Administrators Guide
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The Hours of Work and timesheet automation settings let you:

  • 'Set and forget' your company's standard working hours - no need to manually complete timesheets unless variations occur
  • Easily customise the working hours of individual employees - great for part-timers and apprentices
  • Automate the hours of recurring events, such as lunchtime, toolbox talks, or trade school
  • Automatically convert any hours worked outside your standard working hours to overtime
  • Automatically convert non-productive time in the workday to the overhead of your choice.

Permission Groups

Managers can set up standard working hours and timesheet automation and will see the View Hours of Work icon on the Daily Timesheet. Site Administrators can enable this access for those in custom permission groups via:

    • Permission Groups > [Select permission group] > Hours of Work > Access > View and Edit (set to ticked)
    • Permission Groups > [Select permission group] > Hours of Work > Fields > Timesheet Automation > View, Add and Edit (set to ticked), Remove (tick as required).

Set up standard working hours

Setting standard hours of work for your business means you can:

  • have your AroFlo calendar shade non-working hours  (full AroFlo clients and AroFlo Go clients).

  • automate certain timesheet entries (full AroFlo clients only).

To set up standard working hours that apply to all users:

  1. Go to Site Admin > Settings.

  2. In the Search Settings box, enter Hours of Work.

  3. Enter the start and finish times for each working day. You can either type them in or click into the fields for a drop-down list.

  4. Under Enable / Disable Working Hours, disable any non-operational days.

    Alternatively, you can enable working hours but set the hours to zero by entering the same start and finish time (e.g. 7:00am to 7:00am). This will allow any Additional Hours of Work Time Conversion conditions to apply when an employee happens to work on a non-operational day (e.g. on-call).

  5. Click Save. The Add/Edit Automation button now appears.

Click to enlarge

Set business-unit specific hours

Multiple business units?

This section is for those with multiple business units.

By default, child business units 'inherit' the standard working hours (and timesheet automation conditions) of their parent business unit. You can either leave these defaults in place, or follow the instructions below to set business-unit specific hours.

If you need a child business unit to have different standard working hours from the parent business unit:

  1. Go to Site Admin.
  2. Click the name of the business unit you need.

  3. Click Settings and search for Hours of Work. The parent business unit's hours of work appear.

  4. Under Enable / Disable Hours of Work, select Enable for the day you want to change.
  5. Enter the start and finish times for that day.
  6. Click Save.
  7. Repeat these steps for each day you want to change.

You can switch back to the parent business unit's standard working hours at any time by setting the relevant day back to Inherit.

Working across business units

If a user works across multiple business units, the standard hours of work and the timesheet automation conditions for the user will be drawn from either the:

  • user-specific working hours / conditions recorded on their user card in their own business unit (see instructions below), or if there are no user-specific settings,
  • standard working hours / conditions of their own business unit.

The user's labour hours will be recorded on the timesheet in their own business unit, using the Work Types of that business unit.

Example

A worker in Business Unit A works on a task that sits in Business Unit B.

  • The worker's hours will be recorded on their timesheet in Business Unit A, using the standard working hours and any timesheet automation conditions set up in Business Unit A (or their user-specific settings, if any).
  • The labour charges on the task will be based on the Work Types set up in Business Unit A.

Automate timesheet entries

Certain types of timesheet entries can be automated by creating timesheet 'conditions'. AroFlo has two types of timesheet conditions:

'Insert time' conditions automatically insert timesheet entries for general activities that occur inside of the business unit's standard working hours, such as a lunch break. Entries are activated:

  • on Save, when a user has recorded at least one timesheet entry for the day. For example, you record 2 hours of labour against a task and click Save. The labour appears on your timesheet, along with the automated lunch break.
  • on EOD Approval, when a user has no timesheet entries for the day but there is an 'insert time' condition set up. This is helpful if your staff are not required to record their labour but are required to show that they had a lunch break.

'Convert time' conditions can be used to automatically convert:

  • hours worked outside of standard working hours to an overtime rate. This happens once the total labour hours booked for the day exceed the standard business hours and the user clicks Save.
  • non-productive time between billable jobs in the standard working day to the overhead of your choice. This happens on clicking EOD Approval.

What do the icons mean?

There are two icons that mark automated timesheet entries:

IconWhat it means

'Automated on Save'. The automated entry was inserted when the user clicked Save.

'Automated on EOD Approval'. The automated entry was inserted when EOD Approval was clicked. If you need to unapprove a daily timesheet, these entries will be removed. They will be re-inserted when you re-approve.

Managers can click the View Hours of Work icon to the right of the resource name to see which conditions will be be applied to the day.

The examples below show you how to set up conditions for some common scenarios that may apply to your business.

Working across business units

Remember:

If a user works across multiple business units, the standard hours of work and the timesheet automation conditions for the user will be drawn from either the:

  • user-specific working hours / conditions recorded on their user card in their own business unit (see instructions below), or if there are no user-specific settings,
  • standard working hours / conditions of their own business unit.

The user's labour hours will be recorded on the timesheet in their own business unit, using the Work Types of that business unit.

Example 1 - Apply a lunch break

If your company requires staff to take a lunch break at a set time or for a set duration, you can create a condition to automatically insert a lunch break timesheet entry for all users. The timesheet entry will be applied as soon as the user saves their first labour or overhead entry for the day.

If you have staff who don't need to complete timesheets but for whom a lunch break still needs to be recorded, the automated lunch break will be added when you approve the timesheet via the EOD Approval button.

To set up a condition to insert a lunch break:

  1. Go to Site Admin > Settings.

  2. In the Search Settings box, enter Hours of Work.

  3. On the day you want to set the condition for, click Add/Edit Automation (far right of window).
  4. Click Add New Condition.
  5. Under Condition Applies To, select Standard Hours of Work. This will apply the condition only during the hours of work that have been set for the company or business unit.
  6. Under Condition Type, select Insert Time. This will insert the condition, according to the set start/finish times (or hours), into the end user's daily timesheet.

  7. Under Overhead, select 'Lunch' from the drop-down list.

    If you can't see an overhead for 'Lunch' in the list, you will need to create one. To include the lunch break in the timesheet total, enable the Include in Timesheet Total option. See Overheads for more information.

  8. In the Work Type field, either leave the default work type in place or make a selection from the dropdown list.

  9. Optional: In the Tracking Centre dropdown, select which tracking centre you want the automated entry to have.

    If you leave the Tracking Centre as Not Set, the timesheet entry will draw the tracking centre from the next level in the tracking centre hierarchy for labour items: User, Work Type, Task Type, Business Unit.

  10. To enter the duration of the lunch break, either complete the:

    1. Start Time and Finish Time fields; or

    2. Hours field.

      What do you see on the timesheet?

      If you've set start and finish times for the lunch break, here's what you'll see on the timesheet.

      If you don't define a start and finish time but just set a duration for the lunch break (e.g. 0.5 hours), the entry will appear at the top of the timesheet.

  11. Click Save.

Repeat the above steps for each working day.

Example 2 - Customise a User's Hours

If you have a worker who attends trade school every Monday from 8:00am to 3:00pm, you could use timesheet automation to customise their hours of work. These settings will over-ride the standard working hours and conditions set for the company or business unit.

  1. Ensure you've set standard hours of work for the business unit.
  2. Go to Users and select the user you need.
  3. Click the Hours of Work tab.
  4. In the Enable / Disable Hours of Work column, click the arrow on the drop-down menu for the day you want to alter and select Enable.
  5. Enter the start and finish times, or just the number of hours, and click Save.
  6. Click Add / Edit Automation on the day you want to alter.
  7. Complete Steps 4 to 11 from Example 1 (above), using the overhead 'Trade School' instead of 'Lunch Break'.

The benefit of using Timesheet Automation to customise a user's hours is that the overhead type lets you indicate why the user's hours differ from the standard hours of the business unit.

Example 3 - Convert Hours to Overtime

Suppose your company's standard working hours are Monday to Friday from 7:00am to 3:30pm, and that any hours worked outside of those times are charged at double time. You can set a condition to automatically convert the overtime hours to an overtime rate. This condition will be applied as soon as a staff member has saved labour (and/or overhead) hours that exceed the standard working hours for the day.

Ensure you've set up your work types in Site Admin.

To set a condition to convert additional hours worked to overtime:

  1. Go to Site Admin > Settings.

  2. In the Search Settings box, enter Hours of Work.

  3. On the first day you want to set the condition for, click Add / Edit Automation (far right of window).
  4. Click Add New Condition.

  5. Under Condition Applies To, select Additional Hours of Work. The 'Condition Type' changes to 'Time Conversion' and the 'Start time', 'Finish time' and 'Hours' fields are disabled. This means that any hours outside of the normal hours of work for that day will have the work type you specify applied.

    Hours Only vs Start/Finish Times

    Automation behaves differently based on whether you've recorded your standard Hours of Work in hours only or with start and finish times.

    • If your standard hours of work are expressed in Hours instead of start and finish times, the Additional Hours of Work condition will only apply once that number of hours has been exceeded.
      Example:
      You set your standard work day to be 8 hours in duration, and you apply a timesheet condition to convert all extra hours to double time. Double time will not be applied until 8 hours have been worked, even if they were worked at a time that would normally be considered overtime, such as 4:00pm to midnight.
    • If your standard hours of work are expressed in start and finish times, the Additional Hours of Work condition will be applied to any hours outside those times, even if no hours were worked during the standard hours of work.
    • If you want all the time on a particular day to be treated as overtime:
      • In the Hours of Work area, set the Start Time and Finish Time to the same time, e.g. 7.00am to 7.00am, so that the Hours are 0.00.
      • Make sure there are no timesheet conditions already set for the day.
      • Complete steps 3 to 7 of this section.
  6. In the Work Type dropdown, select the work type you want to covert additional hours to.
  7. Click Save.

Repeat the above steps for each day that you want automatic time conversion on. 

This image shows the setup for inserting a lunch break and converting overtime hours to a different work type.

Example 4 - Convert non-productive time

Your technician works on five jobs for the day and records their billable hours.  With timesheet automation, you can fill in the non-productive time between jobs with an overhead.

This 'convert time' condition will be applied when the daily timesheet is approved via the EOD Approval button.

Ensure you've set up your work types and overheads in Site Admin. The overhead you use for converting non-productive time in the work day should:

  • be a ‘Time’ overhead (not an ‘Expense’)
  • have Include in Timesheet Total ticked.

To set a condition to apply an overhead to periods of non-productive time:

  1. Go to Site Admin > Settings.

  2. In the Search Settings box, enter Hours of Work.

  3. On the first day you want to set the condition for, click Add / Edit Automation (far right of window).

  4. Click Add New Condition.

  5. Under Condition Applies To, select Standard Hours of Work.

  6. Under Condition Type, choose Convert Time. If you don't see this option, click Add New Condition again to get a new 'Standard Hours of Work' row.

    If your users enter their labour with:

    • start and finish times, AroFlo will add an entry for each period of non-productive time throughout the day
    • hours only, AroFlo will collate all the periods of non-productive time and add just one entry at the end of the day.
  7. Select the Overhead you want to apply to any gaps in the timesheet.
  8. In the Work Type dropdown, select the work type you want to apply to the gaps.

  9. Optional: Select the Tracking Centre to be applied.

    If you leave the Tracking Centre as Not Set, the timesheet entry will draw the tracking centre from the next level in the tracking centre hierarchy for labour items: User, Work Type, Task Type, Business Unit.

  10. Click Save.

Repeat the above steps for each day that you want to fill gaps on. 

The condition shown will convert periods of non-productive time to an overhead.


A timesheet with two 'non-billable' overhead entries.

Example 5 - Apply multiple conditions at once

Suppose you want to apply all the possible conditions to your work days:

  • insert time, like a lunch break
  • convert overtime hours to a different work type, and
  • apply an overhead to non-productive time.

You can do this quickly and easily.

  1. Go to Site Admin > Settings.

  2. In the Search Settings box, enter Hours of Work.

  3. On the first day you want to set the condition for, click Add / Edit Automation.

  4. Click Add New Condition three times. This will give you three rows, with the 'Condition Applies to' and 'Condition Type' fields already set up in the following order:

    Condition Applies ToCondition TypeWhat this does
    Standard Hours of WorkInsert TimeInserts an overhead, such as Lunch, into the work day.
    Standard Hours of WorkConvert TimeFills any periods of non-productive time during the work day with an overhead.
    Additional Hours of WorkConvert TimeConverts overtime hours to a different Work Type, e.g. double time.
  5. Select the Overheads you want to apply to the Standard Hours of Work rows.
  6. Select the Work Type that you want to apply to each row.
  7. Select the Tracking Centre (if any) that you want to apply to the Standard Hours of Work rows.
  8. Enter the Start time and Finish time (or just the number of Hours) on the Insert Time condition.
  9. Click Save.

Repeat the above steps for each day. 

Edit Hours of Work or Conditions

From time to time, you may need to change the hours of work or the timesheet conditions for:

  • the entire business / business unit, for example: if the business starts offering weekend services, or changes the way RDOs are accrued
  • an individual, for example: when an apprentice moves from first to second year, or a part-timer changes their hours.
We recommend making any changes at the start or end of a pay cycle. You could also approve / lock any existing timesheets first, as an extra safeguard. See Timesheets for information on timesheet approval.
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Edit hours for the company or business unit
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Edit conditions for the company or business unit
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Edit hours for an individual user
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Edit conditions for an individual user

Customise a user's working hours

You can customise working hours and timesheet conditions for individual users to reflect their agreed working arrangements. These settings will over-ride the default working hours set for the parent company or business unit.

To set up specific working hours for a user:

  1. Go to Site Admin > Users.
  2. Click on the User's name in the list.
  3. Click the Hours of Work tab.
  4. Under Enable/Disable Hours of Work, select Enable for the day you want to change.
  5. Enter the user's start and finish times for that day, or just enter the number of Hours they'll work.
  6. Click Save.

Examples

The user below works the same hours as everyone else in the business unit, except that every Thursday, they finish at 2:00pm.

To indicate that a user will not work on a given day, select Disable against the day, and Save.

To switch back to the standard business hours, select Inherit, and Save. The business unit's standard hours will be reinstated.

If you use negative timesheet entries (e.g. - 0.5 hours) automation will not run.

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