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How to compare scheduled vs actual worked time

How Begin compares planned shifts with actual registered working time on the timesheet.

Written by Merilin Peetris
Updated today

After setting up and publishing work schedules, Begin automatically compares planned shifts with actual registered working time. Differences are highlighted on the Timesheet, helping you identify late arrivals, early departures, missed shifts, and overtime.

How the comparison works

Once a shift is published in the Scheduler, the system compares it against each employee's registered clock-in and clock-out times. The comparison is automatic — no extra steps are needed.

The shift template must have the Compare with work time setting enabled for the comparison to appear. This is configured per shift type in Settings → Shifts.

Where to see the comparison

Open the Timesheet from the left sidebar. Enable the "Different from planned" column in the timesheet display settings. This column shows the difference between what was scheduled and what was actually registered for each day.

What the comparison shows

For each employee and day, the "Different from planned" column can show:

  • Under-hours — employee worked less than scheduled (e.g., arrived late or left early)

  • Over-hours — employee worked more than scheduled (possible overtime)

  • Absence — employee did not clock in at all on a day they were scheduled to work. An absence is automatically generated on the timesheet.

Summary in the Scheduler

The Scheduler also provides summary columns next to employee names showing scheduled hours and overtime totals for the month. These give a quick overview but the detailed day-by-day comparison is found on the Timesheet.

Example

An employee is scheduled to work 09:00–17:00 (8 hours). On Monday, they clock in at 09:15 and clock out at 16:45. The "Different from planned" column will show a 30-minute under-time (15 min late + 15 min early).

If the employee does not clock in at all, the timesheet will show an absence for that day.

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