Digital staff timesheets
Review, Approve and Export Payroll-Ready Employee Timesheets
WorkPilotAI brings scheduled shifts, clock-in records, attendance exceptions and manager-approved hours into a single review, so the hours you send on have already been checked.
It prepares approved workforce data for export. It does not run payroll, calculate tax or pay employees — your payroll provider or accountant still does that.
Card required to start. Nothing charged for 30 days. Your selected plan begins automatically unless cancelled.
Why manual timesheets create extra work
Timesheets sit at the end of a long chain: a rota, dozens of shift changes and hundreds of clock times. When those live in different places, someone has to stitch them together by hand every pay period, usually under deadline.
The result isn't carelessness — it is a process that makes small gaps easy to miss and hard to explain later.
- Paper timesheets that need typing up
- Spreadsheet formulas that break
- Staff filling in hours from memory
- Missing clock-outs
- Early clock-ins
- Unusually long recorded shifts
- Scheduled and recorded hours that don't match
- Managers chasing corrections
- Several versions of the same timesheet
- Combining hours from different workplaces
- Payroll corrections after figures were sent
- No clear record of who approved what
Connect the rota with attendance records
Because shifts and clock-ins live in the same system, every timesheet line can be read against what was planned. For each shift, managers can compare:
- Scheduled date and shift
- Scheduled start and finish
- Actual clock-in and clock-out
- Break information where supported
- Recorded hours
- Manager-adjusted hours
- Approval status
- Final approved hours
Where the two disagree, the manager looks at the record and decides whether an adjustment should be accepted. Nothing is changed without that decision.
Review exceptions before approving hours
Rather than scanning every line, managers start with the records that need attention. WorkPilotAI gathers them in one list:
- Missing clock-outs
- Early clock-ins
- Late arrivals
- Unscheduled attendance
- Unusually long shifts
- Overtime risk
- Manual adjustments
- Rota and attendance differences
WorkPilotAI helps managers organise and review workforce records before export. Organisations remain responsible for confirming that approved hours and payroll information are accurate.
Payroll-ready workflow
- Step 1
Create and publish the rota
Shifts become the baseline every clock-in is checked against.
- Step 2
Employees clock in and out
From their own supported device, at the start and end of each shift.
- Step 3
WorkPilotAI organises attendance records
Clock times are matched to shifts and hours are worked out.
- Step 4
Managers review exceptions and corrections
Anything unusual is listed for a decision.
- Step 5
Managers approve final hours
Approved records are locked in for the period.
- Step 6
Approved data is exported
For your payroll provider or accountant to process.
Exported information may need further processing by your organisation, accountant or payroll provider before anyone is paid.
Timesheet-management features
- Digital employee timesheets
- Scheduled-versus-recorded hours
- Attendance-exception review
- Manager-authorised adjustments
- Individual approval status
- Pay-period preparation
- Approved-hours export
- CSV export
- Timesheet downloads
- Multi-site records
- Clear manager review process
- Labour-cost visibility
- Overtime visibility
- Employee access to their own timesheets
See the full feature list, or read about labour cost management.
Product demonstrations
Fictional data for a made-up hotel. These examples do not process payroll or payments.
Elena V. · Front desk · Northgate Hotel
| Date | Scheduled | Clock-in | Clock-out | Hours | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 5 Oct | 07:00–15:00 | 06:57 | 15:04 | 7.5 | Approved |
| Tue 6 Oct | 07:00–15:00 | 07:02 | 15:00 | 7.5 | Approved |
| Wed 7 Oct | 15:00–23:00 | 15:11 | 23:00 | 7.3 | Reviewed |
| Fri 9 Oct | 15:00–23:00 | 14:58 | — | — | Needs review |
Hours shown after unpaid breaks.
4 items · manager review required
- Elena V. · Missed clock-outFri · no finish timeReview
- Sam W. · Early clock-in06:31 vs 07:00Review
- Rhys P. · Late arrival17 min lateReview
- Nadia F. · Manual adjustmentFinish changed 22:00 → 21:30Review
Approve hours · week ending 11 Oct
| Employee | Scheduled | Recorded | Adjusted | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elena V. | 37.5 | 30.4 | 37.5 | Pending | |
| Sam W. | 40.0 | 41.2 | 40.0 | Approved | — |
| Rhys P. | 32.0 | 31.7 | — | Pending | |
| Nadia F. | 24.0 | 24.5 | 24.0 | Needs review |
Illustration only — these buttons do nothing.
Export summary
Pay period
1–31 Oct
Employees
18
Approved hours
2,164.5
Pending records
2
Status: Export ready once 2 records are approved
employee,period,approved_hours Sam W.,2026-10,160.0 Elena V.,2026-10,150.0
Example file only. WorkPilotAI does not process payroll or payments.
Keep managers in control
- Only authorised managers can approve records for their workplaces
- Corrections are reviewed before hours are approved
- AI may highlight exceptions to help with review
- AI never approves hours, changes records or makes payroll decisions
- Your organisation stays responsible for payroll checks and decisions
Suitable organisations
Any team paid by the hour across changing shifts can benefit from reviewed, exportable timesheets.
- Care homes
- Hospitality businesses
- Retailers
- Cleaning companies
- Security businesses
- Healthcare teams
- Warehouses
- Salons
- Garages and workshops
- Multi-site organisations
Explore our staff rota software, employee clock-in app, labour cost management, small business rota software and care home rota software.
Trial and plans
New accounts start with a 30-day trial of a paid plan. A card is required to start, nothing is charged for the first 30 days, and your selected plan begins automatically unless you cancel before the trial ends.
There is also a limited Free plan for up to five active employees, which an account moves to if a payment fails after the trial, keeping your data until the card is updated. Current plans and prices are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
What is a payroll-ready timesheet?
It is a record of each person's hours for a pay period that has been checked and approved by a manager, so it can be handed to whoever runs payroll. In WorkPilotAI that means rota shifts, clock-ins and any corrections have been reviewed before export.
How are employee hours recorded?
Employees clock in and out from a supported phone, tablet or computer. Each clock-in is matched with the scheduled shift on the rota, and hours are worked out from those records.
Can managers compare scheduled and recorded hours?
Yes. Timesheets show the scheduled shift next to the actual clock-in and clock-out, with recorded and any adjusted hours, so differences are easy to spot.
What happens when an employee forgets to clock out?
The shift is flagged as a missed clock-out instead of quietly running on. A manager checks it and sets the correct finish time before the hours are approved.
Can managers correct attendance records?
Yes. Authorised managers can adjust clock times, and the change is recorded so there is a clear history of what was altered.
Who can approve employee hours?
Only managers with permission for that workplace can approve hours. Employees cannot approve their own records.
Can employees view or download their timesheets?
Yes. Employees can see their own issued timesheets and download a copy. Where the organisation turns it on, they can also be asked to sign off their timesheet.
Can WorkPilotAI identify potential overtime?
Yes. People whose scheduled or recorded hours go above the limits you set are highlighted so a manager can review them.
Can approved hours be exported as CSV?
Yes. Approved hours for a pay period can be exported as a CSV file.
Does WorkPilotAI integrate directly with my payroll provider?
There is no ready-made connection to specific payroll software. Most organisations send the CSV export to their payroll provider or accountant. Technical teams can also collect approved data through WorkPilotAI's API.
Does WorkPilotAI calculate tax or National Insurance?
No. Tax, National Insurance, pensions and other deductions are calculated by your payroll provider or accountant, outside WorkPilotAI.
Does WorkPilotAI process payroll or pay employees?
No. WorkPilotAI prepares and exports approved hours. Payroll calculations and wage payments happen outside WorkPilotAI.
Can I prepare records for an accountant?
Yes. Once hours are approved, you can export them and pass the file to your accountant along with anything else they need.
Can timesheets be managed across several sites?
Yes. On multi-site plans, records are kept for each location and managers only see the sites they look after.
Does AI approve employee hours automatically?
No. AI may point out issues to review, but it never approves hours, changes records or makes payroll decisions. Managers decide.
Is there a free plan?
There is a limited Free plan for up to five active employees. An account moves to it if a payment fails after the trial, and your data is kept until the card is updated. New accounts start with a 30-day trial of a paid plan.
What happens after the 30-day trial?
Card required to start. Nothing charged for 30 days. Your selected plan begins automatically unless cancelled. You can cancel before the trial ends from your account settings.
Read our privacy notice or contact us with other questions.
Turn reviewed attendance into payroll-ready hours
Give your managers one place to organise timesheets, resolve exceptions and export approved workforce data more efficiently.
Card required to start. Nothing charged for 30 days. Your selected plan begins automatically unless cancelled.