Timesheets: plan vs actual, corrections and closing the month

At month end, a manager checks hours, resolves missed clock records and closes the timesheet. Closing protects that month's schedule and clock records from changes, giving payroll a fixed set of hours.

Open Employees → Plan vs Actual. Clocking in, clocking out and using the terminal are covered in Time clock.

What you need to get started#

• Employees and their locations are set up, with shifts entered in the schedule.
• To review and correct hours, sign in as the owner or a manager with access to the relevant employees.
• The owner configures the source of hours and timesheet policy.
• Closing the whole account's period requires permission to close timesheets across the whole account; a manager with permission to close timesheets whose scope includes the location (scope “whole account” or “selected locations”; “own direct reports” is not enough) can close that location's period. Only the owner can reopen a month or a location.
• For labor cost, the owner configures employees' pay terms and locations' time zones.

See Roles, permissions and till restrictions for permissions and Shift scheduling for preparing the schedule.

Read plan vs actual#

Task: find discrepancies without treating future shifts as missing hours.

1. Select the month and, if you have several locations, the relevant location.
2. Compare “Plan”, “Actual” and “Δ” in the employee's row.
3. Click the row to see shift dates, planned and actual intervals, statuses and sources.
4. Check open shifts first, then missing records and lateness.

For example, Anna has four future 11-hour shifts without breaks. Those 44 hours appear as “ahead”, not as a 44-hour shortfall.

Result: you have a list of shifts to check. “Former employee” means the card has been removed but shift history remains; the hours have not been lost.

If the figures look wrong, check the month, location, its time zone and the expanded shifts. A missing actual record is not itself proof of an absence.

Correct hours#

Task: enter the real time when Igor forgot to clock out.

A manager corrects the record directly:

1. In “Plan vs Actual”, expand the employee and click the pencil beside the shift.
2. Correct the actual start or end date and time; check the end date for an overnight shift.
3. Save the shift and check the resulting hours.

An employee requests a correction:

1. In “My cabinet”, open “Fix my timesheet”, intended for missed clock-ins or clock-outs.
2. Select the shift, enter “Start” and/or “End”, explain the reason and click “Send request”.
3. The manager opens “Timesheet corrections” below “Plan vs Actual”, checks the month and request, then clicks “Approve” or “Reject”.

Result: approval copies the requested time into the shift. Rejection leaves hours unchanged and keeps the decision. The employee can also report a problem using “Something is wrong” under “Hours for the period”.

The request keeps what was there before the correction. In “Timesheet corrections”, in “Requests” and in the employee’s “My hours” the correction is shown as a “was → now” pair, for example “In: 09:10 → 09:00”. “Was” is captured at approval: if the time was edited manually before the decision, the pair shows exactly what the approval replaced. Requests filed before this feature show only the new time.

If a request is already pending, do not submit another for the same shift. If the month is closed, the owner must reopen it first. If the shift itself is missing, the manager needs to investigate the missing record first: requests select an existing shift.

Understand the source of actual time#

In “Timesheet confirmation”, hover over the icon next to the hours. Its tooltip explains where the time came from.

Check an auto-closed shift with the employee. If its time is correct, use “Confirm as is” in the exception; otherwise correct the shift or review the request.

Result: an automatic estimate stays distinct from personal confirmation. Device observation is not available in every environment: this automatic timesheet source does not operate on cenaly.ru.

Set up exception-based tracking#

Task: use the schedule for people who do not clock in every day, recording absences separately.

1. The owner opens the employee list tab, then “Labour rules” → “Timesheet policy”.
2. Under “Source of worked time”, select a mode from the table below.
3. If needed, set an “Override for a location” and save the policy.
4. For an individual, open their card → “Time tracking”, and add “From” and “Mode”. The entry applies until the next dated entry.

Priority is: employee setting for the date → location setting → account setting. “As for the account” means the location inherits its setting.

Result: hours appear in the confirmation summary and monthly record with the “by schedule” source. A clock record, even an open one, takes priority: the schedule does not supply a missing clock-out.

If hours do not appear, check that the shift is published and has ended in the location's time zone, then check the mode and absences. Recorded absences, approved leave or sickness override the schedule; an inactive employee card also receives no such hours.

Review overtime#

Task: explain time beyond the schedule before closing the month.

1. Find the overtime warning in “Timesheet confirmation”.
2. Click “Add basis”. In “Overtime basis”, choose a basis and enter a document number if available.
3. Save; use “Remove basis” to remove an incorrect entry.

The fixed choices are “Employer's instruction”, “Employee's consent”, “Urgent work (emergency)”, “Collective agreement”, “Time off instead of pay” and “Not overtime”.

Under “Labour rules” → “Timesheet policy”, the owner sets the tolerance over schedule, “Long shift, h”, and the “Overtime basis” rule:

The same block sets “Summarized accounting period, months” and its first month. Under summarized accounting, a monthly deviation is not yet the final result for the whole accounting period.

Result: the extra time has an explanation. If closing still fails, check the remaining exceptions, not just this shift.

Confirm hours and close the month#

Task: fix the reviewed hours for every location in the account.

1. Ask employees to check “Hours for the period” in “My cabinet” and click “Confirm hours” or “Something is wrong”.
2. Open “Timesheet confirmation” in “Plan vs Actual”. Check unconfirmed hours, correction requests, incomplete actual records and overlapping hours.
3. Correct errors. For reviewed exceptions, click “Reviewed” and leave a comment; for a correct auto-close, use “Confirm as is”. An off-schedule clock-in waiting for approval is approved on the shift itself by that review.
4. Make sure no unresolved exceptions remain. Click “Close the period” and confirm the month.

Result: a closed timesheet version appears. Changes to the schedule, clock records and shift swaps affecting the month are blocked; shift pencils disappear. The employee sees “The period is closed” and cannot submit a correction for that month.

Closing recalculates draft payroll; it does not change approved or paid payroll. If closing fails, resolve the listed exceptions and check permission scope: a team manager cannot close the whole account.

Close the timesheet of one location#

Task: location A has checked its hours while location B is still editing the schedule.

1. In “Plan vs Actual”, pick location A in the location filter (or in the sidebar header).
2. Click “Close timesheet” and confirm the month.
3. Without a selected location, the same button closes the whole account.

Result: shifts, clock actions, corrections, swaps and tips of location A can no longer be edited for the month, while shifts at location B can still be scheduled. With “All locations”, a “🔒 Closed: A” badge appears above the timesheet. The owner reopens a location with the same button while it is selected; if the whole month was closed, reopening one location keeps the others closed.

This button only sets an edit lock. To approve the location's hours as a timesheet version, close the location's period (next section). Payroll for the month still runs under a partial lock but notes which locations are closed: hours of employees at open locations may still change.

Confirm hours and close the period of one location#

Task: the manager of location A has checked it and approves its timesheet without waiting for location B.

1. In “Plan vs Actual”, pick location A. The “Timesheet confirmation” block shows only that location's employees and exceptions.
2. Resolve the location's exceptions: unconfirmed hours, correction requests, missing actuals, overlaps, off-schedule clock-ins and overtime. Exceptions of location B do not block location A.
3. Click “Close period for “A”” and confirm.

Result: location A gets its own approved timesheet version, labelled “locations: A” under “Timesheet versions”. Shifts, clock actions and corrections of location A can no longer be edited for the month, and the payroll draft is recalculated. Location B stays open. With “All locations” a “Locations closed: A” badge appears above the block, and “Close period” closes the whole month — the account-wide version then replaces the location versions.

Employees confirm their hours once per month, not per location. If a person works at two locations, their “Not confirmed” blocks both until they confirm. A correction at location B voids their confirmation but does not change the approved version of location A.

Only the owner can reopen a location: select it and click “Reopen location” under “Timesheet versions”, then give a reason. If the whole month is already closed, reopen the month first and then close the locations you need.

Correct a closed month#

1. The owner opens “Timesheet versions” and clicks “Reopen”.
2. Select a “Reason”, such as “Late correction” or “Data entry error”, and add a comment.
3. Correct the hours, review exceptions again and close the period.

Result: the previous approved version is kept and closing creates the next version; the history shows reopening and changed hours.

If payroll is already approved or paid, reopening the timesheet does not cancel or recalculate it. Agree the necessary payroll correction with the person responsible for payroll; the dialog warns about this.

Export the timesheet and record acknowledgement#

Task: hand the reviewed month to the payroll administrator or prepare it for signing.

1. Select the month in “Plan vs Actual”.
2. Choose an export or document from the table below.
3. Check the period, people, caveats and closing status before sharing the file.

The general Excel export uses the monthly document, not the selected location slice. Night, holiday and overtime columns appear only when the server could calculate them; missing data is not replaced with zero. Schedule-derived hours carry a cell comment.

After closing, the employee opens their “Monthly record” and clicks “I have seen my record”. The owner can record “Signed on paper”; the Russian T-13 view uses its own paper-signature action.

Result: the document is exported and acknowledgement status is visible. If T-13 is missing, check the Russian company and access to its payroll. If acknowledgement is unavailable, check that the month is closed.

Review labor cost#

Task: understand the share of revenue used by staff hours.

1. The owner opens “Employees” → “Labor cost” and selects a location.
2. Compare planned and actual hours, cost, “Revenue” and “Labor %” by day and week.
3. Check pay-rate, currency and revenue warnings before concluding that labor is over budget.

Estimated cost is hours × rate; labor percentage is cost / revenue × 100%. “SPLH” is revenue per actual labor hour.

If an employee has no rate of their own, the rate of their position at the selected location from “Payroll” → “Settings” → “Rates by position” is used.

For a salary, the hourly rate here is salary / the employee's planned hours for the whole month across all their locations. For example, ₽60,000 / 160 hours = ₽375/h; 40 actual hours at one location give an estimated ₽15,000. Mixed pay adds the hourly rate to this salary portion.

Result: you can see how cost is distributed across time and locations. This is an hours-based estimate, not full payroll with bonuses, deductions and taxes.

By position. Below the daily table is the same week split by position: number of people, planned and actual hours, regular hours and overtime, planned and actual cost, and each position's share of the week's cost. The rows add up exactly to the week total. Overtime is hours above the weekly threshold from “Payroll” → “Settings” → “Overtime”, across all of the employee's shifts that week (at all their locations); it is already included in actual hours. If no threshold is set, the screen says so and the column stays empty. The position comes from the employee card; an owner without a working position is shown as “Owner”.

The same labor cost for the selected period is shown as the Labor % tile on the Overview of Finance.

Currencies are shown separately without conversion; the percentage is not calculated when cost and revenue currencies differ. Without monthly planned hours, salary cannot be reliably distributed; mixed pay may include only its hourly portion, with a warning.

On cenaly.ru, revenue comes from the server's order summary. It may not account for cancelled items or whole-order discounts, so it can differ from other financial reports. An incomplete or unavailable summary prevents the percentage from being calculated.

Work across multiple locations#

An employee can work at several assigned locations. Select a location before reviewing: its time zone matters for shift start and end, lateness and when planned time becomes due.

When viewing several time zones together, check disputed rows separately by location. If a location has no time zone, the screen may use the browser's time zone.

The time source is configured for the account, overridden by location and dated employee settings. Salary is distributed using the employee's total monthly plan, so filtering a location does not charge another full salary.

Limitations#

• Employees confirm hours once per month, not per location. A shift without a location whose location cannot be inferred (the employee and the account both have several locations) is covered only by closing the whole month.
• The timesheet document and T-13 become final only when the whole month is closed.
• There is no configurable correction-reason catalogue: requests contain times and a comment; overtime bases and reopening reasons use fixed lists.
• An off-schedule clock-in is never refused: in approval mode it is recorded and waits for a manager (see “Time tracking”, “Clock-in by schedule”).
• The upper “Plan vs Actual” table and its CSV show recorded clock times; check schedule-derived hours in “Timesheet confirmation” and the monthly record.
• “By schedule” hours do not mean employee confirmation; acknowledging the document and confirming hours are separate actions.
• Hours-based labor cost does not replace final payroll.

Troubleshooting#

Frequently asked questions#

Do I need records for future shifts?#

No: they appear as “ahead” and are not a current shortfall. For the final monthly record, wait until work for the month has finished.

Can I confirm hours for an employee?#

A manager reviews exceptions, but personal confirmation belongs to the employee. Paper acknowledgement of the document is recorded separately.

Does reopening cancel paid payroll?#

No. It allows timesheet edits; effects on payroll and payments must be handled separately.

Why is a former employee still listed?#

Shifts remain after the card is removed. If the name is no longer available, the row says “Former employee”.

Related sections#

• Shift scheduling
• Time clock
• Roles, permissions and till restrictions
• Pay and motivation
• How report metrics are calculated
• Reports
• Getting started with Russian payroll