Introduction to Official Work Hours with Start and End Time
Official work hours with start and end time are used when employees have a fixed daily work schedule – for example, 08:00–16:00.
This method is typically used for groups of employees with stable work hours and forms the basis for calculating flex time, overtime, and absences.
Official work hours are usually not suitable for hourly paid employees who register their own work hours.
If work hours vary from day to day, we recommend using official work hours with net hours instead.
Choosing a Standard Hours Method
BitaBIZ supports three options:
Start and end time per workday (this article)
Used when employees have fixed daily work hours.Net hours per day
Used when work hours vary, but the total number of hours per day is known.
No standard hours
Recommended for hourly paid employees who register their own work hours, and where you do not want automatic creation of work hours. Can also be used for fixed paid employees without an hour bank and without standard hours management, but with the option to accrue overtime.
Set Up Official Work Hours with Start and End Time
Set Official Work Hours for a Staff Group on the Policy
Official work hours entered on a policy automatically apply to all employees on that policy.
To set up work hours on a policy, go to:
Setup Admin → Modules → Edit Policy → Work Week
Select the standard hours method: “Enter official start and end time per workday”
Enter start and end time for each workday
Save
Breaks
When setting up the work week on the policy, you need to decide how to handle breaks.
If breaks are unpaid, they should be added to the policy so they are deducted from work hours
If breaks are paid (e.g., paid lunch), you do not need to add a break, as it would otherwise be deducted from work hours
Read more about setting up your own paid breaks here.
Set Official Work Hours for an Individual Employee
If an employee has different work hours than the rest of the staff group, standard hours can be set individually.
To set up work hours for an individual employee, go to:
Setup Admin → Edit Employee → Work Week
Select: “The daily work hours are created and managed here”
Enter start and end time per day
Save
Important:
The employee's master data always overrides the policy
Standard hours can vary between even and odd weeks
Changes only apply going forward
Max Plus Hours per Day (Flex Time Only)
If you use flex time, you can limit how many overtime/plus hours an employee can earn in the hour bank per day.
Set this by going to:
Setup Admin → Modules → Edit Policy → Work Week → Enter the number in the “Max. plus hours” field
If the employee registers more plus hours than allowed, only the maximum number will be added to the hour bank.
Changes to Standard Hours
It's important to know how the system handles changes to work hours:
When standard hours are changed on a policy or on an employee's master data card, the historical standard hours are kept for previously saved registrations.
The change to standard hours will only apply to new future registrations.
So when standard hours are changed, the history is kept for previously registered work hours, and changes only apply going forward.
Registrations Using Start and End Time
Time Registration without Hour Bank
The method “Edit today's standard hours if deviation” requires standard hours.
The system automatically creates today's standard hours on workdays where no absence is registered, and the employee only edits in case of deviations.
Work hours are automatically created at 09:00. |  |
Time Registration with Hour Bank
Flex Time
Flex time uses standard hours to settle work hours to the hour bank with the day's plus or minus time. |  |
Time Off
The day's work hours are pre-filled with from and to for the whole workday. The employee can adjust the time for time off, but only within normal work hours. |  |
Overtime
The app automatically suggests from/to time for overtime to be before or after official work hours depending on when the registration is created.
Overtime can only be registered outside normal work hours. | 
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Absence
Other vacation hours
The day's work hours are pre-filled with from and to time for the whole workday when the registration is created. The employee can adjust the time within normal work hours. Other vacation cannot be registered outside normal work hours. |  |
Sick hours
The day's work hours are pre-filled with from and to time for the whole workday when the registration is created. The employee can adjust the time within normal work hours. Sick hours cannot be registered outside normal work hours. |  |
Related Guide
If employees do not have fixed start and end times, official work hours can instead be set up with net hours.
FAQ
How do we know if we should use start and end time or net hours?
How do we know if we should use start and end time or net hours?
Use start and end time if employees have fixed work hours with specific times (e.g., 08:00–16:00).
Use net hours if employees do not have fixed start and end times, but work a set number of hours per day (e.g., 7.5 hours).
Do hourly paid employees need standard hours?
Do hourly paid employees need standard hours?
No, not as a rule. Hourly paid employees typically register their work hours manually (e.g., by checking in/out or entering hours), so standard hours are not recommended.
If you need to plan expected work hours, this can instead be done with custom registration types, where shifts are created, but employees register their work hours as usual.