Poll Time Clocks

Clicking the Poll Time Clocks button on the Poll Time Clocks window downloads times from the time clocks in use by the system.

Depending on the type of Timeclock you are using you will be presented with one of the following options. In all cases this process ends with a status screen which we will cover after detailing each clock type.

MYOB BundyPlus G6 Series Clock

Click Poll Timeclocks and the Polling screen appears. The polling process is automated. At the end of the process, the Timeclock status screen appears.

Promag Clock

If you have a Promag Timeclock you will be presented with the clocks polling menu. Choose <Read Data Buffer> by pressing <F2> and the software will download the clock times to the PC. When this process is finished you will be asked if you want to Clear the Data Buffer, If you are happy that the process was successful press <Y> for yes. Having done this choose <Exit> and the screen will return to a Time and Attendance processing screen.

TR1 Clock - Using TR1 Software

If you have a TR1 Timeclock you will be presented with the clocks polling menu. Choose Store and Clear by pressing F3 and the software will ask "All TR". Press enter. You are then asked to confirm the file name - this is normally TTRAK.DAT. Press enter again and the system will download the clock times to the PC.

If the screen displays the message "File Exists Overwrite". Always answer N for No. You will then be asked if you want to "Append"; answer Y for Yes. This message means that for some reason there is an existing clock file on the PC and the two files will be combined. Failure to do this could result in loss of clock data.

When this process is finished you will be returned to the TR1 menu. If you are happy that the process was successful press F10 to exit and the screen will return to a Exo Time and Attendance processing screen.

TR1 Clock - Using Exo Time and Attendance's TRDOS or TRWIN Software

If you have a TR1 Timeclock and you are using the internal Time and Attendance polling functions of TRDOS or TRWIN you will not see anything happen while the system is communicating with the Timeclock. When the process is finished you will be returned to the Exo Time and Attendance Status screen.

Processing an ASCII Times File from another clock or system.

If you have another system such as a Till or Job Costing system that generates your Times File you will not see anything happen while the system is processing the file. When the process is finished you will be returned to the Exo Time and Attendance Status screen.

TR2 Clock, TR3 Clock, TR3IP Clock

The polling process for Timeclock models TR2 and later is virtually identical. Click Poll Timeclocks and the Polling screen appears. The polling process is automated. At the end of the process, the Timeclock status screen appears.

TR2 Clock - Using Exo Time and Attendance's TR2DOS or TR2WIN Software

If you have a TR2 Timeclock and you are using the internal Time and Attendance polling functions of TR2DOS or TR2WIN you will not see anything happen while the system is communicating with the Timeclock. When the process is finished, you will be returned to the Exo Time and Attendance Status screen.

Amano and MR360 Polling Software

If you have an Amano or MR360 Timeclock and you are using their polling software, you will not see anything happen while the system is communicating with the Timeclock. When the process is finished you will be returned to the Exo Time and Attendance Status screen.

Timeclock Status

While Exo Time and Attendance is processing the times it will display the messages "Polling Timeclock" , "Processing Times" and "Processing Missing Days". You may also be prompted that there was some invalid data in the times file; if this is the case please contact MYOB Support for details on what to do.

Once the times have been processed, the Poll Time Clock Status screen appears, displaying messages regarding the success or failure of the polling process.

The following messages are possible:

OK - The polling was successful.
Times file is Invalid - One of the timelines was not the correct format.
Clock Program does not exist - The polling program could not be found.
Communication Problem - The computer could not communicate with the clock.
Incorrect Project Length - The Job number length set-up in Exo Time and Attendance is not the same as that set-up in the Timeclock.
No clock status returned - The clock was not responding to the software.
Time file could not be opened - The polling software did not create a file.

In general you will always get the OK message. Should you get one of the other messages, please ensure that your set-up is correct and that all cables are plugged in correctly.

Invalid Clockings Report

The Print Invalid Clocking Report button on the Poll Time Clock Status screen is enabled if, during the polling operation, the system came across some clockings which were not correct or the system did not know how to process them. Whenever this button is highlighted you should always print this report out to check what data was not correct and therefore could not be processed. You can choose to print to a Printer or Screen.

The report will display the clock transactions that could not be processed along with one of the following descriptions:

No Roster - Meaning that a time has come in for an employee on a day that a roster was not set-up.
Invalid Card - Meaning that a time has come in for an employee using a card that has not been assigned to an employee.
Invalid Company - Meaning that a time has come in for a card that has a Company number (the first 3 digits) different to that set-up in Exo Time and Attendance.
Day Posted - Meaning that a time has come in for an employee on a day that has already been Posted to Payroll. The purpose of printing this Report is so you can then attempt to rectify the problem i.e. Entering the Employees card in their masterfile. Having reviewed the problem clockings and where possible corrected the problem you would then reprocess the times.