---
title: 'Overtime periods'
summary: 'A bounded window of time (typically a month or quarter) during which overtime hours accumulate and are reconciled at close. The clock cycle of the overtime subsystem.'
section: features
tags:
  - crud
  - tempus
  - overtime
updated: '2026-08-12'
---

> An **overtime period** in Tempus is a **bounded window of time** (typically a month or a quarter) during which overtime hours accumulate and at the end of which they are reconciled: paid out, converted to compensatory time-off, or rolled forward.

## Overview

A period is the settlement boundary for overtime. Each [company](tempus_companies.md) configures its own cadence, so multi-company tenants can run separate cadences, though most pick one (monthly or quarterly) across all companies. The page lists periods with their dates, company, status, and note, and lets you create, open, close, or submit them.

## What it does

A period moves through three states:

| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Open** | Accumulating overtime. Employees file [declarations](tempus_overtime_declarations.md) and see their running count. Time-point edits within the period count toward the balance. |
| **Closed** | No longer accumulating. Time-point edits inside the period are locked. The system generates one [decision](tempus_overtime_decisions.md) per employee in the company. |
| **Submitted** | The [submission](tempus_overtime_submissions.md) has been sent to payroll. Balance changes hit the contract, cash payouts go out, and the period is read-only. |

A period usually stays Open for its duration, moves to Closed a few days after the end date so pending [corrections](tempus_time_point_corrections.md) can settle, then to Submitted once payroll runs.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Periods do not auto-create. Create the next one before it starts. A common HR workflow is to create a full year of periods each December. Closing a period locks time-point edits inside it, so late corrections need an HR override.

## How to close a period and send it to payroll

1. Let pending [corrections](tempus_time_point_corrections.md) settle first. Closing locks time-point edits inside the period, and a late correction then needs an HR override.
2. Close the period. One [decision](tempus_overtime_decisions.md) per employee in the company is generated at close.
3. Work through the decisions, setting how much is paid out and how much is banked as time off. [Decision preferences](tempus_overtime_decision_preferences.md) seed each employee's usual split so you are not retyping it.
4. Bundle them into a [submission](tempus_overtime_submissions.md) and send it. Submitting writes balance changes to the contract, releases cash payouts, and makes the period read-only.
5. Create the next period before it starts. Periods do not auto-create, and creating a full year each December is the common practice.

## See also

- [Overtime declarations](tempus_overtime_declarations.md) - the inputs within a period.
- [Overtime decisions](tempus_overtime_decisions.md) - the end-of-period reconciliation.
- [Overtime submissions](tempus_overtime_submissions.md) - the final payroll-side send.
- [Companies](tempus_companies.md) - where the overtime feature is enabled.