By industry · 4 min read
Time clock for carpentry shops and furniture stores: working-time record with no devices
Short answer
A carpentry shop can meet the electronic working-time record requirement by combining a QR code on site with location-based recording for people who work away from it. The law requires recording each person's start and end time; it does not require a wall-mounted time clock.
How work happens at a carpentry shop
A carpentry shop has carpenters, varnishers, installers and salespeople, with workshop work by day and installations at the client's home. That creates three challenges for measuring working time:
- Installation happens outside the workshop.
- Urgent orders stretch the workday.
- The workshop and the store are separate.
What the law requires of carpentry shops and furniture stores
Since the 2026 reform, the Federal Labor Law requires recording electronically the start and end time of each worker's workday (article 132, section XXXIV). Failing to do so is fined 250 to 5,000 UMA. The STPS will define who it applies to and what exceptions there will be. The details are in the reform guide.
Work peaks. Overtime has a weekly cap: 9 hours at double time in 2027, with a maximum of 4 per day on no more than 4 days, and never more than 12 total hours in a day.
Work outside the premises. The time a person is at the company's disposal is working time, even if they are not at your facilities.
How to record working time at a carpentry shop
- Register the location, your team and their shifts.
- Those who work on site scan the QR code.
- Those who work offsite clock in from their phone, with the location confirmed at that moment.
- They all appear in the same report, with the place or mode of each record.
Example. The carpenter scans in at the workshop; the installer records with location at the client's home.
Calculate your overtime
How to do the math by hand
Take a salary of $400 per day on a day shift. The ordinary hour is worth 400 ÷ 8 = $50. In 2027, with 11 overtime hours in the week, the first 9 are paid at double time (9 × $100 = $900) and the remaining 2 at triple time (2 × $150 = $300). Total: $1,200.
Common mistakes at a carpentry shop
- Keeping attendance from memory or in a notebook.
- Recording the clock-in and forgetting the clock-out.
- Covering peaks only with overtime, until exceeding the weekly cap.
- Asking staff who work offsite to stop by the office just to clock in.
What to check every day and every week
Every day.
- Who did not record their clock-in or clock-out.
- Records made in unexpected places.
- Departures later than planned.
Every week.
- Each person's overtime against the weekly cap.
- Days when someone came close to 12 hours.
- Rest days that were actually taken.
How much an overtime hour costs: example in pesos
Suppose a daily wage of $400 on a day shift. The ordinary hourly rate is $50. One overtime hour at double time costs $100 and one at triple time, $150. If a person works 9 overtime hours in a week in 2027, that is $900 extra.
It is an example to show the calculation, not a reference wage for the sector.
What changes every year, from 2026 to 2030
| Year | Maximum working hours | Double-time overtime | Triple-time overtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 48 h | 9 h | 4 h |
| 2027 | 46 h | 9 h | 4 h |
| 2028 | 44 h | 10 h | 4 h |
| 2029 | 42 h | 11 h | 4 h |
| 2030 | 40 h | 12 h | 4 h |
Decree published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on May 1, 2026, second and fourth transitory provisions, and article 68 of the LFT. Each change applies from January 1.
Related terms
What the STPS is and what it does. The STPS is the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.
What is a labor severance payment (liquidación). The liquidación is what is paid when the company ends the employment relationship without just cause.
Vacations by law: how many days are owed. With one year of work, 12 days of vacation are owed.
Frequently asked questions
Does a carpentry shop need to buy a time clock?
No. The law requires an electronic record of working time, not a device. An app on a phone complies.
What options are there for recording working time?
An app on each person's phone, a shared tablet or a clock connected to a system. All three comply if they generate an electronic record per person, with a start and an end time.
Can I ask for more overtime in peak season?
The weekly cap is not extended for the season. It helps to plan relief staff.
Is staff tracked during the day?
No. The location is used only at the moment of recording.
Who monitors compliance?
The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, through inspections.
Legal basis and sources
- Electronic working-time record: article 132, section XXXIV, of the LFT and fifth transitory provision of the decree.
- Overtime: articles 66 and 68 of the LFT and fourth transitory provision of the decree.
- Working hours: articles 58 to 64 of the LFT and second transitory provision of the decree.
- Decree amending the Federal Labor Law on the reduction of the working week. Official Gazette of the Federation, May 1, 2026.
- Federal Labor Law, current text. Chamber of Deputies.
How we write this content. The Sicheca team writes it from the official text of the law. When something is not yet defined by the authority, we say so. It is general information and does not replace the advice of a lawyer or an accountant.