Logs download, but the report shows no attendance

The exact problem Milesef hit: both devices reported ~1039 logs downloaded, yet the Monthly Status Report came back mostly Absent / blank for the month.

Fix in order

1 · Assign a shift to every employee most likely cause

Without a shift the engine has no IN/OUT window, so it can't decide what counts as Present. A shift assigned for a single day produces the classic "P on day 1, blank after" pattern.

1. Open Masters → Employees, pick the employee, go to the Shift tab, assign a shift (e.g. General 09:00–18:00), Save.
2. For everyone at once use Masters → Employee Shift or set a Fixed Shift in Master Settings.
3. Confirm the schedule covers the whole month, not just one date.

2 · Re-calculate / reprocess the punches

Logs downloaded before shifts were set were already skipped. Force a recompute for the date range.

1. Open Utilities → Re-Calculate Attendance (in some builds under Admin).
2. Set range 01–30 of the month, all employees, run.
3. If no such option, re-download logs after shifts are assigned.
4. Re-open the Monthly Status Report.

3 · Check Emp Code mapping (device vs software)

If device User IDs don't match the software Emp Code exactly, punches land as "unknown user" — in DeviceLogs but never linked to a person.

1. Open Reports → Device Logs for the month.
2. Punches present but report still blank → mapping issue.
3. In Masters → Employees confirm each Emp Code matches the device User ID, then re-calculate.

4 · Generate the report

1. Reports → Monthly Status Report → set month → Generate.
2. Verify P/A/WO marks populate, then export to Excel/PDF.

60-second triage

Run the Daily Attendance Register / Punch Report for the month first — what you see points straight to the cause.

Logs OK, monthly report blank

The headline issue — fully covered on its own page with ordered fixes and videos.

Device won't connect / "Unable to connect"

The software can't reach the biometric terminal, so logs never download. Often shows as Error code -2.

"Unhandled Exception" on login

Software crashes at the login screen, often citing System.Web 4.0.0.0.

"Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0 provider not registered"

The software can't open its Access/Excel database because the OLEDB driver is missing or the bitness (32/64) doesn't match.

"Read-only database" error

Writes fail because the database file or its folder has no write permission, or sits in a protected path.

"Date is not valid" in Device Management

A mismatch between the device's date format and Windows regional settings breaks log download.

Report viewer / "Microsoft Visual Basic" error

Reports refuse to render, throwing a VB / report-viewer runtime error.

Utilities / Reports menus greyed out

After login, key menus are disabled — usually a user-permission (role) setting, occasionally a corrupted install.

Logs not downloading automatically

Manual download works, but punches don't flow in on their own through the day.

Duplicate or odd punches skewing attendance

Employees punching twice in quick succession create messy IN/OUT pairs and wrong work-hour totals.

Masters & Company setup

The foundation: company details, global attendance rules, and users/roles. Configure these before anything else.

Company & users

• Company Details — name, short name, email, website, address. "Visible to All" controls who sees the company.
• Role & User Management Admin → Roles / Users — create operators with limited rights (e.g. HR can view reports but not edit shifts).
• Mail / SMS Settings — optional alerts for new punches or absentees.

Master Settings (the rules engine)

Employees

Add staff, keep Emp Codes matched to device IDs, and move users between software and devices.

Add & edit

1. Masters → Employees → Add — set Emp Code (must match device User ID), name, department, designation, category, employment type.
2. Assign the default shift on the Shift tab.

Bulk import / export

Use Utilities → Import / Export Employees to load many employees from a template file — far faster than manual entry.

Sync with devices

• Upload Users — push software employees (and fingerprints/faces) to a device.
• Download Users — pull users already enrolled on a device into the software.

Shifts & Calendar

Shifts define the IN/OUT window the engine uses to decide Present, Late, Early, OT. Get this right and reports just work.

Leave types & holidays

Define leave categories and company holidays so the report shows L / H instead of false Absent marks.

• Leave Types Masters → Leave Types — CL, SL, PL, LWP etc., with quotas.
• Public Holidays — add the holiday calendar so those days mark as H, not A.
• Leave Entries — assign leave to one or many employees for a date range (full/half/¾/¼ day).
• Out Door (OD) Entries — mark official outside-office duty so it isn't counted absent.

Manage Attendance

Day-to-day corrections: schedule shifts, enter leave/OD, and fix missing punches by hand.

• Schedule Shift — assign/adjust shifts for employees over dates.
• Assign Leave / OD Entries — bulk apply leave or outdoor duty.
• View Log Records / Add Manual Entry — add a missed punch (needs Direction + Date/Time). You can edit/delete only manually-added logs.

Device Management

Everything to do with the biometric terminals: connecting, downloading logs, syncing users, and scheduling.

Utilities & Backup

Housekeeping that keeps the system fast and your data safe.

• Backup Database — save a copy before any reinstall, upgrade, or big change. Do this regularly.
• Backup & Clear Old Logs — archive old punches to a .bck file and optionally clear them to keep the DB lean.
• Restore Old Logs — bring archived punches back from a .bck file.
• Import / Export Employees — bulk manage staff (see Employees page).
• Parallel Database — run a secondary DB copy.

Re-Calculate Attendance

The single most useful "fix-it" button — rebuilds AttendanceLogs from raw punches for a date range.

Use it after you change shifts, fix Emp Codes, add manual punches, enter leave, or whenever the report looks wrong.

1. Open Utilities → Re-Calculate Attendance.
2. Set From/To dates; optionally filter by company/department.
3. Run, then regenerate the report.

Reports & Registers

Where finished attendance turns into something you can file, share, or run payroll from.

Video library

Every tutorial referenced here, sorted by category. Use the filters to narrow down.

Blogs & written guides

Reference articles and the official manual for deeper reading.

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers with links to the matching video where useful.