) asks *Clock {name} out now? Their punch ends at the current time.* and, when you click **OK**, clocks that person out. They get a *Time punch closed* notification. It's refused for a shift in a closed pay period, and the reason is shown: *Pay period is closed — reopen it first.*

**Today** lists every published shift at the location that starts today, with the scheduled and actual times and a status:

| Status | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| **Upcoming** | Not started yet, or started less than the late threshold ago. |
| **Late** | Started, no clock-in yet. |
| **No-show** | Still no clock-in after the no-show threshold. |
| **In** / **Late in** | Clocked in — on time, or after the late threshold. |
| **Done** | Clocked in and out. |
| **Sick**, **Call-out**, **Left late** | You marked the shift (see below). |

**Doubles.** Someone working two shifts at the location today has a row for each, and both read **(double)** — **On shift (double)**, **Late in (double)** or **Done (double)**. One clock-in counts for both: if they're still on the clock from their first shift, or clocked back in between the two, the second shift shows **On shift (double)**, never **No-show**, and the actual time is when they first clocked in. If they left after the first shift and never came back, the second shift still turns **Late** and then **No-show**.

![The Today table with doubles: Nate Kim's Cashier 11:30am–5:30pm and Shift lead 3:30pm–10:30pm shifts both On shift (double) from an 11:30am clock-in, Ana Alvarez's two Barista shifts both On shift (double), Sam Reyes Done (double) on his first shift and No-show on his second, and Kim Jones In on a single shift](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__attendance-and-late-alerts__03-today-double.fcb036c7ec.png)

The **Today** table is for managers and admins. The schedule grid shows the same **Late**, **No-show**, **In**, **Late in** and **Done** chips on each shift, and your own **Sick**, **Call-out** and **Left late** marks.

![The schedule grid with attendance marks on each shift: In on two overnight shifts, No-show on two 12:05am shifts, and a blue Sick, a purple Call-out, a grey Left late and a green Done on four 9am–5pm shifts](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__attendance-and-late-alerts__04-schedule-marks.727cf587ac.png)

## Set when someone counts as late

On the location's **Scheduling** tab → **Time clock** card:

- **Alert managers when late by** — 5 to 60 minutes (10 by default).
- **Mark as no-show after** — 15 to 120 minutes (30 by default). It must be longer than the late setting: choices that aren't are greyed out, in both lists, and Mays refuses them.

These are separate from the **Grace period**, which only affects rounding and approvals — see [Grace periods, rounding and auto-approval](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/time-clock-rules).

## Late and no-show alerts

Mays checks every five minutes and sends each alert once per shift:

| Notification | Who gets it | When |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Shift starting soon** — *Your shift at South starts at 9am.* | The employee | About an hour before the shift — not for a shift you've marked **Sick**, **Call-out** or **No-show**. |
| **Late clock-in** — *No clock-in from Owen South for the 5:30am shift at South.* | Managers and admins assigned to the location | Once the late threshold passes with no clock-in. |
| **Possible no-show** — same wording | The same managers and admins | Once the no-show threshold passes. |

- Alerts stop as soon as the person clocks in, or once you mark the shift.
- **No alerts for people who've left.** Once someone is deactivated or deleted, their shifts still on the schedule raise no **Late clock-in** or **Possible no-show** alerts, and they get no **Shift starting soon** reminder. The shifts stay on the schedule, under the person marked **Inactive**: reassign them, offer them up or delete them yourself.
- **Overnight shifts.** Clocking in at 11:50pm for a shift that starts at 12:05am counts for that shift, so it isn't reported late or a no-show. The same goes for clocking in just after midnight for a shift that started just before.
- **No false alerts on a double.** Someone still on the clock from their first shift — or clocked back in between shifts — isn't reported late or a no-show for their second one. Clocking out at the end of the first shift and not coming back still alerts.
- Alerts can't be switched off for a location. Each manager can turn them off for themselves in the app under **Profile → Notifications → Schedule** — which also turns off their other schedule notifications. See [Notifications](https://www.mays.app/help/mobile-apps/push-notifications).
- Mays can also phone a late opener automatically; that's set up under **Automation & AI**. See [Late clock-in phone calls](https://www.mays.app/help/ai-automation/late-clock-in-phone-calls).

## Mark a shift sick, call-out or no-show

1. On the web, open **Scheduling → Schedule** and click the shift.
2. In **Attendance**, choose **No-show**, **Late**, **Sick**, **Call-out** or **Left late**. It saves straight away.
3. To undo, choose **Clear**.

The **Attendance** box shows the shift's current mark when you open it, or *Mark attendance…* when there's none.

Marks are for your records: they show in the **Today** table and in **Scheduling → Reports → Attendance**, and they stop the alerts and the **Shift starting soon** reminder. They don't change hours or pay. You can't mark attendance in the app.

## In the app

Managers see a **Today at South** card at the top of the **Schedule** tab with today's shifts at their location. A green dot means the shift is happening now — it doesn't show whether the person clocked in. Tap the card to open the schedule; with several locations, tap the name to switch.

![The Today at South card in the app: 5am–1pm Emma North · Barista and 5:30am–9am Owen South · Cashier with green dots, then 5:45am–9am Olivia South · Barista and two 9am–5pm shifts](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__attendance-and-late-alerts__02-today-card-app.57513d7e79.png)

The manager schedule in the app (**Manage schedule** on iPhone, **Manager Schedule** on Android) shows who's **on the clock now** and who's on a break — on iPhone with the time the break started (*On break since 8:03am*).

## Good to know

- **The Attendance report reads the time clock too.** A shift clocked into late counts as **Late**, and a shift with no clock-in after the no-show time counts as a **No-show**, whether or not you marked it; your own mark always wins. The second shift of a double worked on one clock-in isn't counted as a no-show. Call-outs are in its **Call-outs** column.
- **Locations on the 7shifts schedule** don't get the Today table or these alerts: *Today attendance isn't available for 7shifts-synced locations yet.*
- **Only published shifts with someone assigned** count. Open shifts and drafts don't.
- **The employee is never alerted about their own lateness**, only reminded before the shift.
- **Clocking back in between two shifts.** When the punch is equally close to the shift that just ended and the next one, Mays links it to the next one (unless **Prevent early clock-in** would refuse that). This works the same when the two shifts are either side of midnight. Hours and pay always come from the punches themselves.
- **Which shift a clock-in counts for.** Mays picks the person's shift at that location closest to the time they clock in: any shift that starts that day, or one on the day before or after that's within 4 hours.

## Related articles

- Time clock: [Timesheets and pay periods](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/timesheets-and-pay-periods) — Review every punch in a pay period on the Time Clock page — fix, add or delete punches, approve them, check warnings and hours, then close the period for payroll.
- Time clock: [Grace periods, rounding and auto-approval](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/time-clock-rules) — Set a location's grace period, rounding, auto-approval, early clock-in and no-shift rules, and have forgotten punches closed automatically at a set time.
- Time clock: [Clocking in and out on your phone](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/clock-in-on-your-phone) — Clock in and out, and take breaks, from the Schedule tab of the Mays app — plus what the messages mean when the app won't let you clock in.
- Scheduling: [Building the weekly schedule](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/build-the-schedule) — Build a location's week on the web — add, move, copy and edit shifts, add open shifts, and keep an eye on time off, availability and labor cost while you work.
- Mobile apps: [Notifications](https://www.mays.app/help/mobile-apps/push-notifications) — Mays notifies you in the app about shifts, tasks, approvals and chat. See them all under the bell, choose which ones reach your phone, and fix notifications that don't arrive.
- Scheduling: [Your schedule in the app](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/my-schedule-on-mobile) — The Schedule tab in the Mays app shows your upcoming shifts, lets you confirm them, and opens open shifts, shift offers, time off, availability, your hours and the team schedule.
- AI & automation: [Late clock-in phone calls](https://www.mays.app/help/ai-automation/late-clock-in-phone-calls) — If nobody from the opening shift has clocked in a few minutes after opening, Mays phones each late opener to ask when they'll arrive, then calls the escalation manager if they don't answer.

## Still need help?

Send us a support request and a real person on the Mays team will get back to you.

[Contact support](https://www.mays.app/contact?topic=support) · [Call +1 (561) 286-3939](tel:+15612863939)

Canonical: https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/attendance-and-late-alerts