What Should You Check Before Running Payroll?

Check the hours that can change pay

You do not need to review every normal time card line by line. Before payroll, focus on the records most likely to change someone's pay.

Start with five checks:

• Missing clock-outs.
• Long shifts or unexpected overtime.
• Breaks that are missing, short, or late.
• Manual edits without a reason.
• Hours that have not been approved.

If those are clean, payroll is usually easier to run. If they are not clean, fix them before the hours move into payroll.

Do not clean up the record by hiding the problem

It is fine to correct a missed punch. It is not fine to replace the original record with a clean-looking number nobody can explain.

For every edit, keep:

• What changed?
• Who changed it?
• When did they change it?
• Why was it changed?

A missed punch is normal. A missed punch changed from memory with no note is the problem.

Confirm the final hours have an owner

Before payroll runs, make sure each open question has an owner:

• The employee flags the mistake.
• The manager approves the correction.
• Payroll confirms the final hours before export.
• The business keeps the record after payroll closes.

The point is not more paperwork. It is avoiding the payroll-day scramble where everyone knows the total, but nobody can explain how the total was built.