Activity - Shifton Help

Track specific tasks and activities within employee shifts for detailed productivity and time allocation reporting.

What Is This?

The Activity module adds a layer of task-level tracking on top of shift-based attendance. While the Attendance module records when employees start and end shifts, the Activity module tracks what they are doing during those shifts. Employees can log individual activities (tasks, assignments, job types) with start and end times, giving managers granular visibility into how time is spent.

This is especially valuable for teams that handle multiple task types during a single shift, such as cleaning crews, maintenance teams, customer service representatives, or healthcare workers.

Prerequisites

An active Shifton account.

Owner

or Admin role to configure settings.

The Attendance module must be enabled (required dependency).

How to Enable/Disable

Go to Modules in the left sidebar.

Find Activity in the module list.

Toggle the switch to enable or disable the module.

Module Settings

Navigate to Modules > Settings > Activity to configure the following:

Setting	Description	Default
How early can activity start (minutes)	The number of minutes before the scheduled activity start time that an employee is allowed to begin the activity.	3 minutes
How late can activity finish (minutes)	The number of minutes after the scheduled activity end time that the system waits before flagging the activity as overdue.	3 minutes
Change event time	Allows the system or manager to adjust the recorded start/end time of an activity.	Enabled / Disabled
Actions with unfinished activity	Determines what happens when an employee starts a new activity or ends their shift while a previous activity is still open.	Notify — send a notification to the manager about the unfinished activity. Close — automatically close the previous activity when a new one starts or the shift ends.
Unscheduled activity	Controls whether employees can start activities that are not pre-scheduled.	Enabled / Disabled
Default duration (minutes)	The default duration for an unscheduled activity.	60 minutes

Step-by-Step Usage Guide

Configuring Activity Settings

Go to Modules > Settings > Activity.

Set the early start and late finish tolerances based on your flexibility requirements.

Choose whether to allow event time changes by managers.

Select the appropriate action for unfinished activities (Notify or Close).

Enable or disable unscheduled activities.

If unscheduled activities are allowed, set the default duration.

Click Save.

Creating Scheduled Activities

Open the Activity page (left sidebar → Activity).

Click the Create an activity button at the top of the calendar.

Define the activity:

Name

mdash; description of the task (e.g., “Floor cleaning,” “Patient rounds”).

Start time

mdash; when the activity should begin.

End time

mdash; when the activity should end.

Employee

mdash; assign to a specific employee, or leave blank for the Free activities pool.

Project

mdash; associate with a project.

Click Save.

How Employees Log Activities

During their shift, the employee opens their shift view.

They see the list of scheduled activities.

They click Start on the current activity when they begin.

When finished, they click End.

If unscheduled activities are allowed, they can also click Start New Activity to log ad-hoc tasks.

Reviewing Activity Reports

Navigate to the Reports section.

Look for activity-related data in the Attendance or Working Hours reports.

Review time spent per activity, per employee, and per project.

Identify patterns such as tasks that consistently take longer than scheduled.

Pricing Info

Component	Cost
Monthly module fee	$0/month
Per-employee fee	$0.50/employee/month

For example, a company with 15 employees would pay: $0 + (15 x $0.50) = $7.50/month.

Access Permissions

Role	Configure Settings	Create Activities	Start/End Own Activities	View Team Activities	View All Activities
Owner	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Admin	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Manager	No	Assigned projects	Yes	Assigned projects	No
Employee	No	No	Yes	No	No

FAQ

Q: What is the difference between the Attendance module and the Activity module?
A: The Attendance module tracks shift-level events (clock in, clock out, breaks). The Activity module tracks task-level events within a shift — what the employee is actually working on during their hours.

Q: What happens when an employee forgets to end an activity?
A: It depends on your settings. If set to “Notify,” the manager is alerted about the open activity. If set to “Close,” the system automatically ends the activity when the next one starts or the shift ends.

Q: Can employees start activities before their shift begins?
A: No. Activities are tied to active shifts. The employee must be clocked in before they can start logging activities.

Q: Is there a limit to how many activities can be in one shift?
A: There is no hard limit. Employees can log as many activities as needed during their shift.

Q: Can I use this module without pre-scheduling activities?
A: Yes. If Unscheduled activity is enabled, employees can log ad-hoc activities during their shifts without them being pre-defined in the schedule.

Possible Issues and Solutions

Issue	Cause	Solution
Activity button not visible for employees	Module is not enabled or Attendance module is missing	Enable both the Attendance and Activity modules.
Employee cannot start activity early	“How early can activity start” is set to 0 or a very small value	Increase the early start tolerance (default is 3 minutes).
Open activities accumulating without being closed	“Actions with unfinished activity” is set to Notify instead of Close	Switch to “Close” if you want automatic cleanup, or train employees to end activities manually.
Unscheduled activity option not available	“Unscheduled activity” is disabled in settings	Enable unscheduled activity in the Activity module settings.
Activity times do not match actual work	Event time changes are disabled	Enable “Change event time” to allow managers to correct activity records.