Nothing derails a back-to-school season faster than payroll delays or unfilled classrooms. Yet that’s exactly what can happen when Frontline Absence Management and Frontline Time & Attendance aren’t refreshed for the new school year before day one.

These two class-leading systems are the backbone of your absence tracking, substitute placement, and payroll accuracy — but only if they’re kept in sync with your current policies, staff, and schedules. Over the summer, small changes — new contracts, staff turnover, or outdated workflows — can quietly put your setup out of alignment.

That’s why a quick fall level-up makes all the difference. By optimizing your Absence & Time system setups now, you’ll save hours of manual work, reduce compliance concerns, and give your team a smoother start to the school year.

Here are five best practices to get both systems ready before the first bell rings.

1. Run a Balance Rollover

Why it matters:
Accruals and carryover rules often change year to year. If balances don’t reflect updated contracts, employees get frustrated. Staff lose trust in the system, with HR fielding the complaints and Payroll often left making manual corrections to keep paychecks accurate — usually at the busiest times of the year.

Red flag to watch for:
Employees questioning why their PTO or sick days “don’t look right” in the system during the first weeks of school.

What to do:

• Run an annual balance rollover in Frontline before the year starts.
• Confirm accrual rules and carryover settings match current policies.
• Spot-check a handful of employee records to ensure balances are accurate.

If balance rollovers and audits feel overwhelming, know that you don’t have to manage the process alone — many districts lean on expert help to keep balances aligned before the year begins.

2. Audit User Roles and Approvers

Why it matters:
Over the summer, principals retire, new admins step in, and managers shift. If roles and approval chains aren’t updated, absence requests and timesheets may sit in limbo — or worse, route to someone who no longer works there.

Red flag to watch for:
Pending approvals stacking up for more than three days because they’re routed to the wrong person.

What to do:

• Remove inactive users right away.
• Add new supervisors and approvers.
• Verify each employee’s “report to” chain in Absence and Time & Attendance.

Role and approver audits can be tedious, especially after a summer of staffing changes. Districts often find that an extra set of eyes helps catch details that might otherwise be missed.

3. Refresh Your Substitute Lists

Why it matters:
Fall is one of the heaviest absence seasons. Outdated substitute lists and poor communication settings can drag down your fill rates — leaving classrooms uncovered.

Red flag to watch for:
Fill rates dipping below 85% or subs reporting they “never saw the job post.”

What to do:

• Clean up your substitute pool: remove inactive names, add new hires.
• Encourage subs to use the Frontline mobile app, which delivers real-time job alerts.
• Use fill-rate dashboards to identify gaps by school, day, or absence type.

If fill rates are already a challenge, it may be worth bringing in outside expertise to review your substitute pool and optimize job notifications for better coverage.

4. Tune Your Approval Workflows

Why it matters:
If all timesheets funnel to a single overburdened supervisor, approvals stall. Without backup approvers or overtime alerts, payroll delays and budget surprises are almost guaranteed.

Red flag to watch for:
A surge in last-minute manual overrides by payroll staff just to get paychecks out on time.

What to do:

• Spread approval responsibility across the right supervisors.
• Add backup approvers for coverage when managers are out.
• Turn on real-time overtime alerts so you catch issues early.

Payroll bottlenecks are one of the first signs a workflow needs attention — and sometimes an external perspective makes it easier to redesign approvals efficiently.

5. Review Position Settings and Integrations

Why it matters:
Many employees hold multiple roles — a teacher who also drives a bus, or an aide who works in after-school care. If positions aren’t configured correctly, hours get lumped into one category, creating payroll errors and inaccurate reporting.

Red flag to watch for:
Employees reporting they’re being paid at the wrong rate or cost centers not reconciling correctly.

What to do:

• Assign correct positions and pay rules for each role.
• Allow employees with multiple jobs to choose their role at clock-in.
• Test that Absence and Time are integrated so approved absences flow directly into timesheets automatically.

Position settings and system integrations can get complex fast — particularly when staff hold multiple roles. Districts often look for help to ensure everything stays in sync.

Start the Year Strong

How you use your Absence & Time system should be a source of confidence, not stress. By running these five checks now, you’ll set the stage for smoother payroll, higher fill rates, and fewer manual fixes during the busiest season of the year.

That’s exactly what Touchpoint SmartServe was built for. Our team specializes in system optimization:

• Tier 1 covers quick audits like balance rollovers and role updates.
• Tiers 2–3 provide hands-on coaching and documentation.
• Tiers 4–5 align entire departments and districts for long-term success.

In short, SmartServe covers all five best practices in this checklist — so you can start the year confident your system is running at its best.

The first weeks of school set the tone for the entire year. Don’t risk payroll delays, stalled approvals, or unfilled classrooms. Give your system usage the level-up it deserves — and start the year strong with SmartServe.

Interested in making sure your Frontline Absence Management and Time & Attendance systems are running at their best?

👉 Schedule your 30-minute SmartServe Audit

(Get immediate support and a tailored plan for your district)

Or, if you'd like to see everything SmartServe offers: 

👉 Learn More About SmartServe

(Explore service tiers, features, and how we align your Frontline systems for success.)

Touchpoint — software optimization that makes absence and time tracking simple, accurate, and compliant.

It’s about time.