Online timesheet software is no longer just “logging hours” — in 2026 it’s how HR keeps pay accurate, stays audit-ready, and avoids privacy headaches across hybrid teams in the US and UK. We’ll break down what it is, what to look for, and how to set it up properly (including the recordkeeping basics under the FLSA and the UK’s Working Time record requirements).
What is online timesheet software?
Online timesheet software is a cloud-based tool that lets employees record working time, managers review and approve it, and HR store it for compliance and payroll. It produces reports on hours and costs, and keeps an audit trail of changes so your records stay accurate, consistent, and defensible.
What does online timesheet software track?
Most systems track (or should track) the following, in this order:
- Hours worked (start/finish times, total hours)
- Breaks (paid/unpaid, duration, missed breaks)
- Overtime (thresholds, overtime hours, approvals)
- Job/project codes (where time should be allocated)
- Location/device (optional: mobile GPS, kiosk, web)
- Approvals (who approved what, and when)
- Edit history (what changed, by whom, and why)
❌ What it should NOT do by default: it shouldn’t turn into “always-on employee surveillance” (like constant tracking outside work hours or intrusive monitoring that isn’t necessary for accurate time records).
Online timesheets vs time clocks vs time tracking:
| Tool type | Best for | How time is captured | Common pitfalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timesheets | Payroll accuracy, compliance records, approvals | Employees enter hours (manual or from clock data), then manager approves | Late submissions, “guessing” hours, weak edit controls |
| Time clocks | Shift teams, attendance, start/finish/break compliance | Clock in/out (mobile, kiosk, terminal), often linked to schedule | Missed punches, rounding disputes, no context for projects |
| Time tracking | Project costing, client billing, productivity analysis | Timers or task-based logging per job/client | Wrong job codes, inflated admin work, poor adoption |
Core features to look for (the “must-haves”)
This is the short list that keeps timesheets accurate, audit-ready, and actually usable by HR (instead of becoming another admin chore).
Time capture options (choose based on work type)
Decision tree you can actually use:
-
If you manage shift workers → prioritise clock in/out plus break recording, ideally tied to scheduled shifts, with clear “missed punch” handling.
-
If you manage project work → prioritise job/project codes plus timers (or fast job-based entry), so time lands in the right cost bucket first time.
-
If you manage hybrid/remote teams → prioritise mobile capture plus policy-based approvals (and optional location rules where genuinely needed).
⚠️ Don’t ignore the practical bits: offline mode matters for field teams with patchy signal, and a shared kiosk setup is often the cleanest option for sites like retail floors, warehouses, and care settings (less “my phone died” drama). Shiftbase, for example, supports a web-based Kiosk that staff can use via a shared device with individual PIN codes.
Approvals + audit trail (the “dispute-proof” layer)
Checklist box (what to look for and configure):
- Role permissions (who can submit, edit, approve, export)
- Edit history (what changed, by whom, timestamped)
- Reason codes for edits (e.g., “missed punch”, “manager correction”)
- Attachments/notes (proof for exceptions, like a client visit or call-out)
- Lock pay periods (no silent edits after payroll is final)
- Manager delegation (cover holidays/sickness without bottlenecks)
- Audit exports (exportable logs for payroll, auditors, disputes)
Why this matters in the real world:
When a pay dispute happens, the most painful phrase is “we can’t prove when it changed”. A proper audit trail prevents that by showing the full chain: submitted → edited (if needed) → approved → exported, with names and timestamps.
Rule engine for overtime, breaks, and alerts
A decent rules engine stops problems before they hit payroll:
1. Alerts before overtime happens- Example: “Notify managers at 38 hours (weekly) so overtime can be approved or avoided.”
- Practical workflow: alert → manager decision (approve, reassign, shorten shift) → log the action.
- Example: flag “no break recorded” for shifts over X hours, or “break shorter than policy minimum”.
- Good systems don’t just shame employees; they create an exception queue so managers can fix mistakes (or address real compliance gaps).
- You want a single place that shows: missed punches, unusual long shifts, early clock-ins, late clock-outs, and edits after submission.
Policy guardrails (examples you’d configure):
- (No early clock-in without manager approval)
- (Clock-in only allowed within scheduled window)
- (Auto-split shifts and handle rounding consistently)
- (Different rule sets by department/job type)
⚠️ Under the UK Working Time Regulations, employers must keep adequate records to show compliance with working time limits and retain those records for two years.
Reporting that HR actually uses (not vanity charts)
👉Tip that saves time: build your reporting around your pay cycle. If payroll closes every other Friday, schedule a mid-cycle exceptions check (e.g., Tuesday) and a pre-close check (Thursday) so you’re not scrambling on payroll day.
US compliance checklist (FLSA-focused, timesheet-ready)
If your timesheets can’t stand up to a wage-and-hour question, you’re one payroll run away from a headache. This section is about keeping records that are accurate, complete, and easy to explain.
What your system should store for FLSA recordkeeping
The US Department of Labor is clear: there’s no required form, but covered employers must keep accurate records that include employee details, hours worked, and wages earned.
Practical “FLSA-ready” data fields (store these in your timesheet system):
| Category | What to store | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Employee ID | Full legal name + unique employee ID (and any internal payroll ID) | Prevents “wrong person” disputes |
| Pay basis | Hourly rate(s) / salary basis + overtime eligibility flag | Drives correct wage calculations |
| Work period | Pay period start/end + workweek definition | Required context for overtime |
| Hours worked | Total hours each workday + total hours each workweek | Core evidence for pay |
| Start/finish (best practice) | Clock-in/out times + break durations | Helps resolve disputes fast |
| Premiums & additions | Shift differentials, tips (if relevant), bonuses tied to hours | Impacts regular rate/overtime maths |
| Deductions (where tracked) | Unpaid breaks, authorised deductions | Supports net-pay explanations |
| Approvals | Who approved, when, and what was approved | Shows process control |
| Changes | What changed, who changed it, why, timestamped | Prevents “silent edits” claims |
💡 If you need a cleaner approval trail, Shiftbase lets managers approve worked hours in day/week/month views (web and mobile), which helps you keep a consistent “submitted → approved” chain before payroll.
Audit-friendly workflows for corrections and missed punches
This is the workflow you want (and what auditors love because it’s boring and repeatable):
Step-by-step correction flow (never overwrite without history):
- Employee flags the issue
- Example: “Forgot to clock out; I left at 17:05.”
- Require a reason code (missed punch / device issue / manager instruction).
- Manager reviews the request
- Checks schedule, location rota, CCTV entry logs (if you already use them), job notes, or supervisor confirmation.
- Manager approves or declines
- Declined entries should remain visible as declined (not deleted). This keeps the record trail intact.
- System logs the change
- Store: original entry, updated entry, who changed it, timestamp, reason, and any notes/attachments.
- Lock once payroll is run
- After payroll export, lock the period so changes require a formal adjustment process.
- Export to payroll
- Export should match approved totals (daily + weekly totals) and keep an exception report for anything unresolved.
What “good” looks like in practice:
- You can pull a single report that shows: original record → correction request → approver decision → final paid record.
Rounding, edits, and risk controls
Rounding isn’t automatically “wrong”, but it becomes risky when it systematically benefits the employer. Your controls should make rounding transparent and testable.
Safe, practical controls to put in place:
- Configurable rounding
- Set your rounding interval (e.g., 5, 10, 15 minutes) and whether you round up, down, or to nearest.
- Rounding impact reporting (non-negotiable)
- Create a report that shows, per employee and per pay period:
- Rounded hours – actual hours = rounding delta
- Total delta across the pay period
- Create a report that shows, per employee and per pay period:
- Bias alerts
- Trigger an alert if the rounding delta is consistently negative for an employee or department (example rule: “delta < -0.25 hours for 3+ pay periods”).
- Edit controls
- Require reason codes + manager approval for edits after submission.
- Block edits after payroll close, or force them into a formal adjustment workflow.
⚠️ Disclaimer: Rounding policies can get technical quickly, so it’s worth having your approach reviewed with your employment/payroll adviser.
UK compliance checklist (Working Time Regulations + evidence)
In the UK, you’re not just tracking hours for payroll — you’re keeping evidence that shows whether you’re complying with key working time limits.
“Adequate records” translated into software requirements
Regulation 9 of the Working Time Regulations requires employers to keep records that are adequate to show compliance with certain limits/requirements, and to retain them for two years.
Turn that into a practical software requirements checklist:
- Weekly working time limit evidence
- Weekly totals per worker (and averages where your policy tracks them), with clear workweek definitions.
- Night work considerations
- Ability to identify night workers and track night hours/shift patterns (so you can evidence night work limits where relevant).
- Rest compliance indicators
- Flags for missing/short rest periods (daily/weekly) and missed rest breaks, based on your internal policy settings.
- Opt-out documentation (where relevant)
- Record whether a worker has opted out of the 48-hour average limit, date signed, and where it’s stored.
- Two-year retention controls
- Retention settings or an internal process that ensures records remain accessible for at least two years from creation.
- Exportable evidence
- Export weekly totals + exceptions with timestamps, so you can respond quickly to queries.
👉 Quick “adequate records” reality check: If someone asks, “Did this person exceed the weekly limit?” you should be able to answer with one report, not three spreadsheets and a panic.
How to handle opt-outs, night work, and rest breaks in practice
Here’s a practical setup that keeps you covered without turning your workplace into a surveillance project.
1) Opt-outs (48-hour average) — keep it structured
- Store opt-out status as a simple field: Opted out? Yes/No
- Store metadata: signed date, review date, and storage location (link/reference)
- Add a monthly manager dashboard widget: “Opt-out staff exceeding X hours this month” (so you’re not ignoring risk just because there’s an opt-out)
2) Night work — handle it via shift tagging
- Tag shifts as “night” based on your policy window (e.g., 23:00–06:00)
- Report weekly night hours by worker
- Flag patterns like back-to-back night shifts beyond your internal limit (this is often where fatigue risk lives)
3) Rest breaks — move from policing to exceptions
- Ask staff to record breaks (or capture them via clock entries where you use clocking)
- Build an exceptions queue that shows:
- “Shift > X hours with no break recorded”
- “Break recorded but shorter than policy minimum”
- Resolve exceptions with a reason + manager note (e.g., “Emergency cover”, “Break taken but not recorded”)
Privacy and monitoring (especially important in the UK)
Timekeeping is fine. Over-monitoring isn’t. This section is about collecting what you need for accurate records — and not collecting a load of extra data you can’t justify.
Monitoring at work: necessity, proportionality, transparency
The ICO’s monitoring guidance is built around a few common-sense expectations: you should be able to justify monitoring, keep it proportionate, be transparent with workers, minimise data, and consider whether a DPIA is needed for higher-risk monitoring.
Translate that into product and process requirements:
- Privacy controls: switch monitoring features on/off by role, site, or worker group
- Configurable data collection: collect only what you need (e.g., don’t collect location unless there’s a real operational reason)
- Employee notice support: easy-to-share explanation of what’s captured, why, who can access it, and retention
- DPIA support: vendor documentation that helps you assess risk (what data is processed, where stored, security measures)
- Access logging: who viewed time data and when (helps prevent misuse internally)
❗Self-contained rule of thumb: If you can’t explain the purpose of a data point in one sentence, don’t collect it.
Avoiding “bossware” backlash while still getting accurate time data
Here’s a trust-first playbook that still produces solid time records.
Trust-first playbook (short, usable, and realistic):
- Define the outcome
- “We need accurate hours and breaks for payroll and compliance.”
- Choose the least intrusive method
- Start with timesheets/clocking + approvals. Only add location controls for field safety, site security, or fraud issues you can evidence.
- Ban the creepy stuff by policy
- No screenshots, no keystroke logging, no webcam monitoring unless there’s a specific, documented need (and even then, expect pushback).
- Publish a plain-English monitoring notice
- What we collect / what we don’t / why / who sees it / how long we keep it / how to challenge errors.
- Give employees access to their own records
- If people can review their hours and corrections, disputes drop fast.
- Audit your own usage
- Quarterly check: are managers using the data for timekeeping, or for performance surveillance?
Mini checklist:
- Purpose stated ✅
- Data minimised ✅
- Staff informed ✅
- Access restricted ✅
- DPIA considered ✅
- Retention defined ✅
Biometrics and high-risk attendance controls
Biometrics (fingerprints, face scans) can feel “efficient”, but it’s high-risk because it’s sensitive personal data and hard to justify when simpler options exist.
Caution checklist before using biometrics:
- Necessity: can you achieve the goal (accurate clocking) without biometrics?
- Alternatives: PIN, card, kiosk, mobile clocking, supervisor verification
- Clear justification: documented fraud/security issue, not “because it’s cool”
- Transparency: staff notice + how templates are stored/protected/deleted
- Proportionality: avoid turning low-risk roles into high-surveillance environments
Implementation plan that reduces payroll errors fast
his is the “do this first” setup so your timesheets stop creating payroll rework.
30-minute process mapping (before you buy anything)
💡If you want fewer payroll surprises, Shiftbase has a Payroll report built from timesheet registrations and can export to Excel/CSV for payroll admin.
Timesheet policy that prevents chaos
Rollout plan for adoption (pilot → scale)
3-phase rollout (with metrics):
Phase 1 — Pilot (1–2 pay cycles)
- Who: one department + one payroll admin + one manager “power user”
- Measure: submission rate, correction rate, payroll variance
Phase 2 — Expand (next 2–4 pay cycles)
- Add: remaining departments + backup approvers
- Measure: overtime variance, late approvals, exception backlog
Phase 3 — Standardise (ongoing)
- Lock: policy, roles/permissions, and payroll cut-offs
- Measure targets:
- Submission rate ≥ 95% before cut-off
- Correction rate trending down each cycle
- Payroll variance (hours changed after approval) near zero
- Overtime variance (planned vs actual) improving month-on-month
Integrations that drive the real ROI
The real savings come from removing double entry and stopping “same data, three places” problems.
Payroll + HRIS
Source of truth logic (keep it simple):
- HRIS = employee master data (name, role, contract, pay rate rules)
- Timesheets = actual worked hours (plus approvals + audit trail)
- Payroll = pay calculation + payslips
What to set up (minimum):
- Employee profile sync: ID, department, contract hours, start/end dates
- Pay codes mapping: regular, overtime, allowances, unpaid breaks (if used)
- Export formats: CSV/Excel/API with stable column names and cost centre fields
Scheduling + absence
How this reduces errors (fast):
- Planned vs actual: spot gaps early (late finishes, early starts, extra shifts) before payroll closes
- Prevent duplicate entry: approved absence feeds into time totals so people aren’t manually “fixing” missing hours
- Reduce overtime surprises: when actual hours drift from scheduled hours, managers get visibility sooner
Project costing + invoicing (if applicable)
If you bill clients or track job profitability, you need:
- Billable rules: what counts as billable, rounding policy, travel time rules
- Client approvals: manager/client sign-off before invoicing
- Audit trails: who changed time, when, and why (so invoices are defensible)
❗Rule of thumb: if a client can dispute an invoice, your time records need the same discipline as payroll.
Buyer’s checklist (copy/paste for HR)
Use this to shortlist tools quickly without getting distracted by shiny “AI features”.
2026 evaluation checklist (one table)
| Feature | Why it matters | Must-have? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit trail + edit history | Dispute-proof records | Yes | Track who/what/when/why |
| Retention controls | Keep evidence long enough | Yes | UK WTR: 2-year retention (Legislation.gov.uk) |
| Privacy controls | Avoid over-collection | Yes | Role-based access, minimal data |
| Mobile + offline | Field/shift reliability | Usually | Offline sync if needed |
| Kiosk option | Shared device clocking | Often | PIN-based reduces “no phone” issues |
| Rule engine | Overtime/break guardrails | Yes | Alerts + exceptions queue |
| Reporting | Payroll + compliance insight | Yes | Exports + exception dashboards |
| Integrations/API | Remove double entry | Yes | Payroll/HRIS + scheduling |
| Support + security | Uptime + trust | Yes | SLA, permissions, access logging |
Vendor questions that signal maturity
- Can you show a full edit history for a timesheet line (before/after + who/when/why)?
- Can we lock pay periods after payroll export?
- What retention controls do we have (including UK two-year record retention needs)?
- What’s your default approach to location tracking and monitoring (is it optional and configurable)?
- Do you support role-based access down to department/site level?
- Can employees see their own records and corrections?
- What reports exist for exceptions (missed punches, missed breaks, unapproved overtime)?
- Can we map pay codes (regular/overtime/allowances) and export in our payroll format?
- Do you support multiple rates (shift differentials, job rates)?
- What’s your uptime/SLA and incident communication process?
- What implementation support do you provide (data import, training, rollout plan)?
- For the UK: do you provide DPIA-supporting documentation for monitoring features?
- How do you handle duplicate exports or re-sending payroll files?
- What’s the permissions model for editing approved time?
- Can we access data via API for custom integrations?
🚩Red flags
- No edit history (or it can be switched off)
- Anyone can edit time after approval without a logged reason
- No way to lock payroll periods
- Exports are limited, paywalled, or not configurable
- Weak roles/permissions (everyone sees everything)
- Monitoring features are “always on” with no minimisation controls
- Unclear data retention or deletion policy
- “AI” that changes classifications/codes with no audit trail or governance controls
- No exception reporting (missed punches become manual detective work)
- Vendor can’t explain how you’d respond to a payroll dispute in one report
How Shiftbase supports online timesheet software in real life
Online timesheet software works best when it isn’t a standalone tool. The real win is connecting timesheets to the things that cause payroll errors in the first place: last-minute rota changes, unplanned overtime, and “I forgot to log it” absences.
With Shiftbase, you can bring three essentials together in one workflow: employee scheduling (so planned hours are clear), time tracking (so actual hours and breaks are captured properly), and absence management (so leave and sickness don’t get patched in manually at payroll time). That means fewer corrections, clearer approvals, and cleaner reporting when you need to explain your numbers.
Want to cut timesheet admin and reduce payroll fixes? Try Shiftbase free for 14 days: start your trial.
