Timetastic 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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Timetastic is the leave and absence planner many UK companies use to book holiday, record sick days and see who's off on the wallchart. Two-factor authentication (2FA) there is a personal choice: each user switches it on from their own profile, and Timetastic's help doesn't describe a way for an employer to require it (Timetastic). Once it's on, signing in takes your email address and password, then a 6-digit code from an authenticator app on your phone. The help page doesn't describe text-message codes as an option.
This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone for the app side. Any authenticator app follows the same steps.
How we checked this guide: the Timetastic steps come from Timetastic's own help center, linked below, which we read on October 22, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Timetastic account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Check first: do you sign in with SSO?
If your company signs you in to Timetastic through a single sign-on service, such as Google, Azure or Okta, you don't use Timetastic's 2FA at all. The second step happens in that provider's sign-in instead (Timetastic). Single sign-on is part of the Pro plan (Timetastic).
Also check which app you're in. Timetastic now sells a separate product, Rota & Time Clock, and companies that migrate are moved over to it (Timetastic). Its multi-factor authentication is switched on by an admin for the whole organization, and it sends the code by email rather than to an authenticator app (Timetastic). The steps below are for the Timetastic leave app.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
Have Novaz open and ready before you start. Timetastic's help describes these steps (Timetastic):
- Sign in to Timetastic on the web, click your profile image and choose My preferences.
- In the left-hand menu, select Two-factor auth.
- Click Setup authenticator app. Timetastic shows a QR code.
- In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code on your screen. If you're doing this on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- If the code won't scan, click Trouble scanning the code?. Timetastic shows a code to type into your app instead. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, fill in Service (for example, Timetastic) and paste or type that code as the Setup key. More in What is a 2FA setup key?
- Type the 6-digit code from Novaz into Timetastic and click Verify & Continue.
Timetastic then confirms that 2FA is on for your account and gives you your backup codes.
Save the backup codes
Right after setup, Timetastic gives you a set of backup codes to download or copy. Its help suggests a password manager as a place to keep them (Timetastic). Don't skip this. If that phone is gone and you have no Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, or yours is out of date, these codes are what gets you in. The help page doesn't say how many codes you get or whether each one works only once. See 2FA backup codes.
If you lose the codes or think someone else has seen them, you can replace them: go back to My Preferences, select Two-factor auth, and click Generate a new set of codes at the bottom of the page. Timetastic asks for your password or a current code from your app before it shows them, and the new set replaces the old one.
If Timetastic rejects your code
Timetastic's help doesn't cover rejected codes. The most common cause is a phone clock that has drifted. On iPhone, open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?
If you lose your phone
Try a backup code first. If you don't have one, Timetastic's route is through your own company, not its support team: ask one of your organization's Timetastic admin users, and they can turn off 2FA for you from your profile (Timetastic). After that you can sign in with your password and set up 2FA again on the new phone.
The help doesn't cover the case where you're the admin yourself. Timetastic does advise having two admins, a primary and a backup, rather than one (Timetastic). When nothing else works, its sign-in help says to contact its support team (Timetastic).
More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Changing phones
Timetastic's help doesn't describe moving 2FA to a new phone. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, restore it on the new iPhone and your Timetastic codes carry over. Otherwise, plan on setting Timetastic up again. While you still have the old phone, switch 2FA off (below), then turn it back on with the new phone and save the fresh backup codes. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
Turning 2FA off
Go back to My Preferences. In the two-factor authentication section, click Switch off 2FA, then confirm with Yes, turn off 2FA (Timetastic). After that you can remove the old entry in Novaz: open it and tap Remove account.
