Exception Time Reporting and Positive Time Recording

The following information will provide a brief overview of each method and give a glimpse into some specific industry and federal guidelines that serve as proponents of particular methodology.

It is also important to mention that your company culture and past/present time reporting practices will attest to the direction in which you should proceed. We have worked with organizations that have required everyone from the CEO down to punch in and out, and we have companies that want only exception time to be reported. There were relevant motives behind each of these approaches, and our product specialist worked closely with these organizations to find the best balance between internal and external expectations.

Honor Time Reporting

is only concerned with recording the time employees are not working such as FMLA and benefit time used (Sick, Vacation, PTO, etc). Most of these organizations do not report exempt employee's time to payroll because they will end up with the same pay regardless of how many hours they worked. In essence, exception time reporting primarily serves as a safeguard against benefit and FMLA time being abused.

Positive Time Recording

tracks actual hours worked, but it is not for employee compensation purposes. Their time reporting is primarily for project management or billing purposes. Employees will allocate their time to specific clients, jobs, or projects - this method is sometimes referred to as costing. Positive time reporting is used as a management tool to determine whether projects are profitable as well as a vehicle to charge clients based upon labor resources used.

For Industry Examples of Positive Time Recording, plus a complex scheduling sample, visit the Positive Time Recording Details section