When a Timesheet Import batch has been processed successfully the original import file is saved with the batch and can be downloaded for viewing or saving to an external location.
In addition to the original import file, an exception report and a validation report is generated and saved with a batch depending on the final status of the batch. These reports are described in detail below.
The import file, exception report and validation report are saved as comma separated files (.CSV file extension).
Exception and validation reports are not generated if a batch fails to be processed successfully due to a system error and therefore its status is Failed. In such circumstances, you can download the import file and attempt to import the file again as part of a new Timesheet Import batch.
Exception Reports
An exception report is generated and saved with a Timesheet Import batch whenever a batch completes processing successfully and one or more timesheet exceptions were encountered during the processing of the batch. That is, an exception report is generated for a batch if the final status of the batch is Completed with Exceptions. An exception report is also generated for a Timesheet Import batch if there are no exception errors in the import file, and therefore the status of the batch is Completed, but there are one or more leave request warnings.
A timesheet exception occurs when Timesheet Import is unable to create a timesheet or timesheet item based on the data contained in a row of the import file. For example, if a row in the import file references a job order number that does not exist then it will not be possible to create the corresponding timesheet or timesheet item. In such cases, the corresponding timesheet is not created and the offending row, and all other rows in the import file that correspond to the same timesheet, are written to the exception report.
Once a timesheet has been created in the Time and Attendance module it is not possible to import data for that timesheet. Therefore, if any row in an import file causes an exception error the target timesheet will not be created in the Time and Attendance module even if there were other rows in the import file for the same target timesheet that could be processed successfully. Instead, all rows from the import file that correspond to that target timesheet are extracted and are written to the exception report, including any rows that did not cause an exception error. This allows you to fix the exception error in the exception report, which can then be saved as a new import file and can therefore be processed as part of a new import batch to create the timesheet that failed to be imported when the original import file was processed.
An import file can contain data for any number of individual timesheets. An exception error that affects one timesheet does not prevent the successful importing and creation of any other timesheet that is included in the import file.
The import exception report is structured as follows:
the first row of the report lists the column header names from the original import file
subsequent rows in the report list each row from the original import file that failed to be imported (failed rows)
beneath each failed row is an exception/error message that applies to the preceding failed row.
An example of the format of the exception report file is shown below.
Exceptions can apply to individual rows (timesheet items) or an entire timesheet. Where the latter is the case, the relevant exception error appears beneath each row that corresponds to the timesheet. For example, if a timesheet corresponds to a standard rates job order but none of the items in the import file that correspond to the timesheet represent additional items, each row for that timesheet will be written to the exception file and will be flagged with an exception error.
You can refer to the exception/error message for each row in the report to determine why the corresponding row failed to be imported. You can then correct each offending row, delete the corresponding exception message and then save the corrected exception report as a new import file. This allows you to create a new import file for the timesheets that failed to be imported and created successfully.
A comprehensive list of exceptions is generated and is written to the exception report based on the data that can be validated during the processing of a batch. It is possible that further exceptions can occur when you attempt to import a corrected exception report. For example, if rows in the original import file fail to import because they reference a job order that does not exist, Timesheet Import will be unable to verify if the timesheet item dates specified in those rows are valid because the date range of the job order cannot be established. Therefore, if you correct the job order number for the offending rows and attempt to import the corrected exception report, further exceptions may be encountered if, for example, item dates specified against the corrected rows reference a date that is outside the date range of the job order.
For more information about exception errors that may be logged to the exception report, see Data Validation.
Leave Request Warnings
If an attendance or additional item in a timesheet import file clashes with an approved leave request that already exists in the FastTrack system, a warning message such as the following will be written to the exception report:
Warning: an attendance item for <date> overlaps an existing leave request item and will overwrite the existing leave request.
Such warnings are known as leave request warnings. Leave request warnings do not prevent a timesheet from being created in Time and Attendance. However, such warnings draw attention to the clash between the attendance item/additional item and the approved leave item.
Even though the overlapping attendance/additional item will overwrite the leave request item on the resulting timesheet, the approved leave request will remain in the system and will be paid unless a leave approver cancels the leave request.
Validation Reports
A validation report lists each row from the original import file that was imported successfully. If a batch is imported without any exceptions, the validation report for the batch will effectively be identical to the original import file. However, if any exceptions are encountered during the processing of a batch, the validation report will list the rows that were processed without exceptions only.
A validation report can be downloaded and used to cross-check against the corresponding timesheets that have been created in Time and Attendance if necessary.