Automatic Capping for normal working time and flexitime

The Automatic Capping feature in timr helps you define clear limits for working hours and enforce them automatically without additional effort.

Whether through monthly balance limits, fixed normal working hours, or defined flexitime frames – this feature helps you prevent unwanted overtime, reduce manual corrections, and keep full control over recorded working hours.

1. Automatic capping of the time balance at the end of the month

2. Cut off booked times before/after normal working time

3. Cut off booked times outside of flex time framework

Basic information about this new feature

• You configure automatic capping in the working time rules.
• When capping the time balance, the recorded working hours remain unchanged. Only the balance at the end of the month is checked, and any excess above the defined limit is automatically deducted.
• For capping before/after normal working hours or within flexitime frames, you can define whether only working hours or also project times outside the allowed timeframe should be capped.
  As an administrator or authorized team leader, you can correct capped time back to the original duration if it was justified.
• Once the time entries are capped, they remain capped even if you deactivate automatic capping. The entries must then be manually reset to the original start/end time.

Note: Always check in advance whether automatic capping is legally permissible!

1. Automatic capping of the time balance at the end of the month

If employees are not allowed to exceed a certain number of extra hours, you can define this threshold in the working time rule.

The capping is always applied to the "Total" balance in the time account. This means the hours from the current period are always displayed in full. Any hours that exceed the limit are booked out under "Correction" during the monthly balance, and a note about the capping is added to the time report.

Example

In July, Felix accumulated +23:50h. These hours appear under "Current" in his time account. He also carried over +13:39h from June.
 Since his total balance, including his old balance and the balance from June, exceeds 20 hours, the excess 17:29 hours are capped. His “total” amounts to +20:00 hours.

The excess 17:29 hours are listed as a Correction in his time sheet and marked with a corresponding note.

2. Cut off booked times before/after normal working time

To use automatic capping for enforcing fixed normal working hours, you first need to create a working time model with defined normal working hours.

This model is then linked to a working time rule. Within the rule, you have three options to define how and when times should be capped.

The following video gives you an overview of this module (video in German):

2.1. Configure normal working time

Create or open a working time model in "Administration" and name it.

Marker 1: Select "Configure (fictitious) normal working time" to display the "Weekdays and start/end times".

Marker 2: Enter the start and end times of the desired working days.

Marker 3: The target hours result automatically from the start and end times. 

Marker 4: Assign the working time rule.

Marker 5: Save the working time model or the changes.

2.2. Activate automatic cut in the working time rules

Open the working time rule that you assigned to the working time model under point 2.1.

Marker 1: Define whether the times before the start and/or after the end of the normal working time should be cut off.

Marker 2: Activate whether the cut should also be applied to project times.

Marker 3: Clarify in advance whether the cut of working times is legally permissible. 

Please note: If the working time rule is already active and you want to save the changes, you can decide whether you only want to update the rule (marker 1), in which case only future working times will be cutted, or whether you want to update and cut the recordings (marker 2). With this setting, the working times are being cutted retroactively up to the last time account balance.

Attention: The cut cannot be undone! Even if you deactivate the automatic cut function again, the previous times remain cutted and can only be adjusted manually!

2.3. Detect cut off working times

If working times have been cut off, validations are generated and the entries are marked with the validation sign

2.4. Crediting actually booked time (agreed overtime)

As an administrator, you are allowed to edit times under "Reports/Working Time" via the edit menu, and correct the times if they were justified.

In the detail view, you can see the original clock-in and clock-out times and correct accordingly.

Note: Even for administrators, the times will be cut off if the corresponding working time model has been stored. So the times must also be corrected if they were justified.

If the times were corrected to the originally stamped time, the validation disappears.

3. Cut off booked times outside of flex time framework

You can limit bookings to a defined daily flexitime frame. This means working hours, and optionally project times, outside this frame will not count as working time.

3.1. Define flex time framework

Step 1: In Administration, click Working Time Rules. Edit an existing rule or create a new one.

Step 2: In the General tab, activate Flex Time.

Step 3: In the "Flex time & core time" tab, define the earliest start and latest end times.

💡 Tip: You can also define fictive normal working hours in the working time model (see 2.1.).

3.2. Activate automatic capping in working time rules

In the General tab of the working time rule, you can:

Marker 1: Enable capping before/after the flexitime frame.

Marker 2: Decide whether project times should also be capped.

Important: Please check in advance whether automatic cut is legally permitted (Marker 3).

Finally, check under Administration/Working Schedule Models that the rule is linked to the correct model.

Attention: The cut cannot be undone! Even if you deactivate the automatic cut function again, the previous times remain cutted and can only be adjusted manually!

3.3. Viewing capped entries

If entries fall outside the defined frame, you will see the validation icon on the right edge of the entry. The field above the entries provides details of the violation.

Employees also see their own validations.

3.4. Crediting actually recorded time - Correcting Capping

As an administrator, you are authorized to edit times under "Reports/Working time" using the edit menu and correct the times if they were justified. You can also see the original start of the working time in the detail view.

Note: Even for administrators, the times are cut off if the corresponding working time model has been stored. So the times must also be corrected if they were justified.

If the entries were corrected to the originally stamped time, the validation disappears. Only the validation for a working time outside the flex time framework will remain. It can be confirmed under "Validations" (see point 3: Automatic Validations - Functions for Admins/Team Leaders).