Time Rounding Alternatives

By default, the system uses rota times for all paid hours. This page covers alternative approaches for teams that need different behaviour.

Pay from Rota Start, Pay Until Actual Clock-Out

This adjusts only the start time to match the rota while keeping the actual clock-out time. The result: employees are paid from their scheduled start (not rewarded for clocking in early), but every extra minute they stay is captured.

A start time threshold can be set (e.g., 5 minutes). If the employee clocks in within that window before their shift, the start is snapped to the rota. Clocking in earlier than the threshold keeps the actual clock-in time.

Nadia is scheduled 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Start time threshold is 5 minutes:

Scenario	Clock In	Clock Out	Hours Paid
3 min early, on time finish	8:57 AM	5:00 PM	8:00
2 min early, stays 25 min late	8:58 AM	5:25 PM	8:25
10 min early, on time finish	8:50 AM	5:00 PM	8:10
On time, leaves 30 min early	9:00 AM	4:30 PM	7:30

When to use this

• Employees should be paid from their scheduled start, not from when they clock in
• You want to capture overtime based on when employees actually leave
• The rota defines when the day starts, but the employee controls when it ends

Rota End Time Adjustment

The end time can also be adjusted to match the rota, either on its own or combined with start time adjustment. A separate threshold controls how much leeway is given.

Example: Shift ends at 5:00 PM, end time threshold is 0 minutes. Mark clocks out at 5:04 PM. The system records his end time as 5:00 PM.

When both start and end time adjustments are enabled, the result is similar to the default rota rounding, but with thresholds giving more flexibility.

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Interval-Based Rounding

Instead of aligning to the rota, the system can round clock-in and clock-out times to a fixed interval (e.g., 5 minutes, 15 minutes). This is useful when employees do not have rota shifts, or for teams with flexible schedules.

Each time can be rounded in a different direction:

• Earlier — rounds down (e.g., 9:07 becomes 9:05 with 5-minute rounding)
• Nearest — rounds to the closest interval (e.g., 9:07 becomes 9:05, but 9:08 becomes 9:10)
• Later — rounds up (e.g., 9:07 becomes 9:10 with 5-minute rounding)

Example: 15-Minute Rounding

Start time rounds later, End time rounds earlier, both at 15-minute intervals.

Emma clocks in at 8:53 AM and out at 5:07 PM.

• Start rounded later: 9:00 AM
• End rounded earlier: 5:00 PM
• Hours paid: 8:00 (instead of 8:14)

When to use this

• Employees do not have rota shifts (e.g., flexible or ad-hoc schedules)
• You want consistent, interval-based adjustments across all employees
• You want a simple, predictable rule applied to all clock times

Related Pages

• Attendance Automation — how the default setup works
• Creating Rotas — where shift schedules are defined