Which employee data should flow between an HRIS and a time and attendance tool, which system should own what, and how to keep them in sync.
A new hire is added in the HR system but not in the time clock, so they cannot clock in on day one. A pay rate changes in one place but not the other. Someone leaves and can still clock in two weeks later. Each of these comes from keeping two employee lists by hand. See HRIS for the basics.
To record clock-ins, breaks and overtime automatically, see EZTime time and attendance software.
| Data | Usually owned by | Flows to |
|---|---|---|
| New hires and terminations | HRIS | Time tracking |
| Job title, department, location | HRIS | Time tracking |
| Pay rate | HRIS or payroll | Time tracking, if it calculates labor cost |
| Schedules and punches | Time tracking | Payroll |
| Time off balances | Either, but only one | The other system |
| Documents and certifications | Either, but only one | The other, as needed |
The rule that matters: each field has exactly one owner. Two-way syncing of the same field invites conflicts.
Many time tools also let you import employees from a spreadsheet, which is a practical start for small teams.
When someone leaves, their time clock access should end on their last day, and their final hours should be approved quickly, because some states require final pay immediately or within a short time. A connected offboarding step, or a checklist that covers both systems, prevents former employees from clocking in and delays in final pay.
A home care agency kept caregivers in its HR system and, separately, in its scheduling tool. Rate changes after annual reviews were often missed in the scheduling tool, so labor cost reports were wrong for months. The agency made the HR system the single owner of pay rates and set up a weekly export into the scheduling tool. Rate mismatches disappeared, and labor cost reports could be trusted again.
| Field | Owner | Moves to |
|---|---|---|
| Legal name and contact | HRIS | Time system |
| Start and end date | HRIS | Time system |
| Location and role | HRIS | Time system |
| Schedule and punches | Time system | Payroll |
| Time off balance | Pick one | The other, if needed |
EZTime keeps a personal profile and digital employee file for each employee, runs onboarding and offboarding through the HR module, and supports importing employees from Excel on higher plans. Advanced API access is available on higher plans, and the enterprise team can build custom integrations. Ask the team about a connection to your specific HR system.
The everyday cases that break a sync are rarely new hires. They are the changes in the middle of employment:
| Situation | What goes wrong | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A former employee is rehired | A second profile is created and the old history is split | Reactivate the existing record in both systems if your policy allows, keeping the same employee ID |
| Transfer to another location | Approvals still go to the old manager | Change location and manager in the HRIS first, then confirm in the time system before the next shift |
| Legal name change | Payroll and time records stop matching | Match on employee ID, never on name |
| Move from hourly to salaried | Overtime rules change mid-period | Set an effective date at the start of a workweek and confirm exemption status with HR |
The common thread is the employee ID. If both systems match people by ID rather than by name, most of these become routine.
Different records have different clocks. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the U.S. Department of Labor requires time cards to be kept for at least two years and payroll records for three. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requires Form I-9 to be kept for three years after the date of hire or one year after employment ends, whichever is later. States add their own rules, including for access to personnel files.
This matters for integrations because deleting an employee in one system can trigger a delete in the other. Set the sync to deactivate, not delete, and check that terminated employees’ time history stays available. EZTime keeps data history for up to seven years and holds a digital employee file with expiry reminders for documents.
Think you have it? Choose an answer and the explanation appears below.
Small teams often do not. As you add benefits, performance and compliance needs, a dedicated HRIS may make sense.
One-way per field is simpler and safer. Two-way syncing works only with clear rules about conflicts.
Daily is common for new hires and terminations; at minimum before each payroll.
Mismatched employee IDs or names, which create duplicates.
No. Deactivate them so they cannot clock in, but keep their time records. The DOL requires time cards to be kept for at least two years.
Use a unique employee ID that never changes and is never reused. Names change and are often spelled differently.
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