Enhancements for 14.23 Last Updated: January 9, 2018 Status: Released New Branding Changes AP BI BI EK HR IC JC PR PR PR PR PR SDX AP Multi-Cost Center Inter Post Clean Up Rebuild Data Warehouses New Data Cubes and Sources Add Masked SSN to Earnings Statement (US Only) Electronic OSHA Export Add Physical Inventory Flag to Database Field Level Security for Labor in Job Cost Time Off Bank Anniversaries Time Off Bank Use It or Lose It Time Off Bank Balance Limits Time Off Bank Pay Check Labels Standard Cost Payroll (BETA) New GET Employee UDF service Power User Tip Visit Spectrum s Help Center to stay up to date and learn about new enhancements! To navigate to the Help Center: 1. Click Help on the Spectrum toolbar. 2. Click on New Features. 3. Select the service pack to learn more! Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 1
Branding Changes Starting with this release, the sign on screen has been reformatted to closer align with Viewpoint s standards. When logged into the system, the new V Spectrum logo will appear in the upper left-hand corner. Also, Spectrum has a new favicon. Watch for more changes in the future! Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 2
AP Inter-Post Clean Up with Multi-Cost Center Invoices COST CENTER ENABLED SYSTEMS ONLY When cost centers were first introduced, the terms invoice header cost center and payment cost center were used interchangeably. This didn t hurt anything as it was a requirement that they be the same. Later, this restriction was removed and it resulted in scenarios where the user had cost center security to the invoice, but not to the payment. Here, the user would see the invoice while it was unposted and posted as an open item. However, once the invoice was paid, the invoice (now using the payment cost center) would effectively disappear. To correct this, the system has been changed as follows: 1. The invoice header s cost center is used to determine access to the invoice. This means that regardless of where the invoice exists, it s header cost center controls access. 2. The payment cost center is used to determine access to check history. To prevent users from accessing invoices that they don t have cost center security for, the Vendor Payment History window is now controlled by the payment cost center. This window is accessed by clicking the Check button from Vendor Payment History. System Admin Business Intelligence A new section has been added to System Administration to hold utilities for BI. Security category of PA controls access. This section will only appear for those licensed with Business Intelligence. Rebuild Data Warehouses Use the Rebuild Data Warehouses refresh data warehouses and to review the last date and time the data warehouses were updated. For performance reasons, only one rebuild may be executed at a time. Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 3
To start the process, highlight the data warehouse and click Rebuild. The user will see the following: WARNING This utility will refresh values in the selected data warehouse. Users may receive incomplete data when the rebuild is running. Use the Last rebuild duration as a guideline to how much time is required to perform this action. While the rebuild is in process, the Last rebuild and Next scheduled rebuild will display Now in progress. A message will also appear at the top of the grid reminding the user to click the Refresh button to monitor status of in progress rebuild. Security The Rebuild Data Warehouses screen requires a PA level 2 or higher. To execute the rebuild though, the user must have PA level 8 or higher. View Only: The user must have PA level 2 or higher to view this page. Execute Rebuild: To execute the rebuild, the user must have PA level 8 or higher. BI New Data Cubes and Data Sources New cubes are titled Beta when they are first released. Accounting Data Cubes Data cubes are used to create Analysis Reports. All Accounting cubes and data sources use Spectrum s fiscal calendar date format. The intended audience of these data sources and cubes are the Controller and other accountants with financial reporting duties. Customer Billings This cube provides a consolidated source of all customer billings. Summary information including Billed (amounts before taxes and retention), Invoiced (includes taxes), Paid, Retention, Retention Paid, Sales Tax, VAT. Customer, Customer Information, Customer Type and Transaction Source are included as well. This cube contains posted transactions only. Cost Centers at the invoice header level. Vendor Financials This cube provides a consolidated source of all vendor transactions. Summary information including Billed (amounts before taxes and retention), Invoiced (includes sales tax), Paid, Retention, Retention Paid, Sales Tax, VAT and Use Tax. Vendor, Vendor Information, Vendor Type are included as well. This cube contains posted transactions only. Cost Centers at the invoice header level. Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 4
Equipment Data Sources Data sources are used to create Interactive Reports. All Equipment cubes and data sources use a calendar date format, regardless of Spectrum s fiscal calendar as the intended audience of this information is the equipment manager and other operations staff. Equipment Cost History This data source contains detail transactions for equipment, including cost, hours, quantity by cost category. It also contains unit of measure, transaction type, description and cost center by transaction date. Useful to create detailed history reports. The data source also includes: Employee Code, Employee Check # and Employee Hours Fuel/Oil Code, Description, Type, Unit of Measure and Fuel Used Item Code, Description, Unit Price and Quantity Journal Entry # and Description Vendor Code, Name, Invoice Number, Invoice Date and Check Number Equipment code, description, Type, Division, Year, Make, Model, Weight Class Code, Weight Class Description, Weight Class Unit of Measure, Status and Status Type. Cost centers at the transaction level. Equipment Listing This data source contains setup information for each piece of equipment. Cost centers at the equipment level. Equipment Meter Reading This data source contains meter reading information, including: Meter # Meter Type Meter Reading Remarks Equipment code, description, Type, Division, Year, Make, Model, Weight Class Code, Weight Class Description, Weight Class Unit of Measure, Status and Status Type. Cost centers at the transaction level. Equipment Revenue History This data source contains detail revenue transactions for equipment, including revenue type, usage type, hours, extension rate and remarks. The data source also includes: Job Company Code, Job Code and Description. Phase Code, Cost Type and their Descriptions. Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 5
Equipment code, description, Type, Division, Year, Make, Model, Weight Class Code, Weight Class Description, Weight Class Unit of Measure, Status and Status Type. Cost centers at the transaction level. Service Cube Data cubes are used to create Analysis Reports. All Service cubes and data sources use a calendar date format, regardless of Spectrum s fiscal calendar as the intended audience of this information is the equipment manager and other operations staff. There are a variety of dates within the Work Order and Service Contract modules. Service cubes will use the following rules when determining the transaction date: Billed Revenue and Flat Rate Revenue: The transaction date is the invoice date of the work order. Unbilled Revenue: The underlying cost transaction dates will be used for all unbilled amounts. Labor and Material Costs: The item s cost transaction date will be used for both posted and unposted transactions. Other Charges: Only includes items that have been billed. The transaction date is the invoice date of the work order. Service Financials This cube contains both cost and revenue information for work orders. Profitability can be determined by Work Order, Customer, Site, Service Contract, Work Order Type, Zone, Case Type and Lead Source. Measures include Billed Revenue, Unbilled Revenue and Cost. Cost and revenue can be broken out into its Transaction Types of labor, material, other charges and flat rate revenue. Unposted Costs Unposted Labor and Material Costs: Unposted labor and materials are included in the Cost and Cost To Date measures. Unposted Other Charges: Unposted other charges are not included in either the cost or unbilled revenue measures. They are only included when they are billed. Transactions that originate outside of Work Order will not be included in costs and billed amounts until the transactions are selected for billing. These include transactions from Payroll, Accounts Payable, Purchase Order and General Ledger. Cost centers at the work order header level. Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 6
EK Add Masked SSN to Earnings Statement US Only In the last service pack, the ability to print payroll checks showing the last four digits of the Social Security Number in place of the employee code was added to Payroll. In this service pack, the masked Social Security Number has been added to Employee Kiosk s Earning Statement. HR Electronic OSHA Export It is the long-term goal of the Department of Labor is to have all companies file OSHA reports electronically. In 2017 they have only implemented electronic filing of Form 300A using their Injury Tracking Application (ITA). In Spectrum, each establishment must be run separately to create the export file. Select the size of the establishment. This is based on the maximum number of employees which worked there at any point in the year data is being submitted for. Options include: Less than 20 employees Between 20 and 249 employees 250 or more employees Power User Tip The ITA system allows the user to make corrections on their web page. They can also resubmit the file with corrections. If the user wishes to manually change the export file, they only need to add the change_reason to the end of each line and resave it as a CSV. Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 7
IC Add Physical Inventory Flag to Database The database will now store the status of any physical inventory being performed in the system. This was done to assist third party applications that utilize web services as inventory transactions are prohibited during the physical inventory process. JC Field Level Security for Labor in Job Cost A new security override has been added to prevent the user from drilling into the time card. In Function Security, use Cost History Time Card History Detail to control access the ability to view the time card. Impact to Cost Activity When the user does not have access to Cost History Time Card History Detail, the Time Card button will be shaded and not available. Impact to Cost History When the user does not have access to Cost History Time Card History Detail and they click the Details button on a labor record, the user will receive ERROR This option is not available for the operator. PR Time Off Bank Enhancements To support a variety of time off programs, Spectrum has been enhanced as follows: Time Off Code Bank Maintenance Use It or Lose It Option Selecting this option will reset the employee s bank balance of hours to zero on their anniversary date. Pay Check Label Enter the description of the time off program here. This label will print on the paycheck forms and on the EK statement Next Service Pack: In 14.24, the option to Suspend accrual if balance is over limit will be added. Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 8
Employee Time Off Bank Enhancements Anniversary Date Enter the Anniversary date in MMDD format. This is the date that will be used for Year-to-date accruals. It is also the date that the bank balance will be reset to zero for use it or lose it programs. Hours bank as of The time off banks were enhanced in the last service pack to be date sensitive. This means that the bank balance and Year-to-date earned are all based on Payroll s current processing date. To assist the Payroll administer in understanding the date used for the calculations, it now displays in the upper righthand corner of the screen. SDX New Service Get Employee UDFs PR Standard Cost Payroll BETA RELEASE Contractors who self-perform work as well as those who engage in substantiated / cost plus projects may use the concept of standard labor costs when managing their jobs. Instead of charging the employee s actual costs and burdens to the job, a fully burdened labor rate is used. While this rate charged out will be different based on different types of activities, the employee is still paid their normal actual rate. As with contractors that use standard cost for inventory items, use of standard labor rates is a company philosophy on how to run their business. Contractors use standard cost payroll because it allows the PM to manage labor based on hours used without worrying about the price of that labor. As the standard labor costs are the same used to develop the estimate, there are no costing variances to worry about. When the PM does not have the ability to control the mix of laborers working on his project, standard labor rates removes having to worry about the more expensive employees. Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 9
Standard costing is also used to obscure the employee s true pay rate in Job Cost. Strategy Overview Payroll time entry will remain the same as it is today. There are no change to the paycheck as the employee will get paid as they normally do. All Payroll reports will continue to use actual costs. When standard labor costs are used, job cost will be updated using fully burdened labor rates. Also, the update will suppress posting burden to jobs and to the G/L. The General Ledger will keep track of the differences between actual and standard. These differences will be posted to the G/L based on the transaction s Payroll Department. Clients may have a mix of labor that uses standard cost and actual cost charged to one job. Here, the project manager is charged using standard cost while the others are using actual costs. Here, different Payroll Departments will be used to control the type of costs posted to Job Cost. Scope Limitations BETA: This feature is considered a BETA release for the 14.23 service pack. Job Cost Only: Spectrum supports posting labor time with standard labor rates to the Job Cost module only. This project will add function security to the Time Card History Inquiry window. While this same function may be called from other modules, the intent of this enhancement is to control access to actual costs of Payroll. It is out of scope to determine if it also controls access to it from Equipment Control or Work Order modules. No Date Sensitivity for Standard Job Rates: Standard labor rates are typically defined annually. With that said, Spectrum will not offer date sensitive standard labor rates. Preposted Cost Warning: We are going to defer addressing Preposted payroll costs. This means that it will be possible in the short term for someone to view actual payroll costs when they are sitting in an unposted status. Bad Setup: The system will not prevent a user from selecting and then deselecting to use standard costs on the job. This would be a user error and a training issue. Key Definitions In this document, it is important to understand the definitions of these key terms: Actual Costs These are the true costs of the employee including actual labor costs and all burdens. Standard Costs These are the costs of the employee valued using the Standard Labor Rate. Standard Labor Rate Also known as the Fully Burdened Rate. Typically, this is the rate that was used to estimate the labor portion of the project. Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 10
Setup and Configuration The following explains how to set Spectrum up to use standard costing for Job Cost. Payroll Installation Navigate to the Defaults tab on the Payroll Installation screen. Select the checkbox titled Post to Job Cost using standard labor rates? to enable the standard labor cost functionality. Payroll Department File Maintenance As an implementation strategy, use only non-direct G/L codes on the Employer Expense tab to charge tax and burden expenses. These amounts are already part of the standard labor rate so including would only overcharge the job. Once Payroll has been configured to use standard costing, the Direct Cost tab on the Payroll Department will display a new prompt titled Post with standard rates? Select the Post with standard rates? checkbox and two additional fields will appear: Standard cost variance (Non-direct) This code is used record the offset to the direct cost adjustment. It must be a non-direct G/L code. This is a required field when available. Direct cost adjustment (Direct Job Cost) This code is used to adjust direct labor to standard. It must be a direct job cost G/L code. This is a required field when available. Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 11
Power User Tips The Payroll Department controls whether labor posted to Job Cost uses standard labor rates. This means that two Payroll Departments will be used when there is a mix of employees who charge to the job using actual costs and standard costs. While the Direct cost adjustment code can be the same as the Salary and Wages G/L code, it can also be a different account. Why would you do this? This offers the ability to see actual payroll costs within the G/L. The system calculates the standard cost for all pay types except Retro Pay (RP) and Equipment Usage (EU). With Retro Pay, the job has already been charged the standard rate so no additional charges are needed. Wage Code Maintenance The standard labor rate is stored by wage code in the Standard job rates fields. These rates are only used when the Payroll Department is set to charge the job using standard rates. The rate paid to the employee. The rate charged to the job. Important Notes Standard job rates are not date sensitive. While wage code rates paid to the employee are date sensitive, standard labor rates are not. Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 12
Standard job rates of zero are allowed. For maximum flexibility, the standard rate of zero is allowed to be used. In the event that the user forgot to enter a standard rate, the rate of zero will be charged to Job Cost. Job Payroll Setup Payroll Burden By rule, no burden will be charged to the job when standard costs are used. The job s burden rules will continue to apply for employees charged with actual costs however. Below is an example of a standard cost employee charged to a job with 35% burden. Notice that the percentage burden (#1) was calculated but not applied to the job (#2). Payroll Overhead The treatment of payroll overhead is different. The system will apply payroll overhead when defined on the job. Important Note It is important to note that the percentage method is based on the actual cost of labor plus all burdens. Regardless of whether the job uses actual or standard costs, the fully burdened actual cost is used as the basis of the calculation. In the example below, the job has a payroll overhead rate of 15%. The fully burdened actual cost is calculated as the sum of 35.00 + 12.25 = 47.25. (#1 + #2). Multiply 15% of that total to get 7.09 (#3). Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 13
Entering Payroll with Standard Costs Labor time entry and processing will remain the same as it is when using actual costs. Pre-Time Card Entry and Time Card Entry will continue to use the actual labor rate. When posted, the Payroll module will continue to report all information using actual costs. There are a few changes though worth noting: Job Distribution Report The Job Distribution Report can be run using standard costs when the detail version is selected. This report is used to review for unexpected large variances between the actual cost of payroll and the standard cost. Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 14
The Update Pay Cycle will post to Job Cost using Standard Labor Rates. When standard labor costs are used, the update will suppress posting burden to jobs. By time card, the system identifies all wage codes with Post with standard rates option selected. The following explains how labor is posted to Job Cost: Employee: Unless the employee is marked as a confidential employee, it will continue to write the employee code and name to Job Cost as in past versions. Actual Hours: Unless the employee is marked to suppress hours, it will continue to write hours to Job Cost as in past versions. Hourly Rate: Continue to post the hourly rate, but use the standard labor rate found on the wage code. Standard Labor Cost: Recalculate the labor time card line to post to Job Cost History as the hours multiplied by the standard labor rate found on the wage code. In the event that the standard labor rate is zero or <BLANK>, the standard labor cost will be zero. No Burden: When using standard labor rates, no actual or percentage burdens will be charged to the job. Overhead: If defined on the job, overhead will continue to charged to the job as in past versions. The percentage method is based on the actual labor cost and burdens. The Update Pay Cycle will post to the General Ledger will keep track of the differences between actual and standard. The journal entry based on actual costs will be generated first. Then any adjustments for standard cost will be calculated and added to the transaction. The net value will post the General Ledger using standard costs. To determine any adjustments, the system performs the following: 1. By Payroll Department, identify all with Post with standard rates as selected. 2. Calculate the following to create adjustment journal entries. Actual Labor Cost: The actual direct labor cost is stored. Standard Labor Cost: Recalculate the labor time card line to post to Job Cost History as the hours multiplied by the standard labor rate found on the wage code. Suppress Burden: Suppress posting actual burden to the job. 3. Calculate the difference between actual cost and standard cost by time card line a. Difference = Standard Labor Cost Actual Labor Cost 4. The Difference is used to create the following journal entry: a. Book the Difference to the Standard cost variance G/L code as: When the Difference is positive = credit entry Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 15
When the Difference is negative = debit entry b. Book the offset to this entry using the Direct cost adjustment G/L code. When the Difference is positive = debit entry When the Difference is negative = credit entry Example Company ABC uses standard labor rates for Job Cost. The employee works 40 hours on job 300 using wage code FM + union code 150FMX. The setup is as follows: Payroll Installation The checkbox titled Post to Job Cost using standard labor rates is selected. Wage Code FM + Union Code 150FMX Job 300 Employee s pay rate is $35.00/hour. The standard job labor rate is $85.00/hour. Actual Payroll Burden selected. No job overhead is defined. Actual Direct Labor = 40.0 X $35.00 = $1,400.00 Total Standard Labor = 40.0 X $85.00 = $3,400.00 The journal entry will debit the direct labor G/L code for $1,400.00. The Total standard cost labor will then be calculated to true up the first entry. Here, a $2.000.00 entry will be added. The following lines will be added to the existing journal entry: DR Direct Cost Adjustment 2,000 CR Standard Cost Variance 2,000 Where 3,400 1,400 = 2,000. Important Note In version 14.23, unposted payroll time will appear in Job Cost using actual costs. While this will be addressed in a future service pack, the recommendation is to deselect the Include Payroll in progress options. Enhancements in Spectrum 14.23 16