How site timezones work in RosterElf
Every site in RosterElf has its own timezone. This article explains what that setting controls, what happens when you change it on a site that is already in use, and how times are read when the site and the device you are working on are in different timezones.
RosterElf holds two different kinds of time, and they behave differently on purpose. Rostered times are plain clock values written on the shift — 10:00 to 18:00 means ten in the morning, wherever the site is. Clock records are real moments: someone pressed a button at an instant, and that instant carries a different label when it is shown in a different timezone. Most confusion in this area comes from expecting both to behave the same way.
1. Every site has its own timezone
A site’s timezone lives in Sites > the site > Info. It controls which public holidays apply to the site and how clock-in and clock-out records are displayed.
Sites in different states have different timezones, and that is expected — a Perth site and a Sydney site will show different local times for the same moment.
2. Times you type are read in your device's timezone
Times are entered in your device’s timezone
When you type a start and finish time into a shift, RosterElf reads those times in your device’s timezone. If your phone or computer is set to a different timezone from the site you are rostering, the times recorded on the shift differ from the ones you typed by the gap between the two zones.
Typing 06:00–22:00 on a device set to Perth time records a 08:00–00:00 shift on a Sydney site, because Sydney is two hours ahead.
When you roster for a site in a different state from the one you are sitting in — or while you are travelling — set your device to the site’s timezone before you build the roster, and the times you type are the times you get.
If you work across several sites at once and cannot match your device to all of them, open a shift after you publish it and confirm the times read the way you intended.
3. Changing a site's timezone
Rostered times and dates stay exactly as you entered them. A shift rostered for 9:00am stays a shift rostered for 9:00am, on the same date, no matter which timezone the site is set to. That is true of shifts sitting either side of midnight as well.
What does change is how clock-in and clock-out times are displayed, because those are recorded as real moments rather than as times on a clock. A clock-in recorded at 9:32am Perth time will display as 11:32am if the site is moved to Sydney. It is the same moment, shown in a different place.
Set the timezone when you create the site
If you need to change it later on a site where staff have already been clocking in, open Payroll for the affected weeks and check the hours before you process the next payrun.
4. The Custom column after a timezone change
Time Clock times are records of real moments, so they re-display in the new timezone. Rostered times are not — they stay exactly as entered.
A Custom value behaves differently depending on whether anyone has touched it:
- A Custom value you have edited stays exactly as you typed it. It does not move. That is deliberate — a manual override should not change on its own.
- A Custom value you have never edited follows the clock record, so it moves with it.
Re-check Custom values before you approve
After any timezone change, re-check every row that has a Custom value. An edited Custom value will still show the old time while Time Clock has moved, and Custom is the column that determines pay. Approving without checking can approve hours that were never worked.
5. Related articles
- Add and manage sites — where the timezone setting lives
- Setting up time and attendance — site-level clock-in settings
- Manually adjust shift hours — how the Custom column works
Frequently asked questions
1. Does changing a site's timezone move shifts I have already rostered?
No. Rostered times are stored as plain clock values, so a shift rostered for 9:00am stays at 9:00am on the same date whatever timezone the site is set to. This includes shifts that sit either side of midnight. What does change is how clock-in and clock-out records are displayed, because those are records of real moments.
2. Why does the shift show a different time from the one I typed?
RosterElf reads the times you type in your device’s timezone rather than the site’s. If your computer is set to Perth time and the site is set to Sydney time, typing 06:00–22:00 records an 08:00–00:00 shift, because Sydney is two hours ahead. Set your device to the site’s timezone before you roster, or check the shift after you publish it.
3. Why does the Custom column disagree with Time Clock after a timezone change?
A Custom value you have edited is stored exactly as you typed it and does not move, which is deliberate — a manual override should not change on its own. Time Clock times do move, because they are records of real moments. Re-check every row with a Custom value after a timezone change, because Custom is the column that determines pay.
4. I changed a site's timezone and staff had already clocked in. What should I check?
Open Payroll for the affected weeks and check the hours before you process the next payrun. Clock-derived columns re-display in the new timezone, so approved hours on those shifts can differ from what you saw before the change.