---
title: Terminals
summary: 'A clock-in device: a web page, a mobile app, a Voxbi softphone, or an Android tablet mounted in the office lobby. Each terminal is registered with a layout, PIN, and type.'
section: features
tags:
  - crud
  - tempus
  - time-tracking
  - hardware
updated: '2026-08-12'
---

> A **terminal** in Tempus is a clock-in device - a web page, a mobile app, a Voxbi softphone, or an Android tablet in the office lobby - where employees tap their badge or pick a status to log a [time point](tempus_time_points.md).

Terminals are how Tempus knows whether a clock-in came from the lobby tablet or from someone changing status in their Voxbi app.

## Overview

The Terminals page lists every registered terminal with its location, MAC, layout, type, and last-activity timestamp. From here you create, edit, view logs, activate, deactivate, or trash a terminal. Each terminal links to a [Tempus layout](../telephony/tempus_layouts.md) that defines which statuses and buttons it shows, and different terminals can use different layouts.

## What it does

When an employee taps their [badge](tempus_badges.md), enters a PIN, or selects their name, they pick a status from the layout's buttons. The terminal sends the event to the backend, which writes a [terminal log](terminal_logs.md) and processes it into a [time point](tempus_time_points.md), closing the previous open-ended one and opening a new one with the picked status.

The PIN is the terminal's authentication secret. The Android app uses it on first setup to bind to your tenant, so distribute it securely and rotate it if it leaks. The active toggle gates whether the terminal accepts clock-ins. To retire a device, deactivate it, observe for a week to confirm employees have migrated, then trash it.

> [!WARNING]
> A layout change takes effect the next time the device contacts the backend, anywhere from seconds to a few minutes depending on the device type.

> [!CAUTION]
> Prefer trash over permanent delete. Deleting a terminal preserves its historical logs but strips their human-readable terminal name.

## How to put a clock-in terminal into service

1. Build the [layout](../telephony/tempus_layouts.md) first. It decides which statuses and buttons the device shows, and different terminals can use different layouts.
2. Create the terminal with its type, layout, and PIN. The Android app uses that PIN on first setup to bind to your tenant, so hand it over securely and rotate it if it leaks.
3. Issue [badges](tempus_badges.md) to the people who will use it.
4. Bind the device, and leave the terminal active. The active toggle gates whether clock-ins are accepted at all.
5. Verify with one real tap, then open the terminal's [logs](terminal_logs.md). A tap writes a log and is processed into a [time point](tempus_time_points.md), so the log is where you confirm what the device actually sent.
6. Expect a lag after a later layout change: it takes effect the next time the device contacts the backend, from seconds to a few minutes.
7. To retire a device, deactivate it, watch for a week to confirm people have moved across, then trash it. Prefer trash over permanent delete, which strips the readable terminal name from historical logs.

## See also

- [Terminal logs](terminal_logs.md) - the raw event stream from terminals.
- [Time points](tempus_time_points.md) - the structured outputs.
- [Tempus badges](tempus_badges.md) - the credential employees tap on a terminal.
- [Tempus layouts](../telephony/tempus_layouts.md) - the button configuration shown on each terminal.