Analyzing surcharges (night, Sunday, public holiday)

Analyzing surcharges

The surcharges report shows you how many hours were worked with a night, Sunday, or public-holiday surcharge — and what costs result from them.

How are surcharges calculated?

Shiftdesk uses the rate card from Settings → Payroll → Surcharges. There you define which percentage applies when:

Period	Example surcharge	Tax-free under the EStG
Night work (8:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m.)	25 %	up to 25 %
Sunday work	50 %	up to 50 %
Public-holiday work	125 %	up to 125 %
Christmas Eve / New Year's Eve from 2:00 p.m.	150 %	up to 150 %

The percentage values are an example. You can adjust them, but values above the tax-free limit are subject to social security contributions.

Example

Anna works 8 hours on a Sunday at an hourly wage of 15 euros:

Base wage:     8 h x 15 EUR = 120 EUR
Surcharge 50%: 8 h x 7.50 EUR = 60 EUR
Total:         180 EUR

Step by step

Go to Reports → Surcharges.
Choose the period.
Optionally filter by Team or Employee.
The table shows per employee:

- hours per surcharge type - surcharge amount in euros - tax-free vs. taxable share

Export as CSV or PDF.

Use

Payroll: Values flow automatically into the payroll journal.
Workforce planning: Identify shifts with high surcharge costs and plan more deliberately.
Controlling: Compare surcharge shares across teams.

> Tip: Review the surcharge rules once a year together with your tax advisor — tax-free limits can change.

Payroll overview for staff-cost analysis

Plan-vs-actual report for efficiency analysis

Creating and exporting reports

With reports you analyze working hours, staff costs, and shifts. Every report follows the same scheme: **choose a type**, **set filters**, **choose a format**, **start the download**.

Setting up the DATEV export

With the DATEV export you hand over hours, surcharges, and absences directly to your tax advisor. Shiftdesk generates a file in DATEV format that can be imported into **LODAS** or **Lohn & Gehalt**.

The 7 report types at a glance

Shiftdesk offers seven standard reports. Each has a clear purpose and a target role. The following table helps you choose.

Creating a payroll journal (LODAS / Lohn & Gehalt)

The **payroll journal** is the central report for payroll. For each employee it contains all values relevant to payroll: base hours, surcharges, absences, and special payments — ready for import into DATEV.

Still have questions?

Can't find what you're looking for? Get in touch — we're happy to help personally.

Try Shiftdesk for free

Analyzing surcharges (night, Sunday, public holiday)