Hour Tracking System

Overview

The Hour Tracking System is an intuitive web application designed to track and manage employee work hours. This system allows employees to clock in and out, while also providing a visual indication of their current status.

https://youtu.be/OHfY-uhLNr4

Features

Real-time Clock Display

• Displays the current time in a user-friendly format.
• Updates the time display every second for accuracy.

Employee Clock-In and Clock-Out

• Allows employees to clock in and clock out.
• Employees enter their first and last names to register their time.

Dynamic Employee Status Update

• Updates the status of employees in real-time as they clock in or out.
• Visual indication (such as color change) to show if an employee is clocked in or out.

Error Handling

• Displays error messages for situations like trying to clock in or out without being registered or attempting to clock in when already clocked in.

Log of Activities

• Keeps a log of all clock-in and clock-out activities.
• Displays a time-stamped entry for each action, providing a clear audit trail.

User Interface

• A clean and simple interface for ease of use.
• Responsive design for compatibility with various devices.

Installation

Prerequisites

Before installing the application, ensure you have Node.js installed on your system. You also need a Google Service Account for interacting with Google Sheets.

Setting Up a Google Service Account

1. Create a Google Service Account:

   • Visit the Google Cloud Console.
   • Create a new project or select an existing one.
   • Navigate to "IAM & Admin" > "Service Accounts" and create a new service account.
   • Assign a role that has permissions to access Google Sheets (e.g., Editor).
   • Download the json file containing the keys for your service account. Rename it to key.json and place in the main directory
   • Create a key for the service account in JSON format and download it. This file contains the credentials needed for your application.

2. Enable Google Sheets API:

   • In the Google Cloud Console, navigate to "APIs & Services" > "Dashboard".
   • Click on "ENABLE APIS AND SERVICES" and search for the Google Sheets API.
   • Enable the Google Sheets API for your project.

3. Share Your Google Sheet:

   • Upload Hour Tracker.xlsx to Sheets
   • Share the sheet with the email address of your Google Service Account (found in the JSON key file).

Creating a .env File

Create a .env file in the root directory of your project and include the following:

• EMAIL=your_service_account_email
• SHEET_ID=your_sheet_id

To find your Google Sheet ID:

• Open your Google Sheet in a web browser.
• Look at the URL; it will be in the format https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/[SHEET_ID]/edit.
• Copy the [SHEET_ID] part. This is your Google Sheet ID, which you will place in the .env

Clone the Repository

• Use git clone [repository URL] to clone the project repository.
• Replace [repository URL] with the URL where the project is hosted.

Install Dependencies

• Navigate to the project directory.
• Run npm install to install the necessary dependencies.

Start the Server

• Execute node server.js to start the server.
• The server will run on a specified port, which can be set in the server settings.

Access the Application

• Open a web browser and navigate to http://localhost:[port].
• Replace [port] with the port number your server is using.

Contribution

For contributing to the project, please follow the standard git workflow:

• Fork the repository.
• Create a new branch for your features or fixes.
• Submit a pull request with a clear description of changes.