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TimeTracking

Time tracking for restaurants, hotels and catering

Hospitality hours do not fit a nine-to-five timesheet. A cook works lunch, goes home and comes back for dinner. The bar closes at one. An on-call waiter is asked at four to come in at six. TimeTracking records those days as they really are, so the roster can change fast and payroll still gets the right hours and late-hour allowances.

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Animated demo: a cook works a split shift with lunch and dinner on one Friday, the gap in between is not counted, dinner runs past midnight as one shift with late-hour allowance, and an on-call waiter takes an open shift. Lunch block, Gap, then dinner, Past midnight, On-call extra.

How hospitality teams use TimeTracking

  1. Roster fast

    Build the week from shift templates, check availability and fill gaps with open shifts that on-call staff can pick up.

  2. Clock in at the staff entrance

    Staff clock in and out on a kiosk tablet with a personal PIN, or use the timer in the app.

  3. Split shifts and late nights stay correct

    Lunch and dinner are two blocks on one day. A shift that ends after midnight stays one shift with the right totals.

  4. Approve and export

    The manager approves the week. Hours, late-hour allowances and leave go to payroll in one export.

Split shifts without workarounds

In many kitchens and restaurants the working day has a gap: 11:00 to 14:30 for lunch, then 17:00 until closing. In TimeTracking that is simply two blocks on the same day, each with its own start and end. The unpaid time in between is not counted, and the day total is right without anyone subtracting by hand.

Breaks within a block are recorded explicitly, and the rule engine warns the planner when a roster breaks the working-time and rest rules you have configured.

  • Several blocks per day, each with start and end
  • Unpaid gap between blocks not counted
  • Breaks recorded explicitly
  • Working-time warnings in the roster

Late nights past midnight

A bar shift from 18:00 to 01:30 is one shift, not a Friday that ends at midnight and a Saturday that starts at 00:00. TimeTracking keeps it together with correct totals, and the rule engine splits the hours into the allowance bands you configure, for example after 22:00 or on Sundays and public holidays. Public holidays for the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium are built in.

In hotels, a late closing followed by an early breakfast shift is a classic rest-time problem. Planners see a warning when a roster leaves less than the configured rest between two shifts, before the roster is published.

On-call staff and students

Hospitality runs on on-call staff, students and seasonal workers who come and go. New people can be invited by SMS and log in with a one-time code, so a student is ready for a Saturday shift without a company email address. The apps are available in 20 languages, and each person chooses their own.

Availability shows who can work when, which saves a round of messages before every roster. When a busy evening needs an extra pair of hands, the manager publishes an open shift, on-call staff see it in the app and respond, and the manager decides who gets it. Swaps only take effect after the manager approves them.

  • Invite by SMS, log in with a one-time code
  • Availability visible while planning
  • Open shifts and swaps approved by the manager
  • Pay only for active users

A kiosk at the staff entrance

Phones do not belong in the kitchen. A tablet kiosk at the staff entrance or by the lockers lets everyone clock in and out with a personal 6-digit PIN, in their own language. Each kiosk can be limited to one location, which helps groups with several restaurants or a hotel with a separate catering kitchen.

The kiosk takes no photos and uses no face recognition. After 5 wrong PINs it locks for 15 minutes, which discourages clocking in for a colleague.

Catering and events at changing locations

Catering teams work at a different venue every weekend. Each event location can be set up as a site, so hours are recorded per event and planned versus worked hours show which jobs ran over. Travel time and mileage to the venue are recorded separately and can be paid according to your agreements.

For groups with several outlets, reports show hours per location, person and period, and head office exports all locations in one go.

Focused on hours, open to your stack

TimeTracking is not a POS, a reservation system or a tip distribution tool. It handles rosters, hours, leave and approvals, and passes approved periods to payroll: an SD Worx-format export, configurable CSV, XLSX and XML exports and the REST API are live today, with connectors for Loket, Nmbrs and AFAS coming soon.

Free for up to 5 users, then €1 per user per month on Core, without add-ons or a seat minimum. When the season ends, deactivated staff stop counting.

Frequently asked questions

Can TimeTracking handle split shifts?

Yes. A split shift is two blocks on the same day, each with its own start and end. The gap in between is not counted as working time.

What happens to shifts that end after midnight?

They stay one shift with correct totals. Late hours are split into the allowance bands you configure.

Can on-call staff pick up extra shifts?

Yes. The manager publishes an open shift, available staff see it in the app and respond, and the manager decides who gets it.

Do students need a work email address?

No. They can be invited by SMS and log in with a one-time code.

Does TimeTracking connect to our POS or handle tips?

No. TimeTracking records working time and exports approved hours. It does not connect to point-of-sale systems or distribute tips.

What does it cost?

Free for up to 5 users, then €1 per user per month on Core, including rosters, the kiosk, approvals and payroll exports. You only pay for active users.

Related pages

Try TimeTracking free

Free for up to 5 users. Core from €1 per user per month, everything included.

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