Attendance & Excuses

Service registers, QR code check-ins, attendance state machines, and absence excuse workflows.

Attendance tracking is the operational core of Flockbase. The system provides real-time check-in verification, automated punctuality classification, and formal absence excuse workflows.

Attendance States

Every worker scheduled or registered for a service transitions through one of four definitive states:

State	Description	Punctuality Calculation
`PRESENT`	Checked in within the standard arrival window.	Full Attendance (100%)
`LATE`	Checked in after the grace period has elapsed.	Partial / Flagged Attendance
`ABSENT`	Did not check in and submitted no accepted excuse.	Unexcused Absence (0%)
`EXCUSED`	Worker submitted an excuse that was reviewed and approved.	Excused from quorum

Check-in Methods

Flockbase supports three complementary check-in mechanisms to accommodate diverse church environments:

1. Dynamic QR Code Check-in (Recommended)

During church services, the unit or media team projects the dynamic QR code on sanctuary displays or check-in kiosks:

Time-Limited Tokens: QR code tokens cycle every 30–60 seconds to prevent unauthorized photo sharing or remote check-ins.
Worker Scanning: Workers scan the code using their mobile phone camera or web app scanner.
Verification: The system authenticates the token and marks the worker PRESENT or LATE based on current server time.

2. Self Check-in (Web Portal)

Workers logged into their Flockbase dashboard can click Check In Now during the authorized service check-in window.

The service must be currently active.
Geofence or network constraints can be applied by church administrators.

3. Supervisory Manual Roll-Call

If a volunteer forgot their device or experienced technical issues, Unit Leaders or Admins can manually register attendance:

POST /attendance/manual
Authorization: Bearer <leader_jwt>
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "serviceId": "service-uuid",
  "workerId": "worker-uuid",
  "status": "PRESENT",
  "reason": "Checked in at entrance desk; phone battery dead"
}

Manual overrides require a mandatory reason note and are recorded in the organization audit trail to preserve accountability.

The Absence Excuse Workflow

When a volunteer cannot attend their scheduled ministry shift due to illness, travel, or emergency, they can submit an excuse.

       Worker Submits Excuse
       (POST /excuses)
              │
              ▼
     State: PENDING REVIEW
              │
       ┌──────┴──────┐
       │             │
       ▼             ▼
   [APPROVED]    [REJECTED]
       │             │
       ▼             ▼
Status updated    Status remains
 to `EXCUSED`      as `ABSENT`

1. Submitting an Excuse

Workers submit an excuse through the portal:

POST /excuses
Authorization: Bearer <worker_jwt>
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "serviceId": "service-uuid",
  "reason": "Family emergency; out of state this weekend"
}

2. Reviewing Excuses

Unit Leaders and Admins review pending excuses:

Unit Leaders can approve/reject excuses for members of their unit.
Admins have organizational authority across all units.
Decisions are recorded with timestamps and reviewer notes.

Attendance Dispute Resolution

If an attendee is mistakenly flagged as ABSENT (for example, due to a scanning glitch):

The volunteer can raise an attendance dispute from their service history page.
The Unit Leader inspects the claim, cross-references with team members, and updates the status to PRESENT or EXCUSED via manual override.
The correction automatically recalculates the volunteer's monthly attendance statistics.

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