Syncro Flexi

Flexi time software that keeps the balance for you

Syncro Flexi is part of Syncro Connect. Each working day has an expected number of paid hours. Time worked above it goes into the employee’s flexi balance and time below it comes out, hour for hour. At the end of each period the balance settles: credit up to your limit carries forward, and anything below your debit limit is deducted from pay.

You set the hours that time counts in, and optional core hours. Arriving after or leaving before core hours is flagged as a core hours exception rather than a late. Approved holiday and sickness lower that day’s target automatically, so nobody is penalised for being off.

Included with Syncro Connect at £2 per employee per month excl. VAT. Add the mobile app (£3 in total) and staff can see their own balance and request flexi leave on their phone or on Syncro Kiosk. No setup fees, billed annually.

Completely free trial · No card required · Trusted by 800+ UK businesses

Syncro Flexi balance of minus one hour for the period, built from a day on target, an hour over, a holiday, two hours under and a missed day awaiting a manager decision, with credit and debit limits of five hours and fortnightly settlement

How the flexi balance works

Every flexi day has a target: the expected paid hours after breaks. Syncro Flexi compares what the employee actually worked against that target, and the difference goes into their balance. A full day of holiday has a target of 0:00, so it moves the balance by nothing. A half day lowers the target by half.

Here is one week for someone with a target of 8:30 a day.

A worked example. Times are hours and minutes.
Day What happened Target Counted Flexi Balance
Thu Worked 08:00 to 17:15, less a 45 minute break 8:30 8:30 0:00 0:00
Fri Worked an hour longer 8:30 9:30 +1:00 +1:00
Mon Full day of approved holiday 0:00 0:00 0:00 +1:00
Tue Left two hours early 8:30 6:30 −2:00 −1:00
Wed Did not clock in and nothing was booked 8:30 0:00 Manager decides −1:00 for now

Payroll stays predictable

Each flexi day is paid at its expected hours, however long was actually worked. The difference goes to the balance instead, so pay only changes at settlement.

When the figures update

A day’s figure appears once the day is over, within 15 minutes of midnight, and balances refresh every 15 minutes. Correct a clocking in the Clocking Hub and that day’s figure updates straight away.

You set the rules, Syncro Flexi applies them

Flexi is set up in two places in Syncro Connect: the shift says what a day looks like, and the schedule says how the balance is settled. Different teams can have different rules, so the office can be on flexi while the warehouse stays on fixed shifts.

Syncro Connect flexi shift settings showing expected paid hours of 8:30, time counting from 06:00 to 20:00, and core hours from 10:00 to 14:00

The shift

Expected hours, the window and core hours

  • Expected paid hours. The day’s target after breaks, for example 8:30. Breaks, rounding and grace apply as they do on any other shift.
  • When time counts. A window such as 06:00 to 20:00. Time worked outside it does not go into the balance, so nobody builds up credit by clocking in at 05:00.
  • Core hours, if you want them. The part of the day everyone must be in, such as 10:00 to 14:00. Arriving after or leaving before raises a core hours exception for the manager instead of a late or an early finish, and the time worked still counts towards flexi.

The schedule

The period and the limits

  • Put the schedule on flexi. Tick “This schedule uses Flexi” and everyone assigned to it is on flexi from the start date.
  • Choose the period. Weekly, fortnightly, or monthly on a day of your choice between the 1st and the 28th.
  • Set the limits. A credit limit is the most that carries into the next period. A debit limit is the most that can be owed before the rest is deducted from pay.

Worth knowing: once a flexi schedule is in use, its start date and period are fixed. To change them, you set up a new schedule and move people onto it.

Syncro Connect schedule with This schedule uses Flexi ticked, a fortnightly flexi period starting 15/10/2026, and credit and debit limits of 5:00

The days that do not go to plan

Most flexi days look after themselves. These are the ones that need a person, and what Syncro Flexi does with each.


  1. Someone forgets to clock out

    The day still counts, but it is marked “may change” so nobody mistakes it for a final figure. Correct the finish time in the Clocking Hub and the day’s flexi figure updates as soon as you save.


  2. Someone does not turn up and nothing is booked

    Syncro Flexi does not guess. The next morning a “Flexi: no attendance” item appears in the manager’s Inbox, and the day pays nothing until it is decided. Choose Take from flexi balance to pay the day and take the hours off the balance, or Unpaid to leave the balance alone and not pay it. If it turns out they were off sick, book the absence instead and the item clears itself.


  3. Someone wants a day off using their flexi

    Book flexi leave like any other absence. With the mobile app, staff request it themselves on their phone or on Syncro Kiosk and their manager approves it. The day comes off the balance, 8:30 for a full day on an 8:30 target, and payroll still pays it as normal.


  4. A balance needs correcting

    Use Add adjustment on the employee’s Flexi tab, with a reason. The history records who made it, when and why. Adjustments cannot be edited or deleted, so to undo one you add the opposite, and the record shows both. This is also how you bring across an opening balance from a spreadsheet or an old system.

Settling the balance at the end of each period

Nobody has to remember to close a flexi period. Syncro Flexi settles each one automatically and puts the result into the payroll export.

  1. The period ends

    Weekly, fortnightly or monthly, as set on the schedule. The period then shows under Due to settle, with the figures settling now would give.

  2. It settles two days later

    The gap gives managers time to clear missed clockings and no-attendance days first. If payroll cannot wait, Settle now closes an ended period straight away.

  3. Payroll picks it up

    Any hours paid or deducted appear in the payroll export, ready for your payroll software.

What happens to the balance

Within the limitsCarries into the next period as it is, credit or debit.
Above the credit limitThe limit carries forward and the rest is forfeited. A manager can change forfeited hours to Pay in Flexi Settlement if the extra time was worth paying for.
Below the debit limitThe limit carries forward and the rest is deducted from pay as a flexi deduction.

Forfeited hours changed to Pay go into the payroll on the date of the change, so a payroll you have already exported is never altered.

Every balance on one screen

Flexi Balances lists everyone on flexi with their balance and where it is heading by the end of the period. The projection assumes they work their expected hours from here, less any flexi leave already booked, so you can see who is drifting towards a limit before it happens.

  • Filter by schedule, site, department or team
  • Expand anyone to see their day by day figures
  • Export to CSV for your own reporting
  • Managers only see the people they are responsible for

With the mobile app

Staff can check their own flexi

The question managers hear most on flexi is “how much have I got?”. Add the Syncro Connect mobile app and staff can answer it themselves, then request time off against it, without anyone opening a spreadsheet.

On their phone

The Syncro Connect app shows their flexi balance and lets them request flexi leave, alongside clocking in and booking holiday.

On a shared tablet

For staff who do not use a phone at work, Syncro Kiosk shows the same balance and takes the same requests. They sign in with their clock number and PIN.

£2 per employee per month: Syncro Connect with Syncro Flexi. Managers run flexi in the web software.

£3 per employee per month: adds the mobile app and Syncro Kiosk, so staff can see their balance and request flexi leave.

Prices exclude VAT and are billed annually.

Flexi time questions, answered

If yours is not here, call the Leeds team on 0113 350 9043.

What is flexi time?
Flexi time, or flexitime, is a way of working where employees choose when they start and finish, within limits, as long as they work an agreed number of hours over a set period. Most schemes have core hours when everyone must be in, and a window either side when people can come and go. Hours worked above the target build up credit, hours below it build up a debit, and the balance is settled at the end of each period.
How does flexitime work day to day?
Each working day has a target, for example 8 hours 30 minutes after breaks. Work 9 hours 30 one day and your balance goes up by an hour. Leave two hours early another day and it goes down by two. Credit can usually be taken as flexi leave, an hour or a whole day off, and at the end of the period anything over the limits is either forfeited, paid or deducted, depending on the scheme. The hard part on paper is keeping an accurate running total, which is the part flexi time software does for you.
Do employees have a legal right to flexi time?
Not to flexi time itself. It is a scheme an employer chooses to offer. What employees in the UK do have is the right to request flexible working from their first day, and the employer must deal with the request reasonably and within the time limits. The government has said it will change how requests are handled, so check the current rules on gov.uk and Acas rather than relying on a software supplier’s page.
What are core hours?
Core hours are the part of the day everyone on flexi must be at work, such as 10:00 to 14:00, so meetings and cover still happen. In Syncro Flexi they are optional and set on the shift. Arriving after core hours start or leaving before they end raises a core hours exception for the manager, after your normal late and early grace, and the time worked still counts towards the balance.
Can staff build up as much flexi credit as they like?
No, and that is deliberate. Only time worked inside the window you set counts, so clocking in at 05:00 does not earn credit if time counts from 06:00. At the end of each period, credit above your limit is forfeited, unless a manager decides it was worth paying and changes it to Pay. Flexi Balances shows who is heading for the limit, so you can have the conversation before the hours are lost.
What happens if an employee ends a period in debit?
A debit up to your limit carries into the next period for them to make up. Anything below the limit is deducted from pay at settlement and shows in the payroll export as a flexi deduction. Before you rely on that, make sure your contracts or flexi policy allow it, because deducting from wages without that agreement can be unlawful. Gov.uk explains the rules on deductions.
Does holiday or sickness affect the flexi balance?
No. Approved holiday and sickness lower that day’s target, so a full day off has a target of 0:00 and moves the balance by nothing, and a half day halves the target. Flexi leave is different: it is time off taken from the balance itself, so it reduces the balance while payroll still pays the day.
Does flexi time suit shift workers?
Usually not, and it is better to be honest about that. Flexi works where someone’s start time does not hold anyone else up, which is why it is common in offices and rare on production lines. Because Syncro Flexi is set per schedule, most businesses run it for office and support staff while everyone else stays on fixed shifts in Syncro Connect.
Can staff see their own flexi balance?
Yes, with the Syncro Connect mobile app. Staff see their balance and request flexi leave on their phone, or on Syncro Kiosk if they use a shared tablet, and their manager approves the request. Without the app, flexi is run by managers in the web software and staff ask their manager for their balance.
How much does Syncro Flexi cost?
It is included with Syncro Connect at £2 per employee per month, with no extra charge for flexi. Self service for staff comes with the mobile app, at £3 per employee per month in total. Both are billed annually and exclude VAT, with no setup fees. Syncro Flexi is part of Syncro Connect and is not sold on its own.
Can we bring across balances from a spreadsheet?
Yes. Once someone is on a flexi schedule, add their current balance as an adjustment on their Flexi tab with a reason such as “opening balance”. Adjustments are recorded with who added them and when, and cannot be edited or deleted, so the starting point stays on record if anyone queries it later.
What if we switch flexi off later?
Flexi has one switch for the whole company in Settings. Turn it off and nothing about flexi appears anywhere and no new figures are worked out, but everything already recorded is kept. Turn it back on and it picks up where it left off.
Left Menu Icon