Reconciling Cortex and UZIO Hours (Cortex Time Variance)

Purpose

Cortex Time Variance is where a Delivery Service Partner (DSP) reconciles what Amazon Cortex recorded against what UZIO timesheets say, before payroll runs. UZIO compares each driver's Cortex activity with their UZIO punches automatically and flags the differences. That removes the manual side-by-side check at period close, reduces the risk of paying for hours that were not worked, and surfaces break-compliance problems while they can still be addressed.

This is an Amazon DSP-only feature, fed by the Cortex Data Connector. Data syncs every 30 minutes. The page does not refresh itself, so reload it to see new data.

Who can do this: users whose role includes Time Tracking access on a DSP account. Changing the variance thresholds additionally needs permission to manage Time Tracking, which the Employer Administrator has by default.

Prerequisite: the Cortex Data Connector must be installed on a workstation and signed in to Cortex. Without it, no Cortex data reaches this screen.

What the integration does for you

• Timesheets reconcile themselves. UZIO hours against Cortex hours, per driver, per day, with differences flagged for review.
• Issues are tagged automatically. Clock-in and clock-out differences, break differences, deliveries recorded during a break window, and activity recorded while the driver was off the clock.
• You act in one place. Send a pre-filled Email, SMS or Push message to the driver from a flagged row, or open their timesheet to correct a punch.
• Shifts can build themselves. When Enable shift auto-sync is on, routes published in Cortex appear on your UZIO Schedule as Draft shifts for you to publish. This setting is off by default on newer accounts. See Setting Up the Cortex Data Connector.

The two views

Go to Time Tracking > Cortex Time Variance. Switch views at the top of the page.

• Details View shows one row per time entry: the UZIO punches beside the Cortex punches, break issues, and the tags that explain each flag. Click an N Issues link in the Breaks column to compare each break side by side.
• Daily Total View shows one row per driver per day, with summary totals across the top: scheduled hours, actual hours in each system, and the net variance.

Filter with the toolbar by pay group, period (including a custom date range), employee, and tag or status, then click Apply.

What counts as a variance

A variance is a difference larger than the threshold your company has set. UZIO keeps three separate thresholds, all on Time Tracking Settings > Cortex Integration:

Each one defaults to 10 minutes and accepts any value from 0 to 120 minutes. A difference within the threshold is treated as a match. A larger difference is flagged for review.

Acting on a flagged row

• Notify (three-dot menu) sends the driver a pre-filled message by Email, SMS or Push. You can edit it before sending.
• Click the driver's name to open their timesheet at the right pay period and correct the punch. Corrections are always made on the timesheet, never on the Variance page.

Mapping drivers (when needed)

UZIO matches Cortex drivers to UZIO employees automatically, using first name, last name, date of birth, and either the phone number or the personal email address. A driver whose details do not match on those fields cannot be matched, and appears on the Unmapped Delivery Associates tile on your dashboard. Until a driver is mapped, their shifts and hours do not flow into UZIO.

1. Open the Unmapped Delivery Associates tile from your dashboard.
2. Each unmapped driver is shown next to a suggested UZIO employee.
3. Click Map next to the correct match.
4. Enter the driver's Transporter ID and click Save.

Mapping a driver is a one-time step, and their data starts flowing on the next sync. If a driver reappears on the tile later, map them again. To prevent unmapped drivers in the first place, keep the name, date of birth, phone and personal email on the UZIO employee record matching what Amazon holds.

Day-to-day rhythm

• Keep Chrome open and signed in to Cortex during the workday. If Chrome closes or the session ends, syncing pauses and resumes automatically. No data is lost.
• End of day: wait 30 minutes after the last driver signs out, reload the page, and work through the flagged rows. Notify drivers, or correct timesheets.
• End of pay period: switch to Daily Total View, filter by variance status, and clear the list before running payroll.

What this does not change

• Payroll runs off your UZIO timesheet data. Cortex is for variance review. No Cortex figure reaches a paycheck on its own, and an uncleared variance does not block a pay run. Clearing the list before payroll is a control you apply, not one the system enforces.
• Corrections count towards your override rate. Every punch an admin rewrites after reviewing a variance counts in the Delivery Associate override percentage. Where the fix belongs with the driver, use Notify and let them correct their own entry. See Manager Override Monitoring.
• The 30-day limit still applies. On DSP accounts UZIO refuses time-entry and pay-period changes older than 30 days. A variance found on an older period is handled as a payroll adjustment, not a timesheet edit. See Reviewing and Correcting Your Team's Timesheets.
• Cortex stays the source of truth for shifts. Changes made in Cortex sync through automatically. A shift deleted in UZIO, or reassigned in UZIO to a different employee, is not recreated by the integration.

Common problems

The extension icon is gray or red

Your Cortex session ended. Sign back in to Cortex. Syncing resumes on its own.

The last-synced time has not moved in over an hour

Check that Chrome is open, the computer is awake, and Cortex is signed in.

The numbers look stale

The Variance page does not refresh itself, so reload the browser page. The data is not real time. Allow up to 30 minutes for Cortex activity to appear, and 30 to 40 minutes for the very first sync.

A driver is missing from UZIO

Check the Unmapped Delivery Associates tile. They most likely need the one-time mapping above.

A shift did not appear on the Schedule

First check that Enable shift auto-sync is on under Time Tracking Settings > Cortex Integration. If it is, check the banner above the Schedule, which explains why a specific shift was skipped, for example an unmapped driver or an overlapping shift. A shift previously deleted or reassigned in UZIO is not recreated.

A variance is blank

The day is still in progress. Wait 30 minutes after the driver's last sign-out.

A variance is hours rather than minutes

The driver most likely missed a sign-out on one side. Open Details View and compare the punches.

Everyone suddenly looks flagged, or nobody does

Someone changed a threshold. Check the three variance values under Time Tracking Settings > Cortex Integration.

Can I trigger a sync manually?

Routine syncing is automatic every 30 minutes, and the Variance page has no sync button. Reload the page instead. The extension's own setup panel does offer manual sync actions for an immediate pull.

Can more than one admin install the extension?

Yes. UZIO removes duplicate data automatically, so extra installations only add resilience.

Still stuck?

Contact your UZIO Customer Success Manager, or UZIO Support at support@uzio.com or +1-571-601-1752. Send the driver's name and employee ID, the date and pay period, a screenshot of the row, and the Last sync time shown in the extension's Sync Log.

Related articles

• Setting Up the Cortex Data Connector — the one-time extension install and the integration settings
• DSP on UZIO: What's Different
• Reviewing and Correcting Your Team's Timesheets — where the corrections happen
• Manager Override Monitoring — how your corrections are counted
• Working-Hour Limits for Delivery Associates