What Are Time Policies in Raken? (And How to Set Them Up)

Time Policies are the foundation of time tracking in Raken. They define the rules that govern how every employee on your account logs, verifies, and gets paid for their time — from overtime calculations and break types to pay types, shifts, and premiums. Every time card follows the rules set in a policy, so getting this right before your team starts tracking is essential.

To set up a Time Policy in Raken:

Changes apply to all future time cards for employees assigned to the policy. Existing time cards are not retroactively updated.

A Time Policy is a set of rules that controls how time is captured and calculated for the employees assigned to it. Every Raken account has at least one policy. If only one policy exists, all employees are automatically assigned to it. Accounts with multiple policies — for example, one for union crews and one for salaried staff — assign employees to policies individually.

Every time card created in Raken follows the rules of the policy assigned to the employee who logged it. This includes how overtime is calculated, which breaks are tracked, and which pay types are available.

The Settings section defines how employees log their time and whether verification is required.

Time tracking — choose one or more entry methods to enable for this policy:

Verification (requires Time Clock add-on)

Geofencing (requires Time Clock add-on)

Geofencing controls location-based rules for employees clocking in and out. Options include:

Production

Overtime rules determine how captured time is automatically categorized into pay types (Regular Time, Overtime, Double Time, etc.). Rules can be set by total weekly hours, total daily hours, or consecutive days worked.

Raken also provides pre-built overtime rule templates for the most common setups:

Overtime is calculated automatically server-side every time a time card is created or edited — regardless of the order entries are added.

For detailed setup steps, see: Creating Overtime Rules for Time Policies | Overtime Rule Templates

Break settings determine which break types are available for employees to log and how they are tracked. Default breaks include:

For each break type, you can configure: default duration, minimum duration, and compensation (paid or unpaid). Break tracking can require start and end time, start time and duration, or duration only.

For detailed setup steps, see: Creating Breaks for Time Policies

Rounding rules automatically adjust time card entries to align with your company's timekeeping practices. Options include: nearest interval, round up, round down, and employee-favorable rounding. Available intervals: 5, 6, 10, 15, or 30 minutes. Rounding can also be applied to break start and end times.

For detailed setup steps, see: Creating Rounding Rules for Time Policies

Pay types define the categories available when employees or supervisors log time. Default pay types include:

Custom pay types can be added using the + Add pay type button. At least two pay types must be active at all times per policy to support overtime rule calculations.

For detailed setup steps, see: Creating Pay Types for Time Policies

Premium rules automatically assign pay types for hours worked on specific days or shifts — without requiring manual overrides. Three premium types are available:

For detailed setup steps, see: How to Set Up Overtime Premiums in Raken

The Holidays section lets you define company holidays within the policy. Holidays integrate directly with the Premiums section — when a Holiday premium rule is active, any time worked on a defined holiday is automatically assigned the holiday pay type.

Shifts associate time card entries with specific work periods — such as day shift, night shift, or swing shift. Once shifts are created, employees or supervisors can select the applicable shift when logging time.

For detailed setup steps, see: Creating Shifts for Time Policies

The Employees section shows all employees in your organization. Use this section to assign employees to the policy. All employees must be assigned to at least one policy at all times.

Tip: Enabling Set as default in the Settings section automatically assigns all new employees added to your account to this policy.

For detailed setup steps, see: Assigning Employees to Time Policies

This feature is only available on the Raken web app.

Log in to the Raken web app. Click Company in the left navigation menu. Click Time, then click Policies. The Policies page shows a summary of all existing policies including their current settings.

Click Edit policy on the policy you want to configure. To create a new policy, click + New policy in the top right corner.

Enter a Policy name. Toggle Set as default if this policy should be automatically assigned to new employees. Configure your Time tracking, Verification, Geofencing, and Production settings as needed. See the section descriptions above for details on each option.

Click Next: Overtime rules to continue.

Select a pre-built template or configure custom rules for daily and weekly overtime thresholds. Overtime is applied automatically — no manual pay type assignment needed.

Click Next: Breaks to continue.

Review the default break types (Rest and Meal). Edit duration, minimum duration, or compensation as needed. Toggle breaks off if they are not applicable to this policy.

Click Next: Rounding to continue.

Toggle rounding on if your company's timekeeping policy requires time entry adjustments. Select the rounding method and interval. Optionally enable rounding for break times.

Click Next: Pay types to continue.

Toggle pay types on or off based on what applies to employees under this policy. Add custom pay types using + Add pay type if needed. Ensure at least two pay types remain active.

Click Next: Shifts to continue.

Click + Add shift to create shifts if applicable. Name each shift and define its time window. Shifts are optional — skip this section if not needed.

Click Next: Employees to continue.

Check the box next to each employee who should be assigned to this policy. Use the Assigned, Active, and Search filters to find employees quickly.

Click Save & finish. The policy is now active. All future time cards for assigned employees will follow the rules configured in this policy.

Yes. Time Policies must be set up and active before employees can track time in Raken. See Getting Started With Time Tracking in Raken for the full setup sequence.

Yes. You can create multiple policies — for example, separate policies for union crews, salaried employees, and subcontractors. Each policy can have different overtime rules, break types, pay types, and shifts. Employees must be assigned to at least one policy.

All employees must be assigned to at least one policy. If only one policy exists in your account, all employees are automatically assigned to it. If you create additional policies, you'll need to manually assign employees to the relevant policy.

No. Policy changes only apply to time cards created after the change is saved. Existing time cards are not retroactively updated. If you need to correct previously submitted time cards, edit them directly in the Time tab.

Overtime Rules automatically categorize total hours into Regular Time, Overtime, or Double Time based on daily or weekly thresholds. Premiums automatically assign pay types for hours worked on specific days or during specific shift windows — such as weekends, holidays, or night shifts. Both can be active on the same policy at the same time.

No. Only Account Administrators can create and edit Time Policies.

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