Employee Management System

A robust full-stack web application for managing employees, attendance, payroll, leaves, departments, and more. Built with React (frontend) and Node.js/Express/MongoDB (backend).

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Table of Contents

• Project Overview
• Features
• Tech Stack
• Architecture
• Project Structure
• Setup & Installation
• Environment Variables
• Data Models
• API Endpoints
• Frontend Workflows
• Backend Workflows
• Security
• Testing
• Contributing
• License
• FAQ

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Project Overview

The Employee Management System (EMS) streamlines HR operations for organizations. It provides secure authentication, role-based access, and modules for attendance, payroll, leave management, notifications, and reporting. The system is designed for scalability, security, and ease of use.

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Features

• User Authentication & Authorization

  • Registration, login, JWT-based sessions, email verification.
  • Role-based access: Employee, Admin, Super Admin.

• Employee Management

  • Add, update, view, and soft-delete employees.
  • Assign departments, designations, and shifts.

• Attendance Tracking

  • Daily clock-in/out, overtime calculation, late/early detection.
  • Location and IP tracking for compliance.

• Leave Management

  • Apply for casual, sick, or earned leave.
  • Admin approval/rejection, leave balance tracking.

• Payroll Management

  • Monthly salary calculation, overtime, bonuses.
  • Payslip PDF generation and download.

• Department & Shift Management

  • Create/manage departments and work shifts.

• Notifications

  • In-app, email, and SMS notifications for approvals, payroll, and system alerts.

• Audit Logs

  • Track admin actions for security and compliance.

• Admin Dashboard

  • Advanced controls for HR/admins, analytics, and reporting.

• Reports & Analytics

  • Export data, view attendance/overtime/payroll trends.

• Responsive UI

  • Modern, user-friendly interface for desktop and mobile.

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Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, React Router, Axios, CSS
• Backend: Node.js, Express, MongoDB, Mongoose
• Authentication: JWT, bcryptjs
• Notifications: Nodemailer (email), Twilio (SMS)
• PDF Generation: PDFKit
• Other: CORS, dotenv

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Architecture

• Client-Server Model: React SPA communicates with Express REST API.
• Database: MongoDB stores all persistent data.
• Authentication: JWT tokens for secure API access.
• Notifications: Email/SMS via third-party services.

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Project Structure

client/
  src/
    components/      # UI components (EmployeeList, NotificationDropdown, etc.)
    context/         # React Context (AuthContext)
    pages/           # Main pages (Dashboard, Login, Register, etc.)
    styles/          # CSS files
    utils/           # API utilities (axios)
  public/            # Static assets
  package.json       # Frontend dependencies

server/
  config/            # DB config
  controllers/       # Route logic (attendance, payroll, etc.)
  middleware/        # Auth, rate limiting
  models/            # Mongoose schemas (User, Attendance, Payroll, etc.)
  routes/            # API endpoints
  utils/             # Helper functions (token, email, SMS)
  package.json       # Backend dependencies

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Setup & Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+ recommended)
• MongoDB (local or Atlas)
• npm

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yukesshwaran21/Employee_Management_System.git
cd Employee_Management_System

2. Install Dependencies

Backend

cd server
npm install

Frontend

cd ../client
npm install

3. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in server/:

PORT=5000
MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
EMAIL_USER=your_email_address
EMAIL_PASS=your_email_password
TWILIO_SID=your_twilio_sid
TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN=your_twilio_auth_token
TWILIO_PHONE=your_twilio_phone_number

4. Start the Application

Backend

cd server
npm start

Frontend

cd client
npm start

• Frontend: http://localhost:3000
• Backend: http://localhost:5000

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Data Models

User

• name, email, phone, password, role, department, designation, status, employeeId, isEmailVerified, profilePhoto, leaveBalance, baseSalary, shift, isActive, createdAt, updatedAt

Attendance

• user, date, clockIn, clockOut, totalHours, overtimeHours, ip, location, isLate, isEarly

Payroll

• user, month, baseSalary, overtimeHours, overtimeRate, bonus, totalSalary, status, payslip, releasedAt

Leave

• user, type, from, to, days, reason, status, adminComment, appliedAt, decidedAt

Department

• name, description

Shift

• name, startTime, endTime, isNightShift

Notification

• user, type, message, isRead, createdAt

AuditLog

• action, performedBy, details, createdAt

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API Endpoints

• /api/auth: Register, login, verify email, password reset
• /api/employees: CRUD for employees
• /api/attendance: Clock-in/out, attendance history, reports
• /api/payroll: Payroll management, payslip download
• /api/leave: Apply, approve/reject, leave history
• /api/department: Manage departments
• /api/shift: Manage shifts
• /api/audit: Audit logs
• /api/notification: Notifications

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Frontend Workflows

• Authentication: AuthContext manages user state and JWT token. Login and registration forms interact with /api/auth.
• Dashboard: Displays quick stats, navigation, and user info. Role-based rendering for employee/admin.
• Attendance: Employees can clock in/out, view attendance history, and see overtime.
• Leave: Apply for leave, view balances, and track approval status.
• Payroll: View salary details, download payslips.
• Admin Panel: Manage employees, approve leaves, view analytics, and export reports.
• Notifications: Dropdown for unread notifications, real-time updates.

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Backend Workflows

• Authentication: JWT middleware protects routes. Passwords hashed with bcryptjs.
• Attendance: Validates clock-in/out, calculates hours and overtime.
• Payroll: Generates monthly payroll, calculates overtime, creates payslip PDFs.
• Leave: Validates leave applications, updates balances, notifies admins.
• Notifications: Sends email/SMS via Nodemailer/Twilio, stores in DB.
• Audit Logging: Records admin actions for compliance.

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Security

• Passwords hashed and salted.
• JWT-based authentication for API access.
• Role-based access control for sensitive endpoints.
• Rate limiting to prevent abuse.
• CORS configured for frontend-backend communication.

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Testing

• Frontend: React Testing Library, Jest (see client/src/App.test.js)
• Backend: Add tests for controllers and routes as needed.

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Contributing

1. Fork the repo
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/YourFeature)
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Open a Pull Request

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License

This project is licensed under the ISC License.

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FAQ

Q: How do I add a new department or shift?
A: Use the admin dashboard or API endpoints /api/department and /api/shift.

Q: How are notifications sent?
A: Notifications are sent via email (Nodemailer), SMS (Twilio), and stored in the database for in-app display.

Q: How do I generate payslips?
A: Payroll module generates PDF payslips using PDFKit, downloadable from the payroll page.

Q: How do I reset my password?
A: Use the password reset feature via /api/auth.

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For any questions or issues, please open an issue on GitHub.