Session types in AttendFirst: work and break categories

Every check-in in AttendFirst belongs to a session type. Work sessions add to work minutes; break sessions add to break minutes. Session types fill the Take Break and Switch activity pickers on the mobile home screen, and each type can carry its own GPS and selfie rule.

What’s in the list (Setup → Check-in Types)

Go to Setup → Check-in Types. Each row shows the session name and a Work or Break badge. The name is what an employee sees when tapping Take Break or Switch activity on the mobile home screen.

Every new company starts with three defaults: Work, Lunch Break, and Tea Break. Add more to match how your team tracks time.

Adding a session type

Click Add Check-in Type in the top right. The modal has four fields:

1. Name (required). Example: Site Visit, Client Meeting, Lunch Break.
2. Is Break? Toggle off for a Work type (adds to work minutes). Toggle on for a Break type (adds to break minutes).
3. Location verification. How this session type checks GPS. See below.
4. Selfie requirement. Whether this session type forces a selfie. See below.

Click Add Check-in Type. The new category is available on every employee’s mobile home screen immediately.

Location verification and Selfie requirement

Both dropdowns override the rules of the employee’s location for this one session type. Each has three options:

Option	What it does
Inherit from location	Uses the location’s Verify location or Require selfie setting. The default.
Skip - no verification	Turns the check off for this type, even if the location has it on.
Required - always check	Forces the check on for this type, even if the location has it off.

Use Skip for a type where presence at a fixed spot does not apply - for example a Work From Home or Field type. Use Required for a type where it always matters - for example a Cash Counter type, even at a location that normally skips verification. A session set to Required selfie that has no photo is flagged for review.

How session types appear to employees

After an employee checks in, the first session is always Work. From there, two pickers on the mobile /m home screen change the active session type.

Take Break - switch to a break type

While working, the employee taps Take Break. The picker opens with every break session type. Picking one closes the Work session and starts a Break session. Tapping End Break closes the break and starts a fresh Work session.

Switch activity - switch to another work type

While working, if you have more than one work type configured, a Switch activity link appears under the working badge. Tapping it opens a picker of the other work types. Picking one closes the current work session and opens a new work session tagged with that type - no break in between.

This is how an employee logs that they moved from Work to a Site Visit, or from Client Meeting back to Work, without their break minutes being affected. If you have only one work type, the Switch activity link does not appear.

Work vs Break on reports

Metric	What counts
Work minutes	Sum of every session tagged as a Work type
Break minutes	Sum of every session tagged as a Break type
Attendance %	Work minutes against shift length, per working day
Half-day	Triggered when work minutes fall below the threshold

Only work minutes count toward attendance status. A 9-hour day with a 1-hour lunch is 8 hours of work - Present.

Typical session type setup

Name	Type	Why
Work	Work	Default session after every check-in
Lunch Break	Break	Midday meal, usually 30-45 minutes
Tea Break	Break	Short morning / afternoon break, 10-15 minutes
Site Visit	Work	Field visit logged from the Switch activity picker
Client Meeting	Work	External meeting logged as a separate session for reporting
Outdoor Duty	Work	General field duty outside the office

Start with the three defaults and add more as needed.

Renaming or removing a session type

Click the three-dot menu on any row:

• Edit: change the name, the Is Break toggle, or the two override dropdowns. Historical sessions keep their original tag; only new sessions use the updated definition.
• Delete: hides the type from future pickers. Historical sessions tagged with it are preserved and continue to roll up into work/break totals based on the flag at the time of creation.

Frequently asked questions

What comes pre-configured?

Three types: Work, Lunch Break, Tea Break. Edit, delete, or add more.

When does an employee actually pick a session type?

The first check-in of the day always starts a Work session. After that, Take Break switches to a break type and Switch activity switches to another work type. Both are on the mobile home screen.

What do the Location verification and Selfie requirement dropdowns do?

They override the GPS and selfie rules of the employee’s location for that session type only. Skip turns the check off, Required forces it on, and Inherit uses the location’s own setting.

Do break minutes affect pay or attendance status?

Breaks do not auto-deduct from pay - that happens in your payroll tool. Breaks do reduce work minutes, and if work minutes fall below the half-day threshold, the day’s status becomes Half day.

Can I delete a session type that was used in the past?

Yes. Deleting hides the type from future pickers. Historical sessions tagged with the deleted type are preserved and continue to show correctly on reports.

Does changing Is Break affect past sessions?

No. Past sessions keep their original classification. Only sessions created after the edit use the new flag.

Related docs

• Check in and check out. The employee-side flow where the Take Break and Switch activity pickers appear.
• Locations. The per-location Verify location and Require selfie settings that session types can override.
• Working hours and shifts. The half-day threshold that uses work minutes (not elapsed time).
• Reports and CSV export. Where work minutes and break minutes are summed separately.