EZTime and PrismHR: time tracking for a PEO client

What a PEO changes

In a professional employer arrangement, the PEO usually runs payroll, handles tax filings and offers benefits, while the client manages the daily work and the schedule. That means time has to meet the PEO’s deadlines and formats. A client that misses the cut-off may wait another week for the pay run, and employees will see it in their paychecks.

EZTime digital HR forms let you send, sign and file employee documents online.

The data points, direction and timing for your account are confirmed with the EZTime team during setup, so use this page to prepare your questions rather than as a technical specification.

Client IDs and worksite employees

Employees in a PEO are tied to a client company and often to a worksite. Make sure each person in EZTime carries the identifiers your PEO uses, and that a person who works at two worksites is recorded under each. Ask your PEO contact for the exact list of identifiers and keep it in one place.

The PEO calendar

Your PEO publishes a payroll calendar with deadlines for submitting hours. Put those dates in the EZTime approval schedule, not in someone’s memory. Managers should know that a timesheet approved at 5 p.m. on the deadline day may be too late if the PEO closes at noon.

A worked example: a corrected hour

A site supervisor discovers on Tuesday that a worker’s Friday shift was recorded as 6 hours instead of 8. The pay run has already closed. The fix is a 2 hour adjustment in the next run, with a note that links to the original entry. Agree this process with the PEO, because their rules on corrections and off-cycle checks vary.

Compliance stays shared

Wage and hour rules still apply to the work you direct. Keep accurate records, approve time before it is sent and follow your state’s meal and rest rules. The PEO can help with payroll mechanics, but the daily facts of when people worked come from your records.

Questions to settle before you start

• What is your PEO’s payroll calendar and cut-off time?
• Which identifiers does the PEO use for each employee and worksite?
• How does the PEO want corrections handled?
• Which earning types does the PEO pay from hours?
• Who at your company sends hours and who checks the confirmation?

Who usually handles what in a PEO arrangement

The exact split is set by your contract with the PEO. Read the section on timekeeping and wage and hour compliance, because it usually says the client is responsible for accurate hours.

Worksites in more than one state

A client with worksites in several states follows each state’s rules for the people working there. The federal standard under the Fair Labor Standards Act is overtime after 40 hours in a workweek. California also requires daily overtime after 8 hours in a workday and double time after 12. Colorado requires overtime after 12 hours in a workday. Meal and rest break rules differ too.

Record the worksite on every shift, not only in the employee profile, so each hour can be paid under the right state’s rules. EZTime supports labor rule alerts for weekly hour limits and overtime thresholds and tracks meal and rest breaks, which helps managers see a problem before the hours go to the PEO.

A worked example: one worker, two worksites

A fictional technician works for the same client company at two worksites in the same state in one week:

Because both worksites belong to the same employer, the hours are added together for overtime. If each site sent hours separately and each saw fewer than 40, the overtime would be missed. One EZTime account covering both worksites, with the worksite tag on each shift, keeps the total in one place.

A pre-deadline checklist for site managers

• Every open shift has a clock-out. Missed punches are fixed through a request, not by guessing.
• Required meal breaks were taken, or the missed break is recorded and handled under your state’s rules.
• Overtime in the period was approved before it was worked, or the reason is noted.
• Each shift carries the right worksite and job code.
• Any correction to a previous period is entered as a separate, dated adjustment.

Run the list on the morning of the deadline, not at the cut-off hour. If the PEO closes at noon, a problem found at 11:45 still leaves an employee waiting for their pay.

Questions people ask

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