Clock In and Out for Shifts and Breaks

Last updated: Feb 25, 2026, 12:46 PM

Learn how to start and end your shifts, and manage break times by clocking in and out on your Toast device.

An employee cannot clock in or out until they have an employee profile in Toast Web. If an employee is unable to clock in, a manager/employer with permissions 4.9 Employee Info and 4.10 Employee Jobs & Wages should navigate to Employees > Employee management > Employees in Toast Web and verify that a profile with a POS access code exists for this person. If their profile is in the Invited state, the employee will need to accept the email invite before being allowed to clock in.

 

If a profile is not present, use Toast Payroll: New Hire Employees (Employer Guide) if you're a Toast Payroll customer. Otherwise, use Add and Manage Employees in Toast Web to create a profile for the employee.

 

In this Article: 

 

Clock In and Out on the POS

  1. Enter your POS access code (otherwise known as a passcode or PIN) and select the Timeclock button in the bottom right corner.

    Toast device login screen with timeclock button circled

  2. On the next screen, select the job for which you are clocking in.
  3. Select Clock In to begin your shift.
  4. Select Done to confirm your selection.
  5. This is the same process you'll use for clocking out, except that you'll select Clock Out to end your shift. 
     

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Start and End a Break on the POS

When it's time to start a break, follow these steps:

 

  1. Enter your passcode and select the Timeclock button.
  2. Select Start Break. If applicable, select which type of break you're taking.
  3. Select Done to return to the passcode screen.
  4. At the end of the break, access the time clock again and select End Break. The number in parenthesis will be the number of minutes the break has been active.

 

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Break Waivers

Break waivers are an optional configuration and are available to restaurants with an Advanced interval break rule where Break tracking is enabled. See Build Employee Breaks in Toast to learn how to set up break waivers.

 

If break waivers are enabled and configured, when an employee clocks in on a POS device, they will see the waiver message and be asked whether they plan to take or waive this break.

 

An example break waiver agreement employees will see on a POS device

 

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Troubleshoot Error Messages When Clocking In

Below are some error messages you may encounter when logging in to your device to clock in or out. 

 

Device Not Initialized

If you're receiving this error message, your device requires further setup. To fix this:

 

  1. A user who has the 7.1 Terminal Setup permission should enter their POS access code in order to initialize the device.
  2. After the POS has been initialized, the employee can select Switch User, at which point another user can enter their own POS access code.

 

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Permission Denied

This usually appears when users select Go instead of selecting Timeclock when clocking in.

 

  1. Make sure users are logging in using the Timeclock option prior to selecting Go.
  2. If you continue to get this error, log out and log in with an email and password.
    1. Important note: The email and password you'll use will determine what features of the POS are available, so we recommend using a high-level users email and password.
    2. Select the three dots in the upper-right corner and select Logout.
    3. Enter the email and password and select Log in to continue.

 

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Time Entries Cannot Be Over 24 Hours

This error commonly happens when your restaurant is in Test Mode because employees are not auto-clocked out after leaving Test Mode. To fix this:

 

  1. Log in to Toast Web to edit the time entry for the user receiving the error.
  2. Navigate to Reports > Labor > Time entry management.
  3. Locate the time entry and either add a Time out that's less than 24 hours from the Time in. You can do this directly on this page and your changes will be saved automatically.
  4. If you like, you can also remove the shift completely (especially if it was just a Test Mode time entry). Select the shift and select Delete.
  5. To learn more, check out Edit Employee Time Clock Entries.

 

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Additional Resources for Clocking In/Clocking Out


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This content is for informational purposes and is not intended as legal, tax, HR, or any other professional advice. Please contact an attorney or other professional for advice.