Check a timecard before you print or export it
A total can be arithmetically correct and still describe the wrong week. Use this review sequence to check the source entries, units and assumptions before sharing a record.
Updated October 27, 2026 · Scope and methods
1. Check the dates before the numbers
Start at the top of the card. Does the first date match the period you mean to review? Does each row refer to the day the shift began? A calendar week, a workweek and a payment period can have different boundaries. If you change the starting date after entering times, inspect the relabelled rows again. An unchanged total can hide a date-placement mistake.
2. Compare a complete row with its source
Take the actual arrival and departure readings from the source record. Check AM/PM, midnight and the next-day setting. The same readings can represent zero or 24 clock hours when start and finish match; the date context decides which is appropriate. ShiftTotal has one interval per day, so separate split shifts require separate reconciliation rather than assuming the whole span was worked.
3. Trace every deduction once
List the unpaid break durations you intend to exclude. If 30 minutes was already removed from a recorded end time, do not subtract it again as lunch. Keep a clock-change adjustment separate: it alters elapsed time because of a verified clock change, while breaks subtract an identified non-working duration. The software cannot classify paid time or know whether a break actually happened.
4. Recalculate one row in whole minutes
For 08:15–17:10, the clock span is 8 hours 55 minutes, or 535 minutes. Deducting breaks of 30 and 15 leaves 490 minutes. The readable result is 8 hours 10 minutes and the rounded decimal is 8.17 hours. If your source says 8.10, establish which notation it uses before comparing values; the difference may be units rather than missing time.
5. Add exact values and compare the summaries
Sum the worked-minute column, then divide once by 60. Do not reconstruct an exact total from daily values already rounded to two decimals. For two weeks, check each seven-day subtotal before the period total. If the optional overtime model is enabled, retain the threshold and multiplier with the result so another reader can reproduce the estimate.
6. Separate an estimate from a payroll decision
A single-rate gross-pay estimate describes the settings you entered. It does not account for every rule, contract, deduction, premium or classification that may apply. A difference from a payslip is a reason to compare the inputs and rules, not proof of an underpayment. Keep a factual list of the dates, entries and assumptions that need clarification.
7. Keep an understandable export
Preview the complete output. Confirm that both weeks appear on a biweekly printout, that no column is cut off, and that the CSV opens with its date and clock-time values intact. Summary rows are labelled separately from daily entries; avoid including both in a spreadsheet sum. Save a copy before closing the page, since ShiftTotal does not retain time entries.
A useful final check
Ask someone reading only the exported record to identify the period, the unpaid-break total, the net-minute total and any manual clock adjustment. If one of those facts is missing, add the original notes to your own record before sharing it. Do not put names, employment records or payroll details into a public bug report; a synthetic example can show a calculation problem without exposing a person.