Open

Use the Time Management module to enter and manage employee labor hours. You use Time Management programs to enter, approve, and correct time transactions, and to set defaults used in the time approval process.

Employees, managers, and department supervisors typically use Time Management to enter and manage their own time entries and the time entries of other employees. When configured, an optional approval process can require the approval of time entries before time is posted in the Epicor application.

Typically, employees enter their labor hours on a daily or weekly basis and then submit their hours for approval. Authorized approvers then review, correct, approve, or reject the time transactions. Reports are available to generate employee timesheets and to help manage employee work hours and percentage utilization.

Depending on the particular needs of your company, you will use the programs described in the Setup section to configure the application for the time approval process for indirect, production, and project time.

For more information on the inner-workings of the approval process for Time Management, see the section later in this chapter called Time Approval.

Setup

Site Configuration

1. Click the Site button to find and select the site you need. The Name of the selected site displays.

2. Navigate to the Modules > Time and Expense > Time sheet. Here you can define the approval process for time transactions by selecting options. You also configure some settings for time entry.

3. Select the Restrict Entry check box to restrict employees from entering time for other employees. When selected, you designate users who can enter time for a specific employee, such as a supervisor, in Employee Maintenance. Clear the check box to allow any user to enter time for any employee.

4. If Restrict Entry is enabled, you can use the Supervisor Allowed Entry function. Select the Supervisor Allowed Entry check box and designated supervisors can enter, modify, and delete time transactions on behalf of the employees they supervise. Employee supervisors are designated in Employee Maintenance.

5. Select the Submit on Save check box to automatically submit new time entries when they are saved. Note that this is just a default setting and you can override it in Time and Expense Entry.

6. If you want approvers (supervisors or other designated administrators) to validate all time entries submitted by employees, select the Approval Required check box.

7. If you want approvers to validate all time entries submitted by employees in the Manufacturing Execution System, select the MES Labor Approval Required check box.

8. Use the Rights section to define whether approvers can delete or change time transactions submitted for

Open

approval by employees. If you are setting up the approvals for the first time, or if you wish to reset the approval workflows, click Create Default Approval Workflows button. Approval workflows determine the route the time transaction has to take to be approved. There are several types of time workflows that are pre-defined in the application, including: Multi Level Approval, Supervisor Approval, Project Manager Approval, and PM and Supervisor Approval. Clicking the button launches the Create Default Workflow for Approvals window where you can decide which workflow approval you want the Epicor application to create.

If the workflow approvals have been entered using Workflow Group Maintenance, a message displays informing you that the defaults already exist. Click Yes to reset the manually entered Workflow Group records.

9. Use the Logic section to define the approval method for indirect time transactions and production time transactions submitted by employees. If the method is Automatic, time is approved automatically upon submission. If the method is Employee, then the transactions are approved as defined in Employee Maintenance.

You define the project time approvals on each project as appropriate.

10. Use the Time Defaults section to define a default Time Workflow Group used to approve time if a time workflow group is not defined in Employee Maintenance.

11. Use the Allow Override Integrate Labor Pay Hours at Employee: check box if the detailed information about labor pay hours should be used by HCM during ERP and HCM integration in Time and Expense Entry.

12. Use the Integrate Labor Pay Hours at: list to specify how labor pay hours are entered against job operations in ERP: either on the header level or on the details level. This information is used by HCM during ERP and HCM integration in Time and Expense Entry.

13. When you finish, click Save on the Standard toolbar.

Employees

For details about other setup requirements in Employee Maintenance, review the Personnel chapter in the Epicor ERP Implementation Guide.

Menu Path: Service Management > Time Management > Setup > Employee To set up an approval workflow for a specific employee:

1. On the Detail sheet, click the ID button to find and select the employee record you need. The selected employee record displays in the sheet.

2. You can also click the Person / Contact button to find and select the individual you want to define as an employee. If you have an individual who needs to be defined on multiple records like a shop employee who is also a buyer, you can define this person in Person / Contact Maintenance first and then link this person record to other records throughout the application. To learn about this functionality, review the Personnel chapter in the Epicor ERP Implementation Guide.

3. Click the Supervisor button to find and select a supervisor for this employee. If the Approval Required check box is selected in the Site Configuration Control program, then each employee must have a designated supervisor. The supervisor is the approver when the approval process is not automatic and you have not designated a workflow group in Employee Maintenance or Site Configuration Control.

1. Select the Auto Approve Time check box to automatically approve time transactions.

2. Alternately, select a workflow group from the Workflow Group drop-down list to designate a workflow group to approve time transactions.

3. You can view the workflow group you selected. To do this, click the Approval Tasks tab.

4. Expand the workflow group tree to review the different tasks defined for the workflow group.

5. When you finish, click Save on the Standard toolbar.

Restrict Entry

If you selected the Restrict Entry check box in Site Configuration Control, you must also define who can enter time for specific employees in Employee Maintenance. Designated users can enter time for employees in Time Entry.

1. Navigate to the Production Info sheet.

2. In the User Name field, select the user who can enter time for the employee.

3. When finished, click Save on the Standard toolbar. As a result, the designated user can enter the employee’s ID in Time Entry, and enter time for the employee.

You can restrict an employee from entering their own time by selecting the Disallow Time Entry for user assigned to employee check box on the Time and Expense > Time > Detail sheet in Employee Maintenance. You can also identify an employee (for example, a payroll manager) in User Account Maintenance with the ability to update time or expense records for employees.

Time Type

1. Enter the Time Type identifier for the new time type.

2. In the Description field, enter a description of the time type.

3. Leave the Inactive check box clear to indicate the time type is available in the application.

4. When you finish, click Save.

Indirect Labor

1. Click New on the Standard toolbar.

2. In the Code field, enter an identifier for the new indirect code.

3. In the Description field, enter a description of the indirect code.

4. In the Expense Code field, select the code you need. The labor expense code displays as the default during time entry when you enter the indirect code, and it defines the type of labor recorded within the general ledger.

5. When you finish, click Save.

Role Codes

1. Click New on the Standard toolbar.

2. Enter an identifier for the new record in the Role field. This example uses the code Consultant.

3. Enter a Description for the new role. This value displays on Role drop-down lists throughout the application.

4. If employees serving in this role receive commission for doing the work (such as a sales representative or a trainer), select the Commissionable check box. Commission rates are defined on quotes and sales orders. For the purposes of this example, the Consultant role will not earn commission.

5. Select the Resource Group Billing Rates check box to indicate you wish to define charge rates for the role.

6. Once the Resource Group Billing Rates check box is selected, the application activates the Primary Resource Group button. Use this button to find and select the resource group you wish to use for billing expenses with this role code. Once you select a resource group, its Description displays automatically.

7. Because the Consultant role requires recourse group billing rates, the next step is to add these rates. To do this, click the Down Arrow next to the New button; select New Role Rate.

8. Define how long this rate should be active within the Effective Date and End Date fields.

9. Click the Currency drop-down list to choose the currency used with this rate.

10. Enter the rate to use within the Charge Rate field. The application will use the charge rate entered here along with the currency to determine the amount charged. In this example, 30 dollars per hour.

11. Now select the Time Type to be linked to the rate. This value determines what kind of labor will be performed through this rate, like weekday labor or overtime pay. In this example, the new rate will use the regular billing rate.

12. You can add more rates if necessary for the code. For example, you could create a role rate of 50 dollars when the time type is overtime. That would mean that you could use the Consultant role on a project and then choose which role rate should be charged based on the time type. When finished, click Save.

Time Approval Role Codes

Employees who serve as approvers for time transactions must be tracked using role codes as well. Doing so permits you to have a tiered approval system for your organization. A typical example of an approver role is a First Approval, meaning that employees assigned to this role would be the first person looking at time transactions to approve or reject them. Likewise, you could set up a role for Second Approval for employees on the next tier of approvals. The following example demonstrates how to set up an approver role code.

2. Enter an identifier for the new record in the Role field. This example sets up the code 1st Approval.

3. Enter a Description for the new role. This value displays on Role drop-down lists throughout the application.

4. If employees serving in this role receive commission for doing the work (such as a sales representative or a trainer), select the Commissionable check box. Commission rates are defined on quotes and sales orders. It is not typical that approver roles would receive commissions for the work, so for the purposes of this example, the First Approver role will not earn commission.

5. In the Time and Expense Options, select the Time and Expense Approval check box to determine that this role code has permissions to approve time and expense transactions for other employees. Checking here also allows other programs, such as Task Set, to search for and select this role for time and expense approvals. The Time and Expense Approval check box is available only if the Time Approval Required (or the Expense Approval Required) option is enabled in Site Configuration Control.

6. Select the Project Manager Approval Role check box to indicate that employees assigned to this role manage work within a project. When this checkbox is enabled and you use this role to set up a workflow group, an approval task will be created for the project manager.

7. If employees using the role code are supervisors over tasks carried out on jobs and projects, check the Supervisor Approval Role check box. When checked, specify the number of levels of supervisors are above

the role. For example, 0 (zero) indicates that no further approval is required following this role, while a 1 indicates that the supervisor must also approve the task.

In a scenario where you are defining an approver in a workflow group, only the Time and Expense Approval checkbox needs to be checked. If you were to check the Project Manager Approval Role and Supervisor Approval Role check boxes as well, the following employees would receive approval tasks: any approvers assigned to the role in the workflow group, the supervisor of the employee entering time, and the project manager of the project where the time was entered.

1. Select the Employee Submit Role check box to indicate employees assigned this role perform labor on the job or project. This information is then used when creating tasks for time and expense approvals.

2. Click Save.

Quick Entry Codes

1. On the Detail sheet, click the Employee ID button to find and select the employee record. The selected employee record displays on the sheet.

2. Click the Down Arrow next to the New button; select New Time Quick Entry.

3. The Time > Detail sheet displays. In the Quick Entry field, enter a unique identifier for the quick entry code.

4. Click the Labor Type drop-down list to select a labor type for the time quick entry code. The labor type determines which fields are available for definition. You can select Indirect, Production, Project, Service, or Setup. Depending on what you select, different fields become active on this sheet.

5. If you select the Project labor type, the Project button activates. Projects define complex initiatives your company is working on. Click this button to find and select the project you need. You can also enter the Project identifier directly. You create projects within Project Entry; review the chapter covering Project Management for more information.

6. Selecting a Project labor type activates the WBS Phase button. Click this button or use the drop-down list to select the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) phase you wish to link to this time quick code entry.

7. If you select the Production, Service, or Setup labor types, the Job button activates. Use this button to find and select the specific job you wish to associate with this time quick code entry.

8. After you select a job, the Assembly and Operation buttons and fields activate. If you need, use these controls to define a specific assembly or operation you wish to include. A job can also be linked to a WBS Phase. If this is the case, the Job number displays by default, and you can then select the Assembly and/or Operation you need.

9. Roles define a position the employee carries out on a job or project. If you need to associate a role with this time quick code entry, select it from the Role drop-down list. You create roles within Role Code Maintenance.

10. Time types define different charge rates you use for labor hours. For example, you might create a time type for overtime hours. Select the Time Type you need from the drop-down list.

11. If you select the Indirect labor type, the Indirect drop-down list activates. Select the indirect code you need to associate with this time quick code entry.

12. Click the Expense Code drop-down list to define what expense type – like Inspection, Grinding, and so on

– to link to this time quick code entry.

13. If active, select the Resource Group and/or Resource you need to associate with this time quick code entry. Resources define machines and employees involved in the production process.

14. Enter the Labor Hours you need for this entry.

15. When you finish, click Save on the Standard toolbar.

16. The time quick entry code displays in the Tree View. Notice all of the time quick entry codes and expense quick entry codes for the selected employee display on this Tree View.

Operations

This section details the operations available in the Time Management module. Each operation is described as a workflow (sequence) to help guide you through the process from start to finish. These programs are primarily found within the General Operations folder for this module. If a unique setup record is required to run the operation, this record is also described in this section.

Time Entry

1. To exclude a transaction of a specific status from displaying, select the Actions menu and clear the check box for the status. There are options to retrieve records that have been entered, submitted, rejected, partially approved, and approved:

2. Use the Retrieve Records By option to retrieve transaction data by day, week, or month.

• Select Day to retrieve records only for the day you selected in the calendar. If you select multiple days, only the records for the first day of the selected range will display. Note that the Time > Weekly Time sheet will not display any data, and the ability to add a new time weekly view record is disabled.

• Select Week to retrieve records for the week of the day you selected in the calendar. If you select multiple days spanning more than one week, only records for the week of the first selected day display.

• Select Month to retrieve records for the month of the day you selected in the calendar.

If you change between options, be sure to click Refresh to display the new results.

Daily Time Entry

Use the Daily Time > Detail sheet to enter labor hours for a single item and submit them for approval. The labor type you select when entering time determines the fields available on the sheet. To enter a new time transaction in the Daily view:

1. On the Employee sheet, enter the Employee identifier or click the Employee ID button to find and select the employee for whom you are entering time.

2. The current date displays in the Calendar by default. Click another date to change it.

3. Navigate to the Time > Daily Time > Detail > Detail sheet.

4. Click the Down Arrow next to the New button; select New Time Detail.

5. From the Labor Type drop-down list, select the type of labor performed. The labor type determines which fields are available for entry in the sheet, and default values populate some of the fields. This example uses the Indirect labor type.

6. In the Labor section, use the Clock In and Clock Out values or enter the time in the Labor Hrs field to define the time the employee performed the labor.

7. Select an Indirect Code for the labor performed.

8. Select an Expense Code for the labor performed.

9. Select the Submit on Save check box to automatically submit new Time entries when you click Save. If you select or clear this check box in Time and Expense Entry, you override this default Site setting.

10. The Location section defines the default resource group, department information, and resource for this transaction. You can change these options if you need.

11. The HCM Pay Hour and State fields display if the Epicor ERP application is integrated with Human Capital Management (HCM). The Pay Hour field indicates the value of the labor hours entered against the job operation, and initially defaults to the value entered in the Labor field. Once the Labor Detail is saved you have to modify the Pay Hours manually, and once the record is processed by HCM, you cannot modify the Pay Hours. This information is passed to HCM once the hours are approved. The State field indicates the status of the pay hour data. The following settings are possible: S (Sent) for records that have been imported into HCM; R (Received) for records that have been created in ERP Labor Detail from the HCM PTO integration;

E (Error) for records HCM attempted to import, but for which the import process failed; and IP (In Progress) for records HCM is in the process of importing. The Hours Summary section at the top also shows the sum of the Pay Hours registered in the HCM section.

12. When you finish, click Save on the Standard toolbar.

Enter or Review Comments

Use the Comments sheet to communicate with a time approver when you are entering a time transaction in the Daily Time > Detail sheet. Similarly, the approver can communicate to a submitter using the Comments sheet in Time and Expense Approval and these comments will display here. In addition, you can enter a comment to be included on a customer invoice.

1. To create a new comment, click the down arrow next to the New button and select New Time Comment.

2. The Comment Type field can be set to Submit or Invoice.

• Submit - Use this setting to enter a comment for the time approver. Comments of this type are visible here, in Time and Expense Entry and in Time and Expense Approvals.

• Invoice - Use this setting to enter a comment to be included on the invoice for the customer. Comments of this type are also visible in Time and Expense Entry and in Time and Expense Approvals.

• 3. The Date Entered field displays the date the record was created.

• 4. Submitted By displays the user identifier of the individual who created the comment.

• 5. Time Entered is the time the comment was entered.

• 6. The Comment field holds the actual text of the comment.

• 7. Once all of the fields are completed, click Save.

Weekly Time Entry

Use the Time > Weekly Time sheet to enter and submit time for a week. Fields in this sheet display in a grid format for easy entry. Press the <Tab> key to quickly move through the fields and enter values.

1. In the Calendar, select a date during the week for which you want to enter time.

2. Click the Down Arrow next to the New button; select New Weekly Time.

3. The Time > Weekly Time sheet displays.

4. Tab to the Labor Type drop-down list and select the type of labor.

5. Select the Job, Assembly, and Operation for the labor performed.

6. Tab to the fields for the days of the week; enter the number of labor hours performed for each day.

7. When you finish, click Save on the Standard toolbar.

8. Click the Submit button to submit the time entered for the week for approval.

Calendar View Time Entry

The Calendar sheets display your time entries for review by day, week, or month. You can also use the Calendar to enter time.

Calendar Day

The Calendar Day sheet shows the day you selected on the Calendar pane. The date and day of the week is shown at the top of the page and the time of day displays down the left margin, just like a desk calendar or a day timer book. Any time that has been entered, submitted, rejected, or approved for this day will show in color-coded blocks.

1. Select the day to view in the Calendar pane.

2. Navigate to Calendar > Day.

3. Note the date and time shown at the top of the page.

4. Also note the time of day shown down the left margin of the page.

5. A horizontal line marks the current time of day. In this example, the time of day is between 1:30 and 2:00 pm.

6. One time transaction has been entered on the day shown here. The total labor hours for the time transaction is two hours. The labor type, status, and clock in date are shown. Time transaction blocks are shown in different colors depending upon their approval status. The example shows a time transaction, in bright blue, that has been submitted. Transactions that have been approved are shown in gray, while those that are rejected are shown in red. In a situation where there are multiple approvers and a transaction is partially approved, the transaction is shown in yellow. Additional examples are shown on the pages that follow.

7. You can add a time transaction to this day using a right-mouse click option. First, rest the pointer over the desired start time in your calendar and drag to the end time so that the entire transaction time period is selected. For example, to add a time transaction from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, click and drag to select the area as shown in the example.

8. Once you have highlighted the correct period of time on the calendar, click the Right Mouse Button and select New Time Entry. The Daily Time Entry sheet displays. Enter the time transaction as usual.

9. Note that you can select multiple days in the Calendar pane, and the Day sheet will display them all. In this example, July 4 through July 8 are selected.

10. Even when the view is formatted in this way, you can use the same process of selecting a time period and using the Right Mouse Button to select New Time Detail to add a time transaction.

Calendar Week

The Calendar Week sheet shows the week you selected on the Calendar pane. Each day is shown in a block. As with the Calendar Day view, any time that has been entered, submitted, rejected, or approved for this day will show in color-coded blocks.

1. Select a day in the Calendar pane.

2. Navigate to Calendar > Week.

3. Note that the application displays the week in which the selected day falls. The week view shows each working day in a separate block.

4. The date and day of the week are shown at the top of each block.

5. Any time transactions that have been entered are shown on each day. As in the day view, these are color-coded so that you can see which are entered, submitted, approved, and rejected. You can also use the Right Mouse Button option to add a time transaction.

Calendar Month

The Calendar Month sheet shows the week selected on the Calendar pane. Each day is shown in a block. As with the Calendar Day and Month views, any time that has been entered, submitted, rejected, or approved for this day will show in color-coded blocks.

1. Select a month in the Calendar pane.

2. Navigate to Calendar > Month.

3. The month view resembles a typical wall calendar. Any time transactions that have been entered are shown on each day. As in the day view, these are color-coded so that you can see which are entered, submitted, approved, and rejected. You can also use the Right Mouse Button option to add a time transaction.

MES Time Entry

1. Enter your Employee ID, and press the Tab key on your keyboard. You are now logged into the MES.

2. To begin tasks on an operation, click the Start button for the type of activity you are performing. You can select Start Production Activity, Start Indirect Activity, Start Setup Activity, or Start Rework Activity.

3. The appropriate Start Activity window displays. This example is for a production activity. Enter or search for the Job you need to work on.

4. Select the Assembly and Operation.

5. When you finish, click OK. You are now working on this operation. The clock is active, so the MES is calculating labor time against this operation.

6. To stop working on this activity, click the End Activity button on the MES Menu.

7. The End Labor Activity window displays. Click OK.

8. To end your MES session, click the Log Out button on the MES Menu.

9. To close the interface, click the Close button.

10. Now to review your time entries, log into the Epicor application and navigate to Time and Expense Entry. Menu Path: Production Management > Job Management > General Operations > Time and Expense Entry

11. To display the labor entries, navigate to the Time > Daily Time > Summary > Detail sheet.

12. In the Calendar pane, click the date you performed the work. The labor entries display on the sheet.

Selection Calendar

1. In the Employee field, enter your Employee ID.

2. By default, the current date is selected in the Calendar.

3. Review the selection Calendar. Color indicates a time transaction has been entered on the date. Green indicates a time transaction and red indicates a rejected time transaction.

4. Select a date in the selection Calendar to review time transaction details. You can use the Shift key or click

and drag to select and view multiple dates.

5. Expand the date within the Tree View to see the transactions entered. Icons indicate the status of a transaction.

6. Select a date in the tree to display transaction details on the Time > Daily Time > Detail > Detail sheet.

7. Click the List tab to view a list of each time entry. Each time entry displays in a separate row. Use the scroll bars to review the details.

Time Approval

Approvals Flow of Indirect and Production Time

Time entered as indirect or against a production job goes through a series of checks to determine if it requires approval, and - if so - how it is approved.

As the flowchart shows, once a time transaction is entered, the application checks the setting of the Approval Required check box on the Time sheet in Site Configuration. If this box is clear, then time approvals are not required, the time is automatically approved and no other action is required.

If the Approval Required box is checked, then the application moves to the settings in the Logic pane in Site Configuration: Production Approval Logic and Indirect Approval Logic. Each of these fields can be set to Automatic or Employee. When set to Automatic, the time (for either production or indirect) is automatically approved and no other action is required.

When the logic field is set to Employee, the application moves to the Employee record to determine whether approvals are necessary. The Auto Approve Time check box, on the Time and Expense > Time > Detail sheet, determines this. When this box is checked, then the time is automatically approved and no other action is required.

When Auto Approve Time is clear, the application checks the Workflow Group field in the Employee record, also on the Time and Expense > Time > Detail sheet. If there is a workflow group selected here, that group will be used to perform the approval. If there is no workflow group specified for the employee, the application returns to the Site Configuration settings and uses the group listed in the Time Default section at the bottom, in the Time Workflow Group field. If no group is listed as a default, the Epicor application uses the employee's supervisor (as specified in Employee Maintenance > Detail in the Supervisor field) as the approver.

Approvals Flow of Project Time

Time entered against a project also goes through a series of checks to determine if it requires approval, and - if so - how it is approved.

As this flowchart shows, once a time transaction is entered against a project, the application checks the setting of the Approval Required check box on the Time sheet in Site Configuration. If this box is clear, then time approvals are not required, the time is automatically approved and no other action is required.

If the Approval Required box is checked, then the application moves to the Approvals Method field in Project Maintenance > Project > Approvals > Time > Detail. When this is set to Automatic, the time is automatically approved and no other action is required.

When the Approvals Method is set to Project, the application uses the approvals process defined in the WBS phase or, if there is not a workflow defined at the phase level, the workflow entered for the project as a whole.

If the Approvals Method is set to Employee, the application moves to the Employee record to determine whether approvals are necessary, in the same was as it does with indirect and production time. The Auto Approve Time check box, on the Time and Expense > Time > Detail sheet, determines this. When this box is checked, then the time is automatically approved and no other action is required.

When Auto Approve Time is clear, the application checks the Workflow Group field in the Employee record, also on the Time and Expense > Time > Detail sheet. If there is a workflow group selected here, that group will be used to perform the approval. If there is no workflow group specified for the employee, the application returns to the Site Configuration settings and uses the group listed in the Time Default section at the bottom, in the Time Workflow Group field. If no group is listed as a default, the Epicor application uses the employee's supervisor (as specified in Employee Maintenance > Detail in the Supervisor field) as the approver.

Workflow Groups

When a time transaction is submitted and approvals are enabled, the Epicor application looks for a workflow group to determine who needs to approve it and in what sequence.

Time Management comes with several pre-defined workflow groups that cover typical approval scenarios. Most organizations will find that the pre-defined workflow groups are sufficient for their approval needs, but if your process is more complex or different from the available options you can create a custom workflow.

Pre-Defined Time Approval Workflow Groups

Depending on the needs of your organization, you may be able to set up approvals for time transactions using one of the pre-defined workflow groups that comes with the Epicor application. The pre-defined approval workflow groups come with the Time Management program and are ready to use, provided that approvals are enabled.

Upon initial setup, you must create the default workflow groups in Site Configuration. This is a simple process. See the section in this chapter called Site Configuration for details.

The pre-defined approval workflow groups include the following:

• Supervisor Approval

• Project Manager Approval

• Project Manager & Supervisor Approval

• Multiple Level Approval

Supervisor Approval Workflow Group

This is a good choice when supervisors should approve the time of anyone working for them. When an employee enters time and approvals are required, the application checks the employee record for the supervisor. The

For a more detailed look at how the Supervisor Approval workflow functions in the application, see the example on the following pages.

First, the site will be configured to require approvals for all time entered. For indirect time specifically, the application will be set up to check the employee record for instructions on how to handle approvals for each specific employee. This way, some employees can be exempt from the approval process, while others use the pre-defined workflow to route the transaction to their supervisor.

Site Configuration Control

To use approvals, you must enable it in Site Configuration Control. You can also set a default workflow group to be used when there is not a specific workflow set up for an employee.

1. The Name of the selected site displays.

2. Navigate to the Modules > Time and Expense > Time sheet.

3. Select the Approval Required check box to require approval of all time entries submitted by employees.

4. Click the Indirect Approval Logic drop-down list to select the method for approving time transactions. Select Employee to approve time transactions as defined in Employee Maintenance.

5. Select a default Time Workflow Group. This is the group that will be used for employees that do not have a workflow specified in Employee Maintenance.

6. Click Save.

Employee Maintenance

1. On the Detail sheet, click the ID button to find and select the employee record you need. In this example, the employee is Margaret D'Marco, employee ID 250.

2. Verify that a supervisor has been entered for the employee. If not, click the Supervisor button to select the correct supervisor. This is the employee who will approve time entries for this employee. In this example, the supervisor is Vincent.

1. The employee requires approvals for time entries, so clear the Auto Approve Time check box.

2. Click the Workflow Group drop-down list to select Supervisor. Note: For an employee that does not require approvals for time entries, such as a high-level manager, check the Auto Approve Time check box and save the record. Time for these employees will not go through an approval workflow because no approval is needed.

3. When you finish, click Save.

Time and Expense Entry

1. Indirect time entered for Margaret in Time and Expense Entry is submitted for approval, as shown in the Status field on the Time > Daily Time > Detail > Detail sheet, for approval.

2. For more information on the status of the approval, click the Approvals sheet. The Approvals sheet shows the name of the approver(s) who have already approved the transaction, those that are pending, as well as the date the transaction was approved.

3. In this example, see that the time transaction is still awaiting approval by Vincent, Margaret's supervisor. Time Approval

Vincent has time transactions to review in Time and Expense Approval. Menu Path: Service Management > Time Management > General Operations > Time and Expense Approval

1. On the Time > Detail sheet in Time and Expense Approval, Vincent can view the transactions he needs to approve or reject.

2. The pertinent information for the time transaction is displayed. Vincent can approve or reject the transaction, or he can approve or reject and add a comment. In this example, the transaction is approved and a comment is added, thanking Margaret for coming in to work on an extra project using the Approve With Comment button.

3. The pop-up provides a place to enter the message. Once entered, click OK to save and close the approval.

Time and Expense Status The status of time transaction approval is shown in Time and Expense Entry. In this example, Margaret has several transactions entered.

1. The Calendar pane shows the status of the time transactions entered on each day.

2. For additional detail, click on a date. The transactions are listed in the Time and Expense pane beneath the calendar in a tree view. Click the individual icons to retrieve the data for that transaction in the main window.

Define a Custom Approval Workflow

If you require a more complex approval process using multiple approvers or multiple levels of approvals, you can define one or more approval workflow groups using tasks, task sets, and workflow groups. The sections that follow discuss the approval workflow configuration for indirect and production time.

When you want to designate a custom group of employees as approvers, you must also set up a time workflow group for approving time transactions. A workflow group is made up of tasks, task sets, and group members assigned to an approver role. Once you create a time workflow group, you can use it in Employee Maintenance to associate it with a specific employee, or you can set it as the default time workflow group in Site Configuration Control to apply it to all employees.

Tasks

An approval task is the approval of a time transaction performed by a user belonging to a defined role. You use Task Maintenance to define one or more approval tasks. A task is a combination of approving time plus an approver role. For example, you define a task named Time Approval Task, which consists of an approve time task assigned to an approver role named Time Approver. You can assign one or more users to an approver role.

Tasks are used throughout the application. In the following sections, the tasks described are for use within Time Management.

You can also define a hierarchical approval process which requires two or more levels of approvers to approve a time transaction. To define a hierarchy of approvers, define an approval task for each level of approval, such as a task named First Approval with an assigned First Approver role, and a task named Second Approval with an assigned Second Approver role.

Task Sets A task set is a group of organized tasks and milestones. A time approval task set must include all the approval

tasks required to approve a time transaction. For example, a simple task set might include a single approval task. If you use an approval hierarchy, you must include all other tasks. Menu Path: Service Management > Time Management > Setup > Task Set To create a time approval task set:

1. Click the Down Arrow next to the New button; select New Task Set.

2. Enter a task Set ID and a Description for the task set.

3. Click the Workflow Type drop-down list and select Time & Expense.

4. Click Save on the Standard toolbar.

5. Add milestones for each approval task included in the task set. To do this, add a new milestone for each task in sequential order, such as First Approval and Second Approval.

6. Select the First Milestone check box for the milestone that begins the series.

7. Add more milestones. Click Save after adding each new milestone.

8. Clear the First Milestone check box on the second milestone.

9. Associate each milestone with the next milestone. To do this, select the First Approval Task milestone.

10. Click the Down Arrow next to the New button; select New Next Milestone.

11. The Milestones > Next Milestones > Detail sheet displays.

12. Click the Next Milestone drop-down list and select the Second Approval Task.

13. Click Save.

14. When you finish, the task set structure is defined in the Task Sets tree.

Workflow Group

A time approval workflow group consists of a time approval task set and the group members assigned to the approver roles. You set up a time approval workflow group and assign group members in Workflow Group

Maintenance. You can set up one or more workflow groups as needed, and apply them to specific employees or use one as the default for all employees. Menu Path: Service Management > Time Management > Setup > Workflow Group To create a time approval workflow group:

1. In the Workflow Type list, select Time & Expense.

2. Click the Down Arrow next to the New button; select New Workflow Group.

3. Enter a Workflow Group identifier.

4. Enter a Description for the group.

5. Click the Default Task Set drop-down list to select the time approval task set for the workflow group.

6. Click Save on the Standard toolbar.

7. Click the Down Arrow next to the New button; select New Group Member.

10. Click the Role drop-down list and select the approval role you want to assign to the group member from the approval task set.

11. When you finish, click Save on the Standard toolbar.

Workflow Setup Example – Indirect Time The example here defines an approval workflow for indirect time. This workflow uses Employee as the approval method for time transactions, and it applies a specific time workflow group to the employee. Site Configuration Control Menu Path: System Setup > Company/Site Maintenance > Site Configuration

1. Click the Site button to find and select the Site.

2. The Name of the selected Site displays.

1. Select the Approval Required check box to require approval of all time entries submitted by employees.

2. Click the Indirect Approval Logic drop-down list to select the method for approving time transactions. Select Employee to approve time transactions as defined in Employee Maintenance.

3. If you need, select an optional default Time Workflow Group.

4. When you finish, click Save on the Standard toolbar.

1. Navigate to the Time and Expense > Time > Detail sheet.

2. Clear the Auto Approve Time check box.

3. Click the Workflow Group drop-down list to select the time approval workflow group.

4. When you finish, click Save on the Standard toolbar.

Time Approval

Use the Time Approval program to review, approve, or reject time transactions submitted by employees. Depending on the configuration of your company, authorized approvers can modify submitted transactions or delete existing

transactions during the approval process. Approvers can enter optional comments for review by the submitters of the transactions. Menu Path: Service Management > Time Management > General Operations > Time and Expense Approval To approve time transactions:

1. On the Approver sheet, enter your Approver ID or click the Approver ID button to find and select your ID. Your approver ID is the Workforce ID assigned to you in Work Force Maintenance.

2. All time transactions submitted by employees for your approval display on the Time > List sheet; each time transaction displays on a separate row.

1. Select the row you want to approve; or, to select all rows for approval, click the Select All button.

2. If necessary, click the Rate Preview button to review the transaction charge/cost rates. The application calculates and displays the charge rate, cost rate, charge currency, and cost currency for the transaction.

3. To approve a transaction(s) without entering any comments, click the Approve button.

4. To enter comments for the submitter, click the Approve With Comment button.

Once the transaction is approved, it no longer displays in the grid. Reject Time Transactions To reject time transactions:

1. On the Approver sheet, enter your Approver ID or click the Approver ID button to find and select your ID. Your approver ID is the Workforce ID assigned to you in Work Force Maintenance.

2. All time transactions submitted by employees for your approval display on the Time > List sheet; each time transaction displays on a separate row.

3. Select the row you want to reject.

4. To reject a transaction without entering any comment, click the Reject button.

5. To enter comments for the submitter, click the Reject With Comment button.

6. The Approve/Reject Comment window displays.

Reports

Time Report

1. Navigate to the Filter sheet.

2. Click the Employee button to find and select the ID of the employee whose time you want to review. You can select one or more employees.

3. In the Employee List, select the employee(s) to include in the report.

1. Use the From Date and To Date fields to define the period of time to include in the report. The report can span multiple weeks and time periods.

2. Click the Print button on the Standard toolbar to print the time sheet.

Time Booking Exception

1. Use the Report Options section to define the report criteria. To include Missing Hours, select = (equal to), < (less than) , or > (greater than), and enter a numeric value in the adjacent field. For example, you can define criteria to include employees missing more than 10 hours.

2. To include a utilization percentage, select = (equal to), < (less than), or > (greater than), and enter a numeric value in the adjacent field. The Indirect Codes for % Utilization list contains the indirect codes included in the percentage utilization calculation.

3. To exclude an indirect code from the calculation, select the code in the Indirect Codes for % Utilization field and click the Right Arrow to move the code to the Excluded Indirect Codes list.

4. Use the Filter sheet to limit the report to specific employees.

5. Click Print on the Standard toolbar to print time booking exceptions.