Paycom calculates employee hours by keeping track of multiple time indicators like check-ins and break hours. It records all the data on a time sheet that’s accessible to both employees and supervisors. They can view, interact with, and update the timesheet in real-time. 

The process starts when an employee sends a punch request. The manager then approves the request and successfully enters it into the system. To give you a better understanding of what goes into the process, we’ll look at each step from both the employee’s and employer’s perspectives. 

Let’s begin with the steps a regular employee needs to follow to calculate their work hours in Paycom.

Calculating Hours As An Employee

Employees mainly have to ensure three types of data input—punch-ins, punch-outs, and break hours—are added properly to their time-tracking sheet. 

Punch-In 

Employees will follow these steps to punch in a request: 

  • Log in to their account
  • Navigate to the ‘Time Management’ tab
  • Click ‘Read-Only Timesheet’. It will open a time sheet with columns for dates, punch-ins, punch-outs, total hours, etc
  • Press ‘Request New Punch’ and fill in all the details such as time and department
  • The request will then be submitted to the manager
  • Once it’s approved, the time will show in the ‘IN’ column in front of the respective day

Punch-Out 

Adding punch-outs is similar to adding punch-ins. Here’s how employees add punch-out requests: 

  • Follow the above-mentioned steps until they reach the ‘Request New Punch’ button
  • Navigate to the ‘Time Management’ tab
  • Details will be added the same way as discussed before and submitted to the manager
  • Once the request is approved, it will be reflected in the second ‘OUT’ column

Punching Breaks 

There’s no column that explicitly records breaks, but the ‘In and Out’ column pair is used to represent breaks and shifts. This is what it looks like: 

  • 1st Work Shift: The time between the first ‘In’ and first ‘Out’ represents the first shift
  • Break Time: The time in between the first ‘Out’ and second ‘In’ represents a break. In other words, when someone punches out for the first time, they are going for a break. When they punch in the second time, it implies they are coming back from their break
  • 2nd Work Shift: The time between the second ‘In’ and ‘Out’ represents the second work shift

    • Punch-ins for breaks are requested by:

  • Going to the ‘Punch New Request’
  • Selecting the ‘Add Punch Pair’ button. (It will automatically add both the punch-ins and punch-outs, or you can manually add them by selecting ‘Add Punch’
  • In the ‘New Punch Pair’ option, they will select ‘Lunch’
  • The break timings will be reflected in the timesheet once they're accepted

Time Sheet Comments 

Employees can also add comments to their requests, giving managers more context when reviewing the time sheet. Comments can be added while filling out the details for the punch request.

Hovering over the ellipses will show the comments for the entry. 

Total Hours 

If all the sections and requests are properly submitted and approved, Paycom will calculate the total hours and show them in the ‘Total Hours’ column.

How To Calculate Hours On Paycom As An Employer?

Managers and supervisors are responsible for approving or disapproving the request on time to ensure seamless time recording and administration. Here’s what Paycom’s hour tracking looks like from an admin’s perspective. 

Approving Bulk Requests 

To approve punch requests in bulk, an employer would follow the following steps: 

  • Log in to their Paycom admin account
  • Go to the ‘Time Management’ tab
  • Select ‘Timecard Search’
  • Select the ‘Time Period’ and click ‘Refresh’. It will load all the data for that period in the timesheet
  • Check the ‘Select All’ on the left column, and then use the ‘Actions’ button to approve all the timecards/requests

This process approves all the requests at once. 

Approving Individual Requests 

Employers will log in to their Paycom admin account and follow all the above-mentioned steps until they reach the timesheet. From there, they will: 

  • Click on an individual's name
  • Open up the timesheet
  • Select ‘Timecard Search’
  • Click on each request and press ‘Approve’

Wrapping Up

Paycom's hour calculation process may require extra steps in situations like overtime or paid time off requests. This guide focused on giving you a clear and complete understanding of how Paycom tracks and calculates employee hours, along with the key processes involved. After all, accurately calculated hours lead to accurate payroll.