Standard Timecards

How standard billable timecards work — hours entry, the client approval flow, and what admins see at review time.

A standard timecard records billable hours a candidate worked during a pay period. It is the most common timecard type and follows the full approval workflow: candidate submits → client approver(s) → admin approval → invoicing.

How candidates enter hours

Candidates enter time in one of two ways, depending on how the placement is configured:

Hours entry

The candidate types a number of hours directly for each day and block type. This is the most common entry method for salaried or fixed-schedule placements where exact clock times aren't tracked. See Hours Entry Timecards for a full breakdown.

Clock-in / clock-out

The candidate records a Time In and Time Out for each shift. Hire2Hero calculates the duration automatically. If the placement has Time Rounding enabled, durations are rounded to the configured interval (e.g. nearest 15 minutes, always up) before being applied to the timecard. Location restriction can also be enabled to verify on-site presence at clock-in. See Clock-In/Out Timecards for a full breakdown.

Block types on standard timecards

Hours on a standard timecard are categorized by block type — a label like Regular, Overtime, or Holiday that controls how the hours are billed and paid. Key properties of each block type:

Property	What it controls
Counts towards	Whether hours count as Regular, Overtime, or Double-Time for pay/billing calculations
Is Billed	Whether the client is charged for these hours
Is Paid	Whether the candidate is paid for these hours

Standard timecards contain at least one block type where Is Billed = true. That billable content is what triggers the client approval step.

If a timecard contains a mix of billable and non-billable block types, it follows the standard approval flow (client approvers first, then admin). See PTO & Non-Billable Timecards for timecards that contain only non-billable hours.

Approval flow for standard timecards

Candidate submits
       ↓
Pending Approval  ←—— client approver(s) review
       ↓
Partially Approved (multi-approver placements, mid-flow)
       ↓
Pending Admin Approval  ←—— your queue
       ↓
Approved  →  invoicing + payroll

The client approval step follows the approval strategy set on the placement:

Strategy	Behavior
First to approve	Any one approver's sign-off advances the card.
All must approve	Every approver must sign off; order doesn't matter.
All approve in order	Approvers sign off sequentially; each unlocks the next.

Admin approval bypasses any remaining client approver steps — when you approve, the card moves directly to Approved.

What to check when reviewing

For a standard timecard, pay particular attention to:

Overtime and double-time entries — confirm they match the placement's schedule and any applicable overtime rules.
Block type on each entry — make sure hours are coded to the right type (e.g. a regular weekday shift shouldn't be coded as Holiday).
Clock-in/out timecards — check that Time In and Time Out pairs are plausible (no overnight shifts logged as a few minutes, no missing punch-outs).
Rounding — if the placement uses time rounding, verify the rounded totals make sense against the raw punch times shown.