Standard Rate Timesheet Import - Debit / Credit Import Strategy

Description

The Timesheet Import feature has been designed to mimic what is required where manually keying in a timesheet. As such when using the import function only positive values are used for Adjustment Timesheets. The system’s strategy is an ‘as is / to be' strategy whereby when an adjustment is generated in FastTrack360 in the Historical Tab, the system replicates the original timesheet (as is) and a user makes changes to support what that original timesheet should have been (to be).

For example, in a Standard Rate Timesheet the Ordinary item of quantity 8 should have been quantity 7, so value 8 is altered to 7, and a reimbursement was missing, so this is added. All other values that have not changed, remain on the adjustment timesheet.

Where approved and interpreted, the system performs a balance of values between the original target timesheet and the adjustment so in the example above, the Ordinary item balance value is -1 and a new value of Reimbursement is added. For values that have not changes a +/- transaction occurs in interpretation so these items are balanced out to zero. As such the original timesheet still stands as is and the adjustment timesheet only represents the items that have been altered.

For a Standard Rate timesheet, the system will accept negative quantity values on import (this is not accepted via the user interface). Where negative values are used, the items are not interpreted in the same way, they will be treated purely as independent credit values. If your 3rd party VMS system will only provide Debit / Credit data, you must ensure that in import a positive timesheet is first imported (as the first timesheet for that week ending date) and the first adjustment completely negates (credits) all of the individual items on the first timesheet.

It is important that you use one strategy or the other, do not mix the strategies within a Job’s timesheets as the results in interpreter will not be as expected. If your client requires debit then full credit invoices for iterations of the timesheet, this method must be followed in all the data. An example of mixed strategy would be:

W/E Date 15/09 TS Iteration 1 Normal Qty 5

W/E Date 15/09 TS Iteration 2 Normal Qty -5

Balance between above two iterations is zero.

W/E Date 15/09 TS Iteration 3 Normal Qty 3

W/E Date 15/09 TS Iteration 4 Normal Qty 2

Balance between above two iterations is -1

In the above example, the TS 4 data did not negate the prior iteration of TS 3 to set back to zero. As such TS 4 interpreted as a balance between TS 3 & 4, so was 3 units now 2, balance of -1 Qty. In this case the client will receive a TS 1 debit, TS 2 full credit, then TS 4 debit invoice, then TS 4 will be a credit of -1 Qty.

Using this strategy for 3 iterations of a timesheet for Week Ending Date 23/06/24, the following would be imported to support full Debit/Credit invoicing where changes needed to be made to the original timesheet:

Original imported timesheet for W/E 23/06/24 Timesheet 1234:

Candidate ID	Job ID	Item Date	Pay Code Name	Pay Quantity	Pay Rate	Bill Code	Bill Rate	Reimbursement Item	Reimbursement Net Value	Reimbursement GST/VAT Value
100000094	200005708	17/06/24	Ordinary	8
100000094	200005708	17/06/24						Reimbursement	100	10
100000094	200005708	18/06/24	Ordinary	8
100000094	200005708	19/06/24	Ordinary	8
100000094	200005708	20/06/24	Ordinary	8
100000094	200005708	21/06/24	Ordinary	8

First Adjustment Timesheet for W/E 23/06/24 to negate all of the target timesheet items. Timesheet 1235:

Candidate ID	Job ID	Item Date	Pay Code Name	Pay Quantity	Pay Rate	Bill Code	Bill Rate	Reimbursement Item	Reimbursement Net Value	Reimbursement GST/VAT Value
100000094	200005708	17/06/24	Ordinary	-8
100000094	200005708	17/06/24				Reimbursement	-100	Reimbursement	-100	-10
100000094	200005708	18/06/24	Ordinary	-8
100000094	200005708	19/06/24	Ordinary	-8
100000094	200005708	20/06/24	Ordinary	-8
100000094	200005708	21/06/24	Ordinary	-8

Second Adjustment Timesheet for W/E 23/06/24 to provide what the timesheet should look like. Timesheet 1236.

Candidate ID	Job ID	Item Date	Pay Code Name	Pay Quantity	Pay Rate	Bill Code	Bill Rate	Reimbursement Item	Reimbursement Net Value	Reimbursement GST/VAT Value
100000094	200005708	17/06/24	Ordinary	8
100000094	200005708	17/06/24						Reimbursement	100	10
100000094	200005708	18/06/24	Ordinary	8
100000094	200005708	19/06/24	Ordinary	8
100000094	200005708	20/06/24	Ordinary	7
100000094	200005708	21/06/24	Ordinary	8

If you use the new Billing Group on your Debtor for data grouping by timesheet (click here for more details), using the above strategy the client would receive:

Invoice for Timesheet 1234 for 8 * 5 Ordinary, and a reimbursement $100.
Credit Note for Timesheet 1235 for negative 8 * 5 Ordinary, and a negative reimbursement of $100.
Invoice for Timesheet 1236 for 8 * 4 + 1 * 7 Ordinary, and a reimbursement $100.

It is important to note that you must not import a mixture of positive and negative values in an individual timesheet as the interpreter will attempt to find the difference to the original timesheet item for positive values and will treat negative items as a full credit. The data will be confusing to the system and as such the summed results will not be accurate.

This strategy will only work for Standard Rate timesheets. Agreement Rate timesheets must use the as is/to be strategy, where all values are positive where adjustments are required.

Reimbursements: When using the debit/credit strategy, it is important to note that for the credit timesheet the reimbursement item imported must include a negative value for both Net and GST/VAT as per the preceding positive timesheet, and the related reimbursement Bill Code and Bill Rate. If the Bill Code and Rate are not included the Interpreter will interpret the pay items as negative and the bill items as positive so you will not achieve a full credit note.

In the interpreted timesheet the negative Bill Rate will display as a superseded value as the logic considers it different to what is in the job, which is a positive value.

Benefits

The debit/credit strategy will assist clients where they wish to bill clients with full debits and credits of timesheets, where there are timesheet iterations (same Job and same Week Ending Date).

Configuration

No configuration is required to use this strategy.