Overview: When Punch Rounding is enabled, real-time punches will be rounded either based on time or by an employee's schedule. Employees' punches can be rounded down, up, or to the nearest based on a specified increment.
This creates consistent, easy-to-read time records by smoothing out small variations in punch times. It helps employers simplify payroll review and ensures all employees are held to the same fair, transparent standard.
Important! Punches will only be rounded in real-time. If an employee punches and selects time or manually adds a punch, it will not be rounded. An employee can only be assigned to one punch rounding rule at a time.
Common Use Cases: Common Use Cases for Punch Rounding include—
Minimizing “Time Drift”: Employees may punch in a few minutes early or late due to clock differences or human error. Rounding ensures those small variations don’t unfairly add or subtract work time.
Fairness Across Shifts: In workplaces with many employees clocking in at once from one or just a few devices (such as retail, manufacturing, or healthcare), rounding prevents minor timing differences from creating pay inequities.
Streamlined Payroll Calculations: Clean, consistent punch times reduce the need for manual corrections and make timesheets easier to audit, especially when exporting to payroll systems.
Compliance with Company Policy: Some businesses establish clear rules around when paid time begins and ends. Punch Rounding helps enforce these rules automatically and consistently.
Reduced Disputes: With transparent and standardized rounding rules, managers spend less time handling disputes about a punch being one or two minutes off.
Instructions:
Punch Rounding By Time
Punch Rounding By The Schedule (Requires Scheduling)
Additional Resources:
Punch Rounding By Time
1. To set up Punch Rounding by time, start by clicking Settings --> Punch Rounding:
2. Once on the Punch Rounding page, click +Add a New Punch Rounding Rule:
3. To have punches rounded based on time, choose the "By Time" option. If you don't want a punch in or out to round, select the "Do Not Round" option. You can then specify if punches will round:
Up
Down
Nearest
At the increment chosen:
4. If you want punches to round when an employee uses the Switch option, then check the box next to "Apply rounding when using Switch."
5. Assign the appropriate employees and Save once done.
Punch Rounding By The Schedule
1. To set up punch rounding by time, start by clicking Settings --> Punch Rounding:
2. Once on the punch rounding page, click +Add a New Punch Rounding Rule:
3. To have punches rounded based on an employee's schedule, choose the "By The Schedule" option. If you don't want a punch in or out to round, select the "Do Not Round" option. You can then specify if punches will round:
Up
Down
Nearest
To the schedule
When rounding by the schedule you can specify what happens if an employee punches in a certain amount of time before or after their shift start as well as before or after their shift end:
4. If you want punches to round when an employee uses the Switch option, then check the box next to "Apply rounding when using Switch."
5. Assign the appropriate employees and Save once done.
FAQs
Q: Why are punches not being rounded?
A: If you have Punch Rounding enabled, but punches aren't rounding, then the punches likely aren't being made in real-time. Punching Rounding only applies to punches made in real-time.
Q: How can I see pre-rounded times?
A: You can see pre-rounded times by clicking Edit next to the punch(es) in question and then viewing the Revision History. Otherwise, you can run the In/Out Activity report and check the box to "Include Pre-Rounded Times".
Q: How do I set up Punch Rounding to round up or down to the nearest quarter of the hour?
A: It sounds like what you need is the very popular and effective 7 Minute Punch Rounding Rule. See this resource for more information and step-by-step instructions: How to Set Up a 7 Minute Rounding Rule