What is bonus pay?
We do get asked, but the answer is not always simple. So here goes...
A bonus is when we give employees pay above and beyond their "regular" pay. In other words, pay they might not normally get.
Here I'll explain what kind of bonuses employees can receive, along with examples.
To start, understand bonuses come in two flavors...
- Discretionary ( Based on the employer's sole discretion )
- Non-Discretionary ( Based on the employer's agreements or expectations ).
Discretionary bonus
These bonuses are up to you as an employer. They are not included in the regular rate of pay for overtime calculation. Examples include...
- Spot bonus: As a reward for going above and beyond
- Holiday bonus: As a thank you at holiday time
- Employee-of-the-month bonus: As a special recognition
Non-discretionary bonus
These bonuses are based on performance, output, or an agreement between you and the employee. They must be included in the regular rate of pay for overtime calculation. Examples include...
- Production bonus: As a reward for meeting specific targets/goals/quotas
- Attendance bonus: As a reward for perfect attendance or safety standards
- Sign-on bonus: As an incentive for employment
And yes, a non-discretionary bonus can impact overtime calculations because they must be included in the regular rate of pay.
And according to the FLSA, overtime is 1.5 the regular rate of pay for any minute over 40 hours in a workweek.
This means if a non-discretionary bonus is earned during a workweek (where overtime is worked), the bonus must be factored into the regular rate of pay.
When calculated correctly, the employee will be compensated fairly for their overtime.
Non-discretionary bonus with overtime example...
An employee works 44 hours in a week at $20/hour and earns a $500 non-discretionary bonus.
Regular rate of pay = (Total weekly earnings, including bonus) ÷ Total hours worked.
$880 (regular pay) + $500 (bonus) = $1,380 total earnings.
$1,380 ÷ 44 hours = $31.36 regular rate of pay.
Overtime pay = Regular rate × 1.5 × Overtime hours.
$31.36 × 1.5 × 4 = $188.16 overtime pay.
The white label time clock
Having employees see your time clock vendor name as they clock in is fine, as most companies (who use us) have no issue.
But what if you prefer to promote your own brand?
Or what if you prefer not to share the details of your time clock provider? Especially details like pricing.
Your choices are either build your own solution and host it yourself... Or plug into a white label time clock.
This way you have your own domain name that displays your name and logo.
For us, we didn't offer a white label in the past, but do now. And yes, it works with our time clock hardware too.
Who could use this?
Anyone who's clients could use a time clock system. Such as...
- CPA firms
- Bookkeepers
- Payroll providers
- Staffing agencies
- Larger organizations
- Time and attendance resellers
If interested, please reach out. We'll be happy to provide details.
Working through midnight
Some employees work crazy hours at night, graveyard, or round the clock.
But it doesn't change how work hours are calculated.
No matter how crazy their schedule is, employees are compensated on how many hours they work in a day, and how many hours they work in a workweek.
Why? By law, that is how overtime is calculated.
So if an employee works through midnight, you have to draw a line in the sand that says when the workday starts. Then it can be calculated.
Our online time clock says an employee's workday starts when they clock in.
As an example, if an employee clocks in at 9 PM on Wednesday, and out at 5 AM on Thursday, they are compensated 8 hours for Wednesday.
To make this work, along with our Maximum shift setting, we also include a New Shift After setting.
New shift after
The default New Shift After is 3 hours.
This means that any IN punch that occurs at least 3 hours after the last OUT punch is considered a new shift.
Going back to our example...
If our employee clocks in at 9 PM on Wednesday, but clocked out at 1 AM on Thursday for a meal break, their next IN punch will keep them in the same shift as long as they clock IN within 3 hours.
But if instead they clocked back in at 5 AM, then the 5 AM punch is considered a new shift that starts on Thursday.
Bottom line, it's okay for employees to work crazy hours.
And if they do, hours will still be calculated correctly.
Timecards or timesheets
They are both the same thing.
The name timecard comes from paper card stock printed with days of the week, and used with traditional time clocks.
The name timesheet comes from sheets of paper also printed with days of the week, and filled out with pen or pencil.
Outside of that, each one does the same exact thing... They keep a record of time worked, maybe with start/stop times, maybe with hours only.
It has nothing to do with hourly vs salary, or job tracking either.
Since an online time clock doesn't use paper, we could try to rename it.
Should we call it a "Weekly Payroll Time Report for July 14 through July 20 2025 for Sam Smith including Start/Stop Times" as an example?
Hmm, timesheet might better. Timecard perhaps?
Whatever works for you.
The maximum shift
We think the easy way to clock in is by clicking one single button.
Not an IN, OUT, or BREAK button, just one botton... That handles it all.
This way, it avoids the mistakes of employees clicking the wrong button, and it avoids you having to fix them later.
To make this work, we use a computer algorithm (program) that knows in advance what the next punch should be.
For example, if an employee clocks in at 8:00 AM, it knows their next punch will be a clock OUT.
Then, if the employee is clocked OUT, it knows the next punch will be a clock IN. Simple, easy peasy.
But what if an employee forgets to clock out?
Maximum shift
A maximum shift is the maximum number of hours employees work during a shift. And has nothing to do with time clocks reading minds.
As a default, our system assumes nobody works longer than 14 hours during a shift... If your employees do, you can set this for 18 hours or longer.
This means if an employee clocks in at 8:00 AM but forgets to clock out, then a punch the next day at 8:00 AM will be considered an IN punch... As that punch is greater than 14 hours from the last punch.
In addition, the timecard will also show their OUT punch as red dashes. Meaning it was "missed", and letting you know it needs editing.
Overall, this will make life easier for you.
Now getting them to remember to clock out is another story.
Knowing the IP address
We use a system that captures the IP address every time an employee clocks in. Especially useful if employees clock from the web.
Among other things, it prevents employees from clocking from home. That is, if you don't want them to.
So when an employee clocks in, the IP address will confirm if they clocked from the office or not.
However to make it work, you first need to find the IP address of your workplace, then enter it in your account.
As a convenience, our system will give you the IP (along with details) as long as your computer is connected to your workplace network.
But if not, here are two easy tips.
Search Google
To find the IP address of a remote workplace, ask someone at that location to search Google with the words "My IP address".
As long as their computer is connected to the workplace network, the result will give you what you need.
Search Maxmind
For those situations where you don't recognize the IP address used by an employee, this will help.
Maxmind is a widely used database of all IP addresses throughout the world... Who happens to offer free lookups.
To see the details of an IP address, copy and paste it in the Maxmind Demo.
In particular, look at the ISP/Organization, that will tell you who owns that IP address.
If the IP is owned by your internet service provider, then all is good.
But if not, you may have to ask why.
Should employees clock online?
Sure, but only if it makes sense for your business. For example if employees work at desks with computers, or if using phones is more convenient.
But those might not always be the best options.
Yesterday a customer asked if we integrate biometric time clocks with our system.
We told them yes we do, you can see them all right here.
But later, the customer followed up with another question. "After that, can we stop online clocking completely?"
Again yes, you definitely can.
When someone is interested in a biometric time clock, chances are there is a story behind it... And you can probably guess why.
If you are considering a biometric clock, it certainly makes sense to prevent employees clocking without it.
Instead, you can give web access to employees for things like seeing their timesheet, or requesting time off. But at the same time, prevent them from clocking online.
So, even though we are an online time clock, it doesn't mean your employees should or must clock online.
You have other options.
Automating the workplace
Some things can be automated, some things can't.
We could automate the process of running reports on a schedule.
Same thing with sending emails to clients, organizing invoices and documents, or tracking projects.
With automation, the work is done for us. By using a service, machine, or AI.
But we can't automate things that just happen. A quick meeting, an employee out sick, a customer phone call.
That's where the work is.
It really depends on what we do. If we push buttons on a machine all day, our job is at risk of automation.
But if we are paid to think, and/or to handle things as they happen, that risk is less.
They used to say don't do anything a machine can do.
Now they say don't do anything AI can do.
Regardless, we still need automation, and Webtimeclock can do that.
Including all the heavy lifting for payroll, time and attendance, and HR.
But we won't replace the job of an HR manager, or payroll specialist.
We make their job easier.
Giving more time to handle things as they happen.
The online time clock
What is an online time clock?
Software designed to collect time records, calculate hours worked, and report employee time and attendance for payroll.
Online meaning web-based (or cloud-based) and delivered as a monthly service, and available on any internet connected browser.
Generally, it provides timecards (or timesheets) that can be edited by an administrator, saved for compliance, and reported for payroll.
And generally, it allows employees to clock in from any browser found on computers, tablets, or mobile phones.
Why use an online time clock?
For convenience. It improves the payroll process by saving time, maintaining records, and reduces mistakes found with manual methods.
Especially useful when you have multiple locations, companies, or clients, as it centralizes your records.
If you want web access, phone access, have multiple locations, or need multiple administrators, online time clock software is your best choice.
Will AI replace online time clocks?
Not unless you hire robots instead of employees. It won't replace those who run your business either such as HR managers and accountants.
Why Webtimeclock?
Easy to use, online since 2003, and sensible pricing compared to others. But more important is our dedication to support you.
Can employees clock from home?
When we created Webtimeclock over 20 years ago, one of our first priorities was to prevent employees from clocking outside the workplace.
Our idea back then was to limit by IP address, which by the way, has been borrowed from us over and over again. We call it IP security.
How does it work?
Every Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigns an IP address to each one of their customers. And for the most part, each one of those IP addresses are unique. For example, the IP address of a phone carrier is different from the IP address of your office internet provider.
The idea is to limit employees to clock in when their IP address matches your office IP address.
It works really well.
But it's not always perfect either, IP addresses are sometimes changed by your ISP, as your ISP makes changes to their servers.
If that happens, enter the new IP address assigned to you, otherwise employees will not be able to clock in. When you do, your time clock is back in business.
Despite that possibility, IP security is still the best method to limit employees when web clocking, even better than GPS tracking.
Sure GPS works, but it's only accurate when using mobile phones, as not all employers want employees to use their phones.
Give Webtimeclock a try, employees will not be able to clock from home.
Unless you want them to.