Can I sync attendance from Flex back into my Student Information System (SIS)?

Basic Overview

Yes, you can sync your attendance data from Flex into your SIS. This is done by using an export CSV file from Flex and importing the attendance data into your SIS. There are a few different options to get this data from Flex. In most cases, support from your IT team and/or SIS administrator will be needed to set this up.  

Basic Steps

1. Retrieve attendance data using one of the following methods:
   • Download attendance data from Flex as a CSV file using the Full Attendance report.
   • Retrieve an end-of-day attendance export file from our secure server using an FTP program.
2. Take either of the downloaded CSV files and put it into the correct format for your SIS.
3. Import the CSV file into your SIS.

Detailed Instructions

There are two options for schools that, when enabled, will automatically export Flex attendance files that can be used by the school or district to import Flex attendance back into the SIS or for other reasons.  When enabled, Flex will automatically export the file(s) to the school’s SFTP directory each day at approximately 4:15 PM local time.  The files can then be retrieved by using the assigned SFTP credentials.  School IT professionals may be able to write a script to automate this retrieval process. 

Exported files are overwritten each day with the current day's information.  Keep in mind this same data is always available to Admins and Staff on the “Full Attendance” report in Flex.  This can be accessed and downloaded at any time, for any date.  Negative attendance can also be downloaded from the Cut List report.   

Depending on your school’s SIS CSV file formatting requirements, there may need to be some updates made by the school or IT staff to the file that the Flex system exports.  We are not able to customize or change our standard attendance export file format at this time.

The two available attendance exports are:

1. Negative Attendance Report - This file lists all students who were not present (marked absent, late excused, or late unexcused) during the Flex periods that are run at your school. If your school has multiple Flex periods, they will all be included in one attendance export file, with each Flex noted under the “Period” column. Below is an example of the export file and the data that is included:

2. Full Attendance Report - This file contains all data included in the “Full Attendance” report that is available to Admins and Staff within Flex Reports. This includes student information, SIS attendance (if being imported), Flex attendance information, and registration information. Please see the screenshot below:

In order to turn these exports “on” in Flex, please do the following:

1. From the “Systems Settings” screen, under “Automated Attendance Export”, toggle the desired option(s) to “on” as shown below. 
2. Click “Save Settings”.