Auto-closed timesheets and what to do about them
Last reviewed: 2026-07-14
On this page
If a staff member forgets to clock out, Team Shift doesn't leave that timesheet running forever — it closes it automatically. Here's exactly how and when that happens.
Why a timesheet gets auto-closed
A timesheet is auto-closed when its calendar date (in the location's timezone) has passed and it's still marked active — in other words, nobody clocked it out by the end of its own day. This also happens if a staff member is archived while they still have an active timesheet open; archiving immediately force-closes it.
How the closing time is calculated
An auto-closed timesheet is closed at 23:59:59 local time on its own date, in the location's timezone — not the time an admin happens to notice it. If there was an open break at that moment, it's closed at the same instant. The timesheet's net hours are recalculated based on that cutoff, its status changes to Complete, and it's flagged as auto-closed.
Auto-close isn't run by a background job on a timer — it only runs when an admin next loads the Team Shift dashboard. This means there can be a delay between actual midnight and when a stale timesheet is visibly closed and flagged: if nobody opens the app for a day or two after a missed clock-out, the timesheet stays "in progress" until someone does. The recorded close time (23:59:59 of its own date) is still accurate once it happens — only the timing of the closure itself is delayed.
There's no email notification when a timesheet auto-closes — you'll only see it through the in-app banners on the Dashboard and Timesheets pages, so it's worth checking those periodically rather than waiting for an alert.
Finding and reviewing flagged timesheets
Auto-closed, unreviewed timesheets are called out with a warning banner at the top of the Timesheets dashboard: "N timesheets were auto-closed at midnight and may need review," with Show flagged and Mark all as reviewed actions. Flagged rows also get a highlighted left border and both Complete and Auto-closed badges.
To review one individually, open its detail page. If it hasn't been reviewed yet, you'll see a warning banner: "Auto-closed timesheet — This timesheet was auto-closed at midnight because the staff member did not clock out. Please review and correct the times," with a Mark as reviewed action. Once reviewed, that banner is replaced by a plain informational one.
Typically you'll want to edit the clock-out time to what it actually should have been (see Reviewing and editing timesheets) before marking it reviewed, so your hours and reports reflect reality rather than a midnight cutoff.