ANTE User Manual

Time Importation

Time Importation is the screen for bringing attendance records into ANTE in bulk. Instead of typing time-in and time-out entries one by one, you upload a spreadsheet — your standard template, a biometric-device export, or a raw-logs file — and ANTE reads it, checks every row for problems, lets you resolve any that clash with records already in the system, and then imports the clean ones as attendance logs.

The screen walks you through the import as a 5-step wizard: Configure → Upload File → Validate → Process → Complete. A separate Import History screen keeps a record of every batch you've run, so you can look back at what was imported, by whom, and when.

Accessing Time Importation

  1. Open Manpower in the sidebar.
  2. Under Timekeeping Logs, choose Time Importation.

The page header reads Time Importation, with a View History button in the top right.

Permissions

Time Importation is permission-protected. If it doesn't appear in your Manpower menu, your role doesn't have access to it — contact your administrator.

The Import Wizard

Across the top of the page is a step indicator showing the five steps. You move forward with the button at the bottom of each step, and you can click a completed step in the indicator to go back to it. Once you reach the final Complete step, the earlier steps are locked.

The five steps are:

  1. Configure — choose how the file should be read.
  2. Upload File — select and send your spreadsheet.
  3. Validate — review what ANTE found and resolve any conflicts.
  4. Process — confirm and run the import.
  5. Complete — see the results.

Step 1 — Configure

This step has a configuration form on the left and a help panel on the right that updates as you choose a template.

Fill in:

  • Template * — the format your file is in. (Required.) The choices are:
    • Default Template — a simple spreadsheet with Employee Code, Date, Name, Time, Type columns.
    • Biometrics Format — an export straight from a biometric device, with automatic format detection.
    • Raw Logs Format — a file with Employee Code, Name, Date, Time In/Out, Source columns.
    • AI Smart Import — upload images, PDFs, or any format and let AI extract the data. This option is marked "coming soon" and cannot be selected yet.
  • Import Mode * — how ANTE pairs the time entries it reads. (Required.) The choices are:
    • First In Last Out — pairs the first check-in of the day with the last check-out of that day.
    • Default Time In/Out — keeps every pair as-is, for employees who work multiple shifts in a day.
  • Device Format * — only appears when you pick Biometrics Format. (Required when shown.) It tells ANTE which device the export came from. The default is Auto-Detect (Recommended), and the list also includes ZKTeco Attendance, ZKTeco Avignon (Horizontal), Suprema Attendance, Hikvision Logs, Anviz Attendance, FingerTec Attendance, Nitgen Logs, Attendance Record Report (Grid), and Generic Attendance.

The help panel on the right shows, for the template you picked, the expected columns your file should contain and a short list of tips for preparing it.

Download a starter template

For the Default, Biometrics, and Raw Logs templates, a Download Template button appears once you've chosen the template (and device format, for biometrics). Click it to download a correctly-formatted .xlsx file you can fill in. The button is not offered for AI Smart Import.

Your Template, Import Mode, and Device Format choices are remembered between visits, so the screen opens with your usual settings already selected.

When the template and import mode are set, click Continue to Upload.

Step 2 — Upload File

Provide the spreadsheet you want to import.

  • Drag a file onto the drop zone, or click it to browse and pick a file. Only Excel or CSV files (.xlsx, .xls, .csv) are accepted.
  • Once a file is selected, its name and size are shown. Use the ✕ button next to it to remove the file and choose a different one.

Use Back to return to Configure, or click Upload & Validate to send the file. While it works, the button shows Uploading…. When the upload finishes, ANTE has read and checked the file, and you move automatically to the Validate step.

Step 3 — Validate

This step shows you exactly what ANTE found in your file before anything is imported.

At the top are four summary cards:

  • Total Rows — every row read from the file.
  • Valid — rows that passed all checks and are ready to import.
  • Errors — rows that failed a check and will be skipped.
  • Overlaps — rows that clash with attendance records already in the system.

Below the cards are three tabs, each showing the count of records it contains:

  • All Records — every row, with a Status of Valid, Error, Overlap, or Approved.
  • Errors — only the rows that failed, with an Error column explaining what's wrong (for example a missing employee match or a bad time format).
  • Overlaps — rows whose times clash with an existing log. Each row shows the existing log (its time-in to time-out and its source) so you can compare.

The record columns are Row, Employee Code, Name, Time In, Time Out, and Status.

Resolving overlaps. An overlap means the time you're importing overlaps an attendance record already on file. To bring these rows in, you approve them — importing an approved overlap replaces the existing log:

  1. Open the Overlaps tab.
  2. Tick the overlaps you want to keep, or click Select All to tick them all (they all start out pre-selected for you).
  3. Click Approve Selected — the button shows how many you've selected. Approved rows change to an Approved status.

Use Back to return to the Upload step. When you have at least one valid row and no overlaps still waiting for a decision, click Continue to Process.

Warning

Error rows are never imported — they are always skipped. Overlap rows are only imported if you approve them, and approving an overlap replaces the matching log that's already in the system.

Locked cutoffs

A row dated inside a payroll cutoff that has already left Time Keeping (payroll processing has started for it) cannot be imported — its attendance is frozen. Those rows are silently skipped at the Process step, so Logs Imported on the Complete step may be lower than Valid Records. If every valid row falls in a locked cutoff, the import is blocked entirely. To import those rows, first return the affected cutoff to Time Keeping from its Payroll Summary (Return to Timekeeping), then re-run the import.

Step 4 — Process

A confirmation card summarizes what's about to happen:

  • File — the file being imported.
  • Valid Records — how many rows will be imported.
  • Skipped (Errors) — how many rows will be left out (only shown if there are any).
  • Overlapping (Approved) — how many overlaps you approved (only shown if there are any).

A note restates how many records will be imported and how many existing logs the approved overlaps will replace.

Use Back to return to Validate, or click Process Import to run the import. While it works, the button shows Processing…. When it finishes, you move to the Complete step.

Large imports and timeouts

Processing writes your logs first, so it's normally quick — but a very large file can still take a while. If your browser reports that the import is taking longer than expected, it may still be completing in the background; check Import History before trying again rather than closing the page. If you click Process Import again on a batch that has already finished, ANTE shows you the completed results instead of an error. If processing fails for another reason, the message explains why (for example the batch isn't ready yet, is still processing, or a cutoff is frozen).

Step 5 — Complete

A success card confirms the import is done and shows the results. Attendance totals for the imported days are refreshing in the background and will appear in Timekeeping Logs shortly.

Three headline figures:

  • Logs Imported — the total number of attendance logs created.
  • Employees Updated — how many different employees the import touched.
  • Processing Time — how long the import took, in seconds.

Below that are details: the File name, the Date Range the imported logs cover, and the Completed At time. If any rows were skipped because of errors, a note reports how many.

From here you can:

  • View History — go to the Import History screen.
  • View Raw Logs — open the Raw Logs Browse screen, pre-filtered to the date range you just imported.
  • View Timekeeping — go to Payroll Time Keeping to see the imported time in the payroll workflow.
  • Import Another — clear the wizard and start a fresh import from Step 1.

Import History

Click View History (top right of the Time Importation page, or View History on the Complete step) to open Time Importation History — a record of every import batch.

Each row shows:

  • File Name — the file that was imported.
  • Status — a colored badge for the batch (for example Completed, Validated, Overlaps Found, Processing, or Failed).
  • Total Rows — rows read from the file.
  • Valid — rows that passed validation.
  • Errors — rows that failed.
  • Uploaded By — who ran the import.
  • Date — when the batch was started.

You can search by File Name, and the list is sorted with the most recent batch first. If there are no batches yet, the table shows "No import history found."

  • New Import — the button in the top right takes you back to the wizard to start a new import.
  • Click any row to open that batch's detail page.

Batch Details

Opening a batch shows everything about that import.

  • Overview — the file name, who uploaded it, a status badge, and the Started (and, when finished, Completed) times.
  • Import Statistics — Total Rows, Valid, Errors, Overlaps, and (once run) Processed.

For batches that finished successfully, two more sections appear:

  • Employee Summary — one row per employee, showing their name and employee code, the number of logs, total hours, and the date range their logs cover.
  • Imported Time Logs — the individual attendance logs created, with employee, date, time in, time out, duration, and any remarks.

Common Tasks

Import attendance from a spreadsheet

Step 1 — Go to Manpower → Timekeeping Logs → Time Importation.

Step 2 — On Configure, choose your Template and Import Mode (and, for a biometric export, the Device Format). If you need a blank file to fill in, click Download Template. Click Continue to Upload.

Step 3 — On Upload File, drag in or browse for your .xlsx, .xls, or .csv file, then click Upload & Validate.

Step 4 — On Validate, review the summary cards. Check the Errors tab to see what will be skipped, and the Overlaps tab to approve any clashing rows you want to keep. Click Continue to Process.

Step 5 — On Process, confirm the summary and click Process Import.

Step 6 — On Complete, review the results. Use View Raw Logs or View Timekeeping to check the imported data, or Import Another to start again.

Resolve overlapping records

Step 1 — On the Validate step, open the Overlaps tab.

Step 2 — Compare each row against the existing log shown beside it.

Step 3 — Tick the rows you want to keep (or Select All), then click Approve Selected. Approved rows replace the existing log when imported; unapproved overlaps are left out.

Step 4 — Once no overlaps are still pending, continue with Continue to Process.

Review a past import

Step 1 — On the Time Importation page, click View History.

Step 2 — Find the batch by browsing the list or searching by File Name.

Step 3 — Click the row to open its detail page and review the statistics, the per-employee summary, and the imported time logs.

Notes

  • 🔒 Error rows are always skipped; only valid rows — and overlaps you explicitly approve — are imported.
  • ♻️ Approving an overlap replaces the matching attendance log already in the system, so review overlaps carefully before approving.
  • ⚙️ Your Template, Import Mode, and Device Format selections are saved and pre-filled the next time you open the screen.
  • ⏳ AI Smart Import is listed as a template but is marked "coming soon" and cannot be selected yet.
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Raw Logs