Last updated: Mar 4, 2026, 4:01 PM
Toast Payroll timesheets can be automatically or manually approved in order to process payroll. Learn how to manage, add, edit and approve timesheets.
Employee hours sync over from Toast POS and appear in Toast Payroll on the Timesheets tile on the main dashboard. Select View timesheets from this tile.
Here, you can see employee hours automatically attach to the corresponding payroll indicated in the Payroll column. Toast highly recommends viewing this page per payroll, especially when approving timesheets (if necessary). Select the All drop-down menu to filter to specific payrolls.
Note: Time entries cannot be edited in Toast Payroll (timesheets can, but this will not sync over to Toast Web and thus is not recommended for accurate reporting). If you need to make changes to an employee's time entry, break, or tips, this must be done in Toast Web. Refer to below for instructions. Also, if expected timesheets are missing, begin by reviewing if an employee has duplicate profiles in either Toast Web or Toast Payroll. If this is not the case, of the profile between the two systems.
| Auto-approval of timesheets is turned on and enabled by default for new customers. You can change this setting in Toast Payroll by navigating to Time and toggling the button at the top of the page. |
Toast Payroll lets you decide if you want to skip the manual timesheet approval step of payroll. This process allows time entries made by employees (that appear in Toast Web) to be automatically approved and sent to a payroll run once a payroll has been started or opened. Navigate to Time in Toast Payroll. At the top, you'll see a banner:
Before making a decision, select the ? icon to view common questions about this feature. You can also select the time entries link to visit the Time Entry Management report in Toast Web where you can review or make edits to employee time entries before they automatically appear on a payroll run (see ). We encourage you to do this whether you have the toggle on or off.
If you'd like to start automatically approving timesheets, an HR+ user can change the toggle on this page from Off to On. This can be undone at any time, but will only apply to payroll runs that have not been started.
You can change the auto-approve timesheets setting at any time. Timesheets will either be automatically approved or remain unapproved based on your selection. If you decide you no longer want the auto-approve timesheets setting on while you're processing payroll, first reset the payroll. Then navigate back to Time and disable the toggle. Then refresh the page and the timesheets will appear with the option to Approve them.
If you do not have the auto-approved timesheets feature turned on, this is one step of preparing to run payroll. In order to pay out hours to employees, timesheets must be approved in Toast Payroll before the associated hours will appear on a payroll run. It is best practice to review each timesheet and its hours before approving it or before beginning payroll.
To approve individual timesheets, select the green Approve button. To approve multiple timesheets, follow these steps:
If you think you're missing an employee's timesheet, this might be caused by duplicate profiles in Toast Web. In Toast Web, navigate to Employees > Employee management > Employees and search for the employee's name. If you locate more than one profile for this employee, but you don't have a timesheet for them, it's most likely that they're clocking in and out under the unmapped profile. If this is the case, check the Duplicate Toast Web Profiles section of .
If you do not have the auto-approved timesheets feature turned on, timesheets can be re-opened and edited on an employee's profile (multiple timesheets cannot be unapproved at once). The following process is used when timesheets were approved for the wrong payroll, time entries were missing from the timesheet, a time entry did not sync from Toast Web to a Toast Payroll timesheet, or a time entry mistake was noticed.
Note: Deleting a timesheet works whether or not auto-approve timesheets is enabled.
When a payroll has passed, any unapproved timesheets associated with that payroll will remain on the Time page. If you'd like to remove these from the page (approval is not necessary):
Timesheets cannot be approved if there are open punches. Employees flagged with Open Punches have an open shift and must clock out prior to their timesheet being approved.
When viewing the timesheet details, red entries indicate the shift the employee did not clock out of. If an employee forgot to clock out, this will need to be prior to approving the timesheet.
If you notice an incorrect clock in or clock out time, an automatic clock out (s), or an open punch on a Toast Payroll timesheet, you'll need to fix this in Toast Web.
In order for this new entry to appear on a timesheet, its associated payroll must not be started and the timesheet cannot be approved (if applicable).
Salaried employees are paid out under the SALARY earning code. However, while viewing the Pay History > Timesheets page of a salaried employee’s profile, you may notice a REGULAR earning code attached to one or more of their timesheets. This is done to align with the data that exists in Toast Web and to allow salaried employees to easily be made non-exempt (if necessary). However, this is non-problematic. These employees will still be paid out using the SALARY earning code.
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.