Shifts, Timesheets, and No-Shows

Learn how Dentipal records working hours, manages timesheet approvals, handles no-show reports, and calculates the Reliability information displayed on professional profiles.

Timesheets apply to temporary and multi-day shifts. Permanent positions are not managed through Dentipal's timesheet system.

This page explains how the policies outlined in our Terms of Service are applied.

Daily Timesheets

Each day of a confirmed booking has its own timesheet. Timesheets become available 45 minutes before the first scheduled shift begins.

Recorded hours represent paid working time, excluding unpaid breaks. Each day's recorded hours may range from 15 minutes to 24 hours.

Both the professional and the clinic can submit working hours. A timesheet becomes final when:

• Both parties agree on the recorded hours.
• The applicable response deadline expires.
• Dentipal staff resolve a disputed timesheet.

For Professionals: Check-In and Check-Out

Check In. You can check in beginning 30 minutes before your scheduled shift and until its scheduled end. Dentipal records your check-in time using its own system clock. Your location is never requested or recorded during check-in or check-out.

Check Out. Check out when you finish working. Your recorded hours are calculated from your check-in and check-out times, minus any unpaid break you say you took: the scheduled unpaid break or the break duration you enter. No break is deducted unless you report one. Check-outs occurring more than four hours after the scheduled end time are capped at four hours after that time.

Missed Check-Outs. If you remain checked in four hours after your scheduled shift ends, Dentipal automatically records your check-out at the scheduled end time. You will receive a notification, and the calculated hours will be submitted to the clinic. You may submit corrected hours before the clinic responds.

Manual Time Entry. If you did not check in, you can manually submit your working hours once the shift has started. You may update those hours until the clinic responds.

For Clinics: Reviewing and Approving Hours

Authorized clinic team members can review, approve, or adjust timesheets after a shift ends or once the professional submits working hours. Team members with view-only permissions can review timesheets but cannot modify them.

Approving Hours. Selecting Approve accepts the professional's submitted hours or the scheduled hours if the professional has not submitted any. A clinic's proposed hours become final immediately when they equal or exceed the professional's submitted hours (or the scheduled hours, if none were submitted), or are no more than 15 minutes below them.

Reducing Hours. If the clinic proposes a reduction greater than 15 minutes, a reason is required. The professional then has 72 hours to accept or dispute the proposed hours. A reason and professional response are also required when the clinic records hours for a shift without scheduled start and end times before the professional has submitted any hours.

Approving Additional Hours. Only clinic owners and administrators can approve hours exceeding the scheduled duration by more than 15 minutes.

Confirming an Entire Booking. Clinics can confirm outstanding timesheets for an entire booking in a single action. For a one-day booking, the hours the clinic enters are used; hours more than 15 minutes above the scheduled duration are recorded as the scheduled hours. For multi-day bookings, each day uses the professional's submitted hours, or the scheduled hours if none were submitted. If daily scheduled hours are unavailable, the entered total is distributed across the booking days.

Automatic Timesheet Approvals

Dentipal applies response deadlines to prevent timesheets from remaining unresolved indefinitely. A shift booked after it had already started is never approved automatically; Dentipal staff decide its hours.

Clinic Response Deadline: 48 Hours. Clinics have 48 hours after a shift ends, or after the professional submits their hours if later, to respond. If the clinic does not respond, the professional's hours are automatically approved. Exceptions requiring Dentipal staff review include:

• Submitted hours exceeding the scheduled duration by more than 15 minutes
• Submitted hours totaling less than 15 minutes

Professional Response Deadline: 72 Hours. When a clinic proposes reduced hours requiring the professional's response, the professional has 72 hours after the shift ends, or after the clinic submits its proposed hours if later, to respond. If the professional does not respond, the clinic's proposed hours are approved automatically.

When Neither Party Submits Hours. If neither party records hours within 48 hours after the shift ends, the scheduled hours are automatically approved. If no scheduled hours are available, the timesheet is referred to Dentipal staff.

Reminders. Clinic team members receive their first reminder one hour after the shift ends, followed by daily reminders until the response deadline. Professionals receive a reminder if they have not checked in or submitted hours. They also receive a reminder during the final 24 hours before a reduced-hours proposal is automatically approved.

Notifications. Timesheet notifications are delivered through the app, email, and push notifications. SMS notifications are not used for timesheet updates. Important notifications requiring action may still be delivered by email and push when individual notification categories are disabled. Disabling an entire delivery channel prevents notifications through that channel.

Timesheet Disputes and Corrections

If a professional disagrees with the clinic's proposed hours, they can submit a dispute with their own recorded hours and an explanation. Dentipal staff are notified and review the disputed timesheet.

While the dispute remains unresolved:

• The clinic may approve hours that are no more than 15 minutes below the professional's submitted hours.
• The professional may accept the clinic's proposed hours.
• Dentipal staff may determine the final outcome.

Dentipal staff determine whether the day was worked and, if so, the approved hours. Each decision includes a written explanation and is recorded in the timesheet history.

Booking Completion. A booking can be completed and become eligible for payment only after every daily timesheet is finalized. An unresolved dispute prevents the entire booking from being finalized.

Corrections to Finalized Timesheets. Only Dentipal staff can correct finalized hours. If the booking has already been paid, the correction is made through a dispute case, and any difference in pay is settled through a refund to the clinic or an additional payment to the professional. Corrections wait while a payment for the booking is being processed. For assistance, contact Dentipal Support.

Shift Payments

Once all daily timesheets are finalized, the booking is marked as completed if at least one day was worked. If no days were worked, the booking is recorded as a no-show.

For hourly shifts, the amount due is calculated by multiplying the approved working hours by the agreed hourly rate. Days determined to have not been worked are excluded from the payment calculation. For other supported shift payment structures, clinics enter the applicable payment amount.

Permanent positions are handled separately through the clinic's employment and payroll arrangements.

For Clinics: Reporting a No-Show

Clinics can report a professional who does not attend a confirmed shift. Authorized clinic team members may submit a no-show report beginning 30 minutes after the scheduled start time and up to 48 hours after the shift ends, using the clinic's local time. Reports can be submitted for an individual day through its timesheet or for all currently eligible days in a booking. A report must include an explanation and may include up to five supporting files.

Reporting Restrictions

• Future shifts cannot be reported as no-shows.
• Shifts without a start time can be reported after their scheduled end.
• If the shift's time zone is unknown, only Dentipal Support can record a no-show.
• A day for which Dentipal staff have dismissed a no-show report cannot be reported again.

Before a shift begins, clinics should use Withdraw to remove a professional from a booking. Permanent placements are not eligible for no-show reports and must be ended through the applicable withdrawal process.

Reports Involving Recorded Hours. If a professional has checked in or submitted hours for the reported day, the day is referred directly to Dentipal staff, who are notified immediately. The professional can still respond to the report.

While a Report Is Under Review. A pending report does not automatically create a no-show record or affect the professional's Reliability information. The booking remains assigned to the professional while the report is being reviewed. Affected days remain unpaid, and the booking cannot be completed, paid, or rated until a decision is reached. The professional has 72 hours to respond. Dentipal staff review the report after a response is received or the response period expires. No reported day is finalized as not worked without a staff decision.

For Professionals: Responding to a No-Show Report

If a clinic reports you as a no-show, Dentipal notifies you through the app, email, and push notifications. The notice includes the response deadline, which is 72 hours after the report is submitted. The clinic's explanation and any case details are available within Dentipal, not in the notification itself.

Submitting Your Response. You may submit one response through the Dentipal website or mobile app. Your response must include:

• An explanation of 10 to 2,000 characters
• Up to five supporting files, if needed

Your booking remains assigned to you while the report is under review. A pending or dismissed report does not count against your Reliability record.

How Dentipal Reviews No-Show Reports

Dentipal staff review the available information and determine whether a report should be upheld or dismissed. Every decision includes a written explanation visible to both parties. A report can be upheld only after the professional responds or the 72-hour response period expires, and only after the relevant shift has started.

If a Report Is Upheld. The no-show is confirmed, and the affected days are recorded as not worked and are not payable through the timesheet process. If no days in the booking were worked, the booking ends as a no-show. The position may become available again if the shift has not yet started.

If a Report Is Dismissed. No no-show is recorded against the professional. Affected timesheets reopen, and the clinic receives a new 48-hour response period. Depending on the circumstances, Dentipal staff may restore the booking, record it as worked, or release it without a no-show. The clinic cannot rate a professional for a shift covered by the applicable dismissed report. Any affected rating submitted earlier is removed from display and excluded from rating calculations.

Case Visibility. Both parties can access:

• The report and the clinic's explanation
• The professional's response and any appeal
• The decision and its explanation
• The case history

Staff identities are not disclosed. Each party can access only the files they submitted. Authorized Dentipal staff can access all case attachments.

Appealing a No-Show Decision

Professionals may appeal an upheld no-show decision once, within seven days. An appeal must include an explanation of 10 to 2,000 characters and may include up to five supporting files. Dentipal staff review the appeal and issue a final decision.

Appeals Involving Multiple Days. Each upheld day has its own seven-day appeal deadline, beginning when its decision was issued. An appeal covers the upheld days that remain within their appeal periods when it is submitted. Later decisions do not extend earlier deadlines. If a clinic reports another day from the same booking while an appeal is pending, the existing appeal remains open. Dentipal staff resolve the new report before deciding the pending appeal. A day upheld while an appeal is pending is handled separately. The professional may appeal that newly upheld day within seven days after the pending appeal is decided.

Successful Appeals. When an appeal succeeds, the affected days reopen and no longer count as upheld no-shows.

Understanding Reliability

The Reliability section provides clinics with information about a professional's completed and attended bookings and confirmed no-show history.

Reliability information is visible to:

• The professional
• Authorized Dentipal staff
• Clinic members who have permission to view the professional's profile

Reliability information is not displayed in the public professional directory.

Shifts. The number of bookings that have been completed or have started. Each booking counts once, regardless of how many days it includes. Canceled, withdrawn, and declined bookings are excluded.

Upheld No-Shows. The number of bookings with no-show reports upheld by Dentipal staff. Each booking counts once. Pending reports, dismissed reports, and successfully appealed decisions are excluded.

No-Show Rate. The percentage of counted bookings with upheld no-shows, displayed to one decimal place. When no shifts have been recorded, the rate is displayed as N/A.

Most Recent No-Show. The date of the latest upheld no-show.

No-Shows in the Last 90 Days. The number of upheld no-shows reported within the preceding 90 days.

How Reliability Is Used. Reliability information helps clinics evaluate booking history. Dentipal does not automatically suspend, restrict, or otherwise limit professional accounts based solely on Reliability information.

Questions or Assistance

If you need help with a timesheet, payment, no-show report, or appeal, contact Dentipal Support.

Support Center: Available through the Dentipal website and mobile app

Email: support@dentipal.com

Phone: (888) 311-3172

For additional information, review our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.