Overtime is one of the biggest costs you can control. NextCrew shows it coming, so you can act when you book someone, not on payroll day.
Summary
For employees, NextCrew calculates overtime automatically: hours over 40 in a week, plus daily overtime for work in California and Hawaii, and daily double time in California. It counts all their hours in the week. A client is billed overtime only when the person worked over 40 hours for that client. To stay ahead of it, set Max Hours Per Week on people with a limit, check Weekly Hours on the Invite screen before you book, and run Overtime Projections during the week. What goes wrong: booking someone without checking the hours they already have this week.
How to do it
- Set Max Hours Per Week for anyone who must stay under a limit, in HR › Crew Members › the person › Payroll tab › Validation Settings.
- Before you invite or confirm someone, scroll right on the Invite screen and check Daily Hours and Weekly Hours.
- During the week, run Overtime Projections in Reports to see who's close to 40 hours.
- Set each client's overtime, double-time and holiday rates in its rate configuration.
- If a client has its own holidays, add them on the client's Holiday Schedule tab.
- After the week, run the Pay and Bill Detail Report, or check the Overtime Trends widget on your dashboard.
That's overtime under control before it costs you. Everything below is for when a client disputes overtime on an invoice, or someone slips over 40 anyway.
On this page
- Before, during and after the week
- How NextCrew calculates overtime
- Spot it before you book
- Set each client's overtime and holiday rates
- Holidays: yours, or the client's
- When a Crew Member works for more than one client
- When a client's bill should differ
- Look back at the overtime worked
- Why it's easier in NextCrew
- The calls you'll get
- Questions people ask
Before, during and after the week
The bar along the top shows when each step happens. The badge on each step shows who does it. On a phone, swipe sideways to see every step.
| Before | During | After | ||||||||
STEP 1 You Set limits Max Hours Per Week on anyone who must stay under a limit. | → | STEP 2 You Check before you book Daily Hours and Weekly Hours on the Invite screen. | → | STEP 3 You Watch the week Overtime Projections shows who's getting close to 40. | → | STEP 4 Automatic NextCrew calculates Overtime and double time on each timesheet, for pay and for bill. | → | STEP 5 You Check what you bill Match each client's bill to what that client agreed. | → | STEP 6 You Look back Pay and Bill Detail Report and the Overtime Trends widget show the overtime worked. |
You · Automatic
Your team sets the limits and checks the hours. NextCrew does the arithmetic.
How NextCrew calculates overtime
| Case | What NextCrew does |
|---|---|
| Employees | Calculates overtime for hours over 40 in a week, counting all their hours across clients. |
| Billing the client | Bills overtime to a client only when the Crew Member worked over 40 hours for that client in the week. |
| Work in California | Also calculates daily overtime and daily double time. |
| Work in Hawaii | Also calculates daily overtime. |
| Contractors | Doesn't calculate overtime. |
| Holidays | Applies the holiday pay and bill markup on days in your holiday schedule, or the client's. |
Each timesheet shows the hours split into regular, overtime and double time, for pay and for bill. The overtime pay rate and bill rate are worked out for you.
For the detail, and for changing hours on one timesheet, see Overtime, Pay Codes and Overrides on a Timesheet.
⚠️ Watch out
NextCrew does the calculation. Whether your pay practices meet the law where your Crew work is your call. Check with whoever advises you on wage and hour rules.
Spot it before you book
max-hours
Open HR › Crew Members › the person › Payroll tab. Under Validation Settings, set Max Hours Per Week. If booking the person would take them over that limit, NextCrew won't let you book them.
Use it for people who must never go into overtime, and for anyone whose hours you want to cap.
invite-hours
When you invite Crew to a job, scroll right on the Invite screen. Daily Hours and Weekly Hours show what each person already has booked. Check them before you confirm anyone.
projections
Go to Reports and run Overtime Projections, in the Timesheet & Payroll group. It shows the Crew Members who are getting close to 40 hours, so you can move work to someone else before it turns into overtime.
Run it midweek, before you fill the jobs for the rest of the week.
Set each client's overtime and holiday rates
Overtime rates live in the client's rate configuration: Settings › Company Profile › Rate Configuration. Open a position's panel to set its rates.
| Rate | Starts at | Change it when |
|---|---|---|
| Overtime Rate | 1.5 × the regular rate | A client agreed a different rate, such as 1.3 ×, or straight time. |
| Double Time Rate | 2 × the regular rate | A client agreed something different. |
| Holiday Rate | Not set | You pay or bill extra on holidays. |
A rate change applies to orders created after it. Jobs and timesheets that already exist keep their rates. See How to Configure Client Rate Tables.
Holidays: yours, or the client's
Your holidays are set under Settings › Company Profile › Holiday Schedule, each with a pay markup and a bill markup. See Set Up Your Holiday Schedule.
Some clients keep their own holiday calendar, and Crew who work inside those times get holiday pay. Set those on the client's Holiday Schedule tab. For that client's jobs, its schedule is used instead of yours.
When a Crew Member works for more than one client
Some Crew Members work for more than one client in the same week. Overtime counts all their hours together, but each client only sees its own.
| Client | Hours this week |
|---|---|
| Client A | 20 |
| Client B | 10 |
| Client C | 20 |
| Total | 50: 10 hours of overtime |
The Crew Member is paid 10 hours of overtime. None of the three clients had them for more than 40 hours, so by default none of them is billed overtime. Your agency covers that cost.
Some agencies agree something different with a client:
- The client pays overtime whenever it's paid, however the hours were split. Change the bill hours in the timesheet's Override.
- The client pays a different overtime rate, such as 1.3 ×. Set it in the client's rate configuration.
Write down what you've agreed with each client, and set it up in NextCrew. Then the invoice matches the agreement, and nobody argues about it later.
When a client's bill should differ
Pay and bill hours are kept separately on each timesheet. By default, overtime bill hours only appear when the person worked over 40 hours for that client. If a client agreed something different, open the timesheet and change the bill hours in Override. Add a note saying why.
Do it before you invoice. The invoice keeps a copy of the timesheet as it was when the invoice was created.
Look back at the overtime worked
These show overtime after it's happened, from the hours on the timesheets. Use them to spot patterns, then use the steps above to stop it next week.
| Where | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Pay and Bill Detail Report, in Reports › Timesheet & Payroll | Pay and bill for the hours worked, including the overtime totals. |
| Overtime Trends dashboard widget | Regular and overtime hours for each Crew Member, from their timesheet hours. |
To add the widget, see Find and Use Reports and Dashboards.
Why it's easier in NextCrew
| Without NextCrew | In NextCrew |
|---|---|
| Adding up hours across clients in a spreadsheet | Weekly Hours on the Invite screen shows them as you book. |
| Finding out about overtime on payroll day | Overtime Projections shows who's close to 40 during the week. |
| Working out daily overtime and double time by hand | NextCrew calculates it, including California's daily rules. |
| Working out which client should pay for overtime | By default, a client is billed overtime only for hours over 40 with that client. |
| Remembering which client agreed which rate | Each client's overtime and holiday rates are set once and used on every order. |
| Arguing over a holiday the client doesn't observe | Each client can have its own holiday schedule. |
The calls you'll get
| Someone says | What to do |
|---|---|
| Client: "Why are we billed overtime? They only worked 30 hours for us." | By default they wouldn't be. Open the timesheets and check Override: someone may have changed the bill hours, and the note should say why. |
| Crew: "I worked 50 hours this week. Where's my overtime?" | Check their timesheets for the week, and that they're set up as an employee. |
| Your team: "The system won't let me book her." | The booking would take her over her Max Hours Per Week. Pick someone else, or change her limit if that's agreed. |
| Payroll: "Why is overtime so high this month?" | Check the Overtime Trends widget to see which Crew Members it came from, or run the Pay and Bill Detail Report. Then run Overtime Projections early next week. |
Questions people ask
Do I have to set up overtime rules?
No. NextCrew calculates overtime for employees automatically. You only set the overtime rates each client agreed.
Does overtime count hours from every client?
Yes. A Crew Member's overtime counts all their hours in the week, across clients.
Is a client billed overtime when the person also worked for other clients?
Not by default. A client is billed overtime only when the person worked over 40 hours for that client.
Can a client pay a lower overtime rate?
Yes. Set it in that client's rate configuration, such as 1.3 × instead of 1.5 ×.
Can a client have different holidays from ours?
Yes. Set them on the client's Holiday Schedule tab.
What happens if I try to book someone past their Max Hours Per Week?
NextCrew won't book them.
Do contractors get overtime?
NextCrew doesn't calculate overtime for contractors.
Other ways people ask this
- How do I prevent overtime?
- How do I see who is close to 40 hours?
- Do clients pay overtime if the worker works for other clients?
- How do I bill overtime to a client?
- How do I set a lower overtime rate for a client?
- How do I limit an employee's hours?
- Does NextCrew calculate California daily overtime?
- Does NextCrew calculate Hawaii daily overtime?
- Why was a client billed overtime?
Related guides
- Overtime, Pay Codes and Overrides on a Timesheet — overtime on one timesheet
- How to Configure Client Rate Tables — overtime and holiday rates
- Set Up Your Holiday Schedule — your holidays and markups
- Get Timesheets Ready for Payroll — the weekly payroll checks
- Fill and Schedule Jobs: Start Here — the rest of scheduling
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