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Home>Payroll Overview & Getting Started

Use Square Shifts with Square Payroll

Square Payroll subscribers have access to the free version of Square Shifts, which includes timecards, shift scheduling, and tip tracking. Payroll subscribers are also not limited to five team members to use the free features of Square Shifts — you can add as many team members as you need.

For access to advanced labor management features, you can subscribe or upgrade to Shifts Plus from the Shifts section of your online Square Dashboard. If you are subscribed to Appointments Plus, or Restaurants Plus, you will have access to Shifts Plus features as a part of your subscription.

Learn more about Square Shifts pricing and features in our Support Center.

Read below for tips and instructions for using Square Shifts with Square’s online payroll service.

Setting up Timecards

Step 1: Enable Timecards in Square Payroll

  1. Log in to your Square Dashboard and click Staff > Team.

  2. Select the team member you would like to add to timecards.

  3. Click Generate Point of Sale Passcode.

  4. A four-digit passcode will appear. Record this passcode and deliver it to your team member. Your team member will use this passcode to clock in and out on your account through the Square Point of Sale app.

  5. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for all team members using Timecards.

An alternative to individual passcodes is enabling badges for your team for an additional layer of security for your account. You can pair badges to individual team members to allow them to log in and clock in and out at your point of sale, but keep in mind that badges do not give access to your online Square Dashboard. Learn how to get started with team member badges in our Support Center.

Step 2: Turn on Timecards on your Square Point of Sale app

To use this feature, you’ll need the latest version of the app on your device.

Timecards should automatically be activated on your account after you assign a passcode to your team members(s). If it you do not see a clock in the bottom-right corner when you are logged into the Square app, follow these steps:

  1. From the Square Point of Sale app, tap Settings > Time Tracking.

  2. Toggle Time Tracking on.

Once enabled, a clock will appear in the bottom right corner of the app, indicating time tracking has been turned on. Your team members can tap the clock to clock in and out in the app using their individual passcodes from Step 1.

Step 3: Manage Settings for the Square Team app

The Square Team App gives team members the ability to clock in / out without using the Square Point of Sale app. To manage their ability to create timecards from the Square Team app:

  1. Visit Shifts > Settings > Clock in/out in your online Square Dashboard > Settings > Clock in/out.

  2. Toggle Clock in/out from team app on or off.

Note: Team members can only track time through the Square Team app if Online Account access is toggled on in the Team profile and Clock in/out from team the app is enabled in Shifts.

With Square Shifts Plus, you can automatically clock -out employees at the end of a scheduled shift.

To enable automatic clock-out:

  1. Go to Shifts > Settings > Clock in/out.

  2. Toggle on Automatically clock out at the end of a shift.

  3. Input the number of minutes before an employee is automatically clocked out after their shift.

  4. Select if you want to apply the option to Only this location or All locations.

  5. If preferred, you can set up alerts for automatic clock-outs by going to Settings > Notifications & alerts and toggling on Automatic clock-outs.

Note: Shifts must be scheduled and published to enable automatic clock-in/out.

Viewing and Editing Timecards

Visit Shifts in your online Square Dashboard to:

  • View open timecards

  • Close open timecards

  • Create timecards

  • Delete accidental timecards

  • Review closed timecards

  • Edit closed timecards

  • Run reports on hours worked

View Open Timecards

Visit Shifts in your online Square Dashboard to view timecards for team members who clocked in but haven’t clocked out yet. Open time cards will have a green dot to the left of the team member’s name.

To close an open timecard:

  1. Select the team member’s timecard you’d like to close.

  2. Click Clock Out.

  3. Enter a clock out time.

  4. Click Save.

Create a Timecard

To create a new timecard for one of your team members:

  1. From your online Square Dashboard > Staff > Shifts > Timecards.

  2. Click Add Shift Record.

  3. Select your team member, location, and job title.

  4. Enter the appropriate date and hours worked.

  5. Click Save.

Delete a Timecard

To delete a timecard for one of your team members:

  1. Visit Shifts in your online Square Dashboard.

  2. Use the date selector and name filter to locate the timecard that needs to be deleted.

  3. Select the timecard and click Delete Timecard.

  4. Confirm Delete Timecard.

Timecard Report

The Timecards tab in the Shifts section of your online Square Dashboard shows the team member name, location, notes (when using Square Shifts Plus), and total hours worked for each team member who has clocked in and out during the selected time frame. Time card errors and violations to your break and overtime rules will be marked red.

Click Export Labor Cost to download this report as a CSV file.

View Shift History

To edit a team member’s shift details:

  1. Visit Shifts in your online Square Dashboard.

  2. Use the date selector and name filter to locate the timecard that needs to be edited.

  3. Make necessary changes.

  4. Click Save.

Importing Timecards to Square Payroll

To import your team member’s hours into Square Payroll:

  1. Visit your Payroll Overview page > Pay Employees or Pay Contractors.

  2. Click Import time and wages. All of your team's Reg Hours, Overtime, and Double time will be populated with the number of hours worked by each team member. Note: If you have enabled Tip Importing, Commission Tracking, or if you require your team to declare cash tips when clocking out or switching jobs, your team member's tips and commissions will also be imported into your payroll run.

Note: Timecard hours can only be imported after the pay period ends. Please wait until the pay period has ended to import hours to Square Payroll.

Overtime Calculations

Overtime and double time pay 

When you import timecards to Square Payroll, overtime pay and double time pay are calculated for each W-2 employee based on the break settings rules you set in your online Square Dashboard, at 1.5 or 2 times the base hourly rate(s) of pay. Other forms of compensation, including commissions and bonuses, are not automatically included in overtime calculations. If your non-exempt (hourly) employee earns these types of compensation, you may need to manually adjust their pay to meet federal and state wage laws. You should consult federal and local government websites and/or consult with qualified counsel to help you with your compliance obligations regarding overtime calculations.

Square Payroll does not calculate overtime for 1099 contractor payments.

  • Employees with only one job and hourly rate: The employee’s overtime rate is calculated as one-and-a-half times (1.5x) their base hourly rate. The double time rate is calculated as two times (2x) their base hourly rate.

  • Employees with multiple jobs and hourly rates: Overtime and double time rates are calculated as 1.5 and 2 times the weighted average of base hourly rates worked, respectively. If a team member worked overtime or double time in multiple workweeks in the pay period, Square Payroll will calculate overtime and double time pay per workweek to calculate the weighted average overtime or double time rate of the pay period. If hours are edited after importing timecards, overtime and double time pay will not be calculated per workweek and will be calculated over the pay period. Learn more about paying employees with multiple rates.

Overtime and double time settings

If you are using Square Shifts, you can configure your overtime and double time settings at any time from the break settings section of your online Square Dashboard. Learn more about Square Shifts.

How to adjust overtime and/or double time rates and wages

Only base hourly wages are factored into overtime calculations. Other forms of compensation, like commissions and bonuses, are not automatically included. If your non-exempt (hourly) employee earns these types of compensation, you may need to manually adjust their pay to meet federal and state wage laws.

You can always edit the imported/automated overtime and double time calculations by following the steps below. 

  • Employees with only 1 job and hourly rate: Overtime and double time rates are calculated based on the base hourly rate only. 

    • If you need to adjust the employee’s base hourly rate, you can simply edit it from within the pay run itself or from the employee’s profile.

    • If you need to manually adjust overtime or double time wages (not the base hourly rate), you can manually calculate the increase needed and add the amount to the Additional column.

  • Employees with multiple jobs and hourly rates: You may override the overtime or double time rates for each employee individually by clicking Edit under the Rate column for that team member.