Check timesheets before payroll – which discrepancies need reviewing?

A six-minute shift has been approved. Another ends after six in the morning but has no recorded clock-out.

Both need checking. Yet an early departure or a longer evening shift may have a reasonable explanation.

A useful timesheet review identifies information that needs verifying before payroll. A discrepancy is a reason to ask a question, rather than proof of an error.

The examples are based on situations identified when reviewing restaurant timesheets. Businesses and individuals have been anonymised.

Start by comparing three types of time

In Simflexity, you can compare scheduled, clocked and reported time.

Check breaks and absence too. A time interval alone does not establish how many hours should be paid.

The schedule shows the plan. Clocking records show registered events. The timesheet needs reviewing before approval.

Missing clock-out: verify the finish time

A shift is scheduled for 15:00–23:00.

The employee clocks in at 15:03, but no clock-out is recorded. The timesheet nevertheless shows 15:03–23:00.

The finish time has not been confirmed by a clock-out. Ask the employee or the person responsible on site when work actually ended.

Do not automatically assume the scheduled finish time is correct.

If both clock-in and clock-out are missing, verify working time through other information. Missing records do not establish that no work took place.

A six-minute shift may mean time is missing

One review identified an approved shift recorded as 22:43–22:49.

A six-minute shift is not impossible. However, it is unusual enough to check whether the whole shift was recorded.

An earlier clock-in may be missing, or a time may have been entered incorrectly.

The review should therefore identify both excessive and insufficient recorded working time.

Unusually long shifts need context

Another shift had a start time of 22:13, no clock-out and a reported finish of 06:13 the following morning.

That needs checking if the restaurant normally finishes work much earlier.

However, a late finish is not automatically wrong. Cleaning, closing duties and other work can continue after the last guest leaves.

Normal working patterns help you prioritise reviews. They should not be used to automatically change reported times.

When reported time differs from the clocking record

Consider a shift where both scheduled and clocked time are 08:27–15:24, while reported time is 08:27–16:25.

The reported finish is one hour and one minute later than the clock-out.

An employee comment saying they worked extra gives context. The responsible manager still needs to verify what happened.

Did work continue after clocking out? Was the clock-out incorrect? Does the timesheet need correcting?

Check the information before approval. Any additional compensation should be handled according to the employment terms and applicable collective agreement.

Leaving earlier does not automatically mean lower pay

Suppose the schedule ends at 23:00, while both clock-out and reported finish show 21:44.

The restaurant may have closed early. The attendance record may accurately reflect what happened.

However, distinguish between two questions:

• When did the employee stop working?
• What pay are they entitled to?

Under Swedish employment conditions, an employee sent home early by the employer may remain entitled to pay for scheduled hours. Check the employment terms, collective agreement and what was agreed before reducing pay.

Matching clocked and reported time is a useful check. It does not determine pay on its own.

Review approved timesheets too

A timesheet can contain errors after approval. A six-minute shift does not become more plausible because its status is Approved.

Carry out a final review before using the period’s payroll records.

Prioritise unverified missing clocking records, unusual shift lengths and substantial differences between clocked and reported time. Check unexpected breaks or absence too.

This is a recommended review process. It does not mean the system automatically identifies and prioritises every situation described.

A simple routine before payroll

1. Open timesheets and select the relevant period.
2. Compare scheduled, clocked and reported time.
3. Verify uncertain details with the employee or the person responsible on site.
4. Check breaks, absence and any entitlement to pay beyond recorded working time.
5. Correct information where needed and document the explanation according to your routine.
6. Approve verified records. Review clear discrepancies in previously approved timesheets too.

Reviewing shifts regularly makes questions easier to resolve than waiting several weeks.

Timesheets and the Swedish staff register serve different purposes

Correcting a payroll timesheet is not the same as correcting the statutory staff register, known as a personalliggare in Sweden.

The Swedish Tax Agency requires changes to electronic staff registers to be traceable. Records must not simply be overwritten without a history.

A later correction also does not mean the original registration was made on time.

From recorded time to reviewed payroll records

Simflexity lets you compare scheduled, clocked and reported time before using the hours in payroll.

This gives the responsible manager a basis for asking the right questions. The explanation for a shorter or longer shift often comes from the people at the workplace.

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Sources and background

This article draws on anonymised situations from Simflexity’s timesheet review work. The review routine is a practical recommendation.

The following sources concern Swedish rules and employment conditions and are in Swedish:

• HRF – Swedish hospitality collective agreement 2025–2027
• Swedish Tax Agency – electronic staff register requirements

Fact-checked on 25 October 2026. Employment terms and applicable collective agreements can affect the employee’s entitlement to pay.