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Compare base and top up labour costs in the Rota vs Timesheet report

Updated

Available for the following plans: Lite, Plus, Unlimited HR, Unlimited HR+Payroll
Time & Attendance Add-on 
Available for the following HR plans: Standard, Premium, Platinum
Available for the following user access levels: Employee, Manager, Admin

The following updates to the Rota vs. Timesheet report are specific to Payroll features and will be available starting March 30, 2026.

The Rota vs. Timesheet report provides a detailed comparison between scheduled labour costs and actual hours worked. Understanding the specific drivers of your labour costs is essential for accurate financial reconciliation. Recent updates now allow you to view a granular breakdown of base costs and rule-set top-ups directly within the report interface and through expanded export options.

This article shows you how to use the following updated reporting features:

View cost breakdowns with the hover tool

Use the on-demand breakdown tool

The report view now includes an interactive tooltip that removes the need for manual calculations when trying to separate base pay from rule-set additions.

  1. Log in to Employment Hero.
  2. Navigate to the Reports menu.
  3. Select the Rota vs Timesheet report.
  4. Locate any cost figure under the Rota, Timesheet, or Variance columns.
  5. Hover your mouse cursor over the specific cost figure.
  6. Review the tooltip breakdown that appears, which displays the Base Cost and Top Up Cost for that specific entry.

Helpful Hint

This tooltip functionality is available across all report filters, ensuring you can see cost structures regardless of the specific view or date range you select.

Analyse detailed cost data in report exports

Export detailed cost spreadsheets

For large-scale data analysis, the Excel and CSV export files now include dedicated columns for each cost component. This allows you to pivot and sum base versus top-up costs for multiple employees at once.

  1. Open the Rota vs Timesheet report.
  2. Apply your desired filters and date ranges.
  3. Click the Export button and select Excel or CSV.
  4. Open the downloaded file to view the following new and updated columns:
    • Rota Base Cost: The core cost of the rota for that day.
    • Rota Top Up Cost: The cost of rota rule top-ups for that day.
    • Rota Total Cost: The combined base and top-up cost for the rostered shift.
    • Timesheet Base Cost: The actual base cost from the submitted timesheet.
    • Timesheet Top Up Cost: The cost of timesheet rule top-ups for that day.
    • Timesheet Total Cost: The combined actual base and top-up cost.
    • Variance Base Cost: The difference between rostered and actual base costs.
    • Variance Top Up Cost: The difference between rostered and actual top-up costs.
    • Variance Total Cost: The total variance for that specific day.

Helpful Hint

The original "Cost" columns have been renamed to "Total Cost" to clearly distinguish them from the new Base and Top Up granular data points.

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