Timesheets & payroll prep — Hours checked, approved and ready for payroll without the spreadsheet
Timesheet and payroll prep automation collects hours from wherever your team clocks in and checks them before payday. It flags missed punches, overlapping shifts and overtime, and sends each manager their team's hours to approve. Approved hours go into your payroll system, with job or project codes kept for job costing.
By Julia Ja, Owner
Pay period hours · flagged
Closed Sun night| Worker | Hours | Flag |
|---|---|---|
| Luis | 38.5 | No clock-out Thu |
| Crew 2 | 176.0 | Over route hours |
| Crew 4 | 168.5 | Over route hours |
| Ana | 40.0 | None |
Luis got a text Monday and replied 4:30. Crew leads check the flags and approve the hours.
Approve and send to payrollWhy it matters
The problem it solves
Hours often live in more than one place: a time clock, a field app and a schedule. Each pay period, someone exports them into a spreadsheet and hunts for missed punches.
Errors tend to surface on payday, when staff are hardest to reach and payroll can't wait. A wrong total means an unhappy employee or a correction later. Job hours rarely make it into job costing at all.
Example · illustrative
A landscaping company at the end of a pay period
- On Sunday night the pay period closes.
- The system pulls crew hours from the time app and flags a worker with no clock-out on Thursday.
- It also flags two crews whose hours run well past their routes.
- The worker gets a text Monday morning asking for his end time, and replies "4:30".
- The crew leads check the flags and approve, and the totals go to payroll that morning.
How it works
How timesheets & payroll prep works
- Starts whenThe pay period closes
- 1Step 1Collect hoursPunches and logged time are pulled from the time clock, field app, POS or schedule.
- 2Step 2Check for problemsMissed punches, very long shifts, missing breaks, overtime and hours with no job code are flagged.
- 3Step 3Ask for fixesEmployees with gaps get a message asking them to fix or confirm their time.
- A person decidesApprove the hoursEach manager reviews their team's hours and flagged items, and approves them.
- 5Step 5Send to payrollApproved totals go into the payroll system, and hours by job go to the accounting system.
Before · by hand
- Someone exports hours from one or more apps into a spreadsheet.
- Missed punches are found on payroll day, when staff are hard to reach.
- Managers approve hours by text or a quick hallway yes.
- Totals are retyped into payroll, and job hours rarely reach job costing.
With timesheets & payroll prep
- Hours from every source land in one place automatically.
- Problems are flagged before the pay period closes.
- Each manager approves their team's hours in one step.
- Approved hours reach payroll and job costing without retyping.
What we build
The parts of timesheets & payroll prep
Your systems
- QuickBooks Time
- Gusto
- ADP
- Paychex
- Homebase
- Deputy
What we build
1Hours collector
Pulls punches and logged time from the time clock, field app, POS or schedule into one list.
2Rule checks
Flags missed punches, long shifts, missed breaks, overtime and hours with no job code, using the rules you set.
3Fix requests
Asks employees to confirm or correct gaps, and records their answer for the manager.
4Manager approval
Each manager sees their team's hours with the flags and approves them in one step.
5Payroll and costing export
Sends approved totals to payroll and hours by job to the accounting system.
Your team decides
- Managers approve every timesheet before payroll runs.
- A person decides on edits to punches and how unusual hours are paid.
- The owner or bookkeeper runs and approves the actual payroll.
Industries it fits
What timesheets & payroll prep looks like in each industry
HVAC, plumbing & electrical
Technician hours from the field app are matched to jobs, so payroll and job costing use the same time. Hours with no job attached are flagged, so the office can sort out shop time and callbacks.
Everything for hvac, plumbing & electricalYour industry isn’t listed, or works differently? Describe it and get an answer in a minute.
Getting started
What you need first
We go through these with you in the audit, before anything is built.
Before we start
5 things to have ready- A time clock or app your team already uses, with an export or a connection.
- A payroll provider that accepts imported hours, such as Gusto, ADP or Paychex.
- Your overtime, break and rounding rules, confirmed with your payroll provider or advisor.
- Job or cost codes, if hours should feed job costing.
- A manager for each team who approves hours every pay period.
How a rollout runs
- 1Map where hours come fromWe list every place time is recorded, who approves it and how it reaches payroll today.
- 2Set the rulesWe write down your overtime, break and job-code rules, and you confirm them with your advisor.
- 3Replay a past periodWe connect the tools and run a past pay period, then compare the totals with what was actually paid.
- 4Run side by sideThe old process keeps running for the next pay periods, and we check both give the same totals.
- 5Switch overOnce totals match, managers approve in the new flow and hours go to payroll directly.
What to measure
How to know it's working
Weekly report · timesheets & payroll prep
IllustrationFlags per pay period
Shows where time-keeping habits need work.
Flags fixed before the period closes
Fixes before payday mean fewer corrections later.
Payroll corrections after payday
The clearest sign of whether the checks catch problems.
Approvals done on time
Late approvals hold up payroll for everyone.
Hours with a job code
Shows whether job costing can rely on the time data.
We measure the baseline before building, so the change can be compared afterwards.
When it’s not a fit
- It can't fix hours nobody records. If people don't clock in reliably, start there.
- Pay rules stay your responsibility. The checks follow the rules you set, so have your payroll provider or advisor confirm them.
- If all your hours already live in the payroll provider's time tool, its built-in approval may be enough.
- Combining several apps only works if each one has an export or a connection. Check that first.
Tool or custom build
Do you need a custom build?
Option A · a ready-made tool
An off-the-shelf tool may be enough
QuickBooks Time, Homebase and Deputy track time and send hours to payroll, with their own approval steps. They fit when one app holds all the hours.
Option B · built around your systems
When a custom build is worth it
A custom build is worth it when hours come from several apps or job codes must reach accounting. It also fits checks that go beyond what the time app flags.
Not sure which fits?
What it typically costs
Typical ranges as of October 2026. Not a quote.
Ready-made tool, set up by us
An existing platform on your own account, configured for your business.
- Setup, one timepaid to Lorryn
- $1,000–$2,000
- Tool subscriptionpaid to the provider
- $25–$100 / month
Fits when your process matches what the platform already does.
Custom build
Built around how you work, with no platform subscription. You own it.
- Build, one timebasic version to full version
- $2,000–$9,000
- Running costshosting and usage, on your accounts
- ~$10–$50 / month
Fits when your systems, rules or exceptions don't match a ready tool.
Optional Automation Care: $125 · $250 · $375 / month
1, 2 or 3 hours of support a month, with monitoring and alerts included. Without it, you run it yourself after handover.
Typically works with QuickBooks Time, Gusto, ADP, Paychex.
Booking into or writing to your field-service, practice or shop software adds up to $500 to the ready-made tool (often a built-in feature) and $500–$1,500 to a custom build.
Your price depends on volume, the systems involved and how many exceptions need a person. Our team confirms a fixed price before any work starts.
Proof and who stays in charge
Who does what
The automation does the routine steps. A person makes the call.
- 1Collect hoursAutomated
- 2Check for problemsAutomated
- 3Ask for fixesAutomated
- 4Approve the hoursA person
- 5Send to payrollAutomated
Consent and privacy
Overtime, break and pay rules vary by state, and California's are stricter than most. The checks follow the rules you set; your payroll provider or advisor confirms them.
FAQ
Questions about timesheets & payroll prep
Yes. It can combine a time clock, a field service app and a schedule, as long as each one can export or connect.
No. It flags problems and asks employees to fix them. Only a person approves changes.
No. Your payroll provider still runs payroll. This gets the hours clean and approved before that step.
Yes, if your team logs time to jobs or cost codes. Those hours can go to the accounting system alongside payroll.
The manager marks it as fine and approves. If the same flag keeps coming up, we change the rule.
Only the people you choose, usually each manager for their own team and the owner or bookkeeper for everyone.
Yes. Your time and payroll tools keep working on their own, so you can stop the automation at any point.
Related use cases
Often built together
- Team & HREmployee onboardingRuns the steps from offer accepted to first week: paperwork, accounts, equipment, training and check-ins.
- Team & HRStaff schedulingDrafts staff schedules from availability and demand, sends them out, and fills open shifts.
- Inventory & operationsMaterial optimization & job costingPlans how stock is cut for each order, prices the job from that plan, and checks it against what was used.
Want timesheets & payroll prep for your business?
Pick the step that suits you. Every path starts with how the work runs today, and we'll say honestly whether it's worth automating.
- Right now · any hour
Ask Lorryn AI
Describe your process and get a first answer in a minute: what to automate, what it connects to, and a rough estimate.
- Free · 15 or 30 minutes
Talk to our team
Bring one process to a video call. Leave knowing whether it’s worth automating and how.
- Free · 6 of 15 spots left
Get a free written plan
Free for businesses with 3 or more employees, while spots last (normally $250).
Claim a free audit9 of 15 claimed