Which report or tool should I use for each type of Attendance analysis?

Day.io provides different reports and tools for reviewing, validating, and correcting Attendance information. The best option depends mainly on the purpose of your analysis: investigating one employee, reviewing multiple employees at once, correcting punches, or monitoring indicators over time.

For example, Summary helps you quickly identify employees with Extra Hours, Hours Bank balances, Missing Hours, or absences, while the Payroll Report helps you investigate the specific days on which those results were generated. Super Punch is more appropriate when, in addition to identifying an issue, you need to correct or organize the punches.

Which tool should I use in each situation?

The Reports module includes the Payroll Report, Summary, Extra Hours, Hours Bank, Electronic Signature, Late arrivals, and Downloads Center, each designed for a different type of analysis. 

When should I use the Payroll Report?

Use the Payroll Report when you need to understand in detail how an employee's result was calculated.

It provides one row for each day and allows you to analyze information such as:

• Entry, break, and Exit punches;
• Schedule and Pay Policy applied;
• Planned and Worked Hours;
• Extra Hours;
• Daily and Cumulative Hours Bank results;
• Missing Hours;
• Night Shift;
• Late arrivals and Early leaves;
• Absences, holidays, and adjustments.

For this reason, it is especially useful when a total catches your attention in another report and you need to find out which days generated that value. The Summary consolidates the period by employee, while the Payroll Report provides the daily breakdown.

Example: Summary shows that John has 08:00 in Extra Hours. To identify which days generated those hours, open John's Payroll Report for the same period.

The Payroll Report is also recommended when you need the final attendance document for employees or need to generate reports for several people at once. Use Download multiple reports to export multiple Payroll Reports.

See also: Payroll report. What report is this?
See also: How to interpret the columns in the Summary and Payroll Report?

When should I use Summary?

Use Summary when you need a consolidated analysis of multiple employees.

While the Payroll Report provides daily details, Summary consolidates the totals for the selected period into one row per employee. This makes it easier to quickly identify people or groups with results that require attention, such as:

• Worked Hours;
• Planned Hours;
• Extra Hours;
• Hours Bank;
• Missing Hours;
• Absences;
• Late arrivals;
• Early leaves;
• Night Shift.

Summary is therefore a useful starting point for batch analyses. After identifying an unexpected result, use the Payroll Report to investigate the specific days responsible for the value.

Example: you need to review 80 employees before closing. Use Summary to identify who has a negative Hours Bank balance, Missing Hours, or Extra Hours above expectations. Then open only the Payroll Reports of employees who require a detailed review.

You can also use Download custom period when the analysis should not be limited to the configured closing period.

If your company does not have access to Analytics, Summary with a custom period is an alternative for extracting and working with consolidated report data, although it does not provide the same dashboards and analytical views available in Analytics.

See also: Summary report. What report is this?

When should I use the Clock Ins Report?

Use the Clock Ins Report when you need to review the history of punches that were recorded, including adjusted punches. The report focuses on punch records rather than the final daily calculation.

Unlike the Payroll Report, it should not be used as the main view of the final calculated result for each day.

Therefore:

• To check what was ultimately considered in the calculation, use the Payroll Report;
• To investigate the history of punches recorded, use the Clock Ins Report.

This distinction is particularly useful during audits. If you need to present the employee's final calculated attendance record, use the Payroll Report. If you need to investigate the history of punch records and adjustments, also review the Clock Ins Report.

When should I use Super Punch?

Use Super Punch when you need not only to review a result but also to take action on Attendance records.

The employee view centralizes punch management and helps identify and handle situations such as:

• Pending Punches;
• Invalid Punches;
• Missing punches;
• Punches that require review;
• Absence Requests;
• Records that require approval or correction.

Depending on the user's permissions, Super Punch can also be used to perform management actions before closing the period.

Example: if the Payroll Report shows an incorrect result because there is a Pending or Invalid Punch, use Super Punch to resolve the record and then generate the report again.

Important: Reports are intended for reviewing and validating results. When you need to correct or organize punches, use Super Punch.

See also: Super Punch: punch management and locking in one screen — what it is and how to use it

When should I use the Super Punch Groups view?

Before opening employees one by one, use the Groups view in Super Punch to identify where the main issues are concentrated.

This view consolidates indicators such as:

• Pending Punches;
• Invalid Punches;
• Progress of Worked Hours compared with Planned Hours;
• Missing Days;
• Extra Hours;
• Banked hours.

This allows you to identify the teams or groups that require attention before opening employees who need individual corrections.

Example: before closing, a manager is responsible for 200 employees. Instead of opening each person individually, they can use the Groups view to identify which teams have the highest number of Pending or Invalid Punches and prioritize those teams.

An efficient workflow is:

1. Open the Groups view;
2. Identify teams with the most issues;
3. Open employees who require attention;
4. Correct the records in Super Punch;
5. Validate the results again in Reports.

See also: Super Punch: how to analyze Groups

When should I use Analytics?

Use Analytics when you need a broader analysis, want to compare information, or want to turn Attendance data into management indicators.

Analytics dashboards provide strategic views of areas such as absenteeism, Extra Hours, Banked Hours, Missing Days, irregularities, and other workforce metrics. Filters such as Date, Team, Department, Cost center, Subsidiary, and Supervisor can be combined with cards, charts, and tables for more robust analyses.

Analytics is particularly useful for situations such as:

• Reviewing Hours Bank data for multiple employees across several days;
• Analyzing Extra Hours by day, period, Team, or Department;
• Identifying days or groups with a higher number of absences;
• Monitoring absenteeism;
• Comparing different areas of the company;
• Identifying trends over time;
• Creating more robust management analyses.

Example: if you only need the total Extra Hours for each employee in the month, Summary may be enough. If you need to compare the evolution of Extra Hours by day, Team, or period and use that information for management analysis, use Analytics.

Important: Analytics may be available as an additional feature depending on your company's plan. If your company does not have access, use Summary and, when necessary, Download custom period to extract the consolidated data available in Reports.

See also: Analytics dashboards: how they work

When should I use the Hours Bank report?

Use Hours Bank when your main goal is to analyze employees' Hours Bank balances.

The report shows accumulated positive or negative balances and their phases and also allows authorized users to make credit or debit adjustments through Adjust Bank.

It is recommended when the main question is, for example:

• What is each employee's current balance?
• Who has a positive or negative balance?
• How are the hours distributed between phases?
• Is an adjustment to the Hours Bank required?

If you need to understand which days generated a particular balance, complement the analysis with the Payroll Report.

See also: Banked Hours: settings and reports

When should I use the Extra Hours report?

Use Extra Hours when you specifically need to analyze hours worked beyond the employee's Schedule and how those hours were distributed according to the configured rules.

The report shows overtime balances, phases, discounts, and other related information and can be used for employees or groups.

It is a good option when your analysis is focused exclusively on Extra Hours. If you also need to compare Extra Hours with Hours Bank, Missing Hours, Worked Hours, and other results in the same view, Summary may be more appropriate.

See also: Extra hours: what report is this?

When should I use the Downloads Center?

The Downloads Center includes reports designed mainly for large-scale validations before closing or sending information to payroll.

The Inconsistencies Report is recommended when you need to automatically identify situations that require review, such as:

• Hours worked above the defined limit;
• Extra Hours above the limit;
• Pending Punches;
• Invalid Punches;
• Odd punches;
• Missing Hours;
• Absences;
• Planned days without punches;
• Break and Cross Shift irregularities.

The file displays events by employee and by day, making large-scale review easier.

The Validation Report, on the other hand, is used to review consolidated payroll events according to the configured layout before importing them into the payroll system.

See also: How to Use the New Downloads Center: Irregularities and Validation Reports

Recommended workflow for Attendance closing

The tools can be used together. For an operation with many employees, one possible workflow is:

1. Start with the Groups view in Super Punch to identify where the main issues are;
2. Use individual Super Punch views to correct, approve, and organize records;
3. Generate Summary to review totals for multiple employees;
4. When a result requires investigation, open the employee's Payroll Report;
5. Use Hours Bank or Extra Hours when you need to investigate those calculations specifically;
6. Use the Downloads Center to identify large-scale inconsistencies or validate payroll events;
7. Use Download multiple reports in the Payroll Report when you need the final employee documents;
8. Use Analytics, when available, to monitor indicators, comparisons, and trends over time.

The goal is not to choose a single report for the entire process, but to use each tool at the stage where it provides the most appropriate view.

Tips and troubleshooting

• I found an incorrect total but don't know which day generated it: locate the total in Summary and open the Payroll Report for the same employee and period;
• I need to correct a punch: use Super Punch instead of a report;
• I have many employees and don't know where to start: use the Groups view in Super Punch to prioritize teams with the most issues;
• I need to review the history of a punch that was corrected: use the Clock Ins Report;
• I only need the Hours Bank balance: use the Hours Bank report;
• I need to analyze trends or compare periods: use Analytics;
• I don't have Analytics: use Summary and Download custom period for the available consolidated data;
• I need to identify inconsistencies across the company: use the Inconsistencies Report in the Downloads Center.

Best practices

• Use Summary as the starting point for batch analyses and the Payroll Report for detailed investigation;
• Correct records in Super Punch before treating the results as final;
• Use the Groups view to prioritize issues before closing;
• Generate the Payroll Report, Summary, and other reports using the same period when comparing values;
• Use specific Hours Bank or Extra Hours reports when your analysis is focused on those results;
• Use Analytics for ongoing monitoring of indicators and trends rather than only for investigating an isolated occurrence;
• Before closing, use the inconsistency tools to reduce pending issues and rework.

Frequently asked questions

1. Which report should I use to analyze one employee in detail?
   Use the Payroll Report. It provides information by day and helps you understand how Worked Hours, Extra Hours, Hours Bank, Missing Hours, and other results were generated.
2. Which report is best for analyzing many employees?
   Use Summary for a consolidated view. Then open the Payroll Report only for employees who require further investigation.
3. Which tool should I use to correct punches?
   Use Super Punch. Reports are primarily intended for reviewing and validating results.
4. How can I quickly find employees with Pending or Invalid Punches?
   Use the Groups view in Super Punch. It helps compare groups and prioritize those with the highest number of issues.
5. Which report should I send to employees or use as the final document for the period?
   Use the Payroll Report. For multiple employees, use Download multiple reports.
6. When should I use Analytics instead of Summary?
   Use Summary when you need consolidated totals for a period. Use Analytics when you need to compare periods, groups, trends, or work with broader indicators and visualizations.
7. What can I use if my company does not have Analytics?
   Use Summary and, when you need a period different from the closing period, Download custom period.
8. Which tool helps identify inconsistencies before closing?
   For a visual overview, use the Groups view in Super Punch. For large-scale analysis based on inconsistency metrics, use the Inconsistencies Report in the Downloads Center.
9. Do Summary and the Payroll Report show the same information?
   They use related Attendance information but at different levels. Summary consolidates totals by employee, while the Payroll Report provides daily details and helps identify where those totals came from.