Payroll integration

Payroll integration connects time tracking software to payroll software, so the hours your team tracks flow automatically into payroll calculations at the end of each pay period — without re-entering data into a second system.

The manual alternative: download a timesheet CSV from your time tracker, open your payroll software, re-enter the hours by employee, verify the totals match, run payroll. For a 20-person team, this is typically 2–4 hours of HR admin per pay cycle. At $40/hr HR rate, that is $80–$160 in time cost per pay run, or $2,080–$4,160 per year — more than the annual cost of most payroll integrations.

How payroll integration typically works

1. Employees track time in the time tracking tool all week
2. Manager reviews and approves timesheets at week end
3. Approved hours sync to payroll software (QuickBooks, Gusto, ADP, etc.)
4. Payroll software applies pay rates, calculates overtime, generates pay stubs
5. Payroll runs automatically

The key step is manager approval — most payroll integrations only sync approved hours, which means the approval workflow in the time tracking tool must be functioning correctly before the integration delivers value.

Tools and their payroll integrations

Time tracker	Payroll integration	Plans
Hubstaff	QuickBooks, Gusto, Bitwage, ADP	Team ($10/user/mo)
QuickBooks Time	QuickBooks Online (native)	Premium ($20 + $8/user/mo)
Clockify	QuickBooks, Xero (via export/Zapier)	Standard+
Toggl Track	QuickBooks, Xero (via export)	Starter+
Harvest	QuickBooks Online, Xero (native)	Pro ($10.80/user/mo)

Native vs export: Hubstaff and QuickBooks Time have native two-way sync where approved hours automatically push to payroll. Toggl and Clockify rely on CSV export, which requires manual import into the payroll tool — less automated but still useful.

The overtime calculation requirement

For US employers with non-exempt hourly employees, payroll integration must handle overtime correctly: hours over 40/week at 1.5Ã- rate (FLSA baseline), daily overtime in states like California (8 hours/day threshold), and double-time for specific thresholds. Most payroll tools (Gusto, QuickBooks) handle this automatically if the hours are passed correctly from the time tracker.

Verify your time tracking tool passes daily and weekly hour totals separately — some pass only weekly totals, which breaks state-level overtime calculations.

Related concepts

• Timesheet — the record that payroll integration exports from
• Billable hours — client-facing billing, distinct from payroll

Tools for payroll integration

• Hubstaff review — strongest native payroll integration in the category
• Harvest review — best when payroll integration runs alongside client invoicing