WPChef Employee Attendance Tracker Free
This guide covers installation, settings, shortcode setup, employee usage, reports, CSV export, and data/privacy notes for the Free plugin.
Requirements
WordPress
WordPress 6.2 or higher.
PHP
PHP 7.4 or higher.
User login
Employees must be logged in and must have an allowed role or clock permission.
Installation
- Upload the ZIP.
Go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin and upload the Free plugin ZIP. - Activate the plugin.
After activation, the plugin creates its attendance database tables and adds the WPChef Attendance Employee role. - Open settings.
Go to WPChef Tracker > Settings. - Configure location and timezone.
Set the Location Name and Company Timezone. The Free edition supports one company location and one timezone. - Choose allowed roles.
Select which WordPress roles can use the frontend time clock. - Create the employee page.
Create a protected page and add the shortcode - Test with an employee account.
Log in as an allowed employee and test Clock In, Start Break, End Break, and Clock Out.
Free settings explained
| Setting | What it does | Recommended value |
|---|---|---|
| Location Name | Stores the company location name on attendance records. | Use your main office or company name. |
| Company Timezone | Controls all attendance timestamps in the Free edition. | Use the timezone where payroll is managed. |
| Allowed Clock Roles | Allows selected WordPress roles to use the employee time clock. | Select WPChef Attendance Employee and any custom employee roles. |
| Uninstall Data | Deletes WPChef Attendance tables and settings only when the plugin is uninstalled. | Leave unchecked unless you intentionally want to remove all plugin data during uninstall. |
Employee clock page
Add this shortcode to a protected Divi page:
Please log in to use the employee time clock.
The frontend dashboard shows the employee name, employee ID, current attendance status, current time, clock-in time, break time, net time, action buttons, feedback messages, and recent attendance records.
Admin attendance and reports
Attendance
Go to WPChef Tracker > Attendance. Admins can filter by date range, employee, and status. The table includes employee ID, employee name, date, clock in/out, break in/out, break total, break note, total net time, status, IP address, admin note, and edit action.
Reports
Go to WPChef Tracker > Reports. The report screen summarizes daily employee records, shift count, break hours, and total hours based on selected date filters.
CSV export
Use the Export CSV button on the Attendance screen. The Free export includes employee, date, clock time, break, total time, and status information for the selected filters.
What the Free plugin stores
- WordPress user ID and generated employee ID.
- Work date, location name, timezone, clock in/out, break in/out, break note, break minutes, total minutes, and attendance status.
- Event evidence such as event type, event time, IP address, user agent, and device/browser details.
- Manual admin adjustment information when an attendance record is edited.