How to edit a time card
As you probably know, the process of dealing with timecards or timesheets is not always perfect, people are human.
Sure, your team may clock in and out, but there will always be something requiring your attention. Here are some examples...
- They forget to clock in or out
- They clocked in late, or out too early by mistake
- They clocked out for lunch, but ended up working through lunch
- They clocked out for lunch, but clocked back in too early
- They called in sick, and asked to use PTO to cover it
- They requested time off
- They worked extra hard, and deserve a bonus hour
- They did not get a lunch break, and must be paid a premium hour
As you can guess, there is a good chance you will have to edit someone's time card, maybe every day.
How to add a missing punch to a time card
The most common reason for editing a timecard is a missed punch. Someone clocks in, but forgets to clock out.
Or maybe they completely forget to clock in for the day.
When that happens, you need to determine the exact time your employee should have clocked in or out, then manually enter the time on their timecard.
Webtimeclock makes this process very easy. With us, you enter one punch at a time, the system calculates from there.
If the time was 8:00 AM, simply enter the number 8, the system considers that 8:00 AM. For 8:30 AM, enter 830. For 8:30 PM, enter 830p.
How to add PTO hours to a timecard
The next most common reason for editing time cards is when adding PTO hours, for example vacation, sick time, or a paid holiday.
Webtimeclock makes this easy too. With us, you can enter a flat amount of hours along with assigning a paycode. For example 8 hours of vacation.
When added, the hours appear under PTO, Sick, or Holiday columns on the timecard.
How to modify or delete a punch
There may be circumstances where a punch time needs to change. For example, they clocked in, but admitted they clocked in 10 minutes after they arrived at work.
When that happens, you can easily change a time, for example changing 8:10 AM to 8:00 AM.
If needed, you can also delete a punch. For example, if an employee clocked out by mistake. This would allow them to clock out at the right time.
How to keep time cards legal
With the power to edit timecards you have the power to falsify, which is illegal and can get you and your company into trouble. You could face heavy fines or more.
Please don't make changes to a timecard that reduces the time the employee actually worked, for example in an effort to avoid paying overtime.
As a rule, pay your employees for every minute they work. It's okay to use time clock rounding provided they are neutral, but make sure your time clock rules do not favor the employer over the employee. The same rule applies when editing timecards.
But as a reminder, you don't need time-clock rounding either.
To keep it legal, pay employees fairly and honestly.
To help with this, Webtimeclock also includes an Audit system that lets you know who edited a timesheet, when, and from where.
How to use time card comments
Webtimeclock has a comment system that allows employees or administrators to enter comments on a timecard. These comments display below the timecard as a permanent record.
The newest comments appear on your dashboard letting you know it needs action.
For example, if an employee forgets to clock out, and to make it easier, have them enter a comment with the time they should have clocked out.
Comments can also be used in case of an audit. By stating you edited an entry, and by having the employee approve it, you have a record that shows what happened.
Write as many comments as you need.