Time and attendance guide
How to track overtime automatically, and the best way to record employee hours
The best way to track overtime is to stop working it out at all. Record start and finish times when they happen, let the software apply your overtime rules to every clocking, and have a manager approve the totals before they go to payroll.
That takes the two usual problems out of overtime: hours written down after the event, and overtime calculated by hand at the end of the week. This guide covers how automatic overtime tracking works, the rules to decide before you start, and what UK law does and does not require.
In shortAccurate overtime starts with accurate clockings. Once start and finish times are recorded at the moment they happen, overtime is just your rules applied to them, and the only human step left is approving it.
Timesheets compared with a clocking system
Most overtime errors are not arithmetic mistakes. They come from hours that were never right in the first place: a finish time guessed on Friday, a break nobody recorded, a shift swap that did not make it onto the sheet.
| What happens | Timesheets | Clocking system |
|---|---|---|
| When hours are recorded | Afterwards, from memory | At the moment someone starts and finishes |
| Working out overtime | By hand, every pay period | By your rules, as each clocking comes in |
| Missed or odd clockings | Found on pay day, if at all | Flagged for a manager the next day |
| Approving overtime | A signature on a sheet | Approved on screen before payroll |
| Getting hours into payroll | Typed in again | Exported in your payroll package layout |
| Changes to hours | Crossed out, or overwritten | Every change logged with who and when |
How automatic overtime tracking works
With Syncro Connect, a week of overtime goes through five steps, and only one of them needs a person.
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Clock in and out as it happens
Staff clock at a terminal by the entrance, in the Syncro Connect app, or from a browser. The time is the time, not what someone remembers on Friday.
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Your rules are applied
Rounding, grace periods, unpaid breaks and the point at which overtime starts are applied to each clocking automatically, along with premiums such as nights and call outs.
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Anything unusual is flagged
A missed clocking or a very long shift is listed for a manager to check, instead of quietly becoming paid overtime.
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A manager approves the hours
Overtime is approved before anything goes to payroll, so it can be questioned while the week is still fresh.
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Hours are exported to payroll
Basic hours and overtime go out in the layout your payroll package expects, with a separate overtime adjustment file if you want one.
The overtime rules to decide first
Software can only apply rules you have decided. Before you set anything up, agree these and put them in writing, ideally in your contracts or overtime policy:
- When overtime starts: after a set number of hours a day, a week, or outside a shift pattern
- The rates: time and a quarter, time and a half, double time, and when each applies
- Whether overtime has to be authorised in advance to be paid
- Rounding and grace periods, so a minute either side does not create overtime
- Unpaid breaks, and whether they are deducted automatically
- Whether extra hours can be banked as time off instead of paid
If people work flexible hours rather than set overtime, flexi time runs on the same clockings, with balances instead of overtime.
Choosing how people clock in
The method matters less than recording the time when it happens. Most businesses use a mix:
- A terminal at the entrance for fixed sites. Face and palm terminals start at £395 one-off and fingerprint at £495, excluding VAT, and they make it far harder for one person to clock in for another.
- The Syncro Connect app for people who start at different sites. It records the GPS location at the moment of clocking, not all day.
- A browser for office staff, with no hardware at all.
Our guide to choosing a clocking in system goes through the options in more detail.
What UK law says about overtime
There is no legal right to overtime pay in the UK. Whether overtime is paid, and at what rate, depends on the contract. What the law does require is that average pay across all the hours someone works, overtime included, does not fall below the National Minimum Wage. The details are on gov.uk.
Separately, workers cannot be made to work more than an average of 48 hours a week, usually over 17 weeks, unless they have opted out in writing. The rules are on gov.uk, and Acas gives free advice.
To be clear about what software does here: Syncro Connect reports total hours over any period you choose, which shows who is working long weeks. It does not calculate the 48-hour average over the 17-week reference period for you.
Getting overtime into payroll
Once a manager approves the week, basic hours and overtime are exported in the layout your payroll package expects: Sage, Xero, QuickBooks, BrightPay, IRIS, ADP or Pegasus. It is an export file rather than a live connection, so payroll stays in control of what is imported. Our guide to getting hours into payroll covers the steps.
When a spreadsheet is enough
If you have a handful of people on fixed hours who rarely stay late, a spreadsheet may do the job, and we would rather say so. It starts to cost you once overtime depends on shifts, weekly thresholds or different rates, or once more than one manager is approving hours.
Frequently asked questions
How do I track overtime automatically?
Record start and finish times at the moment they happen, on a clocking terminal, an app or a browser, and set your overtime rules in the software once. Every clocking is then measured against those rules, overtime is worked out for you, and a manager approves the totals before they go to payroll.
What is the best way to track employee hours?
A clocking system that records hours when people start and finish, rather than a timesheet filled in afterwards. Choose the method to suit where people work: a terminal at the entrance for a fixed site, an app for people who move between sites, or a browser for office staff.
Do employers have to pay for overtime in the UK?
No. There is no legal right to overtime pay; it depends on the employment contract. The legal limit is the minimum wage: average pay across all the hours someone works, overtime included, must not fall below the National Minimum Wage.
Can staff record overtime from their phone?
Yes, with the Syncro Connect app, which records the clocking and the GPS location at that moment. Overtime is then worked out from the clocking the same way as one made at a terminal.
Can overtime be approved before it is paid?
Yes. Hours, including overtime, are approved by a manager before they are exported to payroll, so unplanned overtime can be queried rather than paid automatically.
Can we pay different rates for nights or call outs?
Yes. Syncro Connect can apply your own rules for when overtime starts and for premiums such as night shifts and call outs.
What about time off in lieu instead of overtime pay?
Syncro Connect supports banked hours, so extra time can be held as time off rather than paid, if that is how your policy works.
Does it track the 48-hour working week limit?
Syncro Connect reports total hours worked over any period you choose, which shows who is working long weeks. It does not calculate the 48-hour average over the 17-week reference period, so if you need that figure, work it out from the report or ask your adviser.
How does overtime get into payroll?
Approved hours are exported in the layout your payroll package expects, including Sage, Xero, QuickBooks, BrightPay, IRIS, ADP and Pegasus. A separate overtime adjustment file can be produced alongside the main export. It is an export file, not a live connection.
Is a spreadsheet good enough for tracking overtime?
For a few people on fixed hours who rarely work extra, it can be. It struggles once overtime depends on shifts, weekly thresholds or different rates, because each calculation is done by hand and nobody checks the times were right in the first place.
Overtime worked out for you
Syncro Connect is £2 per employee per month, or £3 with the app, excluding VAT and billed annually. Start a free trial, with no card needed.
