How do I stop managers or staff from seeing what other people get paid?
Loaded separates 'staff' (roster and clock-in access only, who can only see their own info) from 'users' (admin-level access with configurable permissions). You can give a manager Time/Roster permission without Payroll or Salary permission — they can view and approve clock entries and rosters, but pay rates stay hidden.
What happens if a staff member forgets to clock in or out?
A manager can add or edit a clock entry manually — just enter the start and finish time and save it. It doesn't need to have been punched live.
Can staff swap shifts themselves on the roster?
Yes — Shift Swapping is available in Loaded's Team App and is currently in Beta. If you'd like it switched on for your venues, just let your onboarding manager or our support team know.
How does the 'pay adjustments' toggle work?
Pay adjustments apply casual loading and other award-based rules on top of a staff member's base rate. If someone's on an agreed flat or custom rate, turn the toggle off for them so loadings don't stack incorrectly on top of what's already been agreed.
Why won't Loaded connect to my Xero payroll?
The Xero user connecting the integration needs the specific 'Payroll Admin' role in Xero, not just standard Xero Admin access, to use the payroll API.
Can Loaded automatically round staff clock-in and clock-out times, or round short breaks up to a standard length?
Yes — this is a standard operator preference and can be configured, though most venues choose to keep the exact minute. If you do want rounding (for example, treating anything over 25 minutes as a full 30-minute break), that rule can be set once and applied automatically, so you're not manually adjusting the same handful of shifts every week.
I need to give a staff member a pay rise, but it shouldn't apply to hours they already worked this week — how do I avoid backdating it by accident?
By default, a pay rate change only applies from the date you make the change forward. If you need it to take effect on a specific future date instead — say a rise agreed now but starting next Monday — use the "start this change from" field to set that date explicitly, so the new rate doesn't apply any earlier or later than intended.
One of our staff has two genuinely different jobs with us — say, a salaried admin/coordination role and a separate casual bar shift — can Loaded pay them correctly for both?
Yes. Set them up as one staff member with two separate roles, each carrying its own pay rate and pay type. This lets a salaried role and an hourly/casual role sit side by side under the one person without either rate overriding the other, and (check with your accountant) each role is taxed according to its own employment type — important if only one of the two roles can claim the tax-free threshold.
Our KiwiSaver/superannuation contribution is already built into the hourly rate we quote staff — won't Loaded add it on top and overpay them?
Not if it's set up correctly. Pay adjustments like KiwiSaver are opt-in per venue — if your quoted rate is already inclusive of the contribution, simply don't enable that pay adjustment, and Loaded won't add anything extra on top.
Does annual leave or sick leave that I record in Xero show up automatically on a staff member's timesheet in Loaded?
No — leave balances and leave taken are managed entirely within Xero and don't sync back into Loaded's timesheets or rosters. If a staff member is on leave, that needs to be entered in Xero directly; it won't appear on their Loaded shift record or reduce their rostered hours automatically.
What's the difference between the Time Clock app and the Team app — do my staff need both?
They serve two different jobs. The Time Clock app is the one installed on a shared tablet purely for clocking in, clocking out, and taking breaks. The Team app is the one individual staff install on their own phone to view their published roster, request shifts, or pick up an open shift. Front-of-house and kitchen typically only need the shared Time Clock tablet; staff generally want the Team app on their own phone regardless of role.
What is the "day start" setting in venue settings, and why does it matter?
It defines the cut-off point Loaded uses to separate one trading day from the next for reporting and rostering purposes, and it should be set to a quiet window when no one is clocking in and no trade is happening. Getting this wrong can cause a late-closing shift to get split awkwardly across two different trading days in your reports, which throws off daily labour and revenue figures without it being obvious why.
What's a "no-cost group" role, and when should I use it for a position like reception or housekeeping?
Use the no-cost group when a role's wage cost should count toward your total labour budget, but doesn't belong specifically to either your food or beverage cost of sales — reception, housekeeping, and admin roles are the most common examples. This keeps your food and beverage labour percentages accurate and uncluttered by wage costs that aren't tied to producing or serving food and drink.
Can I build my roster against a sales or labour budget instead of just filling shifts and hoping the numbers work out?
Yes — enter a budgeted sales figure for the period, and Loaded will let you build and cost your roster against a target labour percentage of that figure. As trade comes in, you can then compare rostered labour versus actual labour and rostered sales versus actual sales side by side, which shows you not just whether you hit your labour target, but whether that was because you managed the shift well or because trade came in different to what you expected.
Salaried staff don't clock in or out — how do they still show up correctly in my labour cost reporting?
Salaried staff are costed against their set annual salary divided across your default working hours setting, rather than off actual punch data, so their cost still flows into your labour reporting even without a single clock-in. This means your total labour expense stays accurate for oversight and P&L purposes even for staff who are never rostered hour-by-hour, like a general manager on salary.