Best Practices For Configuring Timesheets

Set Up a Labour Force

• Set up Company Classifications so you can assign them to your employee's and worker's user profiles. See Add a Classification and Enable Classifications on a Project.
• For users to appear in the Timesheets Employee list:
  • Add Employees on an individual project basis.
    • Go to the Directory, add or edit each employee's user profile and under 'Personal Information', scroll down to mark the checkbox that says 'Is Employee of [Company Name]?’. The employee will need to be added to each Project Directory that you want to track their time for. See Edit a User Account in the Project Directory for more information.
    • Add a "worker" to the Crews tool. An email address is NOT required to create a "worker" nor do they need to be added to the Directory. See Add a Worker to learn more.
    • You can also assign a 'Classification' for your employees and workers. 
  • Select Employees from the Company Directory (only if the 'Can company employees be tracked on all projects?' setting is marked).
    • Employees will be listed in the Timesheets tool for all projects if the  'Can company employees be tracked on all projects?' setting is enabled and they are an "Employee of the Company". See Configure Advanced Settings: Company Level Timesheets.
  • Select a crew (a group of employees).
    • A crew must first be created in the Crews tool. For more information, see Create a Crew.

Configure Timesheets

Default Timesheet Configuration Settings can be managed by users with 'Admin' level permissions on the Company level Timesheets tool. See Configure Advanced Settings: Company Level Timesheets for more information. The settings that can be managed on that page are listed below:

• Choose default work week:
  • You can select what you want your company's work week to be in the Timesheets, Company Timecard and Daily Log tools.
    Note: This setting will display as the filter "current work week" or "last work week" in Timesheets custom reports.
• Can company employees be tracked on all projects?:
  • Mark the checkbox and click Update if you want users who are marked as "employees of your company" in the Directory and "workers" in the Crews tool to show as selectable users in time modules on all projects. See How do I add someone as an employee of my company?, Add a Worker, and Configure Advanced Settings: Company Level Timesheets for more information.
• Manage Time Types:
  • Mark or add the time types you want to show in the Time Type drop-down list. Time types can be created in the Company level Timecard tool (see Add a Custom Time Type) or the Company level Timesheets tool (see 'Manage Time Types' in Configure Advanced Settings: Company Level Timesheets). 
• Managing Cost Codes by Cost Type:
  • Mark the cost types with the corresponding cost codes that you want to show in the Cost Code drop-down list. 
    Note: See Set Default Cost Types to learn how to add custom cost types.
• Default Cost Type for New Timecard Entries:
  • Select the default cost type from the drop-down menu that will be assigned to new timecard entries. Your users can change these on new entries. 
• Custom Signature Text:
  • You can enter a custom text that will show in the Signature field when a user is signing a time entry.
• Payroll Settings:
  • You can set up your payroll export for use with QuickBooks® Desktop software. See Set up your Payroll Export for use with QuickBooks® Software.

Project level Timesheets Configuration Settings can be set up and managed in the Project level Timesheets tool. See Configure Advanced Settings: Timesheets on how to enable these project-based settings listed below:

• Time Entry Settings:
  • You can either show Start Time and Stop Time or Total Hours.
    Note: Once submitted, individual timecard entries that are unapproved can be edited to include updated project or payroll information for multiple entries. See Reallocate Time to New Timecards on the Company Timesheets Tool.
• Enable Additional Fields on all Timecards:
  •  You can select what optional fields you want to show on timecards.
• Employee Location Tracking:
  • You can enable a geofence to be set up around the project location and track the location of field employees only when they clock in and clock out.

Set Up Reports

• Labour Budget to Actual Report:
  • Track the percentage of budgeted labour hours versus actual labour hours used in real-time. See Import Budgeted Hours for more information.
• Production Quantities Report:
  • Track daily production quantities installed in the field. See Import Budgeted Production Quantities.
• Field Production Report:
  • Track productivity rates by comparing labour hours and production quantities against budgeted values. See Set Up a Field Production Report to learn more.
• Custom Report:
  • Create a custom report or use one of our templates like "Weekly Timesheets by Employee" or "Payroll Report" to gain real-time insights on labour tracking. See Create a Custom Project Report.