OVERTIME SETUP & CALCULATION GUIDE
Understand the hours.
Know which rules apply.
Set a fixed workweek, assign employee policies and review how qualifying time becomes regular, overtime or second-tier hours.
Set the fixed workweek first
Managers: open Company Settings → Overtime tracking.
- Choose Workweek starts and Start time.
- Choose an Effective workweek date that falls on that weekday.
- Select Enable overtime for the effective workweek, then configure policies and eligibility before saving.
For example, a Monday 04:00 start defines a workweek ending at the following Monday 04:00. The end is exclusive: time at that boundary belongs to the next week. The boundary stays fixed once saved to protect calculation history.
Define the thresholds and multipliers
- Select Add policy and enter a clear policy name.
- Set weekly and daily overtime thresholds and any second-tier thresholds.
- If applicable, set the consecutive-day premium and its second-tier threshold.
- Enter the overtime and second-tier multipliers, then choose which time counts toward the thresholds.
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Weekly / daily overtime after hours | Qualifying hours beyond the configured threshold enter overtime. Zero disables that threshold. |
| Second tier | A later threshold can classify hours at the second-tier multiplier. |
| Consecutive-day premium | Starts on the selected consecutive worked day within the workweek. Counting resets each workweek and after a day with no working time. |
| Multiplier | The full rate for that category. A 1.5 multiplier means base pay plus a 50% premium. |
Each payable hour receives only the highest applicable multiplier. Daily, weekly and consecutive-day premiums do not stack on the same hour. A day-7 rule requires work on every preceding day of that workweek; paid credits do not create a worked day.
Assign a policy and explicit eligibility
Under Employee eligibility, select the Default policy and choose whether employees without an override are eligible. New employees follow these defaults.
For a different employee arrangement, select Employee override, choose Add override, and set the employee's policy and eligibility. Save with Save overtime settings.
TakeUrTime does not infer overtime eligibility from hourly or salary payment type. Check the configured assignment explicitly. Hourly pay estimates are shown only for hourly employees.
Decide which time qualifies
| Time source | How it is handled |
|---|---|
| Recorded work | Work across all clients and recorded locations contributes to the employee's full workweek. |
| Unpaid breaks | Never count toward overtime thresholds or payable worked hours. |
| Paid rest breaks | The policy controls whether they count toward thresholds. Excluded paid rest remains payable at base rate. Paid breaks recorded as work always count. |
| Paid leave / holiday credits | Can count toward weekly thresholds when enabled. They remain base-paid credits and never become premium hours or count toward daily or consecutive-day thresholds. |
| Hours already earning daily or consecutive premiums | The corresponding policy checkbox determines whether they also count toward weekly thresholds. |
Counted credits enter the weekly total at the start of their recorded workday. Actual work performed on a holiday follows the normal work rules and should be recorded with the time clock.
Read hours and pay estimates separately
The following examples illustrate selected settings, rather than a recommended company policy.
| Recorded time and settings | Result |
|---|---|
| 42 qualifying worked hours; no credits. | 40 regular hours + 2 overtime hours = 42 total payable hours. |
| 8 paid leave credit hours at the start of the week, followed by 36 qualifying worked hours. Leave counts toward the weekly threshold. | 32 regular worked hours + 4 overtime hours + 8 base-paid credit hours = 44 total payable hours. |
| The same 8 credit hours and 36 worked hours, with leave excluded from weekly qualification. | 36 regular worked hours + 8 base-paid credit hours = 44 total payable hours, with no overtime. |
Pay estimates use current hourly base rates and effective policy multipliers. They do not calculate salary, taxes or other payroll adjustments.
Review a complete workweek
- Open Overtime.
- Choose a Date in workweek. Managers can select an employee or review all employees.
- Select Review week and check the displayed boundaries, effective rules and assigned policy.
- Compare Regular paid, Overtime, Second tier, Paid credits and Total payable.
- Resolve unexpected source entries through Timesheets, break review or leave requests, then review the week again.
The Overtime workspace includes pending and open shifts, so current results can be provisional. It does not mean those entries have been approved. A report limited to approved or completed time can show different totals.
A narrow report date range, client or site filter does not turn that filtered selection into a separate overtime workweek. Compare matching inputs and the full-week context before interpreting a difference.
Record paid non-work time without duplicating leave
Managers can select Record paid time, choose the employee, workday date, Paid leave or Holiday, enter paid hours and a required reason, then save.
- Configure overtime first; new manual credits require overtime enabled for the current workweek.
- The recorded workday must have started. Hours must be greater than zero and no more than 24.
- Update an existing manual credit of the same type rather than adding another. Combined credits must stay within 24 hours per workday.
- Use Leave request for credits linked to approved leave. Change those through the leave workflow to preserve balances and review history.
Manual credits do not create clocked hours or leave balances. Do not add another paid leave credit when approved leave already covers the workday. See the leave and PTO guide for requests and balances.
Credit edits and removals require a reason and can affect submissions and exports. Locked periods require authorized reopening before changes.
Apply policy changes from the intended week
Choose the effective workweek before saving policy or eligibility changes. Saving again for that date replaces its settings; later scheduled changes remain. Turning overtime off for a later week preserves earlier classifications.
Use Saved versions → Load version into form to inspect an earlier setup. Loading a version does not itself save a change. Check the effective date before saving.
Changes affecting protected time require every affected period to be reopened. Review changed submissions and earlier exports afterward, following the timesheet reopening guide.
Approaching-threshold alerts
Enable Show approaching-threshold alerts on the policy and set its lead time in working minutes. For inbox, email or text delivery, also enable Overtime notices under Reminders. Recipient rules, quiet hours, repeats, digests and personal opt-ins apply.
Investigate unexpected totals
Why does an employee show Not eligible?
Check the selected week's effective settings, default eligibility and any employee override. Eligibility is explicit; an hourly payment type does not turn it on automatically.
Why do paid hours exceed hours counted toward overtime?
Check paid-rest-break qualification and the paid leave and holiday options. Time can remain payable at base rate while being excluded from thresholds.
Why is a long day still partly regular time?
Check whether a daily threshold is enabled, where the configured workday starts, and which break time qualifies. A weekly-only policy does not automatically create daily overtime.
Why does a change earlier in the week affect later entries?
Weekly totals and consecutive-day rules depend on earlier qualifying time. Review the whole affected workweek, even if the edited entry belongs to another report range or pay period.
Why are payroll-provider overtime totals different?
Check the provider-specific workflow. Some providers calculate their own overtime from timestamps; others receive mapped hour categories. Compare approvals, breaks, included credits, dates and earnings mappings using the integration guides.
What information helps support investigate?
Include the employee, displayed workweek boundaries, effective policy, eligibility, source entry IDs, paid credits, approval filter and expected versus displayed categories. Describe which breaks and credits should qualify under your configured policy.