Timesheets in People Inc.

Recording and tracking time worked is an important task. Timesheets provide an easy way to record and track working time and can be delivered through a self service system.

Introduction

Timesheets are a common business tool used to track employee working time. In their simplest form they may be a paper form (or even a note passed to a manager). Their most complex form can be seen in the form of multiple shop floor data collections terminals feeding data to into a large ERP system. Within the People Inc. system, we aim to cater for somewhere between these two extremes to allow an organisation to systematically collect and manage time worked.

Overview

In this article we will briefly describe the three timesheet modules we offer. These are popular addons for the self-service module allowing employees and managers to log time worked with varying levels of details.

We are able to provide a time and attendance system for managing staff rostering, shifts and clock times. We are also able to provide timesheets which employees are able to complete using the Employee self service module.

Project Timesheets

Project timesheets are ideal for recording detailed information about time worked. Time can be assigned to specific project activities. The time collected can be compared against contractual hours which in turn allows for tracking flexitime.

The Project Part

This type of timesheet is ideal for recording working time against specific activities within a project. The addon allows for simple projects to be defined including subjects and activities. The definitions allow for a timeline to be created for the project from start to finish with different activities being available at different times.

In addition to this it is possible to define the project manager, individual project team members or assign an entire group of employees to a project. This can be used for reference by making the contact details and role of individuals visible within the self-service module. In addition to this the system can use these definitions to limit access to projects; simplifying choices within the timesheet and reducing the likelihood of erroneous time logging.

The Timesheet Part

Employees complete a weekly timesheet by registering a number of work hours against the project components which they have been working on. The system can track and compare the hours recorded against contractual hours to calculate any difference. In addition, absence from categories which should contribute to worked hours, such as annual leave, can be included. Absence still has to be recorded using the usual processes.

Optionally the timesheet can be used to manage flexitime by writing hours worked over or under to a specified allowance – debiting or crediting the allowance appropriately. An employee is then able to request leave from this allowance or alternatively an administrator could convert excess time into a payment to the employee by reducing the balance of the allowance.

Additionally

Project components define the unit type which can be registered against them, e.g., hours. Project timesheets are built to allow other units to be assigned to a component, these will then not be counted towards working time. This means that it is already possible record expenses related to the project through an employee timesheet, for example.

A project as defined in the system is just a concept. This means that it is simple to rename Project to Client and Subprojects to Order Number, providing the basis to manage job costing in a few minutes.

When to Use

Project timesheets are ideal where working hours must be justified against specific tasks and worked hours are of interest. This type of timesheet collects the richest data which can be analysed and reported on within People Inc. or exported to a more familiar format such as Excel to be worked on further.

To get the most out of this type of timesheet an amount of effort is required to create and maintain project definitions. As projects begin, end and evolve over time the system will need to be updated accordingly. Where this type of activity is already present in an organisation it may be that these activities can be delegated to project managers or others. People Inc. allows for different users to be assigned different levels of access to the system to aid this type of delegation.

Where an organisation is less concerned about tracking detailed working time our other timesheets provide alternatives.

Individual Timesheets

Individual Timesheets are the most straight forward timesheets available for the People Inc. system. The timesheet provides a simple total of hours worked in a week. The timesheets can be completed by the employee or a manager is able to complete the timesheet on behalf of the employee.

The Timesheet

The timesheet it used to track working time in a day between a start time and an end time. Allowing entry of times lets the system calculate the number of hours between making the timesheet straight forward for an employee to use. For convenience the system is able to deduct unpaid breaks from the daily totals leaving only the paid hours.

Each entry in the timesheet can be assigned against a particular category. Absence (which is equivalent of worked time) can also be included in the timesheet.

This type of timesheet also allows for approval and rejection of submitted timesheets. Optionally second level approval can also be configured.

When to Use

This type of timesheet best suites situations where simple time manage is most appropriate. It is possible to use the timesheet in a variety of ways and to define any number of categories to record time against. Unlike in Project Timesheets (which can use dated periods) categories in this type of timesheet are managed manually.

Manager Timesheets

Both Project and Individual Timesheets are primarily intended to be completed by the employee themselves for review and approval by their manager. Manager Timesheets are used by a manager to record details of their teams’ working hours during a week.

The Timesheet

Each entry in the timesheet records the total weekly hours for the employee, it also allows the manager to record any overtime that an employee may be due.

When to Use

This type of timesheet records only the most basic information about working hours and is completed on behalf of employees. This makes it ideal where staff are not able to or are not granted direct access to the self-service module; as may be the case with staff working overseas. As no categorisation of time is recorded only basic analysis of the times can be made.

All Together

Each type of time sheet has a particular set of pros and cons which may make them more suitable for some groups of staff over others. It is possible to have all the different types of timesheets within People Inc. to suite particular requirements or needs.

Customisation

All the timesheet modules have been created using the tools which are included with the People Inc. system. This means it is relatively straight forward to add or rename fields or to add functionality and best results can be achieved by working with one of our consultants. This means that, if required, additional information can be captured using the standard timesheets with relative ease. Using the systems in built report designer it is then possible to output this information for presentation or manipulation.

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Related Features

There are a number of features included with the People Inc. system that are designed to manage time reporting and attendance. Some examples are provided below:

Staff Timesheets

Collect and process weekly or monthly employee timesheets using the People Inc. system..

Departmental Timesheets

Allow managers to collect and report the working hours of the staff they manage.

Variable Hours

Managing staff who work variable hours, including those on zero-hours contracts.

External Resources

The following links provide additional information about resource planning and employee attendance. The links are to pages on websites over which we have no control. This information is provided for reference only.

Working Hours (www.acas.org.uk) - External Link.
Time & Attendance (www.wikipedia.org) - External Link.