How to Key in Shift Details on a Timesheet

Before you can begin keying timesheet information for a given work period you must find and open the timesheet for the relevant week ending date from the list of available timesheets.

Shift information is generally not required to be captured on a timesheet if the corresponding job order is subject to standard rates. However, if it is necessary to capture work start and end times on standard rates timesheets, shift details (attendance items) can be added to the timesheets to capture that information.

Depending on the job order to which a timesheet belongs, the timesheet may be pre-populated with attendance items based on the job schedule of the job. In such cases, it is only necessary to add, edit or delete attendance items on the timesheet if the payee's actual hours worked differed from the job schedule of the job order (e.g. the payee worked overtime or was absent for all or part of a scheduled shift).

Once timesheet information has been keyed in for one or more shifts on a timesheet you may be ready to submit the timesheet for approval or you may want to save the timesheet so that you add timesheet information to it at a later stage before submitting. Saving a timesheet changes its status to Incomplete. While in this status you can open the timesheet and add information to it or edit any information already keyed into the timesheet.

In order to save or submit a timesheet you must key in or select the following mandatory time and attendance information for one or more work dates (shifts):

shift/absence start time
shift/absence end time
attendance type (for example: day shift, afternoon shift, annual leave, sick leave).

If a shift that crosses midnight, whereby the shift start and end times fall on different dates, you need only key in the shift against the date on which the shift began. For example, to record a shift that started at 23:00 on 03/02/2012 and ended at 6:00 on 04/02/2012, key in a start time of 23:00 and an end time of 6:00 against the date 03/02/2012 on the timesheet. Because the shift end time is an earlier time of day than the shift start time, the system establishes that the shift ended on the day after the shift start date and processes the shift information accordingly. Depending on the employer's requirements, it may be mandatory to key in or select a project code for each shift. Project codes are used for cost distribution and budgeting purposes and the employer will need to provide you with the appropriate codes if they are required.

It may also be mandatory to key in a timesheet code on each of your timesheets. A timesheet code is a unique code that identifies each timesheet. For example, the timesheet code may consist of the first three letters of the payee's first name, followed by the first three letters of their second name, followed by the corresponding week number of the year. If timesheet codes are mandatory the employer will need to inform you of the required timesheet code format.

Timesheets may be pre-filled by the system based on the job schedule of the corresponding job order. If this is the case, all mandatory information will already be pre-populated on the timesheet and you need only key in information on the timesheet if the actual hours worked or attendance type differed from the default. This may be the case if, for example, a payee was absent on medical leave on a day on which the payee was scheduled to work.

To key in a timesheet entry on an available timesheet, follow the procedure below.

Key in Shift Details on an Available Timesheet

1	In the Time and Attendance workspace, click the Available tab. The Available Timesheets screen opens, listing the available timesheets.
2	Using the search options at the top of the Available Timesheets screen, search for the relevant timesheet. The timesheets matching your search criteria are listed in the search results grid on the screen.
3	In the list of timesheets, double-click the row that represents the timesheet you want to open. The Timesheet Entry Screen opens.
4	In the Start Time column against the relevant work date, key in the Start Time. The selected time appears in the Start Time* field.*
5	In the End Time column against the relevant work date, key in the End Time. The selected time appears in the End Time* field.*
6	Click the Attendance Type column against the relevant work date and select the applicable attendance type from the options available in the list.
7	If you are required to specify a timesheet code, type the unique timesheet code in the Timesheet Code field within the timesheet header.

If you are required to specify project codes or have the option to specify project codes, the following procedure explains how you can do so. Note that it may be necessary to specify multiple project codes against a single shift as it is possible that portions of a shift were spent performing work attributable to different projects.

Specify a Project Code Associated with a Shift

1	In the Attendance Type column against the relevant work date, click on Project Items. The Project Items options are displayed.
2	In the Start Time field, key in the time during the shift you began working on a project.
3	In the End Time field, key in the time during the shift you ended working on a project.
4	In the Project Code field, type the project code that identifies the project you worked on during the shift or, if a list of project codes is available, select the relevant project code from the list.
5	If you worked on multiple projects during the course of the shift, click the Add button to add another row of field to the Project Items and repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 to specify the time worked and the relevant project code. Repeat this step as many times as necessary until you have keyed in details of all projects on which you worked during the course of the shift.

The attendance type for a shift must be selected before the associated project code(s) can be specified. Project codes cannot be specified against a shift where the attendance type is an absence from work, such as annual leave or sick leave.

The start and end times of a project must fall within the start and end times of the shift itself. If you add multiple project items to a shift, the start and end times of each project cannot overlap that of another project.

If project codes are mandatory, every minute of a shift must be attributed to a project.

In addition to the timesheet code and any relevant project codes that you may be required to specify, the employer may require any breaks taken during a shift to be recorded on the timesheet. To add break times to a shift, follow the procedure below.

Add Break Times to a Shift

1	Click the row corresponding to the relevant shift. The row expands to show a Break Items and Project Items line.
2	Click Breaks Items. The Break Items options open.
3	In the Start Time field, enter in the time you began the break.
4	In the End Time field, enter in the time you ended the break.
5	If you want to add more break items, click the Add button next to the break item you already keyed in and repeat steps 5 and 6 until you have added details of all relevant breaks taken during the shift.

The start and end times of a break must fall within the start and end times of the shift itself. If you add multiple break items to a shift, the start and end times of each break cannot overlap that of another break during the same shift.

At this stage you may be ready to submit the timesheet for approval. To do this, click Submit in the timesheet entry screen. If the initiator is also the approver, to save time the timesheet can be submitted and approved via the Submit & Approve action in the Available Timesheet page. Where this has occurred and there is only one approver for the timesheet, the timesheet will not display in the Submitted Timesheets screen. Click here to see notes in Submitting a Timesheet for Approval for more details on this action.

Alternatively, you can save the timesheet so that you can, at a later stage, key in more information or edit any information you have already keyed in. This will move the timesheet to your list of incomplete timesheets. To save the timesheet, click Submit.