EZTime and Clair: connecting earned wage access

About Clair

Clair is an earned wage access provider that lets employees access part of their earned pay before payday, typically through partnerships with payroll and workforce platforms.

To record clock-ins, breaks and overtime automatically, see EZTime time and attendance software.

Businesses that use Clair also need accurate records of when employees worked and who is scheduled. Connecting the two avoids typing the same information twice.

Why connect EZTime with Clair

• Employees can see and access pay they have already earned, based on approved hours.
• The figures come from the same time records used for payroll.
• Managers approve hours once, in one place.
• Fewer manual reports sent between HR, payroll and the provider.

How EZTime connects to Clair

EZTime has an API and can build an integration with Clair on request, as it can for other systems your business uses. The connection is scoped with you: which data moves, in which direction and how often. EZTime does not advertise a ready-made Clair connector on its site, so treat this as a custom integration and confirm the details, timeline and any cost with the EZTime team. Larger organizations can also review options on the enterprise page.

Until a connection is live, EZTime’s reports export to Excel and PDF, which many teams use to move data between systems.

What data typically moves

The exact fields are agreed during scoping. Share only the data the other system needs.

Questions to answer before you start

1. How does Clair connect with your payroll provider today?
2. Which hours count as earned: approved only, or also pending?
3. How often should hours be shared: daily or per shift?
4. Who handles corrections if hours change after they were shared?
5. What will you tell employees about how the program works and any fees?

Setting it up

1. Write down what the connection should achieve in one or two sentences.
2. Clean up employee records so names and IDs match in both systems.
3. Agree the data, direction and timing with the EZTime team.
4. Test with a small group or one location for a full period.
5. Compare totals in both systems and fix any mapping issues.
6. Roll out to everyone and keep checking for the first few periods.

A Clair tip

Earned wage access rules and fees vary by provider and state. Review the program terms carefully and explain them clearly to employees before launch. See the earned wage access guide.

An example

A home care agency wanted to offer earned wage access to caregivers paid every two weeks. The provider needed reliable, approved hours. Sharing approved hours from EZTime after each visit was approved gave caregivers an accurate view of what they had earned, based on the same records used for payroll. (Fictional example.)

A worked example: how earned pay builds up

Programs set their own rules for how much earned pay an employee can access, often a percentage of net earned wages. Using fictional numbers and a fictional 50 percent limit, here is how approved hours drive the available amount for a caregiver paid every two weeks at $18.00 an hour:

Thursday shows why approval matters. Hours waiting for a manager do not count, so the caregiver sees nothing new until the visit is approved. The net estimate assumes roughly 20 percent withholding. Real programs calculate it their own way, so check the provider’s method.

Corrections after hours were shared

If a shift is corrected downward after an employee has already accessed pay against it, the difference has to be handled. That can happen when a missed clock-out is fixed or a duplicate visit is removed. Agree with the provider and your payroll team, before launch, how a negative correction is handled and how the employee is told.

The best protection is approving hours promptly and accurately. EZTime records timecard corrections through missed punch requests and manager approval with an audit trail, so if a figure changes, everyone can see when, why and who approved it.

What to tell employees before launch

• The program is voluntary, and pay on payday is reduced by whatever was accessed early.
• Which fees, if any, apply, and who pays them. Get this in writing from the provider.
• That only approved hours count, so a late approval delays access.
• How to raise a question if the amount shown looks wrong.
• That using the program is private between the employee and the provider, as far as your agreement allows.

State rules are changing

Since 2023, several states have passed laws on earned wage access, often covering provider registration, fee disclosures and limits on how much can be accessed. Federal guidance has also shifted. Check the current rules in each state where your employees work, and ask the provider how it complies, before you launch. Our earned wage access guide covers the questions to ask.

Frequently asked questions

Where to go next