GUIDE · ATTENDANCE & PAYROLL
Attendance and payroll records for grants
助成金のための勤怠・給与の記録No records, no joseikin
Employment grants (joseikin) are checked against your attendance and payroll records. Messy records are one of the most common reasons applications fail.
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Before
6 months
Records before conversion
After
6 months
Records after conversion
Pay rise
3%+
Shown in the payroll ledger
Apply
2 months
After the 6th month’s payday
What the Career-Up Grant checks
For the Career-Up Grant (regular employment course), labour bureau checklists ask for:
| Record | Japanese | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance records or time cards | 出勤簿・タイムカード | 6 months before and 6 months after the conversion |
| Payroll ledger | 賃金台帳 | Before and after — with all the items the Labor Standards Act requires |
| Work rules | 就業規則 | Before and after, including the conversion system |
| Career-Up Plan | キャリアアップ計画書 | Filed before the conversion |
Checklists differ by labour bureau and year. Use the latest one from your prefecture’s labour bureau.
How to keep records that pass
Do
- Record start and end times every day, objectively (clock-in system or time cards)
- Keep one payroll ledger per employee with every allowance named
- Pay on the same closing and pay dates every month
- Keep records for the conversion month clearly separated
Avoid
- Hand-written hours filled in later
- Allowances that change names month to month
- Paying part of the salary in cash with no record
- Different closing dates for base pay and overtime without noting it
Software that helps
- Clock-in by app or IC card — objective records you can export by month
- Payroll linked to attendance — no re-typing hours
- Labor Standards Act items — the payroll ledger includes the required fields
- Staff screens in English — check which screens your staff will use
Attendance and payroll software registered as an IT tool can be part of a Digitalization & AI Subsidy application — apply with a registered IT vendor before you buy.
FAQ
What records do I need for the Career-Up Grant?
Attendance records or time cards and the payroll ledger for 6 months before and 6 months after the conversion, the work rules before and after, and the Career-Up Plan filed before the conversion. Check the latest checklist from your labour bureau.
Can I use hand-written time sheets?
Records must show actual working hours reliably. Hand-written sheets filled in later are a common problem. A clock-in system or time cards are safer.
Can I get a subsidy for attendance software?
If the software is registered as an IT tool, it can be part of a Digitalization & AI Subsidy application through a registered IT vendor.
Sources
- Career-Up Grant (キャリアアップ助成金) — Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
- Regular employment course — application checklist — Tokyo Labour Bureau
- Regular employment course — list of documents — Kochi Labour Bureau
This page is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. The official Japanese guidelines always take priority.
NEED HELP IN ENGLISH?
Talk to an English-speaking expert
Sharoshi who set up work rules, attendance and Career-Up applications for foreign employers — in English.
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USEFUL TOOLS
- Kintai Cloud — attendance tracking for small businesses ↗Japanese-language service
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