HR managers
Check which export to pull from your device software before the first monthly import, and see why a file was refused.
Biometric Attendance Device Export Formats to Excel
Most biometric attendance software can export Excel or CSV, but column names differ by vendor and software version. This guide shows the header shapes the WatheeqaHR analyzer is tested against for ZKTeco, Hikvision, Dahua, Anviz, Suprema, FingerTec, Matrix COSEC and eSSL, what it reads from each, and why a file can be refused. The analyzer detects common layouts; test your real file.
Export formats by device software
ZKTeco (BioTime and ZKTime-style exports)
Export: our import guide points to the Reports > Attendance menu with CSV export; menu names change between software versions, so otherwise use the attendance or transaction export to Excel or CSV. Header shape covered by tests: AC-No., Name, Date, Time, State. WatheeqaHR reads AC-No. as the employee ID, Name, the Date and Time columns, and State as the in/out marker (values such as Check In, Check Out, C/In, C/Out, 0 and 1 are recognised). Pitfall: some ZKTeco XLS exports put the full date and time in the Time column. WatheeqaHR detects this and reads it as one timestamp, so do not split or edit the column before upload.
Hikvision (Person ID with check-in and check-out columns)
Export: use the device software's attendance or event export to Excel or CSV. Header shape covered by tests: Person ID, Name, Department, Check-in Time, Check-out Time. WatheeqaHR reads Person ID as the employee ID and the check-in and check-out columns as the day's check-in and check-out. Pitfall: when a file has in/out columns it also needs a separate date column such as Date, Attendance Date or Event Date. Without one the file is refused with 'No attendance-date column was found'. If the file has an Access Result column, only granted, allowed or successful rows are counted, because failed access events are not attendance.
Dahua (SmartPSS-style event export)
Export: use the attendance or transaction export to Excel or CSV. Header shape covered by tests: UserID, Name, Time, Type. WatheeqaHR reads UserID as the employee ID, Time as the date and time of the punch, and Type as the direction. Pitfall: if Type holds codes that are not recognised in/out values, the file is refused with 'Unknown punch-direction codes' instead of guessing. Re-export with clear In/Out values.
Anviz (CrossChex and User ID exports)
Export: use the CrossChex attendance record export to Excel or CSV. Header shapes covered by tests: EnNo, Name, DateTime, Mode; and No., User ID, Name, Dept, Device No., Record Type, Verify Mode, Time. WatheeqaHR reads EnNo or User ID as the employee ID and DateTime or Time as the punch timestamp. Pitfall: the leading No. column is a record sequence number, not the employee. When User ID is populated it wins over No.; No. is used only when nothing better exists. Mode and Record Type are not among the direction columns the analyzer looks for, so the first punch of the day counts as check-in and the last as check-out.
Suprema (BioStar 2 event log)
Export: use the BioStar 2 event or time-and-attendance export to Excel or CSV. Header shape covered by tests: User ID, Name, Datetime, Device, Event. WatheeqaHR reads User ID, Name, the combined Datetime column and Event as the direction; T&A In and T&A Out are recognised. Pitfall: a raw event log can mix attendance punches with other events. If the file has an Access Result column only granted, allowed or successful rows are counted, and an Event value that is not a known in/out code causes a refusal.
FingerTec (TCMS exports)
Export: use the TCMS attendance log export to Excel or CSV. Header shape covered by tests: User ID, Name, Date, Time. WatheeqaHR reads User ID as the employee ID, with separate Date and Time columns. Pitfall: this shape has no in/out column, so the first punch of each day is treated as check-in and the last as check-out. A day with a single punch has no check-out and appears as a missing punch for HR to review, not as a confirmed absence.
Matrix COSEC (daily In Time and Out Time columns)
Export: use the COSEC attendance report export to Excel or CSV. Header shape covered by tests: Employee Code, Employee Name, Date, In Time, Out Time. WatheeqaHR reads Employee Code as the employee ID, with one row per employee per day and In Time and Out Time as the day's times. Pitfall: this is a daily layout, so the Date column must stay in the file. A few title rows above the header are tolerated, because the header row is searched for in the first ten rows.
eSSL (eTimeTrackLite)
Export: use the eTimeTrackLite attendance log export to Excel or CSV. Header shape covered by tests: EmployeeCode, EmployeeName, DateTime. WatheeqaHR reads EmployeeCode as the employee ID and DateTime as the punch time. Header matching ignores spaces, dots, dashes and underscores, so EmployeeCode and Employee Code are the same to the analyzer. Pitfall: with no in/out column the first and last punch of the day decide check-in and check-out, so an accidental extra punch changes the result.
Generic USB, TXT and DAT exports
Export: use the device's USB download or its software export, and keep the file as it came out. A typical shape is PIN, DateTime, Status, Verify, DeviceID. WatheeqaHR reads .txt, .csv, .tsv and .dat files and tries comma, tab, semicolon and pipe separators. Pitfall: the file needs a header row. A raw dump whose first row is already a punch is refused as having no header row; add a header line above it, for example ID, DateTime, Status, and upload again. Numeric Status codes 0 and 1 are read as in and out; other codes are refused.
Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Employee ID column | Detects IDs named AC-No, Person ID, User ID, EnNo, Employee Code, Employee Number, PIN, Card No, ID Number and similar, plus Arabic names. If CardNo and ID Number both exist and CardNo is blank on every row, the populated ID Number column is used instead. |
| Daily summary vs raw punches: read | Raw punches (one row per punch, with a combined date-time column or separate Date and Time columns) and daily reports (one row per employee per day with a Date column plus In and Out columns) are both read. |
| Daily summary vs raw punches: refused | A summary with no per-punch or per-day times, such as monthly totals (Present Days, Late Count) or a grid with one column per day, has nothing to analyse. It is refused with 'No punch-time column was found'. Export the raw punch log or the daily report instead. |
| Preview before you decide | The file preview shows up to 20 rows under the header and up to 40 columns of any readable file, including a summary the analyzer will not accept, so you can see what the device really exported. |
| Arabic headers | Arabic columns such as رقم الموظف, اسم الموظف, التاريخ, الوقت والتاريخ and الحالة, and punch values such as حضور, دخول, خروج and انصراف, are recognised. Spelling variants (ة and ه, hamza forms) and diacritics are treated as the same letter. |
| File types and encoding | Accepts .xlsx, .xls, .csv, .txt, .tsv and .dat up to 5 MB. CSV and text files are read as UTF-8, UTF-8 with BOM or UTF-16. Older .xls files that do not declare an encoding are read as Windows-1256 Arabic first, then retried as Windows-1252 if the headers look garbled. |
| Hijri dates | If the date columns hold years in the Hijri range (1300 to 1500), the analyzer detects this and asks you to confirm the calendar instead of silently treating them as Gregorian dates. |
| Refused: no employee column | 'We did not recognise the employee-ID column.' The message lists the columns found. Rename the header in a copy, or send a sample to hello@watheeqahr.com (change the employee names first) and we will look at the layout. |
| Refused: no date or punch time | A file with no punch-time column, or with in/out columns but no date column, is refused. Upload the attendance log, not an employee roster. |
| Refused: unknown direction codes | A punch-type column whose values are not recognised in/out codes is refused rather than guessed. If every value is only a verification method (FP, Face, Card, Password), the column is ignored as direction. |
| Refused: empty, header-only or no header | Empty files, sheets with a header row and no records, files with no header row, and data sitting on another sheet each get a specific message. Export a period that has punches and upload the original file unedited. |
| Refused: date or time not understood | The columns were recognised but no record could be read, usually because a date or time format was not understood. Choose the date format in the analyzer, or upload the original device export. |
Who uses this
Business owners
Convert biometric attendance to Excel-ready reports without retyping punches from the device.
IT and device administrators
Pick the raw punch log or daily report layout instead of a monthly summary that cannot be analysed.
Frequently asked questions
Can I convert biometric attendance to Excel with WatheeqaHR?
Yes, if your device software exports Excel or CSV. Upload that file to the free attendance analyzer and download the result as an Excel report. WatheeqaHR reads the exported file; it does not connect to the device.
Where do I find the ZKTeco attendance report Excel export?
Use the attendance or transaction report export in your ZKTeco software and choose Excel or CSV. Our import guide mentions Reports > Attendance, but menu names vary by software version, so look for the export option on the attendance report.
Should I export the daily summary or the raw punches?
Either works if each row is a punch, or a day per employee with Date, In and Out columns. A monthly total with no daily times is refused. When unsure, export the raw punch log.
My CSV shows broken Arabic letters. What should I do?
CSV and text files are read as UTF-8 or UTF-16. If the letters look garbled, re-export as UTF-8 CSV, or open the file in Excel, save it as .xlsx and upload that.
Does my device have to be one of the vendors listed?
No. Layouts are detected from the columns, not from the vendor name. If a column is not recognised in the full import you can map it once and save the mapping, and if the analyzer refuses your file you can send us a sample.
What is the maximum file size?
5 MB per file. For a large site, export one month at a time.
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