V9 Time and Expenses Administrator s Guide DOCUMENTATION Phone: 01981 590410 Fax: 01981 590411 E-mail: information@praceng.com
CHANGE HISTORY ORIGINAL DOCUMENT AUTHOR: MICHELLE HARRIS DATE: NOV 09 AUTHOR DATE CHANGE MICHELLE HARRIS OCTOBER 2011 UPDATE TO 8.3 MICHELLE HARRIS APRIL 2012 UPDATE TO 8.3.3 MICHELLE HARRIS NOVEMBER 2012 UPDATE TO 8.4.1 MICHELLE HARRIS FEBRUARY 2013 INCLUDE INFO ON TIME LOCATIONS MICHELLE HARRIS JULY 2014 UPDATE TO V9 MICHELLE HARRIS MARCH 2016 UPDATE TO V9.4 Chapter: Change History 2
CONTENTS Change History... 2 Overview... 4 Timesheets... 5 Timesheet Best Practice... 5 Timesheet Periods... 5 Timesheet Creation... 6 Timesheet Weeks... 6 Timesheet Headers... 6 Timesheet Maintenance... 7 Editing Timesheet Headers... 7 Viewing Timesheet Details... 7 Timesheet Approval... 8 Approval of TOIL... 9 Timesheet Posting... 10 Excessive Timesheets... 10 Global Post... 10 Daily Posting... 10 Check Report... 11 Implications of Posting and Period End... 11 Daily Timesheets... 11 PopUp Timesheet... 12 Firm Calendar Entries... 12 Timesheet Locations (US Clients Only)... 13 Job Work Timer... 14 Expenses... 15 Expense Approvals... 15 Chapter: Change History 3
For Approval... 15 Expense Posting... 16 OVERVIEW This document is aimed at Practice Engine administrators who require a detailed analysis of the Timesheet and Expense features within Practice Engine V9. Chapter: Overview 4
TIMESHEETS This section describes in detail the administrative functionality of timesheets within Practice Engine. It does not cover the end user completion of timesheets. Please refer to the appropriate Quick Reference Guide for more information on this. TIMESHEET BEST PRACTICE Timesheets are a fundamental part of Practice Engine, and it is advisable to consider the following points to promote best practice: Are all staff to create timesheets, or should some users be exempt? What codes are valid for use on timesheets? If there are a large number of services and analysis codes that are no longer in use then it is advisable to restrict them from timesheet use. This can be done through Categories Etc. (Please refer to the System Administration Administrators Guide) Have default recoverable and non recoverable codes been set? Setting default recoverable and non recoverable services and analysis codes can make timesheet entry for the user simpler. Are Daily or Weekly timesheets to be used, or a mixture? If daily timesheets are in use, will the Auto Posting of released time be used? TIMESHEET PERIODS Timesheet periods are the weeks inside a firm period. A standard timesheet week runs from Monday to Sunday, and Weeks run from the first day of the firm period to the last. In periods when the end of the period is mid week this will create two timesheets for the week that the period end falls. The example below explains how weeks would be set up for a typical firm period. The period used in this example is July 2009. Period Start Date: 01.07.2009 Period End Date: 31.07.2009 Week 1 1 st 5 th Week 2 6 th 12 th Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 13 th 19 th 20 th 26 th 27 th 31st 5
TIMESHEET CREATION Timesheets are created and maintained through the Timesheet Creation and Posting page in the Admin menu. Timesheets need to be created in advance for staff to be able to access them. This is a 2 step process the creation of the Timesheet Weeks and then the creation of the individual timesheets. TIMESHEET WEEKS A new timesheet week can be created by highlighting the required year and period and clicking on the New button. The new week will be automatically created and will appear in the list on the right. This process needs to be repeated until all weeks in the period have been created. It is possible to edit the details of the timesheet week. Although generally not necessary this can be used when the number of chargeable days is different from what the system has generated. An example of this may be for a Christmas shutdown. Clicking onto the icon next to the relevant timesheet week will provide access to the details that can be amended. TIMESHEET HEADERS A timesheet header is each timesheet s basic details. The header contains the name of the staff member expected to complete the timesheet, the number of hours expected to be entered onto the timesheet, broken into the hours per day and the date of the timesheet. When the timesheets are created for each staff member, the system calculates the number of expected (target) hours by using the staff member s current work profile. Each staff member can have multiple work profiles. Each work profile becomes effective on a given date so only 1 work profile is active at any time. The different work profiles can be used to reflect changes in standard working hours due to seasonal variations or known long term changes like maternity leave. These can be found on the Charge Rates page in the Staff Set up section. The Work Profile acts as a template for the staff member s usual working pattern for the week. It is calculated based on daily hours to either give a daily target if Daily timesheets are being used or a weekly target if Weekly timesheets are being used. Before a header is created the dates of the timesheet week in which it is to be created are taken into account. The total timesheet days are calculated using these dates (including any weekend days) For example, the second week in July 2009 (week 2) is dated from the 6 th to the 12th. The timesheet will consist of 7 days in total, 2 days will be weekend days, with 0 non chargeable days, leaving a total of 5 chargeable days. The Timesheet Headers are created by clicking onto the appropriate timesheet week s description and then clicking the New button or by clicking onto the icon next to the timesheet week. 6
Alternatively the Bulk Create button can be used to create the timesheet headers for all open weeks. Within each Timesheet Week, a folder labelled Idle will appear in the left hand pane. The folder can be expanded to show details at the Office and Department level. Whichever level is selected all timesheets within the selection will be displayed in the right hand pane. The list of timesheets can be sorted by Code, Staff Name, Target Hours or Actual Hours. TIMESHEET MAINTENANCE Timesheets are maintained in the same way as they are created. Maintenance can include editing the timesheet hours and deleting unwanted timesheets. EDITING TIMESHEET HEADERS It is possible to edit the details of a timesheet header for a staff member after it has been created. It is also possible to add or edit any comments attached to the timesheet and even delete idle timesheet headers. Timesheet headers are edited by clicking the Edit icon Edit Week from the context menu. beside the timesheet entry or by selecting The number of target hours can be amended by overtyping the target in each of the target fields. The target hours are derived from the individual staff member s work profile. Any change made to the target hours in this section should be temporary changes only. Long term changes to the work profile should be made on the staff member s staff details. Please refer to the Staff Maintenance Administrator s Guide for further details. Any comments can be added or edited in the Comments box. The timesheet can be deleted using the Delete button. Note: Timesheet headers can only be deleted if their status is Idle. VIEWING TIMESHEET DETAILS The details of any active, completed or approved timesheet can be viewed using the view icon,, which will display a report of the activities that have been recorded on the timesheet. Timesheets can be activated using the icon. This will return the timesheet header status back to Active, allowing additional entries to be added to the timesheet. Posted entries cannot be changed. 7
TIMESHEET APPROVAL Approving timesheets is the process of confirming that the time entered against a client is valid and can be posted and billed. It is a final check before the time is posted, since once posted, timesheet entries cannot be changed. Note: It is possible, by adjusting the transaction settings, to allow posting of timesheets that are only in the Complete status, however, it is highly recommended that the Approved status is used to ensure smooth processing. In order to Approve a timesheet it must have a status of Complete and the staff member who is to approve the timesheet must have the relevant permissions granted. Under the Entry menu there are four approval options, providing permissions have been granted to the user. Option My Timesheet Approvals: Department Timesheet Approval: Office Timesheet Approval: Global Timesheet Approval: Description Lists all complete timesheets for staff listed in the Approves list for the staff member logged in. The Approves list can be found on the Charge Rates page within the Staff menu. It allows the staff member to be responsible for approving a selection of timesheets. Staff can be added to the list by using the search icon ( ). Lists all complete timesheets for staff that are in the same department as the staff member logged in. Lists all the complete timesheets for all staff in the same office as the staff member logged in. It is also possible to further breakdown the office by department. Lists all complete timesheets for all staff members in the organisation and again, the list can be broken down by office and department. 8
Each approval option consists of two tabs and each displays the timesheets in a different way. Tab By Week: By Staff: All Complete: Description Displays each timesheet week created, and displays the total number of timesheets available for review. Select a week by clicking the Date. All staff members with timesheets in the section are listed. Right clicking on a timesheet will access a context menu with options to view the timesheet details, complete the timesheet, approve the timesheet, reject the timesheet or reactivate the timesheet (the options that are available will depend on the status of the timesheet). Alternatively it is possible to review the timesheet by clicking onto the staff members Name. Lists all staff members with timesheets available for review/approval. To review the timesheet click the staff Name. All timesheets for the staff member are listed. Right clicking on a timesheet will access a context menu with options to view the timesheet details, complete the timesheet, approve the timesheet, reject the timesheet or reactivate the timesheet (the options that are available will depend on the status of the timesheet). Alternatively it is possible to review the timesheet by clicking onto the Date. This page is only available on the My Timesheet Approval page. This displays all complete timesheets that the staff member is responsible for. If the timesheet is Complete you can Approve, Reject or Edit it by clicking the appropriate buttons within the timesheet details. APPROVAL OF TOIL If the TOIL option of Manual with Approval is being used, TOIL can be approved from the Timesheet approval pages. TOIL requests are listed as daily amounts calculated from any time worked over the daily target hours. Comments boxes are available against each line to allow comments by the staff member and the approver. The Approve TOIL button will approve the requested TOIL entry for the day. This button will then change to Reset once the TOIL has been approved. Once all TOIL has been approved it can be posted by clicking onto the Post TOIL button. For further information regarding TOIL please refer to the Staff Maintenance Administrators Guide. 9
TIMESHEET POSTING For timesheets to be available for posting they must have the required status of either Complete or Approved. The (highly) recommended status for posting is Approved but Complete is adequate. Note: The posting status is controlled through the 'Transaction Settings' section of the Categories Etc, for more information please refer to the System Administration Administrators Guide or contact Support. Timesheets are posted from the Timesheet Creation and Posting page of the Admin menu. To post timesheets select the required year and period then click the required week description to view the timesheets. Timesheets are grouped on the left hand pane by status. Select the appropriate folder for posting timesheets (either Approved or Complete) to display all timesheets with that status. To activate the Post button select either Office or Department. Click the Post button and the list of available timesheets will be displayed again. Each timesheet has a tick box beside it Shortcuts have been provided to select All or None of the timesheets to simplify sub-selections. When satisfied with the selection of timesheets to be posted, click the Post button again. EXCESSIVE TIMESHEETS The Excessive tab contains any timesheets where the actual hours total more than 48. The timesheets tick box defaults to a un-ticked status and must be ticked before the posting of any excessive timesheets can be completed. GLOBAL POST It is also possible to globally post all Timesheets at the same time. The Global Post button can be found at the top of the Timesheet Headers page. This button will open the timesheet posting page listing all currently available timesheets for posting. Each timesheet will have a tick box beside it. Posting the timesheets is completed using the same method as described above. Global Post will only post timesheets up to the end of the current period. DAILY POSTING The Daily Post button allows the posting of any released daily time that has not been automatically posted. This is only applicable if Daily Timesheets are being used. 10
CHECK REPORT The Check button will run a report that will identify any timesheets that contain problems which will prevent them from posting IMPLICATIONS OF POSTING AND PERIOD END Timesheets should be posted on a regular basis preferably weekly. One part of the process for closing a financial period (Period end) should be to post any outstanding timesheets however this is not always possible. In cases where the period end routine is completed with timesheets either in progress for the following period, or timesheets still in progress for the current period then the following criteria is applied: A July timesheet posted in the August period becomes an August transaction. This is because its transaction index number will be in the August period s range of valid values. An August timesheet posted in the August period becomes an August transaction. The date and transaction index number are both in the correct period. A September timesheet posted in the August period becomes a September transaction. This is because the transaction is posted with an August transaction index but with a September date so Practice Engine will correctly recognise that it is a future dated transaction. All transactions within Practice Engine are based upon a transaction index number and a date. The period end routine works with both elements to ensure that all transactions fall within the correct period when they are posted. Unposted timesheet transactions are not applied to WIP and therefore do not affect the Period End routine until they are posted. Note that as part of the period end processing, you ll be notified if there are any unposted timesheets currently in the system for the period that you re attempting to close. See Period End Administrators Guide for full details of the checks performed and the notifications that are possible. DAILY TIMESHEETS Daily timesheets enable greater flexibility for firms who prefer time to be posted to Work In Progress as soon as it is available. The required daily hours are set by the staff members Work Profile. Individual staff members can set their timesheet input style to either Daily or Weekly from their Settings page within the Staff menu. 11
Input of time to the timesheet is performed in a similar manner to a weekly timesheet entry. A context menu is available with actions of: Action Copy To Edit Delete Description Copies the selected entry to a different day. Allows editing of the selected entry. Deletes the selected entry. Time can be marked by the staff member as ready for posting using the Release button. If the system has been configured appropriately the released entries will be posted into Work In Progress automatically. The configuration of automatic posting happens at 2 levels. The first is a system wide option Allow Automatic Timesheet Posting which can be found in the Categories Etc. If this option is enabled then the second level of configuration is available against each staff member. Each staff member has an option to Auto Post on Complete which can be found on the Charge Rates page in the Staff menu. If this is enabled timesheets will be posted automatically when released. POPUP TIMESHEET The PopUp Timesheet functionality has been created to allow users to have a timesheet open at all times without affecting use of the main system. The PopUp Timesheet will open a daily timesheet style form for the current day in a new window. Entry of time is performed in the same way as a daily timesheet entry, however time can only be entered for the current day. Note: The PopUp Timesheet will always be in a daily style even if Weekly timesheets are in use. FIRM CALENDAR ENTRIES Firm Calendar Entries is a feature that can be found on the Data Maintenance section of the Admin menu task pad. It enables administrators to populate staff member s timesheets and diaries with a global entry. It is particularly useful for firm holidays. The Firm Calendar list page shows all entries that have already been created right clicking on any existing entry accesses a context menu with option to either view the details of the entry or copy the entry. New entries can be created by clicking onto the New button. 12
The following information is required when creating a new entry: Field Description Start/ End Date Daily Hours All Day Entry Type Client Service Job Analysis Applies to Description This is the narrative that populates the timesheet and diary entry. The date(s) for which the entry is to be applied to. The number of hours to be applied to the entry. Ticking this checkbox will create an entry for the staff member s daily hours regardless of the number of hours that have been entered into the Daily Hours field. Options available are: Public Holiday, Firm Holiday, Firm Event and Other. The client the entry is to be entered against. The service the entry is to be entered against. The job the entry is to be entered against (if applicable). The analysis code the entry is to be entered against. Select whether the entry is to be applied to: All staff, Some Grades, Some Departments, Some Offices, Some Organisations or Some Staff. If applying the entry to a selection of staff additional selection boxes will be shown so that the grades, departments, offices, organisations or staff members can be selected. TIMESHEET LOCATIONS (US CLIENTS ONLY) Timesheet locations can be used to track where each element of work has been performed. The Timesheet Locations feature is not turned on by default. It is switched on within Transaction Settings in Categories Etc. Once this has been checked, default locations can be set for each staff member on their Charge Rates page. The locations are derived from the States and Counties category lists that are held within the Tax Returns group of categories. These will need to be populated before Timesheet Locations can be used. Default Staff Locations are set against each staff member on the Staff Charge Rates page. The default State and County can be set. This will then show on the Timesheet header for the staff member but can be overridden. 13
The Timesheet header will show the default location with a suitcase next to it. Double clicking onto the suitcase will allow the location to be updated for the whole timesheet. This can also be achieved by right clicking on the Timesheet Header on the Timesheets page and selecting Set Timesheet Location from the context menu. Individual timesheet entries can be set to different locations by right clicking onto the timesheet entry and selecting Set Timesheet Location from the context menu. Any timesheets or timesheet entries that are not in the staff members default location will be shown with a suitcase. JOB WORK TIMER The work timer can be found from the Home menu and from within the full job details. Its purpose is to record the time spent on a job and allocate the time to the timesheet. The work timer can be set running from either the Home menu or from the job details. It can then be left running and the work timer window closed. Jobs can be added to the timer by using the Time Entry option from within the Job pages. This option allows the amount of time spent on the job and any notes associated with it to be recorded. The entry can then be posted to the timesheet either as a whole entry or as a part entry. 14
EXPENSES This section describes in detail the administrative functionality of expenses within Practice Engine. It does not cover the end user completion of expenses. Please refer to the appropriate Quick Reference Guide and end User Guide for more information on this. EXPENSE APPROVALS Expenses must be approved before they can be posted. Expenses approvals will be displayed within the My Expenses page for users who have the correct permissions. FOR APPROVAL The For Approval refiner will display all Expense Claims that the user has permission to approve: Click onto the Open Claim link to open the person s claim and view the entries and allocation. The form will display all attached receipts for the staff member, the allocations attached to the receipts and any unit allocations for items such as mileage. If the staff member has indicated that there is a physical paper receipt it will be displayed as a manual receipt. When reviewing the expense form the available options are: Approve this option will approve this expense form ready for posting. Reject this will mark the expense form as rejected and place it into the Rejected tab of the staff member s expenses. It is advisable to include a comment when rejecting an expense form to inform the staff member of the reasons why. Activate this will reactivate the complete timesheet and put it back into the Complete section of the staff member s expenses. Close this will close expense form and leave it in its current state. Print this will provide a link to open or save the expense report. DEPARTMENT EXPENSE APPROVAL Department Expense approval is completed from the For Approval page as described above. OFFICE EXPENSE APPROVAL Office Expense approval is completed from the For Approval page as described above. GLOBAL EXPENSE APPROVAL Global Expense approval is completed from the For Approval page as described above. Chapter: Expenses 15
EXPENSE POSTING Expenses are posted from the Posting tab of the Staff Expenses page. Once a claim has been approved, it can then be posted. The expense Posting tab can be found on the main Staff Expenses page if the user has the relevant permissions. Clicking on the Posting tab displays two tabs Claim Selection and Posting. Claim Selection lists all the current approved expense claims. Select the claims that are to be posted. This can either be done individually by clicking onto each line, or can be done using the Add to List button. The Search facility will also allow the claim list to be refined before the claims are added to the list in bulk. Individual claims can be removed by clicking onto them as required. Select the Posting tab, which will display all of the selected claims. Claims can be removed from here if necessary. Click onto the Post button to post the selected claims. A posting monitor dialog will appear with the status of the posting process. Chapter: Expenses 16