Bonuses/Retentions - Shifton Help

Add financial bonuses or penalty deductions to employee shifts for accurate payroll calculations.

What Is This?

The Bonuses/Retentions module lets managers attach monetary adjustments to individual shifts. A bonus adds extra pay for outstanding work, overtime incentives, or holiday premiums. A retention (deduction) subtracts an amount for late arrivals, policy violations, or other penalties.

These adjustments flow directly into the Pay Rate report (when the Payroll module is enabled), giving you a complete picture of employee compensation without external tracking.

Prerequisites

An active Shifton account.

Owner

, Admin, or Manager role to add bonuses and retentions.

The Payroll module is recommended (but not required) to see adjustments in salary reports.

How to Enable/Disable

Go to Modules in the left sidebar.

Find Bonuses/Retentions in the module list.

Toggle the switch to enable or disable the module.

Module Settings

This module does not have a dedicated settings section in the Module Settings tab. Bonuses and retentions are managed directly on individual shifts.

Step-by-Step Usage Guide

Adding a Bonus to a Shift

Open the Schedule page.

Click on the shift you want to modify.

In the shift detail panel, find the Bonus field.

Enter the bonus amount.

Optionally add a comment explaining the reason (e.g., “Holiday premium” or “Extra hours”).

Click Save.

Adding a Retention (Deduction) to a Shift

Open the Schedule page.

Click on the target shift.

In the shift detail panel, find the Retention field.

Enter the deduction amount.

Add a comment with the reason (e.g., “Late arrival 30 min”).

Click Save.

Viewing Bonuses and Retentions in Reports

Ensure the Payroll module is enabled.

Go to the Pay Rate report.

Select the date range.

Bonuses and retentions appear as separate line items for each employee.

The totals include all adjustments.

Pricing Info

Component	Cost
Monthly module fee	$0/month
Per-employee fee	$0.50/employee/month

For example, a company with 25 employees would pay: $0 + (25 x $0.50) = $12.50/month.

Access Permissions

Role	Add Bonus/Retention	View Adjustments	Edit Adjustments	Delete Adjustments
Owner	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Admin	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Manager	Assigned projects	Assigned projects	Assigned projects	No
Employee	No	Own data only	No	No

FAQ

Q: Can I add both a bonus and a retention to the same shift?
A: Yes. A shift can have both a bonus and a retention simultaneously. Both will be reflected in the payroll report.

Q: Are bonuses and retentions visible to the employee?
A: Employees can see adjustments applied to their own shifts. They cannot see adjustments on other employees’ shifts.

Q: Can I add a bonus without the Payroll module?
A: Yes. You can add bonuses and retentions to shifts even without the Payroll module. However, they will only appear in salary reports if Payroll is enabled.

Q: Is there a limit to the bonus or retention amount?
A: There is no system-imposed limit. Use your company’s guidelines to determine appropriate amounts.

Q: Can I bulk-add bonuses to multiple shifts at once?
A: Currently, bonuses and retentions are added per shift. For recurring adjustments, consider using pay rate rules in Salary Settings.

Possible Issues and Solutions

Issue	Cause	Solution
Bonus/Retention fields not visible on shifts	Module is not enabled	Enable the Bonuses/Retentions module from the Modules page.
Adjustments not appearing in Pay Rate report	Payroll module is not enabled	Enable the Payroll module to see bonuses and retentions in salary reports.
Manager cannot add adjustments	Manager is not assigned to the project	Assign the manager to the relevant project in the Projects page.
Wrong amount applied	Typo during entry	Edit the shift and correct the bonus or retention amount.
Employee disputes a retention	No comment was added to explain the reason	Always add comments when applying retentions to maintain transparency.