Time tracking for your dental practice might seem like a simple task; however, many offices overlook this task, leading to the loss of significant time and money. Between state labor laws, overtime rules, and day-to-day responsibilities, it’s easy for things to slip. In fact, the American Payroll Association reports that manual time tracking can lead to error rates as high as 8%. That kind of inaccuracy adds up fast, especially in a busy office.

In this article, we’ll examine the seven most common time tracking mistakes dental practices make and show you what to watch out for before they turn into payroll or compliance problems.

1. Employees Working Without Clocking In

Miscalculated time is one of the easiest mistakes to miss, and among the most costly. It happens when employees start working before clocking in or remain on the job after clocking out. That might mean setting up exam rooms, answering a patient call during lunch, or finishing a task before heading home.

Since the time isn’t recorded, it doesn’t show up on the employee’s time sheet, and, therefore, the individual doesn’t get paid appropriately. Even if it’s unintentional, unpaid time is still a wage violation. That puts your practice at risk for wage theft claims, audits, and compliance issues.

This mistake is especially common in offices that rely on verbal reminders or trust employees to remember on their own. A better way is to utilize a time tracking system that sends automated punch reminders.

For example, OnTheClock lets you set up alerts, so no shift starts or ends without being tracked. You can create custom reminders that notify employees by text or email before their scheduled clock-in or -out times. If your team works on a fixed schedule, you can assign shifts and have the system send those reminders automatically, including alerts for unpaid breaks.

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2. Paying Employees for the Wrong Number of Hours

Another common problem is when employees get paid for the wrong number of hours, either too many or too few. This usually happens when time is tracked manually using paper time sheets, spreadsheets, or verbal check-ins.

For example, someone might forget to clock out for lunch, and the individual’s total hours end up being too lofty. Or, an employee forgets to clock in and tells the office manager his or her start time later in the day, guessing it was 8 a.m., when it was really closer to 8:20 a.m. These small errors might seem harmless, but they create payroll issues that affect your business.

On one hand, overpaying for time that wasn’t actually worked cuts into your bottom line, especially when it happens regularly. On the other hand, underpaying employees can lead to legal issues.

That’s why it helps to have a system that makes it easy to spot and fix mistakes before they hit payroll. With OnTheClock, employees can leave a quick note if something goes wrong, like a missed punch or a shift that ran late. At the same time, you can turn on timecard approvals, so nothing gets finalized until it’s been reviewed. It’s a simple way to keep things accurate and avoid payroll problems before they start.

3. Paying Overtime Incorrectly

If your team ever works more than 40 hours in a week, overtime rules apply. But in a lot of dental offices, overtime gets overlooked or calculated wrong, and that can lead to problems fast.

According to Data for Progress, the average American worker puts in nine hours of unpaid overtime every week. That’s time they’ve earned but didn’t get paid for. Whether it’s because someone stayed late to help a patient or worked through lunch, those extra hours need to be tracked and paid correctly.

One important thing to keep in mind is that overtime laws vary by state. For example, in California, employees must be paid overtime after eight hours in a single workday, not just after 40 hours in a week, while most other states only require overtime after hitting 40 total hours.

The best solution is to have a system that automatically calculates overtime based on your state’s rules. With OnTheClock, you can set custom overtime policies for your location, track daily and weekly hours in real time, and get alerts when someone is close to exceeding that threshold.  

4. Letting Employees Punch in for Each Other

If your team shares a time clock without security measures, there’s a good chance someone’s clocking in for someone else. It’s called buddy punching, and it happens more often than you might think.

According to a report by the American Payroll Association, 16% of U.S. employees who track time admit to buddy punching. In a small dental office, even a few minutes here and there can turn into hours of lost productivity and wasted payroll each week.

To prevent this, it helps to use a time clock that includes security features, like facial recognition, fingerprint scanning, or GPS restrictions. These options help you to make sure the person clocking in is actually the right one.

5. Misclassifying Employees

If you’ve ever paid someone as a contractor when they really work like a regular team member, you might be misclassifying them.

This mistake happens most often with dental assistants, hygienists, or front desk staff who are treated as independent contractors instead of employees. Maybe it seems easier at tax time, or you assume that since they don’t work full-time, they don’t count as employees. But classification isn’t based on hours; it’s based on how much control you have over the work.

Getting this wrong means you could owe back taxes, penalties, and unpaid benefits. The best way to stay safe is to review the IRS guidelines and talk to a tax professional if you’re not sure.

6. Not Tracking Breaks Properly

Breaks might seem like a small part of the workday, but if you’re not tracking them correctly, they can cause big problems. Many states have laws that require meal and rest breaks, and if those breaks aren’t given or documented, your practice could be at risk for labor violations.

One common issue is assuming employees are taking their breaks just because they’re scheduled. But if someone skips a break or works through lunch and it’s not tracked, that time might need to be paid. If it's unpaid but still completed, you're looking at potential wage violations.

With OnTheClock, you can build breaks directly into your schedules and decide how they’re tracked. You can choose whether employees manually punch in and out for their breaks or have them automatically recorded. You also have full control over whether a break is paid or unpaid, making it easier to stay compliant with labor laws without adding extra work to your day.

7. Relying on Incomplete or Messy Records

If you’ve ever had to chase down missing timecards or double-check handwritten hours, you already know how messy recordkeeping can slow everything down. When time records are incomplete, inconsistent, or scattered across different formats, it’s hard to trust the numbers and even harder to stay compliant.

Inaccurate records can lead to payroll mistakes, employee disputes, and even legal trouble if you’re ever audited. If you can’t show clear, accurate logs of when employees worked, took breaks, or earned overtime, you’re exposed to risk, even if you were doing your best to keep things fair.

That’s why it pays to have everything in one place. A good time tracking system automatically keeps accurate records, so you don’t have to rely on memory or paper.

Final Thoughts

Time tracking has a lot of small details that are easy to miss, especially when you're trying to handle it all manually. But a good system takes that pressure off your plate, helps you track hours accurately, ensures you remain compliant with labor laws, and avoids payroll problems before they start.

With OnTheClock, you get tools that are built for real businesses, like punch reminders, overtime alerts, break tracking, and timecard approvals. It’s everything you need to manage your team’s time with confidence, all in one place.

If you’re ready to stop chasing down timecards and start running a smoother, more reliable operation, you should give it a try. It’s free to download, and your first 30 days are free. You really have nothing to lose!