Every completed shift has two numbers that drive money: billable time (what the client is charged) and payable time (what the caregiver is paid). The Time Tracking policy decides where each of those numbers comes from — the caregiver's clock, the caregiver's clock rounded, or the original schedule. These are workspace-wide settings: they apply to every caregiver and client, though you can override them per live-in policy or adjust any single shift by hand.
Billable and payable are set independently. A very common setup is to bill the scheduled time (so a client is never charged for a few extra minutes) while paying the reported time (so caregivers are paid for the hours they actually worked).
Caregivers always clock in and out as normal — this setting doesn't change that. Clocking still drives attendance, EVV, late/missed-shift detection, and care documentation. Time Tracking only decides which times flow into billing and payroll.
The three time sources
Submitted Time — the exact moments the caregiver tapped Clock In and Clock Out, to the minute. No rounding.
Reported Time — the same clock-in/out window, but with your rounding rule applied (and reflecting any correction made to the recorded times). This is the default.
Scheduled Time — the shift's planned start and end, regardless of when the caregiver actually clocked in or out.
There's also a fourth, Custom, which isn't a workspace default — it's what a shift shows when someone sets a specific start/end on that one shift by hand (see Adjusting a single shift).
Rounding only touches Reported Time
The Round Reported Time setting rounds clock times to the nearest 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minutes (or None). It rounds to the nearest increment — half or less rounds down, more than half rounds up.
Example, with Nearest 15 Minutes on a shift scheduled to end at 4:00:
Clock out at 4:07 → rounds down to 4:00 (no extra time)
Clock out at 4:08 → rounds up to 4:15 (+15 min billed and paid)
That second case is the usual cause of "we're being billed/paid more than the scheduled hours." If you bill or pay on Submitted or Scheduled time, rounding doesn't apply at all.
Quick reference: matching the setting to what's happening
What's happening on shifts | What you want | Billable Time | Payable Time | Rounding |
Caregivers clock out a few minutes late and rounding pushes the bill/pay over the scheduled hours | Stop client/agency overages, still pay fairly | Scheduled | Reported (or Submitted) | Any — ignored for billing |
Clock times are a minute or two off and you want clean quarter-hour math | Tidy, consistent timesheets | Reported | Reported | Nearest 15 (or 5/10) |
You want to bill and pay exactly what the clock says | Maximum precision | Submitted | Submitted | None |
Flat/visit-based care where the clock is just for attendance | Always use the planned window | Scheduled | Scheduled ⚠️ | n/a |
Caregivers genuinely work past the schedule and should be paid for it, but the client is billed a fixed authorized amount | Cap the client, pay real hours | Scheduled | Reported (or Submitted) | per preference |
⚠️ Paying on Scheduled time carries risk. If a caregiver works longer than scheduled, Scheduled payable time won't pay them for those extra minutes, which can run afoul of wage-and-hour law. Careswitch shows a warning when you choose it. Most agencies bill on Scheduled but pay on Reported or Submitted.
Where to find it
Settings → Policies → Time Tracking. The Policies overview shows your current Reported Time Rounding, Payable Time, and Billable Time; click Edit to change them. (Requires admin access to workspace settings.)
How to change it
Go to Settings → Policies → Time Tracking.
Set Round Reported Time (only matters if you bill or pay on Reported Time).
Pick Payable Time — Submitted, Reported, or Scheduled.
Pick Billable Time — Submitted, Reported, or Scheduled.
Click Save.
Changes aren't retroactive — they only affect shifts completed after you save. Shifts already completed keep the times they were finished with, so after changing the policy, clean up any already-completed shifts in the open pay period at the shift level (below).
Adjusting a single shift
The policy sets the default, but you can always override one shift. On a completed shift you can change its billable or payable time — switch that shift to a different source or enter a Custom start/end. This is how you handle the exceptions: a caregiver who legitimately stayed late or left early. To fix many shifts at once, ask Command Center to set the times on the shifts you name.
You can make these edits any time after the shift is completed — until those numbers lock: billable time locks once its invoice is sent, and payable time locks once the shift is on a payroll run that's already processing or paid.
Live-in override
Each live-in policy can optionally set its own Payable Time and Billable Time, overriding the workspace default for shifts on that policy. Leave them blank to inherit the workspace setting. (Settings → Policies → the live-in policy.)
Who can change what
The Time Tracking policy (Settings → Policies → Time Tracking) — workspace admins.
Billable or payable time on an individual shift — anyone with permission to manage shifts.
FAQ
Caregivers clock out late and we're billing/paying more than scheduled. How do we stop it?
Set Billable Time to Scheduled so the client is charged the planned hours no matter when the caregiver clocks out. Decide the pay side separately — most agencies keep Payable Time on Reported (or Submitted) so caregivers are still paid for time actually worked. Turning rounding off (None) also stops rounding-up, but it still bills the exact extra minutes; Scheduled is the cleaner fix for overages.
If we bill Scheduled time, do caregivers still clock in and out?
Yes. Clocking still happens exactly as before — it drives attendance, EVV, and documentation. It just no longer determines the billed amount.
Can we bill the scheduled time but pay caregivers for the actual time they worked?
Yes — Billable and Payable are independent. Set Billable to Scheduled and Payable to Reported or Submitted. This is the recommended setup when you're protecting clients from overages without underpaying caregivers.
What's the difference between Submitted and Reported?
Submitted is the raw clock-in/out to the minute. Reported is that same window with your rounding rule applied (and any correction to the recorded times). With rounding set to None, they're effectively the same.
Is it safe to pay on Scheduled time?
Use caution. If caregivers ever work past their scheduled end, Scheduled payable time won't compensate them for it, which can violate labor laws. Careswitch warns you when you select it.
A caregiver stayed late for a real reason. How do we pay or bill the extra?
Adjust that individual shift — change its billable/payable time or set a Custom window — rather than changing the workspace default.
Will changing this update shifts that already happened?
No. It only applies to shifts completed after you save. Edit older shifts individually (or via Command Center) to bring them in line.