# Grace periods, rounding and auto-approval

Set a location's grace period, rounding, auto-approval, early clock-in and no-shift rules, and have forgotten punches closed automatically at a set time.

For: Admins, Managers · On: Web · [Help Center](https://www.mays.app/help) › [Time clock](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock) · Last updated October 8, 2026 · Mays Team

Each location has its own time clock rules: how much grace a punch gets, whether times are rounded, which punches approve themselves, and what happens to a forgotten clock-out.

**Where:** **Locations & Users → Locations** → a location → **Scheduling** tab → **Time clock** card (Scheduling, Pro plan). Admins can change any location; managers can change the locations they manage. Each change saves as soon as you make it and applies to the next punches — punches already recorded aren't changed.

![The Time clock card: Grace period 15 min, Alert managers when late by 5 min, Mark as no-show after 30 min, Auto-approve punches checked, the three rounding options, Prevent early clock-in, Allow punch without a shift checked, Require clock-in for tasks Automatic (recommended) and Grace after clock-out 30 min](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__time-clock-rules__01-time-clock-card.ed3eca4230.png)

## The settings

Everything is off by default except **Allow punch without a shift**.

| Setting | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Grace period** | 5, 10, 15 (default), 20 or 30 minutes. The window used by the rounding, auto-approval and early clock-in rules below. A clock-out more than the grace period before the shift ends is flagged **Early out** on the timesheet. |
| **Alert managers when late by** / **Mark as no-show after** | When someone counts as late or a no-show, and when managers are alerted. The no-show time must be longer than the late time — choices that aren't are greyed out. See [Attendance, late and no-show alerts](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/attendance-and-late-alerts). |
| **Auto-approve punches** | At clock-out, the punch is approved automatically when both the clock-in and the clock-out are within the grace period of the shift's start and end. Punches with no shift, and automatic clock-outs, are never auto-approved. |
| **Round early clock-in up** | Clocking in early, within the grace period, records the shift's start time instead. |
| **Round late clock-in** | A late clock-in is rounded to the nearest grace step after the shift start. |
| **Round clock-out** | Clock-out is rounded to the nearest grace step on the clock (with 10 minutes: 3:03 → 3:00, 3:08 → 3:10). It's never rounded back to or before the clock-in. |
| **Prevent early clock-in** | Blocks clocking in earlier than the shift start minus the grace period. The employee sees *You can punch in at 8:45am.* |
| **Allow punch without a shift** | On by default. When off, people can't clock in on a day they have no shift at that location — they see *No shift scheduled today.* A shift just after midnight counts: clocking in at 11:50pm for a 12:05am shift is allowed. |

**Require clock-in for tasks** and **Grace after clock-out** control who sees the location's tasks — see [Why can't I see my tasks?](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/why-cant-i-see-my-tasks).

## An example

Grace period 15 minutes, a shift from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM:

| The employee… | Rule turned on | Recorded as |
| --- | --- | --- |
| clocks in at 8:50 | **Round early clock-in up** | 9:00 |
| clocks in at 8:40 | **Prevent early clock-in** | Refused: *You can punch in at 8:45am.* |
| clocks in at 9:07 | **Round late clock-in** | 9:00 |
| clocks in at 9:08 | **Round late clock-in** | 9:15 |
| clocks in at 8:55 and out at 5:10 | **Auto-approve punches** | Approved automatically |

- **The rounded time is the one that's kept.** The original time isn't stored, and hours and pay use the rounded time. Lateness is still measured from the real clock-in.
- **The rules use the person's shift at that location that day** — the one closest to the time they punch. A shift on the day before or after also counts when it's within 4 hours, so an overnight shift works: clocking in at 11:50pm for a 12:05am shift is matched to it. With no shift, nothing is rounded or approved.
- **They apply everywhere people clock in:** the app, NFC tags and shared kiosks.

## Close forgotten punches automatically

The **Auto punch-out** card on the same tab closes punches that are still open at a set time of day.

![The Auto punch-out card: When on, a still-open punch is automatically closed once the branch-local clock passes the time below on the punch's clock-in day, with Auto punch-out enabled checked and the time set to 10pm](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__time-clock-rules__02-auto-punch-out.b4980fcf61.png)

1. Tick **Auto punch-out enabled**.
2. Set the cut-off time for the location.

Mays checks every 15 minutes. A punch still open after the cut-off is closed **at the cut-off time** (someone who clocked in after that day's cut-off is closed at the next day's). Any break still running ends then too.

- The employee is told: *You were automatically clocked out at 10pm — contact your manager if this is wrong.*
- On the timesheet the punch shows **Auto clock-out** and appears under **Warnings**. It's never approved automatically, and **Approve All** skips it — check the real time and fix it. Once you set a different clock-out time the **Auto clock-out** badge goes and **Approve All** includes it; if the cut-off was right, approve it on its own. See [Timesheets and pay periods](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/timesheets-and-pay-periods).

Without auto punch-out, a forgotten clock-out stays open until a manager sets it, and shows as **Missing punch-out** from the next day.

## Good to know

- **Settings are per location.** Set each store separately.
- **Punches in a closed pay period** are left alone by auto punch-out; the punch shows as **Missing punch-out** until a manager reopens the period and sets it. A period can't be closed while anyone is still clocked in on it.
- **The per-shift "Late grace" in the shift window** only affects the [late clock-in phone calls](https://www.mays.app/help/ai-automation/late-clock-in-phone-calls); it doesn't change these rules or lateness.

## Related articles

- Time clock: [Timesheets and pay periods](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/timesheets-and-pay-periods) — Review every punch in a pay period on the Time Clock page — fix, add or delete punches, approve them, check warnings and hours, then close the period for payroll.
- Time clock: [Punch verification and geofencing](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/punch-verification-and-geofence) — Decide whether staff can clock in from their own phone, only after tapping an NFC tag, or only on the kiosk — and flag or block punches made away from the store.
- Time clock: [Attendance, late and no-show alerts](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/attendance-and-late-alerts) — See who's on the clock and who's late or missing today, get late and no-show alerts, and mark shifts as sick, call-out or no-show.
- Time clock: [Clocking in and out on your phone](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/clock-in-on-your-phone) — Clock in and out, and take breaks, from the Schedule tab of the Mays app — plus what the messages mean when the app won't let you clock in.
- Tasks & checklists: [Why can't I see my tasks?](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/why-cant-i-see-my-tasks) — The Tasks tab is empty or a checklist is missing? Usually you need to clock in, it's outside the checklist's hours, or it isn't assigned to your role or location. Here's how to check.
- Scheduling: [Setting up scheduling](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/set-up-scheduling) — Get a location ready to schedule in Mays — choose Mays or 7shifts as its schedule, set the day its week starts, and pick who appears on the schedule.
- AI & automation: [Late clock-in phone calls](https://www.mays.app/help/ai-automation/late-clock-in-phone-calls) — If nobody from the opening shift has clocked in a few minutes after opening, Mays phones each late opener to ask when they'll arrive, then calls the escalation manager if they don't answer.

## Still need help?

Send us a support request and a real person on the Mays team will get back to you.

[Contact support](https://www.mays.app/contact?topic=support) · [Call +1 (561) 286-3939](tel:+15612863939)

Canonical: https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/time-clock-rules