Set Up a Time Clock Kiosk: Associate a Kiosk with a Location and Let Employees Clock In/Out
Overview
A Time Clock Kiosk turns a shared in‑store tablet into a punch clock: employees walk up, enter their ID and PIN, and clock in or out — no individual logins, no personal devices needed.
Setup is a one‑time, three‑part job:
- Add a kiosk for the store/location (admin, in the web app).
- Pair the tablet to that kiosk — once. After that the tablet always opens to that store.
- Make sure employees have their ID and PIN, then they clock in/out.
This guide walks through each part. It takes about 5 minutes per store.
Who can do this: Managers and admins. Admins can set up a kiosk for any location; managers can set up kiosks for the stores they manage.
Before you start
- A tablet (or any web browser) at the store, on the internet. Any modern tablet works — no app to install.
- The location you’re setting up already exists in Time & Attendance.
- Decide how employees will identify themselves at the kiosk (Employee/Mango ID + PIN). Defaults are already configured — see Part 3.
Part 1 — Add a kiosk for the location
- In the left sidebar, open Time & Attendance, then choose Time Clock Kiosk.
(Direct link:/time_clock_kiosk_sessions.) - Click + Add Kiosk (top right).
- Fill in the form:
- Location — pick the store this kiosk is for. (Each location has exactly one kiosk — see the note at the end of this guide.)
- Pairing code — a 6–20 character code (letters and numbers). This is the code a tablet enters once to connect. You can type your own or generate one later with Rotate.
- Welcome message (optional) — shown on the clock‑in screen, e.g. “Welcome! Enter your Employee ID to clock in.”
- Completion message (optional) — shown after a successful punch, e.g. “Thanks — have a great shift!”
- Auto‑Reset Timer (seconds) — how long the confirmation stays up before the kiosk resets for the next person (default 8).
- No session timeout — leave this on (the default). A fixed in‑store tablet should stay connected indefinitely.
- Click Create & pair.
You’ll land on the kiosk’s page with the Pair a tablet panel — that’s Part 2.
Part 2 — Pair the tablet
On the kiosk page you’ll see the Pair a tablet panel with a QR code, the pairing code, and a connect URL:
On the store tablet, do this once:
- Open the connect screen. Two easy ways:
- Scan the QR code shown in the panel, or
- Open the Connect URL in the tablet’s browser (use the copy button to send it to yourself).
- On the tablet you’ll see Connect to Kiosk. Enter the pairing code and tap Connect.
That’s it. The tablet is now bound to this location. From now on it opens straight to this store’s clock‑in screen every time — no code needed again.
Tip — leave it open: Set the tablet to stay awake / not auto‑lock, and (optionally) save the kiosk page as a home‑screen shortcut so staff can’t wander off it.
Adding more tablets at the same store
Need a second or third tablet (front register, back office, stockroom)? Just repeat step 1–2 on each tablet using the same pairing code. They all connect to the same store kiosk and each appears in Paired tablets (next section).
Part 3 — Make sure employees can clock in
At the kiosk, an employee identifies themselves with an Employee ID + PIN.
Find each employee’s ID and PIN
On the Time Clock Kiosk page, scroll to the My Team — Kiosk Identifiers & PINs panel. For every employee it shows:
- Their ID (Mango ID by default), and
- Their PIN status — a Personal PIN they set themselves, or the Default PIN (click the dots to reveal it).
The panel header shows the current Default PIN rule (for example, “Last 4 digits of Mango ID”). Share each person’s ID and PIN with them, or let them set a personal PIN from their profile.
(Admins) Choose how IDs and PINs work
Click Kiosk Settings (top right of the Time Clock Kiosk page) to set, business‑wide:
- The identifier employees type (Mango ID or your external Employee ID).
- The default PIN rule — e.g. last 4 of the Mango ID, last 4 of the employee ID, or date of birth (MMDD).
Once an employee has an ID and a PIN, they’re ready to clock in.
Part 4 — Employees clock in and out
At the tablet (which now opens to your store):
- Enter your Employee ID and PIN.
- The screen shows your current status and the actions available to you:
- Clock In / Clock Out
- Start Break / End Break (if breaks are enabled)
- Tap the action. A confirmation appears, then the kiosk resets for the next person.
That’s the whole employee experience — no login, no personal device.
Managing your kiosks
Paired tablets (rename / revoke)
From the kiosk page click Manage paired tablets (or use the Paired tablets action in the kiosk list). Here you can:
- Name each tablet (e.g. “Front register”, “Back office”) so they’re easy to tell apart — type a name and click the check.
- Revoke a tablet (lost or replaced device). It immediately stops working and must re‑enter the pairing code to reconnect.
Rotate the pairing code
On the kiosk page, click Rotate to generate a fresh pairing code — useful if a code was shared too widely. Tablets already paired keep working; only a new (un‑paired) tablet needs the new code.
Reset an employee’s PIN
In the My Team panel, click Reset PIN next to an employee to put them back on the default PIN.
Exit kiosk mode on a tablet
To take a tablet out of kiosk mode, tap Exit Kiosk on the kiosk screen and enter the pairing code.
Good to know
-
One kiosk per location. Each store has a single kiosk (one pairing code, one set of messages). This keeps things unambiguous — a tablet always knows exactly which store it belongs to. You can pair as many tablets as you like to that one kiosk.
- Separate kiosks for sub‑areas? If a single site genuinely needs distinct clock‑in points (different entrances or departments that should clock into different units), set those up as separate locations — each location then gets its own kiosk.
- One tablet for several stores? A tablet can be paired to more than one location’s kiosk; when it opens it shows a short pick‑your‑store list (grouped by district). Use this only when you intend one device to cover multiple sites.
- The code is for pairing, not for daily use. Employees never type the pairing code — only the one‑time tablet setup does. Day to day, employees just use their ID + PIN.
Quick checklist
- Add Kiosk for the location (Time & Attendance → Time Clock Kiosk → + Add Kiosk)
- Pair the tablet once (scan the QR or open the connect URL, enter the pairing code)
- Confirm employees have an ID + PIN (My Team panel; adjust defaults in Kiosk Settings)
- Have an employee clock in to confirm it works
- Name the tablet(s) in Paired tablets