Step-by-step guides for every feature and setting

Where: Staff Portal → Dashboard → My Dashboard tab (default landing page)

To see your team's live status (Team Management tab):

1. Log into Staff Portal at app.thedeskmonitor.com
2. Click Dashboard in the left navigation
3. Click the Team Management tab (D2)
4. Each card shows: active/idle status, current task, today's productive hours, and productivity score — updating live

To grant Team Dashboard access to a non-Manager:

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Dashboard & Analytics → User Flags
2. Find the user → toggle Access Team Management Dashboard ON → Save

Outcome: You see who is working, what they are working on, and what it is producing — live, without asking anyone.

Configure: Settings → Tenancy Settings → DeskAgent & Monitoring tab

View gallery: Team → select employee → Screenshots tab · or · Reports → Screenshot Gallery

To enable or disable screenshots for a specific user:

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → DeskAgent & Monitoring
2. Find the user → toggle Screenshots enabled (agent.screenshots_enabled) ON/OFF
3. Save — change pushed to DeskAgent within 60 seconds

To view the screenshot gallery:

1. Team → select employee → Screenshots tab
2. Filter by date range
3. Click any thumbnail to expand

Employees see a 30-second review window before each screenshot locks. SmartBlur auto-redacts sensitive content on-device before upload.

Outcome: Timestamped evidence of work — visible to employee and manager simultaneously. No hidden monitoring.

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → DeskAgent & Monitoring

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → DeskAgent & Monitoring
2. Find the user → toggle SmartBlur (agent.smart_blur_enabled) ON
3. Save

SmartBlur runs on-device inside DeskAgent before any screenshot is transmitted. It detects PII, financial data, and confidential document markers and blurs those regions. The admin and employee see the same blurred version — nothing sensitive leaves the device.

Note: SmartBlur cannot retroactively blur screenshots already stored. Enable before a sensitive role's first session.

Outcome: Screenshot evidence without exposing personal data, banking screens, or HR documents to the gallery.

Enable: Settings → Tenancy Settings → DeskAgent & Monitoring

Employee uses: DeskAgent system tray → Pause Monitoring button

To enable Privacy Mode for an employee:

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → DeskAgent & Monitoring
2. Find the employee → toggle Privacy Mode (agent.privacy_mode) ON
3. Save — Pause Monitoring button appears in DeskAgent

Employee uses Privacy Mode:

1. Click Pause Monitoring in DeskAgent — all capture stops immediately
2. To resume: click Resume Monitoring
3. Audit trail records start + end time — visible to both employee and manager

Default: OFF (button is hidden unless admin enables it per user).

Outcome: Personal calls and private breaks are respected — the pause is transparent to both sides, nothing is hidden from the audit trail.

View: Reports → App & URL Activity · or · Team → employee → Activity tab

1. Team → select employee → Activity tab → set date range
2. Timeline shows every app session with duration and category (Productive / Neutral / Unproductive)

To reclassify an app or URL:

1. Settings → App Categories → search app/URL domain
2. Click the category badge → change it → Save
3. Reclassification applies to all future and retrospective records automatically

App & URL tracking captures which application was in the foreground and for how long in 10-minute UTC-aligned snapshots. Keystrokes, clipboard content, and document text are NOT captured.

Where: Team → select employee → Live View tab

1. Team → select employee → Live View tab
2. The view refreshes automatically at the configured interval

Live Screen View respects Privacy Mode — if the employee has activated Pause Monitoring, the live view shows a "Monitoring Paused" placeholder, not their screen.

Outcome: Immediate, evidence-based oversight — verify critical work is in progress without interrupting the employee.

Where: Staff Portal → Timesheets (left nav)

To approve a timesheet:

1. Timesheets → Pending Approval tab
2. Review hours, tasks, flagged items
3. Click Approve — timesheet locks immediately (immutable)
4. Payroll calculation picks up the locked record automatically

To add a manual time entry:

1. Timesheets → select the week → click + Add Entry
2. Select project, task, date, start/end time → Save
3. Entry submitted for manager approval alongside auto-captured entries

Overlap rule: if DeskAgent already captured a slot, remove that entry first before adding a manual one for the same period. Approved entries and prior pay-cycle entries cannot be removed.

Outcome: What gets approved is what gets paid — no disputed hours, no end-of-month reconciliation.

Where: Projects → select project → Tasks tab · or · Tasks (left nav)

To create a task:

1. Projects → select project → Tasks tab → click + Add Task
2. Enter: task name, assignee(s), due date, estimated hours → Save

Employee picks a task in DeskAgent:

1. Open DeskAgent → task selector at top
2. Select assigned task → click Start
3. Time capture begins against that task immediately

Deadline reminders fire automatically 24h before due date (if messaging.notify_deadline_approaching is ON in Settings → Tenancy Settings → Messaging).

Where: Reports → Payroll

To set a pay rate for an employee:

1. Team → select employee → Payroll tab
2. Enter rate (amount, currency, basis: hourly/daily/monthly) + overtime multiplier
3. Save

To run payroll:

1. Reports → Payroll → select pay period
2. Review calculated amounts (hours × rate, overtime rows highlighted)
3. Export → CSV or PDF → upload to your payroll provider

Outcome: Payroll is already verified — every hour in the export was approved on a locked timesheet. No disputes, no manual reconciliation.

Where: Projects → select project → Budget tab

1. Projects → select project → Budget tab
2. Enter total budget → set alert threshold (default: 80%) → Save
3. Burn gauge shows: used, % consumed, remaining, projected final spend

At 80% budget consumed, an alert fires in the notification drawer and (if configured) to the project manager's email — with current spend, projected final spend, and remaining hours before exhaustion.

Outcome: Project overruns visible weeks before the invoice — not weeks after.

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → Shifts tab

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Shifts → click + New Shift Template
2. Set name, timezone, days of week, start/end time per day
3. Click Assign → select team or individual → Save

Four-layer enforcement: (1) all hours recorded; (2) in-window hours count toward approved hours; (3) out-of-window hours flagged in timesheet; (4) optional strict mode stops DeskAgent tracking after shift end.

Where: Projects → select project → Client Access tab

1. Projects → select project → Client Access tab → click Invite Client
2. Enter client's email → set access level: Read-only Timesheets → Send Invite
3. Client receives a magic link to their read-only portal

Clients see: approved timesheets for their project (dates, hours per task, totals), a PDF download button. Nothing else — no other projects, no employee personal data.

To revoke access: Projects → project → Client Access → find client → Revoke (magic link invalidated immediately).

Where: Reports → Activity Levels · or · Team → employee → Activity tab → scroll to Activity Levels chart

1. Team → select employee → Activity tab → scroll to Activity Levels chart
2. Set date range (single day or up to 7 days)
3. Hover any chart point for exact minute-by-minute breakdown

Team comparison view:

1. Reports → Activity Levels → Team View
2. All team members side by side — sort by peak time or lowest average intensity

Where: Dashboard → any team member card (live) · Reports → Productivity (historic)

To view today's scores:

1. Dashboard → each card shows current productivity score (live)
2. Click a card to see breakdown by app category

To reclassify an app (adjust what counts as Productive):

1. Settings → App Categories → search app name
2. Change category → Save
3. Historical records reclassify automatically — score recalculates

Where: Reports → Benchmarks

1. Reports → Benchmarks → select time period
2. Table: all team members ranked by productivity score (default sort)
3. Click any column header to re-sort by hours, cost, or tasks completed
4. Click any row to drill into individual report

Industry Benchmarks (Business+): an additional Industry Average column appears automatically — no configuration needed. Shows your team vs anonymised sector percentile.

Where: Reports → Wellbeing · or · Dashboard → Workload & Alerts tab (D6)

1. Reports → Wellbeing → select team and week
2. Each person shows: overtime hours, burnout risk score (0-100), after-hours flag, trend vs last week

To enable burnout alerts:

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Messaging → toggle Notify on burnout risk ON
2. When burnout score > 60, manager receives an immediate alert

You can also ask Aria: "Which team members showed after-hours work spikes this month?" — answer in seconds.

Where: Dashboard → Organisation Overview tab (D4)

1. Dashboard → click Organisation Overview tab (D4)
2. If tab is absent: Settings → Tenancy Settings → User Flags → toggle dashboard.access_org ON for that user

The Org Overview shows: total active headcount, org-wide productivity score, total productive hours this month, cost per productive hour, and team rankings — updated as every timesheet is approved.

Where: Attendance → Time Off tab

Employee requests time off:

1. Attendance → Time Off → + Request Time Off
2. Select date range, type (Annual / Sick / Other), add note → Submit
3. Manager receives notification immediately

Manager approves:

1. Attendance → Time Off → Pending Requests tab → review → Approve or Decline
2. Approved leave flows automatically into attendance record and payroll calculation

To configure public holiday groups:

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Public Holidays → create a region group
2. Assign employees — regional holiday calendars populate automatically

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → Security tab

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Security
2. Toggle Two-factor required (security.2fa_required) ON → Save
3. All users prompted for email OTP on next login — cannot be bypassed

Login audit trail: Settings → Security → Login Audit Log — every login event (successful, failed, blocked) with timestamp, IP, and outcome.

Outcome: No user can access the system without 2FA — even if their password is compromised.

Where: Attendance → Geolocation tab · or · Reports → GPS Activity

To view an employee's location history:

1. Attendance → Geolocation → select employee and date
2. Map shows GPS breadcrumb trail — each point timestamped

For geofence auto-clock setup, see entry 35 — Mobile Geofence Clocking.

Zone Compliance detects each employee's jurisdiction (IP + GPS) and applies the correct regulatory framework automatically: EU GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA (California), AU Privacy Act. Screenshot frequency, retention windows, consent notices, and opt-out rights adjust per person, per jurisdiction — automatically.

To enable per-user zone restriction (manual override):

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → DeskAgent & Monitoring
2. Find the employee → toggle Zone restriction (agent.zone_restriction) ON → Save

Admin can also control the following privacy-related flags per user from the same screen: agent.screenshots_enabled, agent.smart_blur_enabled, agent.privacy_mode, agent.screenshot_interval_minutes, agent.screenshot_size, agent.require_active_task_for_capture, security.data_retention_override, security.2fa_required.

Outcome: Operate a distributed team across EU, UK, US, and Australia without a compliance re-configuration project every time someone travels.

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → Security → IP Whitelist

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Security → IP Whitelist
2. Click Detect my current IP → add label → save your own IP FIRST
3. Click + Add IP Range → enter IP or CIDR (e.g. 203.0.113.0/24) → label → Add
4. Toggle IP Whitelist ON → Save

Warning: Enable your own IP before turning on the whitelist — otherwise you will lock yourself out immediately.

Outcome: Logins from outside trusted IP ranges are blocked — even with correct credentials and a valid 2FA code.

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → Compliance & Data tab

Plan	Default retention
Community / Starter	60 days
Professional	90 days
Business	365 days
Enterprise	Unlimited

To set a custom retention window:

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Compliance & Data
2. Toggle Override data retention period ON → enter days → Save

To run a GDPR Data Subject Export:

1. Settings → Compliance & Data → Data Subject Requests
2. Search employee → Export → download JSON or CSV
3. Deliver within GDPR deadline (30 days)

Enable: Settings → Tenancy Settings → Mobile Features tab

Download: Settings → Downloads · or · app.thedeskmonitor.com/download

To download the Android app:

1. Visit /download → tap Download Android APK
2. On your Android device: Settings → Apps → Special app access → Install unknown apps → enable for your browser
3. Open the APK file → Install → grant location and notification permissions
4. Sign in with Staff Portal credentials — first login on a new device requires email OTP

iOS support is coming soon. In the meantime, iOS users access all features via the web portal.

Enable: Settings → Tenancy Settings → Mobile Features → set App Operating Mode to 2 — Proactive

Employee uses: TheDeskMonitor Android app → Clock tab

1. Open app → Clock tab → tap Clock In
2. GPS coordinates captured at that moment
3. Attendance record created: timestamp, GPS, employee ID
4. Clock out: Clock tab → Clock Out

Where (Admin — configure zones): Settings → Geofence Zones

To set up a geofence zone:

1. Settings → Geofence Zones → + Add Zone
2. Name zone (e.g. "Site A — Melbourne CBD") → drop pin on map → set radius in metres → assign to team/individual → Save

To enable geofence mode:

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Mobile Features → set App Operating Mode to 3 — Extended
2. Save — derived flag mobile.geofence_clocking set automatically

Field workers are auto-clocked in on zone entry and out on zone exit (push notification confirms both). Attendance flows automatically into their timesheet.

Outcome: Paper timesheets eliminated. GPS-verified, immutable attendance records.

Where: Attendance → GPS Activity → select employee → select date → Breadcrumb Trail view

1. Attendance → GPS Activity → select employee → select date → Breadcrumb Trail
2. Each dot = timestamped GPS ping → hover for exact time and coordinates
3. Export: CSV (coordinates + timestamps) or PDF (map image with route overlay)

Outcome: Site visit disputes resolved in seconds with a timestamped GPS map.

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → Messaging & Notifications tab

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Messaging & Notifications
2. Toggle events ON: login/logout alerts, task switch, deadline approaching (24h), burnout risk, shift end digest
3. Save

To switch to daily digest mode:

1. Same settings page → toggle Notification Digest (messaging.notification_digest) ON
2. Save — one daily batched summary replaces real-time per-event push

Where: Dashboard → My Dashboard tab (default landing page)

Shows: today's productive hours and score, current task, weekly timesheet summary, screenshot thumbnail strip, and pending actions. Click any day in the hours bar chart to see productive/neutral/unproductive/idle breakdown.

Outcome: Employees see exactly what their manager sees — full mutual accountability.

Where: Dashboard → Team Management tab (D2)

To grant access to a non-Manager:

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Dashboard & Analytics → User Flags
2. Find user → toggle Access Team Management Dashboard (dashboard.access_team) ON → Save

Where: Dashboard → Financial tab (D5)

To grant access:

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Dashboard & Analytics → User Flags
2. Toggle dashboard.access_financial ON → Save
3. Also toggle dashboard.can_see_dollars ON to show cost figures, ROI, and payroll amounts

Where: Dashboard → Organisation Overview tab (D4)

1. Dashboard → Organisation Overview tab
2. If not visible: Settings → Tenancy Settings → User Flags → toggle dashboard.access_org ON → Save

Shows: total active headcount, org-wide productivity score, productive hours this month, cost per productive hour, and team rankings — updated live as timesheets are approved.

Where: Staff Portal → floating Ask Aria button (bottom-right of any page)

1. Click the Ask Aria button from any page
2. Type your question — examples:
   • "Who had the lowest productivity score this week?"
   • "Which projects are over 80% of budget?"
   • "What did the development team cost in productive hours last month?"
   • "Which team members showed after-hours work spikes this week?"
3. Aria responds in seconds with a data-backed answer
4. Click the source link to open the underlying report

No setup — Aria is connected to your data automatically. No MCP key required.

Check quota: Profile → My Usage → Aria Queries.

Requirements: user-scoped API key (dm_live_* format) with mcp:write scope + MCP-compatible AI client (Claude Desktop, Copilot, Gemini CLI, or ChatGPT with MCP)

Step 1 — Get your MCP API key:

1. Profile (top-right avatar) → API Keys → + Create API Key
2. Select scopes: mcp:read and mcp:write
3. Copy the key (shown once — save it securely)

Step 2 — Configure Claude Desktop:

1. Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → MCP Servers → + Add Server
2. URL: https://api.thedeskmonitor.com/api/mcp/v1
3. Auth: Bearer token → paste your dm_live_* key → Save → reconnect

Step 3 — Clock in:

1. Say to your AI: "Clock me in", "Start my shift", or "I am starting work"
2. The AI calls the clock_in MCP tool
3. TheDeskMonitor creates your attendance record (source: McpVoice)
4. Optional: add location — "I am at the office" — system confirms geofence status

Clock out: "Clock me out" or "End my shift"

Note: Demo keys (dm_demo_*) are read-only — cannot trigger clock-in. Only user-scoped dm_live_* keys with mcp:write scope work. 2-minute idempotency: a second clock-in within 2 minutes returns the same result — no duplicate records.

Requirements: same as entry 46 — user-scoped dm_live_* key with mcp:write scope

1. Open your AI client (Claude Desktop, Copilot, Gemini, or ChatGPT with MCP)
2. Say: "Invite alex@company.com to my team as an employee" (or "as a manager" / "as an admin")
3. The AI calls the invite_staff MCP tool
4. TheDeskMonitor sends the invitation email
5. New member registers via the invitation link → downloads DeskAgent

Alternative (Staff Portal): Team → Invite Member → email + role → Send Invite

Bulk deployment (IT): Staff Portal → Settings → Downloads → DeskAgent MSI → deploy via Group Policy or SCCM (silent, no user interaction)

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → DeskAgent & Monitoring → User Flags → find user → Screenshot Interval

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → DeskAgent & Monitoring
2. Find the user → enable screenshot interval override toggle
3. Enter interval in minutes (minimum: 5 minutes — system floor is 300 seconds)
4. Save — change pushed to DeskAgent within 60 seconds

The override can only reduce frequency (increase minutes between shots) — it cannot increase it beyond the tenant default. This is a privacy-protective design choice.

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → DeskAgent & Monitoring → Screenshot Quality

Tier	Resolution	~Size	Plan
Small	800×600	~10 KB	All plans
Medium	1024×768	~15 KB	Professional+
Large	1280×720	~20 KB	Business+

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → DeskAgent & Monitoring → Screenshot Quality dropdown
2. Select tier → Save — applied from next capture cycle

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → DeskAgent & Monitoring → "Require active task for capture" toggle

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → DeskAgent & Monitoring
2. Toggle Require active task for capture ON (recommended) → Save

When ON: screenshots only taken while employee has a task selected. No task selected = no screenshot (app/URL activity still recorded for productivity scoring). When employee selects a task, screenshot capture resumes.

Outcome: Cleaner screenshot evidence — tagged to specific work. Zero screenshots of idle desktop time.

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → DeskAgent & Monitoring → Idle Threshold

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → DeskAgent & Monitoring
2. Enter idle threshold in minutes (range: 1-60) → Save

Tuning guidance: call-centre roles (frequent pauses listening) → set 10-15 min; developer roles (reading/thinking) → 5-8 min; data entry → default 3 min is appropriate.

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → Workforce & Payroll

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Workforce & Payroll → toggle Overtime enabled ON → Save
2. To authorise overtime for a specific employee: User Flags → find employee → toggle Overtime allowed ON → Save
3. To set multiplier: Team → employee → Payroll tab → enter Overtime Multiplier (e.g. 1.5 for time-and-a-half) → Save

Payroll export shows Regular and Overtime rows separately. Only employees with explicit overtime authorisation accrue overtime pay.

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → Mobile Features → App Operating Mode

Mode	Name	What it enables	GPS
1	Standard	Dashboards, task view, time off	No GPS
2	Proactive	+ Manual punch clock	On-demand at clock event
3	Extended	+ Geofence auto clock-in, background GPS breadcrumbs	Background GPS + trail

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Mobile Features → App Operating Mode → select mode → Save
2. Derived flags (mobile.punch_clock_enabled, mobile.geofence_clocking) update automatically

Mode 3 requires employees to consent to background GPS on first app open. Zone Compliance applies jurisdiction rules automatically.

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → Cost Centre & Budget → Auto-Assign Default Cost Centre toggle

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Cost Centre & Budget
2. ON (default): every new project auto-assigned to Operations cost centre — zero setup, all costs in one bucket. Best for organisations without per-project margin analysis needs.
3. OFF: new projects have no cost centre until admin assigns one — required for per-project cost visibility, budget comparisons, and margin analysis (e.g. agencies).
4. Save

To manually assign/change a project's cost centre:

1. Projects → select project → Budget tab → Cost Centre dropdown → select → Save

To create a new cost centre:

1. Settings → Cost Centres → + New Cost Centre → name it → optional budget allocation → Save

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → Messaging & Notifications → Notification Digest toggle

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Messaging & Notifications → toggle Notification Digest ON → Save
2. All users switch from real-time push to one daily batched summary

Digest includes: login/logout events, tasks completed, budget alerts, burnout risk flags, and pending timesheet approvals.

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → Messaging & Notifications → Shift End Digest section

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Messaging & Notifications → Shift End Digest
2. Three toggles — enable as needed:
   • Employee digest: daily summary of own hours, tasks, score (fires 1h after shift ends)
   • Manager digest: team summary — hours, attendance gaps, overtime alerts
   • Admin digest: org-wide daily summary — headcount, total hours, attendance compliance, cost snapshot
3. Save

Requires shift definitions to be configured (see entry 11) for correct fire times.

Where: Settings → Tenancy Settings → Mobile Features → Productivity Thresholds

1. Settings → Tenancy Settings → Mobile Features → Productivity Score Thresholds
2. Set Green threshold (0-100, default 70)
3. Set Amber threshold (0-100, default 40 — must be less than Green)
4. Save — mobile app updates colour bands immediately for all users

Colour bands: Green ≥ green threshold, Amber ≥ amber threshold and < green, Red < amber threshold. Adjust for different industry/role patterns (e.g. call-centre teams legitimately pause between calls).