Why time tracking kept apart from payroll produces errors, what data has to flow between the two, and what an integrated chain looks like, from clock-in to accounting export.
Translated from Romanian. This article covers Romanian labour and tax law; the Romanian version is canonical and is updated first.
In most small companies, time tracking and payroll live in two separate worlds: an attendance file kept by someone in the office and a payroll run produced by the accountant, connected by a monthly email with a table attached. Most salary errors are born in exactly that email. Here is why, and what the alternative looks like.
A salary is not calculated from the contractual gross alone. The following have to reach the calculation from the time records:
Each of these elements changes the final amount. If they travel by hand, each one is an opportunity for error.
When time tracking is separate from payroll, the mistakes repeat with predictable regularity:
The most unpleasant feature of these errors: they are discovered after payment, when the employee complains. Correcting them means a recalculation, an adjustment and an awkward conversation.
In a system where time tracking feeds payroll directly, the chain is continuous:
attendance clock-in (QR kiosk / NFC / mobile)
→ daily records (art. 119, auditable)
→ rules applied automatically (overtime, night, weekend, public holidays)
→ absences from the leave module (with the correct type and code)
→ payroll calculation (2026 rates, personal deduction)
→ export in accounting formatThe essential difference is not speed, but the removal of the points of manual re-entry. Each step takes over the validated data of the previous one, so a correction made in the time records propagates automatically into the calculation, without anyone having to remember to pass it on.
An honest clarification, because this is where exaggerated promises are made on the market: an HR/time-tracking system calculates the payroll and prepares the data, but the accounting software remains the authoritative source for taxes and for filing the returns.
The realistic flow is: time records → payroll calculation → export to the accounting software → the accountant finalises and files the returns. A vendor promising to “file the D112 in the accountant’s place” should be able to show you exactly in what capacity they do it. The real value of the integration lies in removing the manual work and the errors between time records and payroll, not in replacing accounting.
How is a salary calculated on the basis of recorded hours? The hours worked and the absence types in the records determine the basis; on top of that come the premiums (overtime, night, public holidays) and then the statutory rates — CAS 25%, CASS 10%, income tax 10%, with the personal deduction. The result is the net pay.
Can data be transferred automatically from time tracking into payroll? Yes, if the two are modules of the same platform or have a native integration. Otherwise you are left with manual export/import, which is exactly the source of the errors.
What payroll errors arise when time tracking is separate from salaries? Most often: overtime not calculated, the night-shift bonus omitted, the wrong sick leave code, vouchers granted for days not worked, and mistranscriptions between files.
How is pay calculated for sick leave days? From the calculation base (the average gross over 6 months) you get a daily base, to which the rate matching the duration of the episode is applied — 55% (up to 7 days), 65% (8–14), 75% (15 and over) — with the first day unpaid once per episode and with the employer (days 2–6) / FNUASS (from day 7) split.
How do I pay overtime correctly? The rule is compensation with time off within 90 days first; if that is not possible, it is paid with a premium of at least 75% of the base salary, applied to the hourly rate for the month in question.
See also how overtime is calculated and the export to SAGA.
Workly was built on exactly this link. Time tracking — through the Kiosk with a rotating QR code, an NFC card or web/mobile — produces the auditable daily records required by art. 119. The rules for overtime, night work, weekends and public holidays are configured once and applied automatically. Leave enters the same chain, with the correct benefit type and code and with balances calculated.
From there, the Romanian payroll module takes the data over with no manual re-entry and calculates the payroll with the 2026 rates — gross pro-rated over the payable days, CAS, CASS, income tax, CAM, the night-shift bonus and meal vouchers. The calculation is deterministic: the same inputs always produce the same result, and every amount can be traced back to the original clock-in. The personal deduction from the art. 77 grid is also applied automatically, with the band chosen according to the gross income actually earned in that month. Sick leave benefits and overtime premiums are for now entered as adjustments — automating them is in progress.
The result is exported in SAGA format to accounting, with an export history kept for audit — the accountant takes the data over and finalises the returns in the certified software. In practice, the very link where the errors were born disappears: the monthly email with the table attached.
Informational article, accurate at the date of publication. Not tax or legal advice. Rates and rules may change — always check the framework in force at the official sources or consult a specialist.
Payslip guide: the employer's duty to inform, what elements it contains, how to read it line by line, electronic delivery and confidentiality.
Personal deduction guide: the percentage system in art. 77 of the Fiscal Code, the 20–45% grid by dependants, the cancellation threshold and the main-job declaration.
Guide to the payroll register: its role as a supporting document, mandatory content, signing and confidentiality, the archiving term and the link to the payslip.
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