Log and approve hours for hourly staff
Add, import and approve worked hours for hourly employees, and set up the rate card of work types and pay tiers.
Updated October 9, 2026
Hourly employees are paid for the hours they log. You manage those hours on the Hours tab of Time, and the rate card in Settings → Pay rates.
Who can do this: Owner, Admin, HR for hours. Owner and Admin for the rate card, because it lives in Settings. The Hours tab and Pay rates appear only when hourly pay is switched on for your company.
Turning on hourly pay
Hourly pay is included on every plan but is being switched on company by company. If the page says Hourly rates & contractor pay isn’t switched on yet, contact support at support@panatag.app.
Add and approve hours
In the sidebar, click Time and open the Hours tab. You can filter hours by dates, employee and status.
- To add hours, click Add hours, fill in rows of employee, work type, hours and tier, then click Save N rows.
- To approve hours, tick the rows and click Approve N selected.
- To reject hours, click the X icon on the row.
Only approved hours are paid.
Hours created automatically from punches
Hourly staff who punch in and out get hours created automatically. Depending on Settings → Payroll → Hours hourly staff log by punching, those hours either wait for HR approval or are approved automatically. Only approved hours are paid.
Switching work type mid-shift
Staff who change what they’re doing during a shift (for example, from a yoga class to a spin class) don’t need to clock out and back in. While clocked in, they tap Switch work type on the punch screen of the employee app and pick what they’re switching to. In a chat bot, they send switch or pick Switch work type from More. The button shows only to hourly staff with more than one work type.
A switch closes the hours so far under the old work type and starts new hours under the new one at the same minute. Each part becomes its own row on the Hours tab, and the daily time record counts the shift as continuous, with no break in between. A switch doesn’t ask for a selfie or check the location again.
If Panatag couldn’t classify some hours, they appear in the Needs a work type panel. Pick a work type for each one.
Import hours from a CSV or Excel file
In the sidebar, click Time, open the Import tab and pick Hours worked. Upload a .csv, .xls or .xlsx file with Employee number, Work date, Hours worked, Work type and Remarks, in any column order. Check how Panatag read it in the Check the import window, then click Import N hour rows.
The rows import in the background. A progress bar shows on the Import tab and in the top bar’s Importing button, so you can leave the page while it runs. Re-uploading the same file never pays twice: rows already imported are skipped.
The layout is remembered for next time, the same way as for punch imports. Use Upload new sample above the upload box if your sheet changes.
Problem rows go to Rows to fix below the upload box, where you can Fix or Dismiss each one.
Set up the rate card
The rate card is only needed for hourly staff who don’t have their own Hourly rate.
- Go to Settings and open the Pay rates tab.
- Click Set a rate, or click a cell in the rate card to change that rate.
- Pick a Work type and a Pay tier (a seniority level, such as Junior or Senior). To add a new one, type its name in the dropdown and choose Create. It’s added when you save.
- Enter the Hourly rate (₱) and the Effective from date, then click Save rate.
An unset cell means that combination is not paid. Hours worked before the effective date keep the old rate. Rate history shows past rates, and Rates as of shows the card on an earlier date.