Nobody fills in a timesheet here. Every working day counts as a normal day unless somebody records otherwise, so a month with nothing in it is not empty: it is a month of assumed days. You record only what was different, such as an absence, a short day or overtime.
How a day is decided
AB Talent works down this list and stops at the first line that applies:
| Order | What it checks | The day shows as |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somebody recorded this day | What they recorded, marked Recorded |
| 2 | It is a Saturday or Sunday | Weekend |
| 3 | It is one of your company holidays | Holiday |
| 4 | Time off was approved for this day | On leave |
| 5 | It is before their start date or after their last working day | Not due in |
| 6 | Otherwise | Worked, at eight hours |
A human record comes first on purpose. Somebody who worked a public holiday is exactly the case payroll must not lose, and recording the day as Worked with its hours beats the calendar. Saturdays and Sundays are weekends for everyone, and an assumed day is eight hours for everyone, so if a person's week is different, record the days that matter.
Record a day
HR admins, the person themselves and their manager can record a day. If you can see more than one person, choose them under Whose.
- Find the day. Use the arrows beside Month, then click Record on the day.
- Choose What happened? Worked, Absent or Holiday.
- Enter Hours worked. Use more than the usual day for overtime. An absence has no hours box and counts as zero.
- Add a Note (optional) saying why the day was different.
- Click Record.
You cannot choose On leave or Weekend. Those are worked out, and a day of leave typed by hand would disagree with the balance it never charged.
When a reason is required. The first record on a day in an open month needs none, because its note already explains it. Why is this changing? appears when you change a day that is already recorded, and for any change in a closed month. Undo, which removes a record and puts the day back to normal, always asks for one.
Every change is listed under Changes this month: what the day was, what it became, who changed it, when and why.
Approved leave is not an absence
A day of approved time off shows as On leave by itself, and you record nothing. It was already charged to a balance, so calling it Absent would penalize the same day twice. Absent means somebody was not at work and not on approved leave, and it is the one status payroll has to act on.
Holidays are yours to add
AB Talent has no built-in holiday list. Holidays differ by country and by year, so it does not guess them, and each workspace keeps its own. Until you add them, a public holiday is an ordinary working day here.
- Scroll to Company holidays at the bottom of the Attendance tab. Only HR admins see it.
- Enter the Date and What is it?, then click Add.
The panel lists the year of the month you are viewing, so move to next year's months to add next year's days. Remove really does delete a holiday, after asking, and the day becomes an ordinary working day in everyone's attendance.
Closing a month for payroll
Closing keeps a record of what payroll was given, so a payslip disputed later has something to be checked against. It covers the whole workspace at once, and only an HR admin can do it.
- Go to the month. Check it first, including how many days were recorded.
- Click Close {month} for payroll. The button appears from the first day of a month, so wait until the month has actually ended.
- Read the dialog, then click Close for payroll. Each person's totals are kept as they stand at that moment.
Closing stores the figures and sends nothing. AB Talent has no connection to your payroll provider and no export, so passing the numbers on is still your step.
Correcting a closed month
- Only HR can make a correction. The person and their manager lose the Record button on that month.
- Every correction needs a reason, and shows under Changes this month with the After close badge.
- The month then shows what was sent against what it says now, under “This month has changed since payroll was sent.” That difference is what you send payroll as an adjustment.
Adding or removing a holiday changes everyone's assumed days, in a closed month too. If you touch a holiday in a month you have already closed, expect that same notice. Somebody added after the close shows as not being in what payroll was sent.
Once you have closed a month, the Home tab reminds HR admins when the next one is waiting. A workspace that has never closed a month does not get the reminder.
Joiners and leavers get part months
Days before somebody's start date and after their last working day show as Not due in. They are not assumed worked and do not count as working days, so a first or final month is a part month everywhere. The cut-off is the Last working day on their departure, not the day employment ends: somebody on leave until their contract ends is still employed, but nobody expects them in.
Two things still count outside those dates. A recorded day stands, for example somebody who came in to hand over after their last day. Approved leave stays On leave, because accrued holiday taken before employment ends is paid.
This needs a start date on the record. People imported from Microsoft 365 have none, so their first month is not trimmed. See The roster and org chart.
AB Talent supplies, your payroll provider calculates
AB Talent holds the days, hours and leave. It does not work out pay, overtime rates or deductions; your payroll provider does that from what you give it. Treat the numbers on this tab as the input to pay and not the pay itself, and record the exceptions before you close the month.