Departmental Timesheets
Introduction
This feature is designed for use in teams where timesheets are recorded and submitted by the manager or supervisor. This is usually the case where small teams are geographically separated or if the team works independently. Timesheets are most often needed where staff are paid hourly, but they also needed where staff work flexible hours, or where they are paid overtime.
Managing timesheets electronically enables the organisation to ensure that accurate and complete details are recorded, these communicated quickly and efficiently, the timesheets are processed easily (with an accessible audit trail) and are then paid and filed.
Overview
This People Inc. time-recording feature is designed to enable a supervisor or manager (responsible for recording the hours worked by a group of employees) to submit timesheets. Completed timesheets are passed to payroll electronically.
The same thing can be achieved with paper-based timesheets, or with spreadsheets, but there are then potentially several potential shortcomings. In general terms, paper-based systems are slow and prone to error (forms can be illegible, or slow to arrive). Information then needs to be manually re-typed into office systems by administration staff. When there are queries, or when problems do arise, it can be difficult to find out what happened.
Timekeeping Alternatives
People Inc. provides several different ways to record employee attendance. In addition to this departmental timesheet feature, it is possible for employees to record their own timesheets (where they record the hours they have worked each day). It is also possible to implement extensive time and attendance functionality (shift-patterns, clock-in, clock-out, etc.) using the People Inc. time module. See the links at the bottom of this page for more information.
The Process
The ESS departmental timesheets feature enables a manager to record and submit timesheets for a team of employees via a PC (or mobile phone). These timesheets are usually submitted once a week or once a month, and can be routed to an administrator for approval before the People Inc. system is updated. The timesheet information can then be extracted and passed to payroll.
Each timesheet has a summary area (at the top) which details information about the time-period together with details of the timesheets progress through the approval process. At the bottom of the timesheet, the manager completes a list of entries, one entry for each employee in their team. For each employee it is possible to record the number of ‘standard’ hours worked plus details of any overtime. The figures that are entered are totals for the period in question (usually a week or a month).
As well as being able to create and submit new timesheets, managers can see a full history of the timesheets for their team using the ESS. Departmental timesheet records held within People Inc. can be used to generate management reports, for example, a summary of hours worked (including overtime), etc.
Features at a glance...
- Record departmental timesheets
- Integration with work patterns
- register overtime pay
- Second level approval feature
- Live status and tracking feature
- Extract timesheet information for payroll
- Access historical records
- Financial and management reporting
The feature manages timesheets in the following way:
- Managers create a new timesheet (timesheets are usually weekly or monthly, but it is possible to specify a start date and end date if a different length of time is required). The timesheet includes a row for each employee in their team.
- It is possible to get the system to calculate the standard hours worked by the employee during the period (providing the period is in the past). These figures are based on the employee’s work pattern.
- The manager completes the timesheet, detailing the hours that each employee has worked. If an employee has worked overtime, it is possible to include this in the timesheet (based on two different rates). It is possible for the manager to review the timesheet several times before it is submitted.
- Once submitted, the records are locked and the timesheet information is then available within People Inc. and can be extracted and used to feed the payroll. A notification e-mail is generated when the timesheet is submitted.
- For organisations that require an extra level of approval for the timesheets, the add-on provides the option to pass the timesheets to a People Inc. user (in HR or finance for example) for final approval.
- If a timesheet is rejected the timesheet is passed back to the line manager for review. The manager is informed (by e-mail) and asked to amend and resubmit the timesheet. A notes field is included on the timesheet so the user can provide further insight into why the timesheet was rejected.
- Payroll staff are given access to approved timesheet details within the People Inc. system, or details of approved timesheets are extracted (usually in spreadsheet format) and passed to payroll for processing.
Managers have access to historical information about departmental timesheets via their ESS login. They are also able to generate PDF copies of the timesheets. All timesheet-related information is available in the People Inc. system and can be used to financial reporting.
Benefits
The People Inc. departmental timesheet feature provides a range of benefits. Having timesheets recorded centrally within a database means that staff know where to go to access the information (including historical records). It is then, for example, easy for everybody concerned to spot that a timesheet is missing. In a paper-based (or spreadsheet-based) system, it is much more likely that information will be difficult to find, particularly once some time has passed.
Benefits at a glance...
- Centralised timesheet records
- Records recorded and verified at source
- Helps to manage flexitime and overtime
- Submitted timesheets available immediately
- Errors and omissions identified easily
- Status-update indicates progress
- Ability to browse history of timesheets
- Ability to report on timekeeping
The departmental timesheet feature ensures that timesheet details are recorded and verified at source. The line-manager is best-placed to record and verify timekeeping details. Working in this way also ensures that information is typed just once (saving time and safeguarding accuracy).
Having electronic timesheets makes it easy to analyse the hours staff work.
The timesheet feature records the information required to enable organisations to manage flexitime schemes and overtime payments. And the responsibility for the day-to-day management is delegated to line-managers.
The timesheet feature works in real time. There is no delay between the submission of the timesheet and its visibility throughout the system. New timesheets are available immediately (and missing timesheets can be identified immediately). If there is a cut-off date for completing the timesheet form, this can be enforced easily.
Users and line-managers can both see the current status of a particular timesheet, and as timesheets are processed, each step is annotated with the user, date and time. This enables users to follow up queries retrospectively.
Once recorded within the system, the timekeeping data can be processed electronically. It can be exported and used to ‘feed’ a payroll system, and it can be used as the basis for financial, management and analysis reporting.
Implementation
The People Inc. Departmental Timesheet feature is an add-on for the Employee Self-Service module. Installation and set-up takes 2 or 3 hours.
There is a cost associated with the feature. The cost depends on the size of the organisation in which it is used (number of employees). Please contact your account manager for more details.
More Information
Please complete the form (below) or contact your account manager, or contact P&A Software Solutions on 01908 265111 for more information about this time-sheet add-on.
More Information
Related Features
People Inc. provides a comprehensive range of features designed to help manage timekeeping and staff attendance. Those interested in managing timekeeping within an organisation should also see the following topics:
