How to Create Per Diem Entries in Raken

Per Diem in Raken gives supervisors and admins a structured, auditable way to record per diem owed to employees working on projects that require it — like remote jobsites, out-of-town work, or project-specific agreements. Entries can be created individually or in bulk for entire crews, directly alongside your time entry workflow.

To create a per diem entry in Raken:

Per diem entries are independent of time cards — they can be created even on days when no time card exists for that employee.

Log into the Raken web app. Click Time in the left side menu, then click Review, then click Per Diem. This is the central place to create and manage all per diem entries for your organization.

Click the orange + Per Diem button in the top right corner of the page.

Select the Project the per diem applies to. Then select the Employee. To create entries in bulk, select a Crew or choose multiple employees — the number of selected employees will display at the top of the form. This is particularly useful for traveling crews where all members are owed the same per diem for the same project.

Select the Date the per diem applies to. Future dates are supported — admins can record per diem in advance for upcoming travel or multi-day work. Then select the Type: Travel, Meals, Lodging, or Other.

Add a Description to provide context for payroll review — such as the applicable per diem rate, location, or any other relevant details. Attach any Supporting Documentation if needed. Per diem amounts are not tracked directly in Raken. Your organization's rate table or accounting system determines the dollar value associated with each per diem type. Use the Description field to note amounts if needed.

Click the orange Save button in the top right corner. A per diem entry is created for each selected employee. Individual entries can be edited separately after saving if amounts or types differ.

Per diem can be added while creating a time card on both web and mobile — no need to navigate separately.

Open or create a time card from Daily Logs > Time Cards or Time > Time Cards. Click the ellipsis (...) menu next to the Cost code field. Select Add per diem from the menu options: Add pay type, Add shift, Add classification, Add per diem, Add payroll note.

Open or create a time card. Tap the ellipsis (...) menu in the top area of the form. Select Per diem from the menu options: + Split, Pay type, Classification, Shift, Per diem, Payroll note.

Fill in the Date, Type, and Description. On web, click Save. On mobile, tap the checkmark ✓. The per diem entry is linked to the same date and project as the time card.

Log into the Raken mobile app. Tap Time in the bottom navigation bar, then tap Review, then tap Per Diem.

Tap the orange + button to open the new per diem form.

Tap Employee(s) to select one employee or multiple employees. To create entries in bulk, select all crew members from the employee list.

Tap Project to assign a project (optional). Tap Date to select the date the per diem applies to. Tap Type and select Travel, Meals, Lodging, or Other.

Tap Description to add any relevant context for payroll review.

Tap the checkmark ✓ in the top right corner. A per diem entry is created for each selected employee. Tap any entry to edit it individually after saving if corrections are needed.

Per diem can also be added directly from the Time > Clock tab without navigating to the Per Diem section — ideal for supervisors who are already managing clock-ins in the field.

Tap Time in the bottom navigation bar, then tap Clock. Find the employee you want to add per diem for and tap the ellipsis (...) menu next to their name.

Tap Per diem from the menu. Fill in the Date, Type, and Description.

Tap the checkmark ✓ in the top right corner.

Yes. Per diem entries are completely independent of time cards. You can create a per diem entry for any date, even if no time card exists for that employee on that day.

Yes. When creating a per diem entry, you can select any future date. This is useful when per diem is known in advance for scheduled travel or multi-day work assignments.

Not in the current release. Per diem entries are created by supervisors and admins on behalf of employees. Employee-submitted per diem is planned for a future update.

Yes. Per diem entries can be edited independently at any time without affecting associated time card data. See How to Review and Report on Per Diem in Raken for editing steps.

Edit each employee's entry individually after saving. Navigate to Time > Review > Per Diem, find the entry, click the ellipsis (...) menu, and select Edit.

Feel free to email us or call us at +1 866-438-0646. We're always glad to answer your questions!