Setting Up Time Tracking
Time tracking is a Premium feature. You need a Premium subscription to use it.
In this article, you'll learn how to activate time tracking for your practice, which settings you can configure, and how recorded times interact with the overtime account.
Prerequisites
Before setting up time tracking, make sure the following requirements are met:
- Premium subscription — Time tracking is exclusively available on the Premium plan.
- Daily target hours configured — For the target/actual comparison and the overtime account to work, your employees should have daily target hours set up.
It's best to set up daily target hours before activating time tracking. This way, the overtime account is ready as soon as the first hours are recorded.
Activating Time Tracking
Time tracking needs to be activated once by an admin or owner.
Step by Step
- Click on Time Tracking in the main menu.
- You'll land on an activation page that shows you the benefits of time tracking.
- Click Activate Time Tracking.
- In the confirmation dialog, you'll be asked: "Use recorded times for the overtime account?"
- Default: Yes — approved time entries automatically flow into the overtime account.
- Choose No if you want to use time tracking without overtime calculations for now.
- Confirm the activation.
You can change the connection to the overtime account at any time in the time tracking settings.
Configuring Settings
After activation, you'll find the settings directly in the time tracking section. Here you can adjust two key options.
Auto-Approval
With the "Automatically approve times" toggle, you decide whether submitted time entries are approved immediately or whether an admin needs to manually review them.
- Enabled: Submitted times are automatically approved — unless they have an ArbZG warning (e.g., exceeding maximum working hours or missing break times).
- Disabled: All time entries must be manually approved by an admin.
Even with auto-approval enabled, entries with ArbZG warnings are not automatically approved. These always require manual review. Learn more under ArbZG Compliance.
Reconciliation Mode
The reconciliation mode determines how times are considered for the overtime account — especially for days without a time entry.
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Recorded times only | Only actually clocked times count. No entry = 0 hours. |
| Recorded times with plan fallback | Clocked times take priority. For days without an entry, planned shifts are used as a fallback. |
- Use "Recorded times only" if all employees should consistently clock in/out and missing entries count as not worked.
- Use "Recorded times with plan fallback" for a softer rollout — e.g., when not all employees are regularly clocking in yet and planned shifts should serve as the baseline.
Integration with the Overtime Account
Time tracking and the overtime account work seamlessly together:
- Employee records time — via clock widget or manual entry.
- Admin approves — manually or automatically (depending on settings).
- Approved times = actual hours — they flow into the overtime account as actually worked hours.
- Target/actual comparison — the overtime account compares approved time entries (actual) with daily target hours (target) and calculates overtime or undertime.
How the Features Work Together
| Feature | Role |
|---|---|
| Daily target hours | Defines the target hours per day |
| Working hours | Defines the time window for working |
| Time tracking | Documents the actually worked hours (actual) |
| Overtime account | Compares target vs. actual and calculates the balance |
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if an employee doesn't have daily target hours?
Time tracking still works — the employee can clock in and out as normal. However, without daily target hours, no target/actual comparison is possible, and the overtime account cannot be used. Set up daily target hours to unlock the full functionality.
Can I deactivate time tracking?
No, time tracking cannot be deactivated independently after activation. All existing time entries are preserved. If you'd like to deactivate time tracking, please contact our support team.
Does time tracking work on mobile?
Yes, your employees can clock in and out directly in the medishift app. Find more details under Clocking In and Out.
What's the difference between time tracking and shift planning?
Shift planning defines when and how long an employee should work (target times). Time tracking documents when and how long they actually worked (actual times). Together, they enable the automatic target/actual comparison in the overtime account.