With Mendato you can upload photos of completed timesheets — an AI automatically detects the date, working hours, breaks, and the employee (personnel number and name). You briefly review the detected entries and confirm them — Mendato then creates the matching time records automatically.
💡 BETA: This feature is still in beta. The AI is improved continuously — please review every detected entry carefully before confirming. We appreciate your feedback to support.
Requirements
Pro or Pro Plus plan
Employees with a personnel number set up under master data
Per photo: one employee, captured clearly, with date, start, and end time
1. Open the Timesheets Area
In Mendato Orders: Personnel > Timesheets.
You will see all uploaded timesheets with their status, the detected employee, and the number of recognised entries.
2. Upload or Take a Photo
Click "Scan timesheet" in the top right. The dialog offers two ways:
Take photo (phone / tablet): Opens the camera directly. Handy when an employee hands in their paper timesheet at the office.
Upload files: Drag & drop, or click to select multiple photos at once.
Supported formats: JPG, PNG, HEIC. Max. 15 MB per file. Multi-select is supported.
3. AI Analyses the Scan
After upload each timesheet automatically moves through these states:
Uploading
AI analysing — usually takes 20–60 seconds
Select employee or Ready for review — depending on whether the AI could identify the employee
You can leave the overview open — it refreshes automatically.
4. Assign the Employee
If the AI clearly detects both personnel number and name, the employee is assigned automatically.
If the AI could not match an employee (e.g. an unreadable personnel number), open the timesheet and pick the employee manually. The AI shows you which name or number it detected as a hint.
5. Review & Confirm Entries
On a timesheet's detail page you'll find the detected entries in a table. Each row shows:
Status (Draft, Confirmed, Rejected, Error)
Date, Journey start, Start, End, Break — every field is editable directly in the table
Order and Object — matched against the detected numbers, if present
Each row has a Confirm (✓) or Reject (✗) button. For multiple entries at once:
Tick the rows you want → "Confirm selection"
At the bottom of the table: "Confirm all" or "Reject all" for bulk decisions
Every confirmed entry becomes a time record in Mendato — visible under Personnel > Time records.
Tip: Auto-Confirm Entries
The upload dialog has an option "Auto-confirm entries (skips review)". When enabled, all entries that the AI detects without errors are turned into time records directly, with no manual review.
Recommendation: Only enable this after several successful manual reviews — so you know how reliable the AI is for your timesheets.
Errors and Issues
If the AI cannot process a timesheet, you'll see the "Error" status in the overview:
Message | Meaning & fix |
No timesheet detected | The photo does not show a timesheet — take a new photo of the correct document. |
Scan unreadable | Image too dark, blurry, or distorted — retake the photo with better lighting. |
Multiple employees on the scan | Only one employee per timesheet is allowed — split timesheets by employee. |
Employee could not be matched | The personnel number was not found — assign the employee manually or check master data. |
Technical error during AI analysis | A temporary failure — delete the timesheet and upload the photo again. |
Individual entries with status "Error": Correct the highlighted fields (e.g. date or time) directly in the table and then confirm.
Tips for Better Recognition
Photograph the timesheet straight and complete — every column should be in frame
Good lighting, no shadows or reflections
For handwriting: use block letters for numbers — and walk a sample photo through with your team in advance
Write personnel number and name at the top of the sheet clearly
For paper templates: design them with clearly separated cells
Photo-AI vs. Excel Importer — which one to use?
Both options turn existing timesheets into time records — they're built for different situations:
| Photo upload (AI) | Excel importer |
Input | Photo of a paper timesheet | Excel file following the template |
Preparation | None — just take the photo | Transfer data into the template |
Employees per file | One employee per photo | Any number per file |
Best for | Ad-hoc handling of individual paper timesheets | Structured bulk transfers (e.g. monthly) |
Details on the Excel importer: Stundenzettel-Importer in Mendato.
💡 Note: Only confirmed entries flow into payroll. The photo upload doesn't replace manual capture in every case — use it where your employees still work with paper timesheets.