Time clock to payroll sheet: stop the Thursday retype
Time clock to payroll sheet copies Thursday hours into the workbook payroll already uses. Workflow Automation is $3,500 one-time. You own it. No subscription.
In this article· 6 sections
Thursday afternoon, the same person still types yesterday’s punches into the payroll sheet.
A time clock to payroll sheet copy is that one Thursday paste, not a payroll department. Workflow Automation is $3,500 once, live in 7 to 10 days. You own the runbook. I do not bill a subscription.
Short answer: Time clock to payroll sheet means approved punches land in the workbook or QuickBooks timesheet payroll already runs from. Workflow Automation is $3,500 once for that single copy, with a stop when a punch is missing or the hours break the rule you signed. If QuickBooks Time already syncs, do not pay me. This is not paycheck filing, and it is not booking a customer from chat.
What is a time clock to payroll sheet copy?
A time clock to payroll sheet copy writes approved hours into the file payroll already uses. The columns you signed get filled, and a person sees the row only when a punch is missing or the rule stops. It does not calculate tax or print checks.
I will take paper cards or a kiosk export retyped into a shared sheet, Jobber or Housecall Pro time pasted employee by employee, or a clock file whose regular, overtime, and drive-time columns are already stable. If every name needs a sentence of judgment, that is payroll.
QuickBooks already has this path when the clock is QuickBooks Time. Payroll items map to time types, and Payroll Premium and Elite include QuickBooks Time (Intuit). If approved hours already land, fix the mapping.
What does a time clock to payroll sheet cost?
Workflow Automation is $3,500 once for the named hours copy, and you own the runbook. QuickBooks Time Premium is $20 a month plus $10 per user, base fee half off for three months. A working sync is cheaper than hiring me.
| Keep retyping Thursday | QuickBooks Time Premium | Workflow Automation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay them or me | $0 to me | $20/month base, includes 1 admin, plus $10 per user | $3,500 once |
| 8 crew, 24 months | Your time, below | $2,400 ($100/month: base plus 8 users) | $3,500 to me, then $0 more to me |
| 8 crew, 36 months | Your time, below | $3,600 | Still $3,500 to me |
| What you get | The same paste | A clock, approvals, and a QuickBooks sync when the map is right | One copy, one stop rule, a runbook in your accounts |
| Who approves a missing punch | You | You, inside Time | You, or the person who already runs payroll |
| When you stop paying | The paste returns | The clock and the sync stop | The copy stays in accounts you control |
Intuit’s Time pricing page lists Premium at $20 a month, shown at $10 for three months, plus $10 per user. The ProAdvisor price card lists Elite at $40 a month plus $12 per user. Eight crew on Premium, admin included in the base, is $100 a month before the intro discount and before QuickBooks Online. If Payroll Premium or Elite already includes Time, that is not a new bill. I will not pretend $3,500 beats a sync you already own.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the May 2023 median wage for payroll and timekeeping clerks at $25.11 an hour. Two hours a week at that rate is about $2,611 a year, about $5,223 over 24 months, and about $7,834 over 36 months. That is the repeating hour, not benefits, and not a promise the copy pays for itself in month two.
The same $3,500 is on the Workflow Automation price. A second clock or the Friday pack is a second quote. The vendor-category paste is bookkeeping automation, and that page already excludes payroll.
How does the Thursday copy actually run?
The path is a trigger, one mapped write into the payroll sheet, and a ping only when the hours fail the rule you signed. Nothing in the workflow calculates tax, files a return, or invents a pay rate you did not name.
- Trigger. Approved punches for the pay period: a new export from the clock, a closed week in Jobber or Housecall Pro, or the sheet where cards already get typed.
- Action. Write employee, regular hours, overtime, drive time, and job code into the columns you signed. Do not change a rate. Do not edit last period.
- System of record. The payroll sheet, QuickBooks timesheet, or Gusto import file that payroll already runs from. The clock is the source. The sheet is the record.
- Human escalation. A missing punch, a name that is not on the roster, hours over the cap you set, or overtime that does not match the rule. I stop the write and ping you. I do not guess the rate.
The first workflow I will ship is one clock, one sheet, and one column map, with a hard stop on a missing punch.
Customers booking from ChatGPT, Claude, or Grok is a different buy. That doorway is AI Front Door. Desk is $7,500 once. Look Up is $3,500 if they only need to ask the business questions. An hours paste will not book Mrs. Lopez.
What does the $3,500 not include?
The $3,500 covers one source, one payroll sheet, the hours map you signed, a stop rule, and a runbook in accounts you control. Tax, paychecks, the phone, and customer booking from an AI app stay outside that fee.
Not in the $3,500: a second company or clock, filing payroll, tax, checks, or overtime-law advice. Your payroll person still owns that. QuickBooks, Gusto, Jobber, Housecall Pro, and the clock subscription stay on your bill. The invoice chase and the Friday report are separate quotes. A review of the payroll app itself is a web app security review, $2,400 for the app, $1,200 to start.
When this isn’t the right move yet
Wait if QuickBooks Time already posts the hours, you cannot name regular versus overtime, or you wanted a payroll service and not a copy. Paying $3,500 before that only speeds up a messy sheet.
Skip it when approved time already lands in QuickBooks. Skip it when you want the hours copy, the invoice chase, and the Friday sheet inside one fee. I quote extras. Skip it when the leak is missed calls. A payroll row will not pick up the phone. Skip it when nobody can name the regular-hours column, or you need the whole payroll run and nobody is left to approve exceptions.
What should be on paper before you pay?
Write one clock, one payroll sheet, the column map, and one stop rule before you pay. A blank card means I will not take the $3,500, and I will not invent the pay rules in the kickoff.
| Check | Ready | Not yet |
|---|---|---|
| Source | One clock export, one Jobber week, or one card sheet | ”All the time, everywhere” |
| Record | The sheet or timesheet payroll already runs | A new workbook nobody opens |
| Map | Employee, regular, overtime, drive time, job code | ”Use your judgment” |
| Stop | Missing punch, unknown name, or over the hour cap | ”Just pay them” |
| Scope | This copy only | Payroll, chase, and the Friday pack |
If the card is full, send the audit form. It is a short form. I reply with the replacement map within 24 hours. Name the clock, the sheet, and the one row that should wake you up. If you would rather talk it through first, book a 20-minute call.
FAQ
How much does a time clock to payroll sheet copy cost? +
Workflow Automation is $3,500 once for one named copy: approved punches into the payroll sheet you already run, stopping when a punch is missing or hours break the rule. You own the runbook. I do not add a subscription. QuickBooks Time Premium is $20 a month plus $10 a user if that sync already fits.
Does QuickBooks Time already move hours into payroll? +
Often, yes. Intuit lists Time Premium at $20 a month plus $10 per user, and Payroll Premium and Elite already include QuickBooks Time. If approved hours already land in the payroll file, fix the mapping. Hire the copy when a person still retypes paper cards, a Jobber export, or a shared sheet.
What is not included for $3,500? +
The fee is one source, one payroll sheet, the hours map you signed, and a stop rule. It is not tax filing, paychecks, overtime law advice, a second company, or the invoice chase. Your QuickBooks, Gusto, and clock bills stay yours. Booking from ChatGPT or Claude is AI Front Door, not this copy.
When should I not buy a time clock to payroll sheet copy yet? +
Wait when QuickBooks Time already syncs, you cannot name regular versus overtime, or the sheet changes every week. Also wait if you need a payroll service and nobody is left to approve exceptions. A clock subscription is that product. This workflow is one copy.
