“Send me the attendance report” sounds clear until the administrator has to choose the dates, employees and file format. The result may be accurate but still fail to answer the manager’s question.
A short report request helps the administrator prepare the right view or export. Use these six details when requesting attendance information from your ScanAttendance workflow.
1. State the decision the report supports
Explain why you need the report. A weekly exception review, a month-end attendance handoff and a question about a particular employee require different information.
Keep the purpose specific enough to guide the selection. “Review unresolved entries for last week” is easier to act on than “send everything.” It also helps avoid sharing employee information that the recipient does not need.
2. Give exact start and end dates
Specify both dates and confirm whether they are included. Avoid relying on phrases such as “last month” when the business uses a payroll cutoff that differs from the calendar month.
If the report is time-sensitive, identify when records should be considered ready for review. A report generated before corrections are complete may answer a different question from the final approved version.
3. Identify the employees or team
List the employee identifiers or describe the intended group clearly. Include how new joiners and departures should be handled within the period.
If you need department or branch reporting, check whether that view is available on the selected plan before promising it to a reviewer. Confirm ambiguous selections with the administrator instead of assuming every report includes every employee.
4. Explain which details matter
Tell the administrator what the reviewer needs to inspect, such as attendance dates, recorded arrival and departure times or incomplete entries. Distinguish source records from conclusions that require a manager’s judgment.
For example, a recorded late arrival may need to be considered alongside an approved schedule change. A request should not assume that a report alone decides the appropriate payroll or management outcome.
5. Agree on the format and delivery location
Check whether the recipient needs a dashboard review, CSV or PDF. ScanAttendance lists export options on paid plans, with features varying by plan. Review the current pricing table and confirm the required option.
Use the company’s approved storage and sharing process. If another tool will import the file, confirm its expected fields separately. Our CSV checks guide explains practical validation before the file is used downstream.
6. Name the reviewer and deadline
State who receives the report, who answers follow-up questions and when the review must be complete. Make clear whether the report is a working version or the final file after corrections.
If a revised report replaces an earlier version, identify the replacement clearly. A simple version convention prevents two people from reviewing different files without realizing it.
Use a short request you can repeat
A useful request could read: “Please prepare attendance for the listed employees from the first through the last day of this reporting period. Include the records needed to review incomplete arrival and departure entries. Share the working file in the approved location by the agreed deadline; the named manager will review exceptions before finalization.”
Adapt that wording to the options your plan supports. For month-end preparation, pair it with our attendance-to-payroll checklist.
Create your ScanAttendance company account, compare reporting plans or ask sales about your reporting requirements.