What this is
Attendance is how you check children in and out during the day. Only someone on the child’s pickup list can take them home. There is no fingerprint or face scan.
Do this
After you sign in, open Attendance from the left menu.
Choose a room at the top to see only that room’s children. Each row says how the child’s day is going, such as Here since 8:05 AM or Not here yet, and has one big button. Tap Check in on the child’s row when they arrive, type the name of the person signing, and choose Check in.
When they leave, tap Check out on their row. Choose who is picking up from the approved list, type the name of the person signing, and choose Check out. If nobody is listed, choose Add someone who can pick up: it opens that child’s Who can pick up list in Children.
For anything else, tap the child’s name: their day opens with Mark absent, Undo absence, Message parents and Fix time. To fix a wrong time, choose Fix time there. Pick the day (today or one of the last 30 days), change Arrived or Went home, write what happened, and choose Save. A child nobody checked out on an earlier day reads Not checked out with that day; choose Check out on their row: it opens that day, so you can add the time they went home. If that child is in another group, a note at the top says which one; choose Open to see them.
If a child will not come today, tap their name and choose Mark absent. If Wi-Fi drops, keep Attendance open. Review waiting actions and choose Sync now after reconnecting; encrypted drafts stay in this browser for the same staff account and school, including after reload. The last loaded roster is a snapshot during a connection loss. Check current records before retrying a lost confirmation, and use the school’s manual record if needed. Enter the actual signer’s name for check-in and check-out.
How it works
- Checked in
- status on each child’s row, with the time beside it. The row’s one button reads Check in or Check out depending on that state; a child who is absent or went home has none (check them in again from their name). The numbers at the top show Children here, Not here yet, Adults and, when Ashby can work it out, Ratio. Find a child and the filter buttons (All, Here, Not here yet, Absent, Went home) show only the children you need.
- Absent, from the parent
- when a parent keeps a child home in Ashby, the row already reads Absent with the reason they chose and “from the parent” beside it. If the parent takes the absence back before check-in, the row goes back to Not here yet. Ashby doesn’t check your group’s capacity when a parent takes an absence back. If you gave that day’s spot to another child, talk to the parent.
- Pickup list
- parents and contacts marked for pickup on Children. Ashby will not check out to anyone else. Each name says how they know the child, like Lucia Rivera (Grandparent).
- Late pickups
- when you set a late pickup fee in Tuition plans (Your rates for a home daycare), a check-out after closing time, plus the minutes you allow, becomes a fee waiting for the family’s next bill (at most one a day for each child; the day’s last check-out counts), which you can review or waive in Tuition.
- Fixed times
- the owner, an org admin, a director or an assistant director can fix a check-in or check-out time from today or the last 30 days. Educators and front desk see the times but not Fix time. The original record keeps its signature and pickup person; Ashby keeps the time before, who fixed it, when and the note, and shows a line such as Fixed from 6:40 PM by Rosa on Oct 12 under the time. A fixed time stays on the same day, in order, and never later than now.
- What a fix changes
- parents see the fixed time on Today; they are not sent a message. Reports, care hours, attendance-based billing days, food program counts and room history use the fixed time. A pickup moved after closing becomes a late pickup; a late pickup fee that is still waiting follows the fixed time until the bill goes out.
- Not checked out
- a child checked in on an earlier day that nobody checked out reads Not checked out with that day and is not counted as here (not in Children here on Attendance or Home, and not in Home supervision). Home shows that a child is still checked in from an earlier day until the check-out is added; that reminder opens the child’s daycare and group with Fix time open on that child, and cannot be hidden.
- In ratio
- a reminder based on checked-in children and staff clocked into that room. Breaks do not count as room coverage. Missing room or qualification records need review. Texas centers also get ordinary-classroom age and group targets. Directors still check staff eligibility, permit conditions and special activities. The board refreshes every 15 seconds; warnings do not block check-in.
- Staff attendance
- Adults clocked in, below the children, lists the adults clocked in to the group, each with Clock in or Clock out, and Clock in an adult clocks someone in to that group. Open Staff → Who’s working to record breaks and change working rooms. Directors can manage staff at their school; other staff see their own record. Your own clock is also in the Your shift card on Home. Review and export recorded hours in Staff → Hours worked.
Family check-in on a phone
When your school uses the mobile app, a school leader or front desk opens Daily reports → School check-in code and creates a code for the location. In their own signed-in app, parents open Today → Check in or out, scan the code and enter the four digits beside it.
Parents choose arrival or pickup and up to ten children at that location, review their latest attendance, type their name and confirm. Scanning alone records nothing. Every child’s current enrollment and pickup rights are checked again. If any child is refused, no new entries in that submission are recorded. Follow school identity and custody procedures.
Codes expire within five minutes; five wrong PINs stop a code. This phone flow needs a connection. If confirmation is missing, keep the screen open and use Retry same submission. After closing or backgrounding, ask staff to check the record before starting again. Stop the school code when finished; the code screen does not lock the device.
Shared room check-in
In the mobile app, open Daily reports → Shared room check-in. Choose a room, confirm you have your staff sign-in, then open the shared screen. Families scan with their own signed-in phone and sign only for children currently in that room.
Staff screens stay hidden until Staff close shared check-in verifies a current school account online. Closing signs this device out. Backgrounding or restarting clears the displayed code and pauses check-in; staff must close and reopen it. A school leader can close a screen for a room that has since been removed.
This software mode hides Ashby navigation; other apps and device controls remain available. It does not verify identity or authorize pickup. Keep the school’s manual check-in procedure available and contact its device administrator if access or storage cannot be restored.
Recorded pickup alerts
When your school uses mobile notifications, open Account → Notifications in the mobile app. Choose Recorded pickups, save settings and enable your own phone. Pickup alerts are off until you choose them. Quiet hours use the school’s time zone.
A recorded check-out can alert linked guardians and staff who still have school and room access. Alerts contain no child name or signature. Open Ashby and refresh attendance for the current record. An alert does not mean someone is waiting or approve a pickup. Old, muted or unavailable alerts may be skipped; pickup alerts do not use email fallback. Follow the school’s direct contact and identity-checking procedures.
Licensed-home supervision
At a Texas home, the owner, an org admin, a director or an assistant director sees Home supervision on Attendance, below Adults clocked in (an assistant does not) and opens Review children. Enter additional children by age, including provider, assistant and visiting children in your care. Do not count enrolled children already checked in twice. Confirm everyone is included and choose the care setting.
Ashby combines these counts with enrolled attendance and recorded caregivers in the same room. Naps and opening or closing do not reduce the required caregivers. Missing facts, care away from home, split groups, special activities and adjusted developmental ages remain unconfirmed. Known capacity excess still appears. Review after arrivals, departures and changes, and each new school day. Recent confirmations are saved observations, not complete caregiver or permit certification. Registered homes also review children age 5+ in care after their school hours; extra caregivers never increase their allowed age mix. Ordinary listed homes first need a current applicability review in School permit, then review all children related to the primary caregiver. Relative-only listed care and the four-year district pre-K exception need separate review.