In order to use the Timesheets process, you must set up the following:

• Add timesheets to pay schedule pay periods
• Make sure each active employee record is associated with a user name (this only applies if users will be entering their own time using PR> Timesheets)
• Make sure each active employee record is associated with a department
• Define which employees can approve timesheets
• Define which departments employees can approve timesheets on
• Create a work flow to commit Timesheet Approval batches (this is only required if you are using work flows)

Step by Step

1     Add timesheets to pay schedule pay periods.

• There must be timesheets added to pay schedule pay periods using the Pay Schedule Maintenance window (PR> Maintenance> Pay Schedule> Create icon). This feature allows you to enter more than one timesheet per pay schedule pay period. For example, if employees are paid every month but you would like employees to enter weekly timesheets, you can add four timesheets to each pay schedule pay period using the Pay Schedule Maintenance window.
  • Employees can only enter time on timesheets that have been set up in the Pay Schedule Maintenance window and on pay periods that have not been closed.
  • You can either add all of the timesheets to all of the pay schedule pay periods when the pay schedule is created or you can add timesheets to the pay periods as you would like them to become available to the employees.
    • For example, employees will be able to access all timesheets associated with open pay schedule pay periods using the Timesheets palette (PR> Timesheets). If you only want employees to have access to certain timesheets (for example, a timesheet or two into the future), you can add those timesheets to pay schedules as you would like to make them available.
    • You may want to make future timesheets available so that employees can enter future time off. For example, if an employee would like to take time off during a future timesheet, or during an entire timesheet, you may want to make those timesheets available so that employees can enter that information.

2     Employee records must be associated with user names if employees will be entering their own timesheets.

• Each active employee that will enter a timesheet must be associated with a user account. When the Timesheets window (PR> Timesheets> Timesheets) is opened, the timesheets created using that window are associated with the user name you used to log into the application and open the window. If there isn’t an employee record associated with your user name, you will not be able to open the window.
• Payroll module employee records are associated with user names using the User Maintenance window (SS> Security> User> Employee Number field).
• If a department clerk will enter timesheets on the employees in their departments, you do not have to associate the user accounts with employee records.

3     Add a department to every active Payroll module employee.

• Department clerks approve the timesheets of the employees of specific departments. If an employee record isn’t associated with a department, there is no department clerk to approve the timesheets. Every active employee that will enter hours using the Timesheets feature must be associated with a department.
• You can attach a department to an employee record using the Employee Maintenance window (PR> Maintenance> Employee> General tab> Department field).
• You can view the employee records that are not attached to a department code using the Employee Selection window (PR> Maintenance> Employee). Click the Department column heading to sort the records in the window by department code. Employee records that aren’t attached to department codes will be grouped together.

4     Define who can approve timesheets in the Timesheets Approval process.

• The Timesheets Approval process (PR> Timesheets Approval) is a batch process used to approve or modify employee timesheets before they are imported into a Payroll module Computer Checks batch. To use this process, you must define which employees can approve timesheets.
• Employees are set up to approve timesheets by creating roles (SS> Security> Role), and then associating those roles with employees (either using HR module positions or user names).
• Only employees set up to approve timesheets can use the Timesheets Approval process, but you should still restrict access to the Timesheets Approval palette using the Menu Security feature.
• You can set up an employee to approve timesheets in two ways: attaching their user account to a role or attaching an HR module position to a role. The advantage of using positions instead of names is that as employees change positions, the right to approve timesheets will automatically update as those positions change. For example, if an employee is head of a department, but they change positions and get transferred to a new department, the right to approve timesheets in the old department will automatically be removed once the position on their employee record is changed. If you add roles to specific employees, you will have to manually change those roles when employees change positions.
• Attach a position to a role.
  • Create a role using the Role Maintenance window (SS> Security> Role).
  • Select Position in the Type drop-down menu.
  • Select the position you would like to set up as a department clerk in the Position field. For example, if you have a position titled DEPTCLERK and you would like to set up that position as a department clerk, select that position in this field.
  • Add the position to an employee record using the Employee Maintenance window (PR> Maintenance> Employee> General tab> Position field).
  • Make sure the employee record you just added the position to is associated with a user (SS> Security> User> Employee Number field).
  • You can attach a role to a specific user name using the Role Maintenance window (SS> Security> Role> Select user in the Type drop-down menu> User field).

5     Add departments to the department clerks.

• Once you have created roles and associated those roles with either HR module positions or user accounts, you need to attach specific departments to those roles.
• When timesheets are pulled into a Timesheets Approval batch (PR> Timesheets Approval), an employee can only approve timesheets for departments that are attached to their role. For example, if only department 100 is attached to a role, then the employee in that role can only approve timesheets for department 100. You can attach as many departments as you would like to a role.
• Departments are attached to roles using the Department Information section on the Role Maintenance window (SS> Security> Role> Department Information).
• Each time you attach a department to a role, make sure to set up the role as a department clerk of that department in the Function column. The department clerk function allows the role to approve timesheets in that department.
• For example, if you are creating a role to approve timesheets in department 100 and 200, open the role in the Role Maintenance window (SS> Security> Role), click the Create icon   drop-down menu and select Department. This will add a line item to the Department Information section. Select department number 100 in the Department column and select Department Clerk in the Function column. Repeat this process to add department 200 to the Department Information section. Once the role is complete, click the Save icon  . An employee that is either attached directly to the role (in the User field), or is attached to the position on the role will be able to approve and modify the timesheets of all employees in department 100 and 200.
• Departments are attached to employee records using the Employee Maintenance window (PR> Maintenance> Employee> General tab> Department field).

6     If you are using work flows in the timesheets process, you must create the work flow for the Timesheets Approval process.

• Work flows are an optional feature of the Timesheets Approval process. This is not a required setup.
• Work flows allow you to control how work moves inside a batch process. The Timesheets Approval process has a work flow that allows the department clerk to generate a work flow once the timesheets have been approved and modified. For example, this allows the department clerk to automatically generate an email to the department head once the timesheets are ready to be committed in the Timesheets Approval process. The department head can then go into the Timesheets Approval batch and commit the timesheets. Only committed timesheets can be imported into a Computer Checks batch.
• Currently, work flows can only be created by Springbrook Software employees (SS> Work Flows> Work Flow Templates). Contact Support if you would like to create a work flow template.

7     Complete the setup process.

• Once the work flow template has been created, the setup is complete. Enter timesheets in PR> Timesheets and then approve those timesheets in PR> Timesheets Approval.