How volunteer time is tracked and credited

We all know volunteer time isn't the only way to measure the contribution volunteers make, but it's one of the most widely used ways to understand and report on volunteer involvement. Tracking hours helps you recognize volunteers, spot trends, understand which positions are getting the most engagement, and plan where you may need more support.

The challenge is that volunteering doesn't always fit neatly into the same structure. Some people sign up for shifts or events, some walk in, and others contribute on their own time. Admins may also need to log time on a volunteer's behalf.

Timecounts gives you flexibility to capture these different ways of volunteering while bringing everything together in one place for review and reporting. This means less time chasing down hours and attendance, while still keeping an accurate record for your volunteers, funders, and other stakeholders.

Timecounts supports different ways of volunteering, whether someone is scheduled for a shift or event, walks in and checks in through the kiosk, or logs time they've contributed on their own.

The Track tab organizes this into three views: Scheduled Time, Walk-In Time, and Logged Time. Each works a little differently and gives admins the information they need to review and credit the time.

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When you schedule volunteers for shifts or events in Timecounts, tracking their time is already built into the workflow. Once the activity ends, volunteers who were Confirmed will automatically have a time record created in Track based on their scheduled hours.
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If you're using the check-in kiosk, you'll also see their actual check-in and check-out times alongside the scheduled hours.
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Depending on your settings, you can review and adjust the time before crediting it, or have Timecounts approve it automatically.
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Learn more about reviewing and crediting scheduled time →
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When volunteers aren't scheduled in advance, you can use the kiosk to let them check into available walk-in positions. Their check-in and check-out times are automatically captured and used to calculate the time to credit in Track.
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If someone checks in but forgets to check out, their record will still appear in Track as Incomplete so you can review and resolve it rather than losing track of their time.

Depending on your settings, completed walk-in time can be reviewed before it's credited or approved automatically.
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Learn more about reviewing and crediting walk-in time →
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Not every volunteer contribution happens during a scheduled shift or at a location where volunteers can check in. Logged Time gives volunteers a flexible way to submit time they've contributed on their own, such as helping with a project over the course of a week or month.
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Volunteers can log their time directly from their profile and optionally add a comment about what they worked on.

You control whether volunteers can log their own time, what they can log time for, and whether it needs to be reviewed before being credited.
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Learn more about allowing volunteers to log their own time →
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Admins can also log time directly on behalf of any volunteer in the Directory. This is useful when an admin already knows the time someone contributed and doesn't need the volunteer to submit it for approval.

From Track, select Log Time, choose the volunteer, and enter the details of their contribution. Since the time is being added by an admin, it's credited immediately and doesn't need to go through the approval process.
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​Learn more about logging ad hoc volunteer time as an admin →

From Track → Details, admins can set how volunteer hours are approved and credited for Scheduled Time, Walk-In Time, and Logged Time separately.
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By default, time is set to Review and confirm manually, so admins can review hours before they’re credited. This is useful for confirming attendance, comparing scheduled hours with check-in and check-out times, or making adjustments when needed.

Admins can also choose Approve automatically, reducing the need to review individual records.
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For organizations using the kiosk, there’s also an Approve automatically if checked in/out option. For Scheduled Time, hours are automatically approved when a volunteer checks in and out. For Walk-In Time, where check-in and check-out are required, completed records are automatically approved.
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If a record is missing information needed to calculate the time, Timecounts will still bring it into Track and mark it as Incomplete so an admin can review and resolve it.

[Learn more about configuring your Track settings]

When time needs approval, it appears in Track with a Pending status. Admins will also see a task on the Dashboard when there is time to credit. Depending on how the time was captured, admins can review scheduled hours, check-in and check-out times, or information submitted by the volunteer.

Use the Status dropdown to update time individually, or select multiple volunteers to take action in bulk. Available actions include Approve, Decline, Cancel, and No Show.
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Volunteer time won't always appear in Track immediately. Scheduled Time is processed five hours after an activity ends, unless the volunteer has already checked in and out. Walk-In Time is processed after check-out, or at the end of the day if a check-out is missing.

When an admin approves time, the hours are credited to the volunteer. They will appear on the volunteer's profile card, under My Time in their user profile, and in Reports.
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If time is declined or cancelled, no hours are credited and the activity is removed from Track.
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Marking someone as a No Show leaves a record on their profile that they were expected but didn't attend. This helps admins keep track of attendance and identify patterns or repeat no shows over time.

When updating time individually, admins can also add an optional comment to provide more context for the volunteer under My Time. Comments aren't available when updating time in bulk.
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