Payroll Processing: From Hours to Payment

Payroll processing is one of the most critical tasks managers handle—ensuring your team gets paid accurately and on time. BarSight streamlines the entire workflow from reviewing timecards to exporting payroll data to your payment processor. This guide walks you through the complete payroll process step by step.

Before You Start

To process payroll, you'll need:

• Payroll Permissions - Access to review and approve hours
• Pay Period Setup - Your pay periods must be configured (weekly, bi-weekly, etc.)
• Timeclock Enabled - Employees should be clocking in/out (or manual hour entry setup)
• Payroll Integration - Optional but recommended: QuickBooks, Square Payroll, or Paychex connection

Understanding Pay Periods

Pay periods organize work weeks for payroll purposes:

Common Pay Period Structures

• Weekly - Pay every week (52 pay periods per year)
• Bi-Weekly - Pay every two weeks (26 pay periods per year)
• Semi-Monthly - Pay twice a month on specific dates (24 pay periods per year)
• Monthly - Pay once a month (12 pay periods per year)

BarSight tracks pay periods automatically based on your configuration. Each period has:

• Start date and end date
• Year and period number
• Week numbers within the period
• Status (open, in review, processed, closed)

The Payroll Processing Workflow

Follow these steps for each pay period:

1. Review Timecards - Check all employee punches for accuracy
2. Correct Errors - Fix missing, incorrect, or duplicate punches
3. Verify Tips - Ensure tips are recorded correctly
4. Post Actual Hours - Approve and lock in the hours worked
5. Review Summary - Check total hours, overtime, and labor costs
6. Export Payroll - Send data to your payroll processor
7. Process Payment - Run payroll through your processor
8. Close Period - Mark the pay period as complete

Step 1: Reviewing Timecards

Start by reviewing all employee time punches for the pay period:

Access Timecards

1. Go to Schedule → Payroll or Schedule → Timecard
2. Select the pay period or date range you're processing
3. View all employees who worked during this period

What to Check

For each employee, review:

• All Punches Present - Every shift has a clock in and clock out
• Accurate Times - Punch times match when they actually worked
• Break Deductions - Breaks are recorded correctly
• No Duplicates - Employee didn't clock in twice for the same shift
• No Missing Punches - Every scheduled shift has corresponding punch data
• Overtime Flagged - Hours over 40 (or your overtime threshold) are marked

Common Timecard Issues

Missing Clock In or Clock Out:

• Employee forgot to punch
• App crashed or phone died
• Technical glitch

Wrong Times:

• Clocked in/out at wrong time
• Forgot to clock out and system auto-closed the punch
• Accidentally used wrong employee profile

Break Issues:

• Break not recorded
• Break time incorrect
• Automatic break deduction when employee didn't take one

Step 2: Correcting Punch Errors

Fix any issues before posting hours:

Editing a Punch

1. Click on the punch you need to correct
2. A punch edit form appears with fields for:
   • Clock In Time - Adjust the start time
   • Clock Out Time - Adjust the end time
   • Break Duration - Change break minutes
   • Role/Position - Change which role the hours are assigned to
3. Make your corrections
4. Add a note explaining the change (for audit trail)
5. Click Save
6. The total hours recalculate automatically

Adding a Missing Punch

1. Find the employee's timecard for the date
2. Look for their scheduled shift or determine when they worked
3. Click Add Punch or Manual Entry
4. Enter the clock in time, clock out time, and break
5. Select the role/position
6. Add a note: "Added per employee report - forgot to clock in"
7. Click Save

Deleting a Duplicate Punch

1. Identify which punch is the duplicate
2. Click on the incorrect punch
3. Click Delete
4. Confirm deletion
5. Add a note if required

Best Practice: Always add notes when editing punches to create an audit trail showing why changes were made.

Step 3: Verifying Tips

If your business tracks tips through BarSight:

Review Tip Entries

1. Each employee punch may have reported tips
2. Check the Tips column in the timecard view
3. Verify:
   • Cash tips reported
   • Card tips reported
   • Total tips per shift
   • Total tips for the pay period

Editing Tips

1. Click on the punch
2. In the punch edit form, you'll see tip fields
3. Update Cash Tips or Card Tips as needed
4. Click Save

Tip Pool Distribution

If you use tip pooling:

1. Navigate to Logbook → Cash Transactions
2. Process tip pool payouts for each day in the period
3. Distributed tips flow into employee punch records
4. Verify distribution is correct before finalizing payroll

For more on cash and tips, see the Cash Transactions Guide.

Step 4: Posting Actual Hours

Once all punches are reviewed and corrected, post the actual hours:

What "Posting Actual Hours" Means

Posting hours:

• Locks in the hours as final
• Marks them as approved for payroll
• Prevents further edits (without special permissions)
• Transfers punch data to the payroll system
• Calculates final totals including overtime

How to Post Actual Hours

1. Go to Schedule → Payroll
2. Select the pay period to finalize
3. Click Post Actual Hours or Approve Hours
4. Review the summary showing:
   • Total employees
   • Total regular hours
   • Total overtime hours
   • Total labor cost
5. If everything looks correct, confirm posting
6. Hours are now locked and ready for export

Important: Review carefully before posting—unposting hours requires special permissions and may disrupt integrations.

Step 5: Reviewing Payroll Summary

Before exporting, review the complete payroll summary:

Access Summary Report

1. In Schedule → Payroll, navigate to the pay period
2. Click Download Summary or View Summary
3. The summary shows all payroll data for the period

What's Included in the Summary

• Employee List - All staff who worked this period
• Regular Hours - Standard hours worked per employee
• Overtime Hours - Hours over 40 (or your OT threshold)
• Hourly Rates - Pay rate for each role/position
• Gross Pay - Total earnings before deductions
• Tips - Total tips reported per employee
• Department Breakdown - Hours by department if applicable
• Period Totals - Grand totals for the entire period

Red Flags to Watch For

• Employee with unusually high hours (potential duplicate shifts)
• Employee with zero hours when they should have worked
• Overtime hours that seem wrong
• Tip amounts that are suspiciously high or low
• Hourly rate mismatches

If you spot issues, go back and correct them before exporting.

Step 6: Exporting Payroll Data

Send approved hours to your payroll processor:

Manual Export (CSV/Excel)

1. Click Export Payroll or Download
2. Choose your export format:
   • CSV - Universal format for most systems
   • Excel - Spreadsheet format with formatting
3. Save the file to your computer
4. Upload to your payroll processor's website
5. Follow their import process

Integrated Export (QuickBooks, Square, Paychex)

If you have a payroll integration connected:

1. Click Export to QuickBooks (or your processor)
2. BarSight automatically sends the data via API
3. Verify the data appeared correctly in your payroll system
4. Process payroll in that system as normal

What Gets Exported

• Employee ID or payroll number
• Employee name
• Regular hours worked
• Overtime hours worked
• Tips reported
• Pay rates (if configured)
• Department or cost center codes
• Pay period dates

Step 7: Processing Payment

After exporting from BarSight, complete payment in your payroll system:

In QuickBooks Payroll

1. Open QuickBooks Payroll
2. Verify imported hours from BarSight
3. Review employee earnings and deductions
4. Process payroll and submit to tax agencies
5. Distribute pay stubs to employees

In Square Payroll

1. Open Square Payroll app
2. Check that hours synced from BarSight
3. Approve payroll amounts
4. Submit payroll
5. Employees receive direct deposits

In Paychex

1. Log in to Paychex Flex
2. Import BarSight payroll file
3. Review and approve hours
4. Process payroll
5. Generate reports

Note: Each payroll processor has its own workflow—consult their documentation for specific steps.

Step 8: Closing the Pay Period

After payroll is processed, close the period in BarSight:

Mark Period as Closed

1. Go to Schedule → Payroll
2. Select the processed pay period
3. Click Close Period or mark status as Closed
4. Confirm closure

What Closing Does

• Prevents further edits to hours
• Archives the payroll data
• Marks the period as complete in reports
• Allows you to move on to the next period

Important: Only close after payments have been made to employees.

Handling Corrections After Close

If you need to fix something after closing a period:

Reopen the Period

1. Only users with special permissions can reopen
2. Go to the closed period
3. Click Reopen Period
4. Make your corrections
5. Re-export and process adjustments in payroll system
6. Close the period again

Adjust in Next Period

Alternatively, make adjustments in the current/next period:

• Add manual adjustment entry for missed hours
• Process as a bonus or adjustment in next payroll
• Document the reason for the adjustment

Overtime Calculations

BarSight automatically calculates overtime based on your rules:

Common Overtime Rules

• Daily Overtime - Hours over 8 in a single day (California, others)
• Weekly Overtime - Hours over 40 in a work week (federal FLSA)
• Double Time - Hours over 12 in a day or 7th consecutive day worked

Reviewing Overtime

1. Overtime hours are flagged in timecards
2. Verify they meet your overtime criteria
3. Check that OT rate is correct (typically 1.5x regular rate)
4. Ensure employees didn't accidentally exceed limits

Pro Tip: Monitor approaching overtime throughout the week to adjust schedules proactively.

Tips and Best Practices

Weekly Routine

• Monday: Review previous week's punches for obvious errors
• Wednesday: Check mid-week hours, follow up on missing punches
• Friday: Final review before weekend
• Payroll Day: Complete final review, post hours, export

Preventing Common Issues

• Train Employees: Show staff how to clock in/out correctly
• Set Reminders: Use notifications for employees who forget to clock out
• Review Daily: Don't wait until payroll day to check punches
• Document Changes: Always add notes when editing punches
• Communicate: If you notice errors, tell the employee immediately
• Standardize: Create a checklist for payroll processing

Accuracy Checks

• Compare scheduled hours vs actual hours
• Verify total hours match timecard summaries
• Cross-check tips against cash drawer reports
• Ensure every employee has correct hourly rate
• Double-check overtime calculations

Troubleshooting

Problem: Can't post actual hours

Solution:

• Verify you have payroll posting permissions
• Check that all employees have complete punches (no missing clock outs)
• Ensure the pay period is not already closed
• Review error messages for specific issues

Problem: Overtime not calculating correctly

Solution:

• Verify overtime rules are configured correctly in settings
• Check if employee is exempt from overtime
• Ensure punches span the correct date range
• Manual OT calculation may be needed for complex situations

Problem: Export file missing employees

Solution:

• Check that missing employees actually worked during the period
• Verify employees have active status
• Ensure punches are posted (not still in draft)
• Check filter settings on export (department, date range)

Problem: Hours don't match between BarSight and payroll processor

Solution:

• Compare export file to what was imported
• Check for timezone differences
• Verify date range matches exactly
• Look for duplicate imports
• Re-export and re-import if necessary

Related Features

• Timeclock and Punch Management - How employees clock in/out
• Cash Transactions - Managing tips and cash handling
• Labor Cost Reports - Analyzing payroll expenses
• Schedule vs Actual Reports - Comparing planned vs worked hours

Quick Reference

Task	Where to Find It
View Timecards	Schedule → Payroll or Schedule → Timecard
Edit a Punch	Click on the punch → Edit fields → Save
Add Missing Punch	Employee timecard → Add Punch or Manual Entry
Post Actual Hours	Schedule → Payroll → Post Actual Hours
View Summary	Schedule → Payroll → Download Summary
Export Payroll	Schedule → Payroll → Export Payroll
Close Period	Schedule → Payroll → Close Period