Raken offers two separate sign-off workflows for time cards — supervisor approval and worker sign-off. Supervisor approval confirms that hours are accurate and locks the time card from further edits. Worker sign-off lets employees acknowledge that their own hours are correct before payroll is processed. Both workflows help ensure your team gets paid accurately and on time.

Time card approval and sign-off require the Performance Plan, since they operate on Time Cards.

To approve time cards as a supervisor (web):

Approved time cards are locked from editing. Only supervisors and Account Administrators can unapprove a time card to unlock it.

Log into the Raken web app. Click Company in the left navigation, then click Time settings > Approvals. Toggle on Supervisor approvals. Set the day and time you want Raken to send approval reminder notifications.

This is optional — you can approve at any time without setting up notifications.

Click Time in the left navigation, then click Summary. Use the date picker to select the pay period.

The Summary view shows columns for Employee, Group, Status, Signature, Payroll notes, Attachments, RT, OT, DT, and Total. The Status column shows how many entries have been approved (e.g., "0 of 3 approved"). The Signature column shows whether the employee has signed off.

If a warning banner appears — "Employees have used multiple time policies in the week" — click Filter to see employees to identify who is affected and review carefully before approving.

To approve all at once: click Bulk actions > Approve all. To approve specific employees: check the checkbox next to their name, then click Bulk actions > Approve selected.

You can also approve from the Entries view — check individual time card entries, then use Bulk actions.

Once approved, the Status badge updates to show all entries approved. Approved time cards are locked — they cannot be edited, signed, or deleted until unapproved.

From the Summary view, click Bulk actions > Unapprove all — or select individual employees first and use Unapprove selected. Once unapproved, the time card is unlocked for editing, signing, or deleting. Regular employees cannot unapprove their own time cards.

Worker sign-off is separate from supervisor approval. It allows employees to acknowledge their own hours are accurate before the pay period closes. Time Clock is not required for workers to sign off — any worker with a phone number or email address in their Raken profile can receive a sign-off notification, depending on the notification method your account has configured.

Click Company in the left navigation, then click Time settings > Approvals. Toggle on Employee sign-off. Set the day and time for sign-off notifications. Customize the disclaimer text if needed.

The Notification method control, in this same section, sets how employees are notified — Text message, Email, both, or neither (both on by default). Selecting neither keeps the sign-off requirement and schedule active, but skips the personal-device notification — employees sign off directly in the app instead. Useful for union or kiosk-only crews where personal-device messages aren't allowed.

For Text message or Email to actually reach a worker, their profile needs a valid phone number or email address matching the enabled method(s).

On the scheduled day and time, workers receive a text message with a link (if Text message is enabled as a notification method). Tapping the link opens a web page to review and sign off on their outstanding time cards.

Log into the Raken mobile app. Tap Time in the bottom navigation. Tap the Review tab. Tap Sign off. Tap an employee's name. Tap the ellipsis (...) in the top right and select Add signature. Tap the orange Complete button.

The Review tab also shows Approvals, Time card issues, Per diem, Photo ID, and Clock in/out questions — all in one place. Sign-off and approval here apply to the selected crew.

Supervisors and administrators can add an employee signature on the web from the employee's individual time summary:

Note: this path is separate from the top-level Summary bulk actions (which handle approvals). You must click into the individual employee first to access the signature option.

Navigate to Time > Summary. The Signature column shows Unsigned (grey) or Signed (green) for each employee. Use this as your final check before exporting to payroll.

Click Bulk actions > Send reminders to notify all employees with unsigned time cards.

Click the download icon in the top right of the Summary view. Select Time card by worker PDF — includes weeks, projects, cost codes, totals, and signatures for all workers.

No. Time card approval and sign-off require the Performance Plan, since they're part of Time Cards. Basic plan accounts don't have Time Cards to approve or sign off on.

Supervisor approval confirms accuracy and locks the time card — it's the admin's formal sign-off for payroll. Worker sign-off is the employee's acknowledgment that their hours are correct. Both can be used independently or together.

Yes. Check the checkbox next to specific employees or entries, then use Bulk actions > Approve selected.

Use Bulk actions > Unapprove all or Unapprove selected to unlock the time card. Only supervisors and Account Administrators can do this.

No. Workers can sign off via the text or email link, if that notification method is enabled — no app required. Workers with the app can also sign off under Time > Review > Sign off regardless of which notification methods are enabled.

No. Time Clock is not required for worker timecard sign-off. As long as the worker has a phone number or email address in their Raken profile matching an enabled notification method, they will receive a sign-off notification and can complete the process via the text or email link, or directly in the app.

It's in the individual employee view — not the top-level Summary. Go to Time > Summary, click the employee's name, make sure Overview is selected, then click Bulk actions > Add employee signature.

Yes. Under Company > Time settings > Approvals > Employee sign off, use the Notification method control to select Text message, Email, both, or neither. Both are on by default. This is useful for crews where personal-device text messages aren't appropriate — for example, union or kiosk-only crews — while still keeping the sign-off requirement itself active.

No. The sign-off requirement and its schedule stay active either way — selecting neither only stops the personal-device notification (text and email) from going out. Employees would still need to sign off directly in the app under Time > Review > Sign off, or a supervisor can add their signature on the web.

Yes — sign-off still works even after a time card has synced to an ERP integration. However, once synced, the time card is fully locked from every other kind of edit, including adding a payroll note after the fact — the ellipsis menu on that entry goes fully greyed out. Sign-off and edit-locking are independent in this case: syncing blocks every other edit, but it does not block signing.

Yes. Open the entry on the Entries page, click the ellipsis (...), and select View history. Sign-off, approval, and sync events sit on the same timeline as every value change, so you can see exactly whether an edit came before or after the worker signed. See How to View Time Card History in Raken for the full walkthrough.

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