Introduction to time registration without hour bank

In BitaBIZ, you can register work hours without an hour bank, whether your employees are fixed or hourly paid.

The main differences are:

How time registration is used
Whether it’s for documentation of work or for payroll purposes
Whether pay rates need to be set up
Set up for hourly paid employees and used for registering payroll hours
Whether standard hours and automatic creation are used
Time registration is created automatically and the employee registers deviations. This method is best suited for fixed paid employees rather than hourly paid staff

This article guides you through the setup for both fixed and hourly paid employees, so you can easily configure the solution that fits your employee types and their employment.

Choose time registration type

BitaBIZ supports four methods for time registration without an hour bank, which can be used by both fixed and hourly paid employees. Your different staff groups can access the methods that best suit your purposes and needs.

Methods for time registration (without hour bank)

You can choose between the following methods:

Employee must enter from and to time
Employee must enter number of hours
Employee must check in and out
- Via mobile app/web
- Via QR code terminal at the workplace
Employee must adjust the official time of the day for any deviations
- Edit deviation with start and end time
- Edit deviation with number of hours

Click the image below to see the time registration types:

Read more about the four time registration methods here:

Employee must enter from and to time - User guide
Employee must enter number of hours - User guide
Employee must check in and out

Via mobile app/web - User guide
Via QR code terminal at the workplace - User guide

4. Employee must adjust the official time of the day for any deviations

Edit deviation with start and end time - User guide
Edit deviation with number of hours - User guide

How to set up the time registration method on the policy

The time registration method is selected on the employees’ policy.

Click Setup admin
Click Modules
Click Edit next to the policy (or click Create new policy)
Open the section Time registration – without hour bank
Select the desired method and make sure the rest of the policy is as you want before clicking Save.

Employee access to time registration without hour bank

The time registration method is selected on the employees’ policy.

When an employee is assigned a policy on their master data card, the employee automatically gets the time registration method selected on the policy.

It is possible to manually override the method on the employee’s master data card if an exception is needed.

Once your policies are set up with time registration methods, your employees are ready to register their time.

💁 We recommend that you share the user guides describing your chosen registration method with your employees.
Find the user guides here.

💁 Also remember to share your approver guide with your approvers.

Checklist for time registration

Below you’ll find an overview of features that can be enabled in connection with time registration without an hour bank.

Consider which features fit your employee types and workflows.

Reminders about registrations

You can enable automatic reminders to support a stable time registration flow.

Remember to edit If an employee hasn’t edited their work hours for the last X number of weeks, a friendly reminder is sent to the employee and manager.	Can be enabled for time registration method 4
Remember to register If an employee hasn’t registered hours on a workday, a reminder is sent the next day. The message is only sent if the day was a workday and not registered as absence.	Can be enabled for all time registration methods except method 4
Live feed (reminder to check out) Shows an active time counter on the employee’s mobile after check-in with a direct option to check out.	Can be enabled for time registration methods with check in and out (method 3)

See the guide for reminders here.

EU notifications

Push notifications designed to comply with the EU working time directive, which can be sent to the approver.

48-hour rule Sends a notification to the approver if the average work hours exceed a selected number of hours over a 4-month period.
11-hour rule Sends a notification to the approver if the minimum rest period of 11 hours is not observed.

Read more about notifications that remind you of the EU working time directive here.

Restriction for creating and editing in the past

Set how far back employees are allowed to create and edit time registrations.

Create and edit in the past

With this feature, the administrator can set a time limit for whether and how far back an employee can create and edit their registrations.

Read more about the restriction for registering in the past here.

Time registration on job codes (project time)

Register time on projects and job codes

Employees who register their time using method 1, 2, or 3 (via mobile app/web) can register their time on job codes linked to projects.

Read more about project job codes here

Time registration for payroll

Pay rates for recording payroll hours for hourly employees are created on job codes and can be transferred to the payroll system.

Create pay rate job codes for payroll For payroll hours, at least one pay rate job code must be created. You can create multiple job codes if you have different pay rates (e.g., supplements). For example, name job codes: Standard hours Payroll hours Evening supplement Weekend hours
Registered payroll hours can be transferred to the payroll system. Hours that have been processed for payroll are locked and cannot be changed by the employee or approver. This must be done by payroll admin.

Read more about setting up job codes for payroll here and about payroll export here.

SMS for missing approval

Follow-up to the approver if there are hours pending approval before payroll processing.

SMS notification about missing approved hours

The SMS text sent is free text and can be sent on a fixed date each month.

Hours that are not approved will not be included in the payroll export.

Read more about messages to approvers here.

Own paid breaks

Automatic deduction of paid breaks during work hours.

Own paid breaks are deducted from the registered work hours

Breaks can be targeted to different staff groups. Multiple breaks can be created per day.

Read more about breaks here.

Focus on work hours

This setting determines how much focus there should be on work hours.

You can enable or disable access to time registration statistics

This feature includes employee access to statistics and balances for time registration, and how much focus there should be on weekly, monthly, and yearly work hours.

Read more about focus on work hours here.

Set up onsite time registration from terminal

Registration via physical terminal with QR code for method 3 with check-in and check-out.

Activate onsite terminal

Employees connected to QR code check-in/out can only register their work hours by scanning their personal QR code at a terminal.

Note! If an employee registers their workplace as "Working elsewhere," check-in/out is enabled without scanning a QR code at the terminal.

Read more about activating the terminal here.

Setting up 'adjust today's official time for any deviations'

The system automatically creates the employee's standard hours every day at 09:00 with method 4. The employee only needs to edit their work hours if there is a deviation.

Requirement: Set up official work hours

For standard hours to be created automatically at 09:00, a standard hours method must be selected in the employee's policy under the Work week tab.

There are two options for official work hours:

Official work hours created with start/end time: Click here.
Official work hours created with net hours: Click here.

The standard hours method determines whether the employee should adjust start and end time or only the number of hours worked.

The method is integrated with absence

Standard hours are not created automatically if, before 09:00 on the day, the following is registered, for example:

Sick leave / child sick
Vacation / other vacation
Other absence (e.g., leave)
Public holidays
Minus days
Own registration types marked as a "day off"

FAQ

Choosing a solution and method

Should we use time registration with or without hour bank?

Use without hour bank if you only need to register work hours for documentation, project time, or payroll.

If you need to accumulate hours as flex time, overtime, or time off in lieu (plus/minus balance), you should use with hour bank – read more about time registration with hour bank here.

Why are plus/minus hours not calculated?

In time registration without hour bank, no balance is calculated.

If you want automatic calculation of flex time or overtime, you need to use time registration with hour bank.

How can we see which time registration solution we are using?

On the employee's policy, you can see which time registration method is connected. It is possible to choose between:

“Time registration – without hour bank”
“Time registration – with hour bank”

Setup and access

Can the approval requirement for time registrations be removed?

Yes. The requirement for approval of time registrations can be both enabled and disabled on the policy the employee is attached to.

Can access to job codes on time registrations be removed for fixed paid employees?

Yes. Access to job codes can be removed in the policy.
This is recommended if the purpose is solely daily registration of work hours and not tracking specific tasks or projects.

Why is work hours not created automatically?

Automatic creation of work hours requires that official work hours are specified for the employee.

As a rule, official work hours are set via the employee's policy (start and end time or net hours per day).
If no official work hours are specified in the policy, this can instead be set directly on the employee's master data card under "Work week".

When official work hours are specified – either in the policy or on the employee's master data card – work hours are created automatically (with time registration method 4), unless the day is registered as absence, public holiday, or weekend.

I have enabled Time Registration without hour bank and the "Adjust time" method. Why can't I see work hours in the employees' calendar?

When you enable Adjust time, automatic time registration is activated. It starts from the next workday where standard hours have been set up. This means that the day you enable the Adjust time method will not have work hours created automatically. And time is not created retroactively. Only from the next workday with standard hours set up will the system start booking time automatically.

The advantage is that you can change the time method on a policy without affecting historical registrations linked to another method.

If you are a new customer and want to create history for a period before you officially started using BitaBIZ, you can use recurring registrations to record a period of work hours retroactively. Read more here.

Why does the system create work hours automatically, even if absence is registered on the day using a custom registration type?

Only custom registration types marked as “Day off” will prevent the system from automatically creating work hours.

If the registration type is not marked as “Day off”, work hours will still be created for the day.

Why are both work hours and sick leave recorded on the same day?

If you use the time registration method “Adjust time” without hour bank, the system automatically creates work hours every day at 9 AM.

If sick leave is registered before 9 AM, work hours will not be created for the day
If sick leave is registered after 9 AM, work hours may already have been created, so both work hours and sick leave will appear on the same day

This means:

Days where sickness is registered correctly from the start will have no work hours
If sickness is registered later or changed afterwards, work hours may appear and must be adjusted manually

So, if both sick leave and work hours appear on the same day, it is because the sick leave was registered after the automatically created standard hours.

If both work hours and sick leave are recorded on the same day, the automatically created work hours must be deleted manually.

Payroll and payroll processing

Can payroll hours be processed directly to our payroll system for hourly employees?

Yes. If the employee registers their work hours by either:

Employee enters start and end time
Employee enters number of hours
Employee checks in and out via mobile app/web

And registers the hours on job codes with pay rates, the payroll hours can be exported directly to your payroll system. Read more about export to payroll system here

Our hourly employees receive pay during sickness – how is this registered?

If your hourly employees receive pay during sickness, sick leave should be registered via BitaBIZ. This can be registered in the same way as for fixed paid employees, or via custom registration types or job codes – depending on the setup for the hourly employee’s policy.

Read more in the article about sick leave here.

Can payroll-processed hours be edited or deleted?

Payroll-processed registrations are locked for employees and approvers.

However, they can be edited or deleted by payroll admin if necessary.

Registration and rules

Can employees register or edit work hours retroactively?

Whether employees can register or edit work hours retroactively depends on your company’s setup.

An administrator can choose whether employees may create or edit time registrations retroactively – and how many weeks back is allowed. Read about the setting here.

If the function is disabled, employees cannot register time retroactively.

Note:

Payroll-processed registrations cannot be changed by employees, but can be edited by payroll admin. See more about the payroll admin role here.

Can absence be registered retroactively?

No, an employee cannot register absence in the form of vacation and time off in lieu retroactively.

Vacation and time off in lieu must be registered on the actual day or requested for future dates.

Absence can only be created retroactively by an approver or payroll admin.

If it is sick leave that needs to be registered, there may be other settings.
Read more about sick leave here.

Are there daily reminders for missing time registration?

Yes. For daily work hours registration, it is recommended to activate daily reminders, so the employee is notified if a workday is missing a time registration.

Time registration without hour bank: Fixed and hourly paid employees