Start with scheduled shifts
Employees do not need to reconstruct the rota from an empty form.
Employee timesheets that turn scheduled shifts into accurate worked hours Weekly team timesheets with manager-controlled TOIL handling
FlowRota timesheets begin with the employee’s scheduled shifts and let them amend the hours to show what they actually worked before submitting the week for approval.
Managers can review every difference, decide whether excess or shortfall time affects TOIL, and approve agreed off-rota work that was never scheduled in advance.
Included for £1 per user per month
Reconcile the rota with the working week that really happened
The published rota provides the starting record. Employees check each scheduled shift, enter their actual working times and add any agreed work completed outside the rota. Their manager then reviews the complete team week before applying it.
Give employees a simple way to confirm hours and managers a controlled approval
FlowRota keeps scheduled work, actual time, leave, TOIL preferences and extra off-rota hours visible in one weekly team record.
Record actual hours
Amend the times when the hours worked differed from the schedule.
See leave in context
Show leave that falls within the relevant timesheet week.
Request TOIL treatment
Let employees state how they would prefer a difference to be handled.
Log unscheduled work
Add agreed out-of-hours work that was completed off the rota.
Keep manager control
Managers review, decide the final treatment and approve the week.
Timesheets confirm actual hours—they do not track clock-card events
Both features can describe worked time, but they collect it in different ways and should not be treated as the same record.
| Record | Timesheet | Clock card |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | The employee’s scheduled shifts for the team week | A live employee clock-on action |
| How time is recorded | The employee enters or amends the actual hours worked | Clock-on, break and clock-off events are recorded as they happen |
| Period | A weekly submission commencing Monday | An individual active working session and its timeline |
| Team structure | A separate timesheet for each team | The record connects to the relevant clocked shift |
| Manager action | Approve actual hours, TOIL treatment and added work | Review, approve, decline or correct the clock card |
A timesheet is a submitted reconciliation, not a time clock.
For live clocking, explore the
shared FlowRota Terminal
or
personal-device GPS clock-ins
.
Keep every timesheet tied to one Monday-to-Sunday week and one team
Timesheets are organised by both week and team, preserving the operational context behind every shift and approval.
Weeks commence on Monday
Each timesheet covers one complete week beginning on a Monday.
The weekly view brings together- Scheduled shifts within that period
- The actual hours entered for those shifts
- Any leave shown during the same week
- Newly added unscheduled work
- The complete submission requiring approval
Timesheets are separated by team
The employee submits a distinct timesheet for each team in which they worked during the week.
This means- Team shifts stay together
- The relevant team manager receives the record
- Hours are not mixed into one organisation-wide form
- Team-specific work retains its context
- Approvals follow the team where work occurred
Two teams can mean two timesheets
An employee who worked in two teams can have two timesheets for the same week—one for each team.
Why it matters- Each manager sees the work they oversee
- Team hours remain distinguishable
- Different work patterns do not become one mixed approval
- Cross-team employees keep one profile
- The same dates can appear in separate team records
See how employees can belong to primary and secondary teams .
Put scheduled and actual hours side by side
Employees start with the shifts already on the rota and only need to amend the time when reality differed from the schedule.
Confirm the shift or enter what was really worked
If the shift was worked exactly as scheduled, the existing record provides the expected hours. If the employee started later, finished earlier or worked beyond the scheduled time, they can amend the actual hours in the timesheet.
The manager can compare- The scheduled start and finish
- The scheduled payable duration
- The actual hours submitted by the employee
- The resulting excess or shortfall duration
- The employee’s requested treatment for that difference
- Keep the original scheduling context visible
- Avoid treating planned and worked hours as automatically identical
- Give managers a clear basis for the approval decision
Leave remains visible in the period
The timesheet also illustrates leave that falls within the relevant week, helping the submitted record explain why scheduled work and ordinary hours may differ.
Explore employee leave and manager approvals .
Detailed shifts remain the source schedule
Teams, times, pay treatment and other scheduling detail stay on the underlying shift while the timesheet records the employee’s actual working hours.
Learn what can be stored on FlowRota shift records .
Decide whether excess or shortfall time should change the TOIL balance
The employee can request a preferred treatment, but the manager makes the final decision while approving the timesheet.
| Scheduled duration | Actual duration | Difference | Available TOIL treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 hours | 6 hours 45 minutes | 15-minute shortfall | The manager can deduct 15 minutes from the employee’s TOIL balance |
| 7 hours | 7 hours 30 minutes | 30 minutes excess | The manager can add 30 minutes to the employee’s TOIL balance |
| 7 hours | 7 hours | No difference | No excess or shortfall requires TOIL treatment |
Employee preference
The employee can indicate how they would prefer the difference between scheduled and actual duration to be handled.
The request can cover- A shortfall they would like deducted from TOIL
- Excess time they would like added to TOIL
- The specific difference shown on the timesheet
- The employee’s preferred outcome before approval
- Context for the manager’s review
Important: submitting a preference does not apply it automatically.
Manager decision
The manager reviews the requested treatment and decides whether it should be applied.
The manager can- Review scheduled and actual duration
- Consider the employee’s TOIL preference
- Apply a shortfall deduction where appropriate
- Apply an excess-hours addition where appropriate
- Choose not to apply the employee’s request
Final authority: the manager’s approval decision determines the treatment used.
Updated TOIL balance
When approved, the selected excess or shortfall duration is added to or deducted from the employee’s TOIL balance.
This keeps connected- The shift that was scheduled
- The hours the employee submitted
- The difference the manager reviewed
- The approved treatment
- The resulting employee TOIL balance
See how banked time works with overtime and TOIL .
Add agreed work that never appeared on the rota
Not every working period begins with a scheduled shift. Employees can add hours completed outside the published rota to the appropriate team timesheet.
Capture off-rota, out-of-hours work for approval
An employee can add a shift they actually worked even when no scheduled shift existed. This is useful for agreed out-of-hours overtime or another exceptional working period that was authorised but not added to the rota beforehand.
The employee can submit- The date on which the work took place
- The actual working hours
- The team for which the work was completed
- The newly added entry within that team’s weekly timesheet
- The record for manager review before it becomes payable
- Avoid losing agreed work because it was not pre-scheduled
- Keep exceptional overtime inside an approval process
- Create a payable shift only after the manager approves it
The timesheet entry is a request for approval. Newly added off-rota hours do not become a payable shift until the manager approves the timesheet.
Apply the approved timesheet back to the employee’s shift records
Approval turns the submitted weekly record into the final shift changes and new payable work accepted by the manager.
Employee reviews the week
Scheduled shifts and leave are shown for the relevant Monday-to- Sunday period and team.
Actual hours are submitted
The employee amends worked times, states a TOIL preference and adds any agreed unscheduled work.
Manager checks the differences
The manager compares scheduled and actual duration, reviews leave and checks newly added hours.
Manager decides TOIL treatment
The employee’s preference is considered, but the manager decides whether excess or shortfall time changes the balance.
Approval updates the records
Existing scheduled shifts are updated and new payable shifts are created for approved hours that had no shift.
Existing scheduled work
When the employee amended the actual hours against a scheduled shift, approval updates that shift with the manager-approved outcome.
The result preserves- The original team and shift context
- The approved actual working hours
- The accepted difference from the schedule
- Any approved TOIL adjustment
- A clearer basis for later reporting
Newly added unscheduled work
When the manager approves work that had no scheduled shift, FlowRota creates a new payable shift for those logged hours.
The result provides- A shift record where none previously existed
- The approved working duration
- A payable record for the newly accepted work
- The relevant team context
- Hours available for later reports
Approval changes the underlying records.
The result can then feed
hours, pay, overtime and TOIL reports
.
Close the gap between the rota and payroll-ready working records
Timesheets give employees a structured way to explain what changed while keeping managers in control of what is finally applied.
Keep the rota as the starting point
Employees confirm actual hours against scheduled shifts instead of recreating their working week from memory.
Separate every team
Give each team manager the weekly work they are responsible for reviewing.
Handle time differences consistently
Compare scheduled and actual duration before approving TOIL additions or deductions.
Recover missing off-rota work
Turn approved, unscheduled hours into proper payable shift records.
Explore the features connected to employee timesheets
Timesheets connect scheduled work with actual hours, manager approvals, TOIL balances, leave and reporting.
Frequently asked questions about FlowRota timesheets
What is a FlowRota timesheet?
A FlowRota timesheet is a weekly, team-specific record that starts with the employee’s scheduled shifts and lets them confirm or amend the hours they actually worked.
Do FlowRota timesheets track clock cards?
No. Timesheets do not track live clock-card events. They compare actual hours entered by the employee with the shifts that were scheduled.
When does a FlowRota timesheet week begin?
Each timesheet covers a week commencing Monday.
Are timesheets separated by team?
Yes. Timesheets are created by team as well as week, so an employee working in two teams can have two timesheets for the same week.
Can employees amend the hours they actually worked?
Yes. Employees can enter the actual hours worked against each scheduled shift before submitting the timesheet.
Does a timesheet show leave during the week?
Yes. Leave within the relevant period is shown alongside the week’s shift information.
Can a timesheet shortfall be deducted from TOIL?
Yes. When actual worked duration is shorter than scheduled duration, the manager can deduct the difference from the employee’s available TOIL balance.
Can excess timesheet hours be added to TOIL?
Yes. When the employee worked longer than scheduled, the manager can add the excess duration to the employee’s TOIL balance instead.
Who decides whether a timesheet difference affects TOIL?
The employee can request their preferred treatment, but the manager makes the final decision during approval.
Can an employee add work that was not scheduled?
Yes. Employees can add shifts they worked without a scheduled shift, such as agreed out-of-hours overtime completed off the rota.
What happens to scheduled shifts when a timesheet is approved?
The relevant scheduled shifts are updated to reflect the manager-approved actual hours.
What happens to approved unscheduled work?
FlowRota creates new payable shifts for the newly added hours that had no scheduled shift in place.
What is the difference between a timesheet and a clock card?
A timesheet is an employee-submitted weekly comparison of scheduled and actual hours. A clock card records clock-on, break and clock-off events as they happen.
Who approves employee timesheets?
An authorised manager reviews and approves the timesheet for the relevant team.
How much does FlowRota cost?
FlowRota costs £1 per user per month after a 30-day free trial. No credit card is required to start the trial. Visit the pricing page for full details.
Turn scheduled weeks into approved actual hours
Let employees confirm what they worked, request TOIL treatment and add agreed off-rota hours while managers retain the final approval. The trial is free for 30 days, no credit card is required, and continued access costs £1 per user per month.
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