Track Employee Hours with Power Automate
(No Fingerprint Device Needed)
Want to know exactly when your employees clock in and out — without buying any hardware? This guide shows you how to set up automatic attendance tracking in Excel using a free, built-in Power Automate template. No code. No fingerprint scanner. Just Microsoft 365.
📋 What You Need Before Starting
- A Microsoft 365 account with an active Power Automate license
- OneDrive or SharePoint access to store your Excel file
- Each employee also needs a Microsoft account (for running the flow)
- The Power Automate mobile app (iOS or Android) — optional but recommended
Why Power Automate for Attendance Tracking?
Traditional fingerprint systems are expensive, require physical hardware, and often fail with remote or hybrid teams. Microsoft Power Automate solves this elegantly: employees trigger a flow on their phone or PC, and the timestamp is logged directly into a shared Excel file — automatically.
What's more, you can customize it to send notifications to Microsoft Teams or email whenever someone checks in late. It's flexible, free with most Microsoft 365 plans, and takes less than 15 minutes to set up.
Step-by-Step: Setting Up the Template
Go to Power Automate
Visit make.powerautomate.com and sign in with your Microsoft 365 account.
Open the Templates section
In the left sidebar, click Templates. This is where Microsoft provides ready-made automation flows you can use for free.
Search for the working hours template
Search for: Track your working hours in Excel Online (Business) spreadsheet. Select it and click Continue.
Connect your Excel file location
Choose where your Excel file is stored — SharePoint is recommended so all employees can access the same file. Select the correct Library, File, and Table.
Save and share the flow
Click Save. The flow will appear in your Instant Flows section. Share it with your team so they can run it from their own accounts.
Preparing Your Excel Sheet (Critical Step)
Power Automate only works with proper Excel Tables — not plain ranges. If you skip this step, your flow won't be able to write any data.
Create your Excel file in OneDrive or SharePoint
Open Excel Online and create a new file. Save it to SharePoint if multiple employees need access, or OneDrive if you're testing alone.
Add column headers
In row 1, add your column names. Start with at least one Timestamp column. You can add more columns later (Name, Status, Notes, etc.).
Format as a Table
Select your header row, go to Insert → Table, and confirm your range. This converts the range into a proper Table that Power Automate can read and write to.
Running the Flow: How Employees Use It
Once the flow is set up and shared, employees can run it in two ways:
- Mobile app: Open the Power Automate app → tap the flow → tap Run. The timestamp is logged instantly.
- Web browser: Go to make.powerautomate.com → My Flows → tap the Run button next to the flow.
Each run adds a new row to your Excel sheet with the exact date and time the employee triggered the flow.
What Comes Next in This Series
By default, the timestamp that Power Automate saves looks something like this: 2025-11-20T05:11:55.8785748Z — not exactly human-readable.
In Part 2, we fix that using the formatDateTime function in Power Automate.
Need Help Setting This Up?
Our Microsoft 365 specialists can configure Power Automate for your team — fast, in English, with ongoing support.
Get a Free Consultation