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Timesheet Entry
Function
Batch control information may be entered or changed. Enter, change, print, delete, find or adjust in the timesheet entry form.
Things You Should Know
Timesheets perform a significant role and are used to:
Split Payroll at the End of a Fiscal Year
If your pay period at the end of your fiscal year is split with some of the days worked in the old fiscal year and some days worked in the new fiscal year, a batch(es) should be entered for the days worked in the old fiscal year and a batch(es) should be entered for the days worked in the new fiscal year. If your agency charges any type of leave when earned, you will be able to process separate batches through Leave Processing in order to calculate leave balances as of the last day of your fiscal year.
Enter a timesheet batch for the days the employees worked in the old fiscal year using the last date of the fiscal year for the ending period of this timesheet batch. If an agency has multiple old fiscal year timesheet batches to process through year end leave accrual for the payroll that crosses fiscal years, the period ending date must be the same on all batches or the year end leave accrual will not calculate correctly.
When timesheets have been processed through payroll and the check run has been saved, the timesheet batch shows that it is posted. However, timesheet batches do not have to be posted in order for them to be included in the month end reports. Once timesheets are saved, they will be included on the month end reports that include the posting period of the batch.
Once you have processed a timesheet batch through Leave Balance Processing, if you go back and edit either the batch control form or an individual timesheet, you will get a message that this batch must be processed through Leave Balance Processing again. This timesheet batch will not be available under Prepare Payroll until you do so.
To enter Timesheet Budgets, click on General Ledger, Budget and PY R&E. For additional information regarding entering Timesheet Budgets, review Timesheet Budgets in the Help files under General Ledger, Budget and P/Y.
Timesheet Batch Entry Tab
Document Attachments
During Timesheet data entry, you have the ability to attach an external document to the timesheet or timesheet batch control. Some examples are a pdf image of an invoice, correspondence in a Word document or an Excel spreadsheet. To accomplish this, once the timesheet is open click on the Documents button on the tool bar across the top of your screen. A New Document form will appear with the Source combo box defaulted to TI. The Batch# and Doc# fields will also automatically be populated. (The Doc# field will display the employee number.) At this point you can open Windows Explorer or My Computer and locate the document you wish to attach. Then simply drag and drop the document by placing the cursor over the document name, left click and drag it to the New Document form in GMS. Once the cursor is anywhere on the New Document form simply let go of the cursor button and the complete file name and path will appear in the File Name field. Then save the document attachment. Another option is to click on the >> symbol to the right of the File Name field and locate the document to be attached. Once the document is selected, click on Save.
Note: If when you click on “Documents” to initiate the attachment process and the document attachment form does not load you may be missing a file called fpspr35.ocx. At this point please place a service call to GMS for a resolution to this problem.
Should you wish to add additional documents to the timesheet, once the grid appears with the currently attached document(s) click on the New button on the bottom of the form and repeat the attachment process.
Auto attach documents – If you have several documents to be attached in a batch stored in a specific folder you can select Auto Attach from the New Document form. Then in the File Name box identify a document within the folder where the attachments are stored. The system with then automatically attach all documents in that folder that start with the corresponding entry number in the batch. For example, if you have entry numbers 356 and 357 in a batch the system will automatically attach documents that are named 356 xxx and 357 xxx to the appropriate entry in the batch. Note: in order for this procedure to work properly the documents to be attached must be named with the corresponding entry number to which they are to be attached followed by a space then followed by a description of your choice. For example, a document to be attached to entry number 356 in a batch could be named 356 Approval Memo.
Should you wish to “un-attach” a document from the timesheet, highlight the existing file
name on the File List tab and click on the Delete button on the bottom. Note: this step does not delete the document, it merely “un-attaches” it from the timesheet.
Operating Instructions
Batch #: This is an informational field. The system will automatically number the Timesheet batches.
Description: You can enter a description for the batch that will print on the batch control, batch register and Batch Analysis.
Pay Period: The beginning and ending dates of the pay period are to be entered in these fields. Data entry can be accomplished by clicking the combo box arrow. You may then type in the appropriate date or select the date using the calendar function.
Posting Period: Select the posting period for the month in which the timesheets should be expensed.
Posted: This is an informational field. It will show False when the Timesheet batch is entered and change to True when the batch has been used in Payroll Processing or posted in Tools\Post Timesheet Batches.
Print Options: Check boxes are available to specify if signature lines should be printed and the order the timesheets should be sorted in – alpha or code.
Include multiple pay rate only: If this box is checked the batch will include only the hours paid using multiple pay rates defined in Payroll/Setup/Multiple Pay Rates. No hours will be included using the main rate in the employee file.
Note: If you are entering timesheets for annual salary employees who have zero hours in the pay period field of the class setup (semi-monthly and monthly payrolls), the total hours in the pay period will show on the batch control and timesheet batch report.
Timesheet Entry Tab
When a Timesheet Batch form is displayed, clicking on the Timesheet Entry tab will take you into the form to enter Timesheets in the current batch.
Please note that if your organization prepares payroll on a semi-monthly cycle, 24 pays per year, and has annual salary employees, the number of working hours will differ between payrolls. In this case, when you enter the first Timesheet of the batch, the system will ask you to “Please enter the number of hours in this pay period”. Respond to this question by entering the total number of available working hours in this pay period for full time staff.
For example, if there were 12 working days in the pay period, and your organization works 8-hour days, the response to this question would be 96. This is necessary in order for the system to properly calculate the hourly rate needed for salary distribution. This question will only be asked once, at the beginning of the Timesheet batch data entry.
Operating Instructions
Batch #: This field displays the current batch number and cannot be edited.
Employee: Enter the Employee code in this field or use the combo box arrow to select the code. Your selection will be restricted to current active staff. You may leave the employee field blank and select an employee by name. Once the name is selected the employee code will appear automatically.
If you have an employee who is set up in the employee file with a pay period salary, when you enter the employee code, the system will display a form titled "Salary by Pay Period" and ask you "Please enter the total hours for this employee this pay period".
If you have an employee who is set up in the employee file with ask for hours checked, when you enter the employee code, the system will display a form titled “Ask for Hour Employee” and ask you “Please enter the total hours for this employee for this pay period.”.
If you have classes of employees who are set up with 0 hours in the pay period and an annual salary, when you enter the first timesheet in a batch for these employees with an annual salary and do not have “Ask for Hours” checked, the system will display a form titled “Hours worked this pay period” and ask you
“Please enter the number of hours in this pay period.”
Note: In all three cases identified, should the actual number of hours entered in the timesheet differ from the number of hours specified, you will be prompted that they differ and asked if you wish to override.
Name: Names are listed alphabetically in the combo box. You may leave the employee code field blank and select an employee by name. Once the name is selected the employee code will appear automatically.
Rate: This field will contain the employee’s hourly rate. Even if the employee is set up in the Employee File with an Annual salary, the system will calculate an hourly rate to use for the salary distribution.
If an employee has multiple pay rates, additional rates of pay can be selected from the combo box. The rate of pay will be displayed on each line in the grid. If you enter a line using one of the multiple pay rates, once that information is recorded on the grid the regular rate of pay will once again appear in the rate combo box. When the timesheet batch is printed the rate of pay will print for each line of data entry.
Should you wish to enter a pay rate for an employee that does not have the desired rate set up in Multiple Pay Rates, you can click in the rate field and enter the rate manually. That rate will remain in the rate box until it is changed or the timesheet is saved.
NOTE: Once the timesheet has been saved, the rate for all subsequent timesheets for that employee will default back to the rate in the employee file.
Please note that if you are in Timesheet Data Entry using the Adjust button, no hourly rate will appear.
Class: The class that is assigned to the employee in their Employee File will appear. Should you need to change the employee’s class only for this specific timesheet, you may delete and enter the new class. An example would be if an employee’s class changed at the beginning of a new fiscal year. But a month into the new year, you need to reverse roll forward to the old year to do your year-end processing and part of this requires a timesheet or timesheet adjustment for this particular employee. When you reverse roll, the employee’s class will not revert to the old class. So when entering a timesheet in the previous year you can simply edit the class to the desired class# to record the timesheet. Note: this will have no effect on the class as it is recorded in the employee file. Additionally, you will be asked if you wish to change the class for the employee in the employee file. If this is a permanent class change, answer yes.
Element: Enter the Element code for the current line of salary distribution. Data entry can be accomplished by typing in the Element number or clicking on the combo box arrow and making your selection. Your selection will be limited to current Program Element or Leave Codes.
NOTE: When entering leave for a leave type that has been set up in Payroll\Payroll Set Up\Leave Balance Type, the system will do an available leave balance check. If the amount of leave entered on the timesheet exceeds the employee’s current leave balance plus hours earned during the current pay period, a message will be displayed "Employee's leave taken hours will exceed the total leave balance. Do you want to override?"
Code: The Pay Code is recorded in this field. If the Element for this line of distribution is a Program Element, this entry will be restricted to RT for Regular Time, OT for Overtime, or CE for Comp Time earned. RT is the default code, meaning that if you tap enter or tab through the field making no entry, RT will appear. If OT or CE is entered, the corresponding salary amount will be calculated based on the rate as defined on the Pay Code form that is found in GMS Main, Payroll, Setup. Data entry can be accomplished by typing in the Pay Code or clicking on the combo box arrow and making your selection.
Note: If the Element and Pay Code entered represent a Leave Type, the Pay Code cannot be changed to RT, OT or CE.
Hours: Enter the number of hours for this line of salary distribution. When clicking on Save for an employee who has Ask for Hours or Salary by Pay Period checked in the employee file, it will compare the total hours entered on the timesheet to the total hours specified. If they are different, it will give you a message with an option to override.
Locality Code: Select the appropriate Local Tax Code from the drop down box for each line of coding. If a code is selected for the first line and not others, GMS will use the local tax code setup in the employee file. If no Local Tax Code is setup in the employee file, a message will be displayed stating Local taxes will not be calculated on lines with no local code. If a code was entered incorrectly, Control-Delete will clear the field.
Enter: Clicking on the next row or tapping the enter key will result in recording the current line of salary distribution on the grid below.
Edit: This option will allow you to edit an existing timesheet. Whether or not the timesheet batch is posted will determine which fields can be edited.
If the batch is not posted you may edit the pay rate, employee class, element, pay code and number of hours.
If the batch is posted, you may edit any element not in the Leave Balance Type setup under Payroll\Set Up. You can delete and add a line but you cannot change any pay code. Program elements and hours can be changed; however, it cannot be saved unless the total payroll column matches the original that was paid.
Once a batch is posted, Edit is available, however, New, Delete and Adjust will be disabled.
Find: This selection enables you to search the Timesheet batch by the employee code or last name.
When entering an employee code, you need to enter an existing code. If a valid code is not entered, you will receive the message “Employee code not found.” If you enter a valid code, the Timesheet in the current batch will appear on the screen.
When entering an employee’s last name, the system will display the Timesheet of the first employee, in alphabetical order, that meets the criteria. For example, you might enter “Smi” and if the only two employees in the current batch that fit the criteria are David Smith and Janice Smith, the system will display David Smith’s Timesheet.
Adjust: This selection will allow you to enter a new Timesheet or edit an existing Timesheet. As you enter a Timesheet adjustment, the hourly rate will not appear in the upper right corner of the Timesheet. You will need to enter the hours, if applicable and the amount, if applicable. If no hours are to be recorded, enter a zero in the hours field and tap enter. The Timesheet Adjustment form will appear allowing you to enter the amount.
This feature is particularly useful when entering retroactive salary increases when dollar amounts with no hours are recorded. It is also useful for agencies that do not prepare payroll on the GMS system. There are times when “penny” adjustments need to be added to existing Timesheets so they agree with the gross salary amount calculated by the payroll service.
This feature can also be used when you need to record a pay code for leave without pay other than LP or ML. Once the pay code is created, such as MT for maternity leave, enter a timesheet adjustment for the appropriate number of hours and enter "0" for the dollar amount.
Batch control information may be entered or changed. Enter, change, print, delete, find or adjust in the timesheet entry form.
Things You Should Know
Timesheets perform a significant role and are used to:
- Serve as the source documentation supporting salary charges to programs and activities.
- Produce a variety of reports designed to assist management in monitoring where staff time is spent.
- Generate subsidiary records associated with financial reports.
- Create payrolls and paychecks.
- Update employee leave balances.
Split Payroll at the End of a Fiscal Year
If your pay period at the end of your fiscal year is split with some of the days worked in the old fiscal year and some days worked in the new fiscal year, a batch(es) should be entered for the days worked in the old fiscal year and a batch(es) should be entered for the days worked in the new fiscal year. If your agency charges any type of leave when earned, you will be able to process separate batches through Leave Processing in order to calculate leave balances as of the last day of your fiscal year.
Enter a timesheet batch for the days the employees worked in the old fiscal year using the last date of the fiscal year for the ending period of this timesheet batch. If an agency has multiple old fiscal year timesheet batches to process through year end leave accrual for the payroll that crosses fiscal years, the period ending date must be the same on all batches or the year end leave accrual will not calculate correctly.
When timesheets have been processed through payroll and the check run has been saved, the timesheet batch shows that it is posted. However, timesheet batches do not have to be posted in order for them to be included in the month end reports. Once timesheets are saved, they will be included on the month end reports that include the posting period of the batch.
Once you have processed a timesheet batch through Leave Balance Processing, if you go back and edit either the batch control form or an individual timesheet, you will get a message that this batch must be processed through Leave Balance Processing again. This timesheet batch will not be available under Prepare Payroll until you do so.
To enter Timesheet Budgets, click on General Ledger, Budget and PY R&E. For additional information regarding entering Timesheet Budgets, review Timesheet Budgets in the Help files under General Ledger, Budget and P/Y.
Timesheet Batch Entry Tab
Document Attachments
During Timesheet data entry, you have the ability to attach an external document to the timesheet or timesheet batch control. Some examples are a pdf image of an invoice, correspondence in a Word document or an Excel spreadsheet. To accomplish this, once the timesheet is open click on the Documents button on the tool bar across the top of your screen. A New Document form will appear with the Source combo box defaulted to TI. The Batch# and Doc# fields will also automatically be populated. (The Doc# field will display the employee number.) At this point you can open Windows Explorer or My Computer and locate the document you wish to attach. Then simply drag and drop the document by placing the cursor over the document name, left click and drag it to the New Document form in GMS. Once the cursor is anywhere on the New Document form simply let go of the cursor button and the complete file name and path will appear in the File Name field. Then save the document attachment. Another option is to click on the >> symbol to the right of the File Name field and locate the document to be attached. Once the document is selected, click on Save.
Note: If when you click on “Documents” to initiate the attachment process and the document attachment form does not load you may be missing a file called fpspr35.ocx. At this point please place a service call to GMS for a resolution to this problem.
Should you wish to add additional documents to the timesheet, once the grid appears with the currently attached document(s) click on the New button on the bottom of the form and repeat the attachment process.
Auto attach documents – If you have several documents to be attached in a batch stored in a specific folder you can select Auto Attach from the New Document form. Then in the File Name box identify a document within the folder where the attachments are stored. The system with then automatically attach all documents in that folder that start with the corresponding entry number in the batch. For example, if you have entry numbers 356 and 357 in a batch the system will automatically attach documents that are named 356 xxx and 357 xxx to the appropriate entry in the batch. Note: in order for this procedure to work properly the documents to be attached must be named with the corresponding entry number to which they are to be attached followed by a space then followed by a description of your choice. For example, a document to be attached to entry number 356 in a batch could be named 356 Approval Memo.
Should you wish to “un-attach” a document from the timesheet, highlight the existing file
name on the File List tab and click on the Delete button on the bottom. Note: this step does not delete the document, it merely “un-attaches” it from the timesheet.
Operating Instructions
Batch #: This is an informational field. The system will automatically number the Timesheet batches.
Description: You can enter a description for the batch that will print on the batch control, batch register and Batch Analysis.
Pay Period: The beginning and ending dates of the pay period are to be entered in these fields. Data entry can be accomplished by clicking the combo box arrow. You may then type in the appropriate date or select the date using the calendar function.
Posting Period: Select the posting period for the month in which the timesheets should be expensed.
Posted: This is an informational field. It will show False when the Timesheet batch is entered and change to True when the batch has been used in Payroll Processing or posted in Tools\Post Timesheet Batches.
Print Options: Check boxes are available to specify if signature lines should be printed and the order the timesheets should be sorted in – alpha or code.
Include multiple pay rate only: If this box is checked the batch will include only the hours paid using multiple pay rates defined in Payroll/Setup/Multiple Pay Rates. No hours will be included using the main rate in the employee file.
Note: If you are entering timesheets for annual salary employees who have zero hours in the pay period field of the class setup (semi-monthly and monthly payrolls), the total hours in the pay period will show on the batch control and timesheet batch report.
Timesheet Entry Tab
When a Timesheet Batch form is displayed, clicking on the Timesheet Entry tab will take you into the form to enter Timesheets in the current batch.
Please note that if your organization prepares payroll on a semi-monthly cycle, 24 pays per year, and has annual salary employees, the number of working hours will differ between payrolls. In this case, when you enter the first Timesheet of the batch, the system will ask you to “Please enter the number of hours in this pay period”. Respond to this question by entering the total number of available working hours in this pay period for full time staff.
For example, if there were 12 working days in the pay period, and your organization works 8-hour days, the response to this question would be 96. This is necessary in order for the system to properly calculate the hourly rate needed for salary distribution. This question will only be asked once, at the beginning of the Timesheet batch data entry.
Operating Instructions
Batch #: This field displays the current batch number and cannot be edited.
Employee: Enter the Employee code in this field or use the combo box arrow to select the code. Your selection will be restricted to current active staff. You may leave the employee field blank and select an employee by name. Once the name is selected the employee code will appear automatically.
If you have an employee who is set up in the employee file with a pay period salary, when you enter the employee code, the system will display a form titled "Salary by Pay Period" and ask you "Please enter the total hours for this employee this pay period".
If you have an employee who is set up in the employee file with ask for hours checked, when you enter the employee code, the system will display a form titled “Ask for Hour Employee” and ask you “Please enter the total hours for this employee for this pay period.”.
If you have classes of employees who are set up with 0 hours in the pay period and an annual salary, when you enter the first timesheet in a batch for these employees with an annual salary and do not have “Ask for Hours” checked, the system will display a form titled “Hours worked this pay period” and ask you
“Please enter the number of hours in this pay period.”
Note: In all three cases identified, should the actual number of hours entered in the timesheet differ from the number of hours specified, you will be prompted that they differ and asked if you wish to override.
Name: Names are listed alphabetically in the combo box. You may leave the employee code field blank and select an employee by name. Once the name is selected the employee code will appear automatically.
Rate: This field will contain the employee’s hourly rate. Even if the employee is set up in the Employee File with an Annual salary, the system will calculate an hourly rate to use for the salary distribution.
If an employee has multiple pay rates, additional rates of pay can be selected from the combo box. The rate of pay will be displayed on each line in the grid. If you enter a line using one of the multiple pay rates, once that information is recorded on the grid the regular rate of pay will once again appear in the rate combo box. When the timesheet batch is printed the rate of pay will print for each line of data entry.
Should you wish to enter a pay rate for an employee that does not have the desired rate set up in Multiple Pay Rates, you can click in the rate field and enter the rate manually. That rate will remain in the rate box until it is changed or the timesheet is saved.
NOTE: Once the timesheet has been saved, the rate for all subsequent timesheets for that employee will default back to the rate in the employee file.
Please note that if you are in Timesheet Data Entry using the Adjust button, no hourly rate will appear.
Class: The class that is assigned to the employee in their Employee File will appear. Should you need to change the employee’s class only for this specific timesheet, you may delete and enter the new class. An example would be if an employee’s class changed at the beginning of a new fiscal year. But a month into the new year, you need to reverse roll forward to the old year to do your year-end processing and part of this requires a timesheet or timesheet adjustment for this particular employee. When you reverse roll, the employee’s class will not revert to the old class. So when entering a timesheet in the previous year you can simply edit the class to the desired class# to record the timesheet. Note: this will have no effect on the class as it is recorded in the employee file. Additionally, you will be asked if you wish to change the class for the employee in the employee file. If this is a permanent class change, answer yes.
Element: Enter the Element code for the current line of salary distribution. Data entry can be accomplished by typing in the Element number or clicking on the combo box arrow and making your selection. Your selection will be limited to current Program Element or Leave Codes.
NOTE: When entering leave for a leave type that has been set up in Payroll\Payroll Set Up\Leave Balance Type, the system will do an available leave balance check. If the amount of leave entered on the timesheet exceeds the employee’s current leave balance plus hours earned during the current pay period, a message will be displayed "Employee's leave taken hours will exceed the total leave balance. Do you want to override?"
Code: The Pay Code is recorded in this field. If the Element for this line of distribution is a Program Element, this entry will be restricted to RT for Regular Time, OT for Overtime, or CE for Comp Time earned. RT is the default code, meaning that if you tap enter or tab through the field making no entry, RT will appear. If OT or CE is entered, the corresponding salary amount will be calculated based on the rate as defined on the Pay Code form that is found in GMS Main, Payroll, Setup. Data entry can be accomplished by typing in the Pay Code or clicking on the combo box arrow and making your selection.
Note: If the Element and Pay Code entered represent a Leave Type, the Pay Code cannot be changed to RT, OT or CE.
Hours: Enter the number of hours for this line of salary distribution. When clicking on Save for an employee who has Ask for Hours or Salary by Pay Period checked in the employee file, it will compare the total hours entered on the timesheet to the total hours specified. If they are different, it will give you a message with an option to override.
Locality Code: Select the appropriate Local Tax Code from the drop down box for each line of coding. If a code is selected for the first line and not others, GMS will use the local tax code setup in the employee file. If no Local Tax Code is setup in the employee file, a message will be displayed stating Local taxes will not be calculated on lines with no local code. If a code was entered incorrectly, Control-Delete will clear the field.
Enter: Clicking on the next row or tapping the enter key will result in recording the current line of salary distribution on the grid below.
Edit: This option will allow you to edit an existing timesheet. Whether or not the timesheet batch is posted will determine which fields can be edited.
If the batch is not posted you may edit the pay rate, employee class, element, pay code and number of hours.
If the batch is posted, you may edit any element not in the Leave Balance Type setup under Payroll\Set Up. You can delete and add a line but you cannot change any pay code. Program elements and hours can be changed; however, it cannot be saved unless the total payroll column matches the original that was paid.
Once a batch is posted, Edit is available, however, New, Delete and Adjust will be disabled.
Find: This selection enables you to search the Timesheet batch by the employee code or last name.
When entering an employee code, you need to enter an existing code. If a valid code is not entered, you will receive the message “Employee code not found.” If you enter a valid code, the Timesheet in the current batch will appear on the screen.
When entering an employee’s last name, the system will display the Timesheet of the first employee, in alphabetical order, that meets the criteria. For example, you might enter “Smi” and if the only two employees in the current batch that fit the criteria are David Smith and Janice Smith, the system will display David Smith’s Timesheet.
Adjust: This selection will allow you to enter a new Timesheet or edit an existing Timesheet. As you enter a Timesheet adjustment, the hourly rate will not appear in the upper right corner of the Timesheet. You will need to enter the hours, if applicable and the amount, if applicable. If no hours are to be recorded, enter a zero in the hours field and tap enter. The Timesheet Adjustment form will appear allowing you to enter the amount.
This feature is particularly useful when entering retroactive salary increases when dollar amounts with no hours are recorded. It is also useful for agencies that do not prepare payroll on the GMS system. There are times when “penny” adjustments need to be added to existing Timesheets so they agree with the gross salary amount calculated by the payroll service.
This feature can also be used when you need to record a pay code for leave without pay other than LP or ML. Once the pay code is created, such as MT for maternity leave, enter a timesheet adjustment for the appropriate number of hours and enter "0" for the dollar amount.
