Time Tracking is where HR, operations and payroll all meet your Workday configuration. If Time Tracking is messy, you will feel it every single pay period in the form of corrections, overrides and frustrated managers. A clean design for Time Entry Methods, Time Entry Codes, Time Code Groups, Time Entry Templates and Work Schedules gives you predictable timesheets and reliable payroll integration.
Start with how the business really works
Before you build anything in Workday Time Tracking, map how people actually work:
- Do workers track in/out time, or just total hours per day?
- Are shifts fixed, rotating or highly flexible?
- Do workers charge time to Projects, Cost Centers or other Worktags?
- Which time events drive extra pay – overtime, shift differential, call-out, on-call?
Use these answers to drive your decisions on Time Entry Method, the set of Time Entry Codes you need, and how complex your Time Calculations should be.
Choose the right Time Entry Methods
In Workday you can configure different Time Entry Methods such as:
- Enter Time by Week or Enter Time by Day (elapsed hours).
- In/Out entry (clock-style time with start and end).
- Time Clock Events (check-in/checkout, potentially with geofencing).
Good practice:
- Use In/Out for environments where labor laws and break tracking are strict (manufacturing, retail, healthcare).
- Use by Week/Day for professional services or salaried populations who track hours mainly for cost allocation and utilization.
- Avoid mixing too many methods for similar workers; it complicates training, reporting and support.
The key is consistency: workers in the same Time Tracking Configuration should have similar time entry experiences and rules.
Design Time Entry Codes that make sense
Time Entry Codes are the building blocks on the timesheet. They represent things like Regular Hours, Overtime, Training, Travel, or On Call.
When designing Time Entry Codes:
- Keep names simple and user-friendly: “Regular Hours”, “Overtime 1.5x”, “Training – Internal”.
- Map each code to the right Time Type and related Worktags (such as Cost Center, Project, Location) so reporting and payroll know how to treat the hours.
- Only create a new Time Entry Code when it truly has different behavior (calculation, posting, or reporting) – not just a different label.
Too many codes on the timesheet will confuse employees and lead to mis-classified hours. A smaller, well-designed set of codes keeps Time Tracking clean and sustainable.
Group workers with Time Code Groups
Instead of assigning every Time Entry Code directly to workers, use Time Code Groups. These are collections of codes workers are eligible to use.
Patterns that work well:
- Create Time Code Groups by population, such as “TCG – Salaried – Global”, “TCG – Hourly – US Retail”, “TCG – Contractors – IT”.
- Tie Time Code Groups to Eligibility Rules using criteria like Company, Location, Worker Type and Pay Group.
- Make sure each group has only the codes that population actually needs; fewer options on the timesheet means fewer mistakes.
From a practitioner view, Time Code Groups are your main control over what employees see when they click Enter Time. Design them intentionally, not as an afterthought.
Build clean Time Entry Templates
Time Entry Templates define the layout and options of the timesheet itself – what fields show up, which columns are there, and how workers enter time.
When configuring Time Entry Templates:
- Choose the right layout:
- Include only necessary fields: Position, Worktags, Comments – avoid cluttering the screen.
- Enable features like Autofill from Prior Week or Autofill from Schedule when appropriate to reduce manual entry for regular patterns.
Think of Time Entry Templates as the UX layer of Time Tracking. A clean template can cut time-to-complete and errors significantly.
Configure Work Schedules and Period Schedules correctly
Work Schedules and Period Schedules drive how Workday expects employees to work and how timesheets are broken into periods.
Key components:
- Period Schedules: Define the time entry period (weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly) and align to payroll cycles where possible.
- Work Schedules: Define expected working days and hours per day for different groups (e.g., Mon–Fri 9–5, 4-on-4-off shifts).
- Use Work Schedule Calendars or groups where you need shift patterns for overtime or shift premiums.
Well-designed schedules enable:
- Accurate validation (e.g., maximum hours per day).
- Better reporting on variance between scheduled and actual hours.
- Cleaner calculations for overtime and holiday pay.
Build smart Time Calculations, not monsters
Time Calculations and Time Calculation Groups tell Workday how to transform raw time blocks into paid hours, overtime, premiums, and other pay-related metrics.
Best practices:
- Start with simple rules: e.g., “Hours above 40 in a week go to Overtime 1.5x”.
- Use Time Calculation Groups that match your business rules, such as a group for US hourly workers and another for EU shift workers.
- Avoid building a separate calculation group for every micro-scenario; instead use conditions within shared groups wherever possible.
Overly complex Time Calculations are hard to test, explain and maintain. Aim for rule sets that a new Workday Time Tracking admin can understand within an hour.
Connect Time Tracking with Absence and Payroll
Time Tracking rarely stands alone. It should work seamlessly with Absence Management and Payroll (Workday or external).
Integration points to check:
- How Time Off entries display on the timesheet for Time Tracking workers, and how they impact payable hours.
- Mapping of Time Entry Codes to Earnings / Pay Components in payroll, ensuring regular, overtime, differential and unpaid hours flow correctly.
- Handling of exceptions like missing punches, late time submissions and retro corrections, and how these flow into payroll runs.
When Time Tracking and Payroll disagree, payroll will resort to manual overrides. The more alignment you build upfront, the fewer fights you have at cut-off.
Governance, testing and ongoing optimization
To keep Time Tracking clean over time:
- Document a Time Tracking design playbook: which Time Entry Methods, Time Codes, Templates and Schedules you use and why.
- Test with real-life scenarios: overtime across weeks, holiday work, project changes mid-week, and combination of Time Off plus worked hours.
- Monitor reports like “Unsubmitted Timesheets”, “Time Block Corrections” and “Hours by Time Entry Code” to spot design issues early.
Treat Time Tracking as a living configuration, not a one-time setup. As the business introduces new work patterns, projects or pay rules, update configuration using the same principles rather than patching with one-off codes and templates.
A complete blueprint for clean Workday Time Tracking is ultimately about clarity: clear methods, clear codes, clear schedules and clear calculations. When workers know exactly how to enter time and payroll trusts the output, you know your configuration is doing its job.
