Workflow Template

Overtime Approval Workflow

Captures overtime requests before work is performed, routes them to the manager for approval or rejection, notifies the employee at each stage, collects actual hours worked after the fact via an external form, has payroll process the pay period, and marks the request completed.

Overtime requests that live in email threads or spreadsheets are easy to lose track of, and employees are often left guessing whether they've been approved before they work extra hours. This workflow captures each overtime request before the work happens, routes it to the manager for approval or rejection, notifies the employee at every stage, then collects actual hours worked afterward and hands the pay period to payroll to process. Operations managers and team leads use it to keep overtime requests moving from submission through to completed pay processing, with a full timeline on every record.

Business Outcomes

Helps reduce overtime worked without prior manager approval
Cuts down time spent chasing approval status by email
Makes it easier to track actual hours worked against original requests
Speeds up handoff to payroll with a clear, recorded pay period
Improves visibility into pending, approved, and completed overtime requests

Workflow Steps

Steps

1
Create Overtime Request Recordcreate record
Registers the submitted overtime request as a record.
2
Set Status to Submittedupdate record
Sets the request status to Submitted.
3
Send Acknowledgement Emailsend email
Emails the employee an acknowledgement with their reference number.
4
Manager Approvalrequest approval
Asks the manager to approve or reject the overtime request before it is worked.
5
Route on Manager Decision
Routes the workflow depending on whether the manager approved or rejected the request.
approval_status: "approved"→Set Status to Approved
approval_status: "rejected"→Set Status to Declined
Default→End
6
Set Status to Declinedupdate record
Sets the request status to Declined.
7
Send Declined Emailsend email
Emails the employee that the overtime request was not approved.
8
Set Status to Approvedupdate record
Sets the request status to Approved.
9
Send Approved Emailsend email
Emails the employee that the overtime request has been approved.
10
Request Actual Hours Workedrequest external input
Emails the employee a form after the work to capture the actual hours worked and any notes, and waits for their reply.
11
Save Actual Hours to Recordupdate record
Saves the employee-reported actual hours and notes to the record.
12
Payroll: Process Actual Hourscreate task
Creates a task for payroll, due in 5 days, to process the actual hours and record the pay period.
13
Save Pay Period to Recordupdate record
Saves the pay period recorded by payroll to the record.
14
Set Status to Completedupdate record
Sets the request status to Completed.
15
Send Completed Emailsend email
Emails the employee that the overtime request has been processed.

Fields

Show all 9 fields

FormOvertime Request Form

Employee Name*· Text
Employee Email*· Email
Overtime Dates*· Text
Hours Requested*· Number
Business Reason*· Long text

TaskPayroll: Process Actual Hours

Pay Period· Text

Other fields

Request Status· Choice
Actual Hours Worked· Number
Notes on Actual Hours· Long text

Employee Name*
Employee Email*
Overtime Dates*
Hours Requested*
Business Reason*
Request Status

Forms

Overtime Request Form

5 fields

Data Views

Overtime Requests

employee_name, overtime_dates, hours_requested, actual_hours_worked +1 more

Dashboard Widgets

Overtime Requests by Status

Recommended integrations

Setup the following integrations to extend workflow capability.

Send email in the workflow
AWS SES

overtime approvalovertime requestextra hoursmanager approvalpayroll

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Similar Categories

Human Resources Finance & Procurement

FAQs

How do I set up this overtime approval workflow?

Publish the template in your workspace and it's ready to run immediately — there's no installation or development project involved. The request form, manager approval task, and employee emails are already built into the steps, so you just start submitting requests.

What do I need before employees can submit overtime requests?

You need a manager assigned in your workspace who can receive and act on the approval task, and payroll staff who will process actual hours once submitted. Employees don't need an account — they submit through the public request form and respond to emailed forms.

Who approves or rejects the overtime request?

The manager assigned to the approval task reviews the request — including the overtime dates, hours requested, and business reason — and approves or rejects it before the work is performed. The workflow then routes automatically based on that decision, setting the status and emailing the employee accordingly.

What happens if the manager rejects the request?

The record's status is set to Declined and the employee is emailed to let them know the request wasn't approved. This happens before any work is expected to take place, since approval is required upfront.

How are actual hours worked collected after the overtime is done?

Once approved, the employee is emailed a form after the work is completed asking for actual hours worked and any notes. The workflow waits for their reply, then saves those answers to the record.

How does payroll get involved and what do they need to do?

After the employee reports actual hours, a task is created for payroll, due in 5 days, to process those hours and record the pay period. The workflow waits for this task to be completed, and the pay period payroll enters is then saved to the record.

Can I customise the request form or the approval steps?

Yes — you can change any step by describing the change in plain English or editing it directly in the workflow editor. Earlier versions of the workflow are kept, so you can review what's changed over time.

How does the employee know what's happening with their request?

The employee receives an email at every key stage: an acknowledgement with their reference number on submission, a decision email if approved or declined, and a completed email once payroll has processed their actual hours. They never need to log in to check status.

How can I track the status of overtime requests across the team?

Each request is a record with a reference number, status, and full timeline of what happened, from submission through to completed. Table views and dashboards let you see requests grouped by status, such as Submitted, Approved, Declined, or Completed.

Does this workflow help with overtime pay compliance?

The workflow records statuses, manager decisions, employee-reported hours, and the pay period payroll enters, all in the record's timeline. Each business should confirm its own obligations around overtime pay and recordkeeping, as this workflow supports tracking but doesn't determine compliance on its own.

Ready to use this workflow?

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