How TimeOff.Management helps with overtime tracking and TOIL management

10 min read

Kate Vodopian

Overtimetracking

A practical case study for teams working overtime across multiple sites

For many manufacturing, engineering, operations, and field-service teams, overtime is part of normal business life. Employees may work extra hours to meet project deadlines, cover urgent work, support weekend jobs, or deal with busy periods.

The problem is not always the overtime itself. The harder part is keeping a clear record of who worked overtime, whether it was approved, and how it should be converted into time off in lieu.

This anonymised case study shows how TimeOff.Management helps businesses manage overtime, TOIL, allowance updates, approvals, and employee visibility in one place.

Customer privacy note: This case study is based on a real TimeOff.Management customer situation. Company names, people’s names, locations, and identifying details have been changed to protect customer privacy.

At a glance

Case study focus	Details
Business type	Engineering, manufacturing, and multi-site operations
Team structure	Employees working across several sites
Main challenge	Overtime was recorded through emails, messages, and manual checks
Previous process	HR and managers manually tracked overtime and added it to allowance
Main risk	Overtime being missed, recorded incorrectly, or not added to the employee balance
TimeOff.Management features used	Leave types, approvals, allowance updates, mobile access, Team View, and reports
Main result	Overtime became easier to request, approve, track, and convert into time off

Key benefits

Benefit	What changed
Clearer overtime records	Overtime requests were kept in one central system
Less manual admin	HR no longer had to track everything through emails and messages
Faster approvals	Managers could review and approve requests more easily
Better employee visibility	Employees could see when approved overtime had updated their balance
Fewer mistakes	Approved TOIL could be recorded consistently and linked to allowance
Better multi-site access	Employees could submit requests from mobile devices, even away from the office

The problem

The business had employees working across different sites. Extra work was often needed during busy periods, weekends, or bank holidays. Employees were entitled to record this overtime and receive time back in lieu.

At first, the process was handled manually. Employees sent emails or messages to say they had worked overtime. Managers had to approve the request. HR then had to record it and update the employee’s allowance or TOIL balance.

This worked when the process was quiet. But as the team became busier, it became harder to manage. Emails were missed, messages were hard to track, and HR had to spend too much time checking whether overtime had been approved and added correctly.

The company needed a clearer way to manage overtime from request to approval to allowance update.

Why the old process became difficult

Manual overtime tracking created too many steps. An employee had to tell someone they had worked extra time. A manager had to approve it. HR had to remember to add it to the employee’s balance. Then the employee needed to trust that the time had been recorded correctly.

When the team worked across several sites, this became even harder. Not everyone was in the same office. Some employees were on site, in workshops, or travelling between locations. Communication was often delayed, and overtime records were not always easy to check later.

The process created common problems:

overtime requests were sent in different formats
managers had to search through emails and messages
HR had to update allowance manually
employees were not always sure whether overtime had been recorded
mistakes were hard to spot until later
payroll and absence records took longer to review
multi-site teams had no simple shared process

The business needed a central system that could keep overtime requests, approvals, and allowance updates together.

The real overtime tracking challenge

Overtime and TOIL management can look simple on paper, but it creates real admin when handled manually.

Overtime challenge	Why it creates problems
Weekend overtime	Employees may work outside normal schedules and need time back later
Bank holiday work	Extra time may need to be approved and added to allowance
Multi-site employees	Requests can be delayed or missed when teams are not in one office
Manual allowance updates	HR has to remember to add approved time back to the employee balance
Informal messages	Overtime records can be lost in chats, emails, and manager notes
Employee questions	Employees want to know whether their TOIL balance has been updated
Reporting	HR needs a reliable record of overtime, approval, and time off in lieu

The company needed a process that was clear for employees, simple for managers, and easier for HR to audit.

What the company needed

The company needed a time off system that could manage overtime in a structured way. It needed to let employees submit overtime requests, let managers approve them, and help HR keep a reliable record.

The system needed to:

centralise overtime requests
support approval workflows
update allowance when overtime was approved
give employees visibility of their balance
work well on mobile devices
support teams working across multiple sites
reduce manual HR work
make overtime and TOIL records easier to report on

The goal was not to add another complicated HR process. The goal was to make overtime tracking simple, accurate, and transparent.

The solution

TimeOff.Management helped the company move overtime and TOIL management into one central place. Instead of relying on emails and manual updates, employees could request overtime through the system.

Managers could review and approve the request. Once approved, the overtime could be recorded against the employee’s allowance using the correct leave type setup.

This gave the company a more reliable process. Employees could see their updated balance. Managers had a clearer approval route. HR had fewer manual records to chase.

What changed with TimeOff.Management

Overtime requests moved into one system

Before TimeOff.Management, overtime requests were scattered across emails, messages, and informal notes. This made it hard to know what had been requested, what had been approved, and what still needed to be added to the employee’s balance.

With TimeOff.Management, overtime requests could be submitted in one place. This gave managers and HR a clearer record of what happened.

Managers could approve overtime more easily

Managers needed a simple way to review overtime before it became part of an employee’s balance. TimeOff.Management gave them a clear approval process.

When a request was submitted, the manager could receive a notification, review the details, and approve or decline it. This helped reduce delays and made the decision easier to track.

Approved overtime could add to allowance

A key benefit was the ability to use leave types that add to allowance.

For example, a company can create an Overtime or TOIL leave type that adds time to the employee’s balance when approved. This helps turn approved overtime into time off in lieu without relying on manual spreadsheets.

This makes the process clearer for employees and reduces manual updates for HR.

Employees could see their updated balance

Manual overtime tracking often leads to employee questions. People want to know whether their overtime was approved and whether it has been added to their balance.

With TimeOff.Management, employees can see their leave and allowance information in My Calendar, depending on company settings. This makes the process more transparent and helps reduce repeated balance questions.

Mobile access helped multi-site teams

For employees working across different locations, mobile access made the process easier. Employees could submit overtime or leave requests from a mobile browser instead of waiting until they were back at a desk.

This was useful for teams working on-site, across branches, or away from the main office.

Reports gave HR a clearer record

Reports helped HR review overtime-related records, leave types, employee absence history, and allowance usage. This made it easier to check what had been approved and what had affected employee balances.

Instead of searching through emails and spreadsheets, HR could use TimeOff.Management as the main record.

Practical example

An employee works extra time over a weekend to help complete an urgent project.

In the old process, they might email a manager, wait for approval, and rely on HR to manually update their TOIL balance. If any step was missed, the employee’s time off in lieu could be delayed or recorded incorrectly.

With TimeOff.Management, the employee can submit the overtime request in the system. The manager can approve it. The correct leave type can add the approved time to the employee’s balance.

The employee gets clearer visibility. The manager has a record of approval. HR has less manual admin.

Before and after

Before TimeOff.Management	After TimeOff.Management
Overtime was reported by email or message	Overtime could be requested in one system
Managers had to track approvals manually	Managers could approve requests through TimeOff.Management
HR manually updated allowance	Approved overtime could add to allowance
Employees were unsure if TOIL was recorded	Employees could see clearer allowance information
Records were scattered	Requests, approvals, and balances were kept together
Multi-site teams had delayed communication	Mobile access helped employees submit requests from anywhere
Reporting took longer	Reports made records easier to review

The result

TimeOff.Management helped the company build a clearer overtime and TOIL process. Overtime was no longer hidden in emails and messages. Managers had a simpler approval route. HR had fewer manual updates to manage. Employees had better visibility of their balance.

The biggest improvement was trust in the process. Employees could see that approved overtime was recorded. Managers could make decisions faster. HR could keep a better audit trail.

For a multi-site business, this meant less confusion, fewer missed records, and a more reliable way to manage time off in lieu.

Why this worked

The key change was simple: overtime became part of the same leave management process as other absence records.

Instead of using one process for holiday and another informal process for overtime, TimeOff.Management helped bring everything into one system.

For this company, the biggest improvements were clearer overtime records, faster approvals, less manual HR work, better employee visibility, stronger reports, and a smoother process for multi-site teams.

Who this is useful for

This setup is useful for businesses where overtime needs to be tracked and converted into time off in lieu.

It is especially helpful for:

manufacturing teams
engineering companies
warehouse teams
field service teams
construction support teams
operations teams
businesses with weekend work
companies with bank holiday work
multi-site teams
businesses using TOIL or time off in lieu

It is also useful for growing businesses that have outgrown email-based overtime tracking.

Useful TimeOff.Management features for overtime and TOIL

Feature	How it helps
Leave types	Create an Overtime or TOIL type that can add to allowance
Approval workflows	Let managers approve overtime before it affects balances
My Calendar	Let employees see leave and allowance information
Mobile access	Let multi-site employees submit requests from anywhere
Allowance tracking	Keep employee balances clearer
Team View	Help managers plan cover when employees take TOIL
Reports	Give HR a clearer record for checks and reviews
Comments	Keep short notes attached to requests where needed

Overtime tracking does not need to run through email

Overtime tracking becomes harder when requests are sent through emails, messages, and informal notes. It becomes even harder when employees work across multiple sites or when overtime needs to be converted into time off in lieu.

TimeOff.Management helps companies replace manual overtime tracking with a clearer process. Employees can submit requests, managers can approve them, and approved overtime can update allowance through the right leave type setup.

This gives HR fewer manual checks, employees clearer balances, and managers a better way to control overtime and TOIL.

Leave management system Learn how TimeOff.Management helps teams manage time off without spreadsheets.
Paid time off management software Manage PTO, allowance, approvals, and employee balances in one place.
Absence management software Track absence, leave, approvals, schedules, and reports.

Leave types Learn how leave types can deduct from allowance, add to allowance, or have no allowance effect.
Approve or decline time off requests Review and action employee requests.
My Calendar See leave requests, allowance, public holidays, blackouts, and company events.
Reports Export and review absence data for HR and payroll.

Summary

Overtime and TOIL can be difficult to manage when records are spread across emails, messages, and spreadsheets.

TimeOff.Management helps by giving employees a simple way to submit requests, managers a clear approval process, and HR a more reliable record.

For companies with overtime, weekend work, bank holiday work, or multi-site teams, this creates a clearer and more transparent way to manage time off in lieu.