Resources · Guide · 4 min
Why we never overwrite a rostered hour
A clock-in is evidence, not a correction. Keeping both numbers is one small decision that settles most pay disputes before they start.
Rosa is rostered 11:00 to 18:00. She clocks in at 11:14 because the bus did not come, and clocks out at 18:20 because a table would not leave. What should the timesheet say?
Most systems answer by replacing the rota with the clock. It is the obvious implementation, and it quietly destroys the only record that would settle an argument about it later.
Two numbers, side by side
Midshift stores both, always, and never derives one from the other. The timesheet shows rostered hours, clocked hours and the difference — and the difference is what a manager approves. Approving is a decision by a named person, not a nightly job.
The awkward cases are the reason:
- Someone stays late without being asked. Both numbers are true, and the difference is a conversation, not an automatic payment.
- Someone forgets to clock out. The rostered end is still there. The record shows a missing clock-out, not a fourteen-hour shift.
- A manager changes the rota after the shift. The original is kept. A published rota that can be silently rewritten is not evidence of anything.
Why it matters to you
It shows up in the product as one extra column and a checkbox. It shows up in your life on the one day a year it matters, when somebody disputes their pay and the answer is on screen instead of in an argument.
You can see how approved hours reach payroll on the product page.
