Toast Payroll: Get Help With Timesheets

In this Article:

• Before You Begin
• Quick Fix
• What This Article Covers vs. Where to Go Next
• Resolve Common Timesheet Problems
  • Missing Hours on a Timesheet
  • Timesheet or Days Won't Display on the Time Page
  • Multiple Timesheets for One Employee in the Same Pay Period
  • Duplicate or Blank Timesheets
  • Timesheet or Time Entry Not Pulling Into Payroll
  • Hours Show in Time Entry Management but Not on the Timesheet
  • Need to Unapprove a Timesheet
  • Need to Edit a Timesheet After You Approved It
  • Need to Move a Timesheet to a Different Payroll
  • Delete a Timesheet (or Time Entry Inside a Timesheet)
  • Employee at Two Locations Clocked In Simultaneously
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Related Articles

Before You Begin

Applies to: Toast Payroll, Toast Web

Permissions needed:

• HR+ user role in Toast Payroll (required to change settings such as Make Timesheets Read Only or to enable automatically approved timesheets)
• Access to Toast Web Reports > Labor > Time entry management (required to add or edit time entries)

What you'll accomplish: Identify the symptom you're seeing, find the most common cause, and either fix the timesheet yourself or get routed to the canonical procedure that resolves it.

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Quick Fix

The table below maps the most common timesheet symptoms to their cause and the fastest fix. Each row links to the matching branch below or to the canonical article that owns the procedure.

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What This Article Covers vs. Where to Go Next

This article triages timesheet symptoms and walks you through fixes that are best handled here. For full canonical procedures that live in adjacent articles:

• Approve, unapprove, reopen, edit, delete, or add a timesheet (the standard procedure): see Toast Payroll: Manage Timesheets.
• Edit a timesheet you already approved (with Tips Manager considerations): see Toast Payroll: Adjust an Approved Timesheet.
• Bulk-unapprove timesheets (no bulk option exists; per-employee Re-Open): see Toast Payroll: Bulk Un-Approve Timesheets.
• Move a timesheet to a different payroll: see Toast Payroll: Change the Payroll A Timesheet Is Tied To.
• Edit time entries in Toast Web: see Edit Employee Time Clock Entries.
• Detailed sync troubleshooting (employee profile, time entries, tips, jobs): see Toast Payroll: Sync Information With Toast Web.

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Resolve Common Timesheet Problems

Each bullet below covers one symptom — identify yours from the Quick Fix table or the section headers, then follow the steps.

Missing Hours on a Timesheet

If hours are missing from an employee's timesheet, identify the cause:

• Unclocked hours. If hours are missing because an employee didn't clock in, you can manually add the time entries.
  1. In Toast Web, navigate to Reports > Labor > Time entry management.
  2. Use the + Add entry button to input the missing hours.
  3. See the Edit Employee Time Clock Entries article if you have additional questions about this report or process.
  4. Expected outcome: The added time entry appears on the employee's Toast Payroll timesheet within seconds. You may need to refresh the Time page in Toast Payroll.

• Incorrect position or earnings code. If this is a newer employee or one who recently had a job/position change, ensure position settings and earnings types are correctly assigned.
  1. Verify their Toast Payroll position is set for the specific location with the appropriate employer identification number (FEIN).
  2. Check the Salary Type and Default Earning Type fields on the employee's Position Detail page.
  3. Check to make sure Yes is selected for "Is Timesheet Tied to Payroll."
  4. Expected outcome: Hours appear on the timesheet with the correct earnings code.

• Unapproved timesheets. If hours don't appear on a payroll, verify and approve all pending timesheets on the Time page or enable automatically approved timesheets. The Preview Payroll step will flag any unapproved timesheets when the automatically approved timesheets feature is disabled. The canonical Approve and Auto-Approve procedures are in Toast Payroll: Manage Timesheets.

  Expected outcome: Hours from approved timesheets appear on the payroll run.

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Timesheet or Days Won't Display on the Time Page

If a timesheet or specific days aren't displaying:

• Missing days. Check or reset any filters on the Time Entry Management report or the Time page to ensure all days appear.
• Sync and cache issues. For employees or time entries that aren't displaying correctly or at all on the Time page:
  1. Try logging out and logging back into Toast Payroll.
  2. If the error still persists, clear your cookies and cache and then try logging in to Toast Payroll using Google Chrome as this browser is best compatible with Toast Payroll. Then select the affected date
  3. Try doing a "blank" update by selecting save on the impacted time entry that is not appearing in payroll. You can do this in Toast Web and navigate to Reports > Labor > Time entry management and selecting the affected time entry date.

Expected outcome: The full date range and all expected employees appear on the Time page.

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Multiple Timesheets for One Employee in the Same Pay Period

If you have multiple timesheets for the same employee, you do not need to consolidate time entries onto one payroll — the end result will be the same whether they are consolidated or not. The important thing is to approve all applicable timesheets that contribute to an employee's hours and tips, and not approve any timesheets for future payrolls.

In all cases, each applicable timesheet will need to be approved to continue. However, it's best to investigate the cause to understand why it happened and what could be done to avoid it next time.

If only one employee has multiple timesheets in the same pay period, this could be the result of:

• Approving timesheets before the end of the pay period. This is the most common reason and can occur for one or many employees at once. Toast Payroll recommends only approving timesheets right before you begin to run payroll. You might also enable the automatically approve timesheets feature to avoid this. The canonical Auto-Approve procedure is in Toast Payroll: Manage Timesheets article.
• Additional tips added after approving timesheets. This is common if the timesheets were approved prior to the tips being sent to payroll (if using Toast Tips Manager). The recommendation is to review tips before timesheets so that any changes made to tips will appear on timesheets before they are approved.
• Incorrect mapping. Navigate to an employee's profile and check the POS Mapping tab in the lower-left corner. If it has a warning sign next to it, select POS Mapping to sync the employee's Toast Payroll profile with their Toast Web profile. The canonical mapping procedure is in Toast Payroll: Manage Employee Mapping.
• Position changes. If an employee has a position change mid-pay period, this can result in two different timesheets.

If multiple employees have more than one timesheet in the same pay period, check:

• Approving timesheets before the end of the pay period. Same as above.
• Check frequency changes. If your company changes check frequencies between/during pay periods, the system will adjust to match the new frequency, sometimes splitting a longer period into shorter periods. In this case, only approve the relevant timesheets for the new check frequency.

Lastly, employees who work in two different pay groups are expected to have two timesheets, since different pay groups always associate with different payrolls. You'll approve one timesheet for each of the positions/pay groups the employee has hours and/or tips in each pay period.

Expected outcome: All applicable timesheets are approved for the correct pay periods; you understand the cause and can prevent it next pay period.

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Duplicate or Blank Timesheets

• Duplicate timesheets. These can arise from manual additions or changes in payroll schedules. The recommendation is to delete duplicate entries directly from the timesheet — see Delete a Timesheet (or Time Entry Inside a Timesheet) below for the procedure.
• Blank timesheets. This could involve tips not being sent or being unsent from Toast Tips Manager. Confirm tips have been sent for the relevant pay period in Toast Tips Manager. If the timesheet should be removed entirely, see Delete a Timesheet (or Time Entry Inside a Timesheet) below.

Expected outcome: Duplicate or blank timesheets are deleted, or tips are sent so the timesheet is no longer blank.

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Timesheet or Time Entry Not Pulling Into Payroll

If you know the timesheet exists, but you do not see it on the Time page:

1. In Toast Payroll, navigate to the employee's profile > Pay History > Timesheets.
2. Select the timesheet in question.
3. Select the appropriate payroll from the drop-down menu next to the blue Add button.
4. If the timesheet needs to be moved to a different payroll, see Need to Move a Timesheet to a Different Payroll below.

Other common causes:

• Shifts at multiple locations. Employees working at multiple locations during a single pay period will have distinct timesheets per location. Similarly, transitioning from weekly to biweekly payroll may create multiple timesheets per employee.
• Incomplete shift reviews. If a shift is left open or a shift review is not completed, the time entry will not show up on the Time page in Toast Payroll.
• Timesheet updates and payroll filtration. Select the View Timesheets tile on the dashboard. Filter by specific payrolls for streamlined approval processes. Alternatively, enable automatically approved timesheets at the top of this page.
• For deeper sync troubleshooting (employee profile not syncing, time entries not syncing, jobs not syncing), see Toast Payroll: Sync Information With Toast Web.

Expected outcome: The timesheet appears on the Time page tied to the correct payroll.

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Hours Show in Time Entry Management but Not on the Timesheet

If an employee shows as not having a timesheet but you can clearly see their hours in Reports > Labor > Time entry management in Toast Web, this is almost always a mapping or sync issue between Toast Web and Toast Payroll.

1. Confirm the employee is mapped between Toast Web and Toast Payroll. The canonical mapping procedure is in Toast Payroll: Manage Employee Mapping.
2. If mapping looks correct, look for a duplicate Toast Web profile — the employee may be clocking in under an unmapped profile. The canonical duplicate-profile procedure is in Duplicate Employee Profiles in Toast Web.
3. If neither mapping nor duplicates are the cause, force a resync by adjusting one minute on a time entry. In Toast Web, navigate to Reports > Labor > Time entry management, locate the shift, change the Time in or Time out value by one minute, select the check mark, then change it back. This automatically triggers a resync between Toast Web and Toast Payroll.

Expected outcome: The time entry appears on the Toast Payroll timesheet within seconds.

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Need to Unapprove a Timesheet

If you approved a timesheet by mistake or need to make changes, you can reopen it from the employee's profile. There is no bulk unapprove option — each timesheet must be reopened individually.

1. In Toast Payroll, navigate to the employee's profile > Pay History > Timesheets.
2. Select Re-Open for the approved timesheet.
3. Repeat for each employee whose timesheet needs to be reopened.

The canonical Unapprove, Reopen, or Edit procedure (including what happens if payroll has already been started) is in Toast Payroll: Manage Timesheets → Unapprove, Reopen, or Edit an Approved Timesheet. For more on the bulk-unapprove limitation, see Toast Payroll: Bulk Un-Approve Timesheets.

Expected outcome: The timesheet returns to Open status; you can edit time entries in Toast Web, and the changes will sync to the timesheet.

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Need to Edit a Timesheet After You Approved It

If you need to change hours, change a job, or fix tips on a timesheet you already approved:

1. If payroll has been started, you'll need to reset the payroll first before changes will take effect. Please keep in mind that resetting the payroll removes any adjustments made to the payroll.
2. Unapprove the timesheet (see Need to Unapprove a Timesheet above).
3. In Toast Web, navigate to Reports > Labor > Time entry management to edit the time entry. The canonical time-entry-edit procedure is in Edit Employee Time Clock Entries.
4. Reapprove the timesheet in Toast Payroll. Time entry edits sync immediately.
5. If your business uses Toast Tips Manager, additional steps apply (unsending tips for the day, reopening other employees' timesheets in the tip pool, then resending tips). The full canonical procedure is in Toast Payroll: Adjust an Approved Timesheet.

Expected outcome: The corrected timesheet is reapproved and ready for the payroll run.

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Need to Move a Timesheet to a Different Payroll

Yes, you can change which payroll an employee's timesheet is tied to. The timesheet needs to be open (not approved) to tie it to another payroll or to attach it to none.

1. In Toast Payroll, navigate to the employee's profile > Pay History > Timesheets.
2. Select Re-Open for the approved timesheet, if necessary.
3. At the top right, you'll see the current payroll the timesheet is attached to. Select the payroll drop-down next to the blue Add button to choose a different payroll, or select none. You can only select from the pay groups the employee has a position in.
4. If you can't select the payroll drop-down, the timesheets may be set to read-only. An HR+ user can navigate to Settings > Timekeeping, select the Settings tab, toggle Make Timesheets Read Only to No, and select Save. Then return to these steps.

Expected outcome: The timesheet is tied to the correct payroll (or to none) and will sync with that payroll's run.

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Delete a Timesheet (or Time Entry Inside a Timesheet)

You can delete a timesheet whether or not the automatically approved timesheets feature is enabled. When a payroll has passed, any unapproved timesheets associated with that payroll will remain on the Time page. To remove these (approval is not necessary):

1. Select the blue dates in the Timesheet column.
2. Select the trash can icon for each individual time and tips entry to remove them.
3. Once each entry has been removed, navigate back to Time and you'll see a Delete button where the Approve button used to be.
4. Select Delete to permanently remove this timesheet from Toast Payroll.

Note: You may need to scroll your screen to the right to see the trash can icon or Delete button, especially if you're using a mobile device.

The canonical Remove or Delete a Timesheet procedure (including a screenshot) is in Toast Payroll: Manage Timesheets → Remove or Delete a Timesheet.

Expected outcome: The timesheet (or specific time/tips entries) is permanently removed from Toast Payroll.

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Employee at Two Locations Clocked In Simultaneously

If an employee works at multiple locations and their clock-ins appear to overlap (showing as if they were at both places at the same time), the time entries may be under the wrong profile or the job/position may be tied to the wrong location.

1. In Toast Payroll, open the employee's profile and confirm the position is tied to the correct location.
2. In Toast Web, navigate to Reports > Labor > Time entry management and review the affected time entries to confirm which location and job each entry is associated with.
3. If the time entries are under a duplicate or unmapped profile, see Toast Payroll: Manage Employee Mapping and Duplicate Employee Profiles in Toast Web.
4. If the issue persists after verifying mapping and locations, contact Toast Payroll Customer Care via the blue chat button in the lower-right corner of any Toast Payroll page.

Expected outcome: The time entries are correctly attributed to the right location and job; overlapping clock-ins are resolved or escalated to Customer Care.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I apply PTO to an employee's timesheet?

To apply PTO to an employee's timesheet, use the Time Away from Work (TAFW) feature in Toast Payroll, not the timesheet itself. The canonical setup procedure is in Toast Payroll: Get Started With Time Away from Work (TAFW).

Also asked as:

• • PTO to an employees timesheet
  • Add PTO to a timesheet

Can my employees enter sick hours on a timesheet?

Sick hours are typically managed through the Time Away from Work (TAFW) feature in Toast Payroll rather than entered directly on the timesheet. The canonical setup procedure is in Toast Payroll: Get Started With Time Away from Work (TAFW).

Also asked as:

• • Sick hours on a timesheet
  • How does an employee enter sick time?

Why won't the system go back further than a certain date when I try to pull an older timesheet?

Approved timesheets do not show under the Time page. If the timesheets are unapproved and still open, you can find them under the Time tab or by navigating to the employee's profile > Pay History > Timesheets in Toast Payroll.

Also asked as:

• • System won't go back that far
  • Pull a timesheet from a year ago

Why is there no Save button on a timesheet?

If you don't see a Save button on a timesheet, the timesheet may be in read-only mode (which is the default). Time entries cannot be edited directly on Toast Payroll timesheets — they must be edited in Toast Web's Reports > Labor > Time entry management, and changes sync immediately to the timesheet. An HR+ user can change this behavior under Settings > Timekeeping > Settings by toggling Make Timesheets Read Only to No, but this is not recommended because edits made directly on a Toast Payroll timesheet will not sync back to Toast Web and will cause reporting inaccuracies.

Also asked as:

• • No save button timesheet
  • Can't save timesheet edits

What does the Unapproved Hours error mean?

If you receive the Unapproved Hours error during payroll, it means hours have not been approved on your timesheets. In order to pay employees, timesheets must be approved in Toast Payroll before the associated hours will appear on a payroll run. You can completely avoid this error by enabling the automatically approved timesheets feature. The canonical fix is in Get Help with Payroll Error: Hours Unapproved by Manager.

Also asked as:

• • Hours Unapproved by Manager error
  • Manager hasn't approved hours error

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Related Articles

• Toast Payroll: Manage Timesheets
• Toast Payroll: Adjust an Approved Timesheet
• Toast Payroll: Bulk Un-Approve Timesheets
• Toast Payroll: Sync Information With Toast Web
• Edit Employee Time Clock Entries

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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.