Punch IDs for Employees
7shifts gives you two ways to set up punch IDs for employees using 7punches: 7shifts automatically assigns punch IDs when you enable the feature, or manually assign them yourself at any time from an employee's profile.
Things to know
⚠️ Important: If you're setting up 7tasks only and won't use 7punches, you must manually assign punch IDs to each employee. Auto-assign is not available for 7tasks-only setups.
- The auto-assign option is only available when you first enable 7punches. It can't be triggered again after initial setup.
- Punch IDs can be up to 12 digits, but 4 to 6 digits is recommended. Numerical characters only.
- Each punch ID must be unique across your account, including inactive employees.
- Managers can't assign punch IDs to other Managers. They can only assign punch IDs to Assistant Managers and Employees.
- Only Admins can email punch IDs to staff in bulk.
How 7shifts assigns punch IDs automatically
When you enable 7punches, 7shifts automatically generates a unique 4-digit punch ID for every employee. Each punch ID is saved to the employee's profile under the Employment tab. No setup steps are required.
Manually assigning punch IDs to employees
If you're setting up 7tasks only, prefer to choose your own numbers, or need to update an existing punch ID, you can assign punch IDs directly from an employee's profile.
- Go to Team > Employees.
- Select the employee you want to update and click the Employment tab.
- Enter a number in the Punch ID field, then click Save.
Emailing punch IDs to your staff
Admins can send all employees their individual punch IDs by email using a bulk action. Employees who have already received their punch ID by email won't receive a duplicate notification on subsequent sends.
- Go to Team > Employees.
- Click Bulk Actions.
- Select Email Employees their punch IDs.
Each employee will receive an email with their punch ID.
What to do if an employee forgets their punch ID
Employees can look up their own punch ID in the 7shifts mobile app. The punch ID field is read-only for employees and can't be edited from the app.
- Open the 7shifts app and tap the 7shifts icon.
- Tap the profile picture in the top left corner, then select Edit profile.
- The punch ID appears in the Punch ID field.
Next steps
Once punch IDs are set up, employees can clock in and out using 7punches. Admins can review and update punch IDs at any time from Team > Employees.