Entering Time In Timesheet 5.5

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Journyx Timesheet allows your organization's users to enter time as discreet units of hours that are associated with certain individual Projects, Tasks, Pay Types and BIll Types. Additionally, each of these time records may also have a text comment associated with it to further specify the nature of the hours logged. Timesheet 5.5 uses Time Entry Screens for this purpose. Individual Time Entry Screens may vary both in appearance as well as in which options are offered for logging. Some organizations deem certain drop down columns unnecessary and therefore hide these columns from the user's view. Furthermore, Timesheet 5.5 allows your organization to customize the names of items used for time logging. Therefore, if you come across a Time Entry Screen that does not have a particular item, or if your organization has renamed one or more of these items, do not despair. Timesheet is functioning properly - it has simply been modified by your Timesheet Administrator to maximize its efficacy for your needs.

The default Time Entry Screen for each installation of Timesheet is shown below. This section of the manual will refer to items as they are seen on this screen. Again, if your Time Entry Screen looks different, do not worry. It should behave exactly as described here, even if the names have been changed or certain columns are not visible.

Parts Of The Time Entry Screen

Each Time Entry Screen in Timesheet 5.5 is divided into the following parts: Each of these sections is described in detail below. Information on how these sections are modified to create new Time Entry Screens can be found in the Time portion of this manual.

Body

The body of each Time Entry Screen in Timesheet 5.5 is where the real work of time entry gets done. This section of the Time Entry Screens is the most highly customizable and is therefore the most likely to be different from the version discussed in this manual. However, the basic functionality of all Time Entry Screens in Timesheet 5.5 is the same. Therefore, if your Time Entry Screen is missing a particular column, or has a greater number of days displayed, or any other essentially cosmetic difference from the one outlined here, do not worry. This section will still address the process of entering time into Timesheet.

The standard Time Entry Screen in Timesheet 5.5 is a grid of dates (across the top) and actual time records (along the left side). A Time record is a combination of items used to identify the nature of the work performed and the hours that were actually spent on that combination of items. Timesheet 5.5 provides the ability to specify up to 5 discreet items for a time record. The items that may be used are:

These items are selected from dropdown boxes on a Time Entry Screen to form a row that hours are entered in. Once the hours have been entered and saved, an actual time record is created for each day. In any given time period, each time record continues to be displayed on screen so that the hours may be modified or so that a new time record can be created using the same combination of items on a different day. Please Note: Timesheet 5.5 allows your organization to customize the names of the dropdown menu items. Therefore, the options on your Time Entry Screens may not have the same names. They function in exactly the same manner, though.

Order Of Items
Timesheet 5.5 separates the rows of the Time Entry Screen into three distinct categories: New Entries, which are blank rows used for entering new time records; Current Entries, which are combinations of Project/Task/etc. that have already been used in this time period; and Memorized Entries, which are combinations of Project/Task/etc that a user or a user's manager have established as recurring items that appear every time period. The process of working with memorized time entries is covered below. The order in which these three categories is displayed is established by your organization's Timesheet Administrator. That order, however, has no bearing on the actual process of time entry.
Entering Time
To create a time record in Timesheet 5.5, you will need to select one item from each dropdown menu that is displayed on your Time Entry Screen. Additionally, if the comments section is visible, you will need to enter a text comment for this particular time record. Once you have done these things, you will need to enter actual hours spent on this combination of items for the day in question. In general, Time Entry Screens accept hour entries in both standard HH:MM (2:35) format as well as in decimal format (1.25 = 1:15, etc.). Please Note: If you enter hours in decimal format, Timesheet will convert your entry to HH:MM and will round to the nearest whole minute in the process using standard rounding behavior (i.e., .5 and up is rounded up, .49 and below is rounded down). Therefore, if you enter 1.13, Timesheet will convert this to 1:08 (1.13 hours = 1 hour and 7.8 minutes, round up to 1 hour and 8 minutes).

Once you have selected the appropriate items and entered your hours for that combination, click the button at the bottom of the time entry grid. Timesheet will refresh the Time Entry Screen and your entry will now appear in the Current Entries category on your Time Entry Screen. You may add hours to this entry either in the same day or in another day in the time period that is currently displayed.

You may, of course, create more than one time record at a time. Simply create the actual time entries for different days and/or different combinations of items and then click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the time entry grid. Timesheet will refresh the Time Entry Screen and your entries will now appear in the Current Entries category on your Time Entry Screen.

The bottom of the time entry grid may also be home to up to two other buttons, the button and the button. Each of these buttons is discussed below.

Project Tree

Timesheet 5.5 allows for two different approaches to graphically representing the Project Hierarchy Tree on the Time Entry Screen. These options are discussed below.

Project Tree Drop Down Menu

When the Tree View has been enabled in the Project dropdown column of a Time Entry Screen, Projects that have subprojects beneath them will appear with a plus sign (+) to their left. Selecting this type of Project will shift the focus from the previous level of the Project Tree to this Project. The Project dropdown will now display only this Project and its subprojects. At this point, the newly centered Project will be displayed with a minus sign (-) to its left, indicating that there are levels of the Project Tree above this Project. To return to the next level up, simply click on the "top" Project (the one with the minus sign) at this level. Please Note: If you are using a Macintosh, you will need to select a "blank" item in the dropdown menu to return to the next level up from the current level.
Project Tree Popup Window

When the Tree View popup window has been enabled for Projects on a Time Entry Screen, Timesheet will display a Tree link just above all Project selection boxes on the Time Entry Screen. This link will open a popup window that contains a navigable version of the complete Project hierarchy that can be used for searching for and selecting a Project to use as part of the Time entry.

Time Entry Screens that use the Project Tree Popup method will display the complete list of Projects alphabetically in the Project drop down menu. The Project Tree Popup window should be used to navigate to and select the desired Project for each record to be entered.

My Project List

Finally, Timesheet provides the ability for each User to configure the Projects available for logging through the use of the My Project List link, which is located at the bottom of the Time Entry Screen, in the Navigation & Controls section. This functionality is discussed below.

If you, as a User, have configured a Project List of your own, only those Projects you have included in the list will be available in the Project drop down menu.

Diary Notes

Timesheet allows Users to create Diary Notes for each of their time records. Diary Notes provide a way for Users to record complex comments and information for a Project over the course of a time period, much the way one might keep a diary of significant events or information in relation to a Project.

Users can create a Diary Note entry for a specific Time Record by clicking the Diary Note icon () located immediately to the right of a saved Time Record on their Time Entry Screen. Timesheet will display the Diary Notes popup window, which can be used to create, edit or delete Diary Notes.

A complete discussion of the Diary Notes feature can be found in the Diary Notes portion of this documentation.

Diary Notes functionality is directly associated with the Journals feature of Timesheet, though it is not necessary for Users to access Journals directly to work with Diary Notes. For a more detailed discussion of Diary Notes and the Journals feature of Timesheet, please see the Journals portion of this documentation.

The "View Timesheet" Button

This button is present on nearly all Time Entry Screens in Timesheet 5.5 and is used to access the "My Timesheet" report. This report displays information regarding the time records that have been saved for this time period.

The top of the report screen includes four buttons for interacting with the My Timesheet report: For more on this and other reports in Timesheet, please see the reporting section of this manual.
The "Submit for Approval" Button
This button will only appear on your Time Entry Screen if (a) your organization is using the Approvals process built in to Timesheet 5.5 and (b) you have an approval process assigned to you. If this button is not present, your organization is not using these features and you do not need to be concerned. If this button is present, then you will use it to submit a completed timesheet to your first level approver. When you have completed time entry for a specific time period, click this button and your timesheet will be submitted. Please Note: Once a timesheet has been submitted for approval you may not alter any of the time records contained by that timesheet. Therefore, do not click the Button until you have finished all time entry for the time period in question.

For more information on the Approvals process in Timesheet 5.5 please see the Approvals section of this manual.

Memorized Time Entries

Timesheet 5.5 allows users and their managers to create Memorized Time Entries. These are combinations of Project/Task/Pay Type/Bill Type and Comment that will recur from time period to time period regardless of actual user entry. Journyx recommends using Memorized Time Entries for tasks that are consistent throughout your organization, such as PTO, recurring team meetings or other such persistent work events.
Creating Memorized Time Entries From Existing Time Entries
Individual users may create any number of Memorized Time Entries from an existing time entry displayed on their Time Entry Screen using the icon that appears at the far right end of each saved time entry row. Clicking this icon will take the User to the Manage User Memorized Time Entries Screen. This screen is used to create, modify and delete Memorized Time Entries for that User only.

When this screen is displayed after clicking the icon, a green text message will appear at the top of the screen indicating that a new Memorized Time Entry has been created - this is the entry whose icon was used to access the Manage User Memorized Time Entries Screen. Please Note: When you return to the Time Entry screen, this Memorized Time Entry will not be displayed for the current time period because it already exists in the form of a current time entry. This entry will, however, appear in any other time period (past or future) that you access from this point on.

This screen also allows the User to create new Memorized Time Entries as well as the ability to modify or delete an existing Memorized Time Entry. To create a new Memorized Time Entry, the User should select the Project, Task, Pay Type and Bill Type that should comprise the Memorized Time Entry. Additionally, the user may enter a default Comment for the Memorized Time Entry. Additionally, the user must select his name from the list of users located at the right-hand side of this screen. Once these options have been selected, the User should click the Button at the bottom of the New Memorized Time Entries section of this screen. The Manage User Memorized Time Entries Screen will refresh, displaying a green text message confirming the creation of the new Memorized Time Entries.

Please Note: Users should not select a Group when creating a Memorized Time Entry despite the presence of that option on this screen. Further, the Manage User Memorized Time Entries Screen does not currently obey Group limitations with respect to Project, Task, Pay Type and Bill Type. Also, this screen may display columns that a User would not normally see if that user's TIme Entry Screen has been configured to hide certain columns. Finally, this screen is currently unable to process Project Dependency limitations. All of these issues are known and will be addressed in a future release of Journyx Timesheet. Therefore, please exercise caution when using this screen to create Memorized Time Entries other than those created by clicking the icon as these issues may enable a User to create a Memorized Time Entry that conflicts with your organization's basic rules for Timesheet.

To modify an existing Memorized Time Entry, the User should simply make any changes that are needed to the existing Memorized Time Entries located at the top of this page and click the Button located below the section that contains the existing Memorized Time Entries. The Manage User Memorized Time Entries Screen will refresh, displaying a green text message confirming the modification of the Memorized Time Entries in question.

To delete one or more existing Memorized Time Entries, the user should click the checkbox to the left of the Memorized TIme Entries to be deleted and click the Button located below this section. Timesheet will display a popup window asking the User to confirm that he does in fact wish to delete these memorized Time Entries. If the User does want to delete the Memorized Time Entries in question, he should click the button in this popup window. The Manage User Memorized Time Entries Screen will refresh, displaying a green text message confirming the deletion of the Memorized Time Entries in question.

Navigation & Controls

Timesheet 5.5 allows users to navigate their way through the treacherous waters of Time Periods in two different ways: direction arrows that allow the User to move forward or backward one Time Period at a time and a date box/calendar that allows the user to select a specific date and then jump to the time period that contains that date directly.

Arrows
The left and right arrows ( & ) located at the bottom left of each Time Entry Screen allow you to move forward or backward one time period at a time. The Global Preferences settings for Timesheet establish precise behavior for these buttons. By default, the left arrow () moves the Time Entry Screen backwards one time period (i.e., from 11/25/01 through 12/1/01 to 11/18/01 through 11/14/01) and the right arrow () moves the Time Entry Screen forward one time period (i.e., from 11/25/01 through 12/1/01 to 12/2/01 through 12/08/01). Please Note: It is possible for the Timesheet Administrator to reverse the behavior of these buttons. If your organization has chosen to set the arrows to work in the opposite manner, the left arrow will move the Time Entry Screen forward one time period and the right arrow will move you backwards one time period.
Date Box & Calendar

Timesheet 5.5 includes a date box and calendar feature to facilitate navigation between widely separated time periods. There are two ways to use this interface.

Either method of navigation will change the time period on which the Time Entry Screen is focussed. Once in the new time period, you may be able to edit the time entries for that period, if they are not locked by the approval process or a manual commit of time records by you or your manager.
Status Popup Window
Timesheet 5.5 includes an optional popup window that provides at a glance information regarding the Project, Task and Comment for each row of the Time Entry Screen. This popup window is javascript-based and changes dynamically depending on the location of the cursor on the Time Entry Screen. Journyx has implemented this feature to help organizations whose Time Entry Screens have been configured to display a larger number of days than can be viewed in a browser window at one time. If your organization uses Time Entry Screens that are based on a two-week time period, you will probably want to turn this option on by clicking the Use Status Popup checkbox located in the upper left-hand corner of the Time Entry Screen Header.

The Timesheet Administrator for your organization may also set a predefined number of displayed days that cause the status popup window to appear automatically. If this setting has been enabled in Timesheet's Global Preferences, any Time Entry Screens that display this minimum number of days will begin with the Status Popup Window enabled by default. In any case, you can activate or deactivate the Status Popup Window by checking or unchecking the Use Status Popup checkbox to meet your time entry needs.

Timesheet List
The lower right-hand section of any particular Time Entry Screen in Timesheet 5.5 also displays a quick link list to access a master list of the active user's timesheets, broken out by certain criteria. The criteria that are used are: Each criteria is followed by a number in parentheses that indicates the number of timesheets that meet the criteria for the active user. If the number of timesheets that meet a certain criteria is greater than zero, then the clicking on a criterion will act as a link taking the user to a page that displays a list of the timesheets that meet that criterion. Please Note: If your organization does not use the approvals process built in to Timesheet 5.5, you may not see the Submitted, Approved and Rejected criteria in this section.

This screen displays the criterion selected in green text at the top of this screen and provides information on each timesheet that meets that criterion. The information provided on these timesheets includes: A View link to each timesheet is also provided to allow the user quick access to any of these timesheets. Clicking this link will take the user directly to the Time Entry Screen for this time period. Once in that time period, the use may make changes to the timesheet if it is not closed (by the approvals process or manually). Journyx has provided this functionality primarily to assist users in accessing timesheets that have been rejected and require modification to pass through the approvals process. For more on Approvals in TImesheet 5.5, please see the Approvals portion of this manual.

My Project List

Timesheet includes the ability for individual Users to configure their own Project List, which limits the Projects that are available for logging entries against to only those selected by the User. This functionality can greatly improve the record entry experience by allowing Users to avoid navigating large Project hierarchies each time they enter a record simply to get to the one or two Projects they care about.

The My Project List link, located in the Navigation & Controls section at the bottom of the Time Entry Screen is the gateway to the Project list feature. Clicking this link will cause Timesheet to open a popup window that can be used to add and remove Projects from the Project list.

You may add Projects from the Project List by selecting the desired Project(s) in the Master Project List column located in the left side of this window and then clicking the Button. Your additions will be displayed onscreen and those added Projects will appear in the My Project List column located in the right side of this window.

You may remove Projects from your Project List by selecting the desired Project(s) in the My Project List column located in the right side of this window and then clicking the Button. Your changes will be displayed onscreen and those removed Projects will disappear from the My Project List column.

You may delete your Project list by clicking the Button. Deleting all Projects from your Project list will return your Project selection method to the method defined by your organization's Timesheet administrator for your Time Entry Screen. These methods are discussed above.

Once you have completed adding and removing Projects from your Project List, click the Button. Timesheet will close the My Project List Configuration Window and your Project List will be made active. Now when you click on the Project drop down menu to select a Project for record entry, the Projects displayed will be limited to only those that you have added to your Project List.

Prior Period Corrections

Users whose role includes the Corrections role ability, including the installing Admin, may make changes to records contained in a timesheet that has already been approved via either a Period or Project Approvals process. Once a timesheet has been approved, the Button appears on the Time Entry Screen for that timesheet. When this button is present, corrective entries can be made and then submitted for approval.

To make corrective entries for a prior period, a User who has the Corrections role ability should navigate to the timesheet in question and enter corrective entries as needed. Corrective time entry includes the concept of negative entry, i.e., because the existing records are approved and committed they cannot be directly edited - therefore negative records must be entered against the same Project, Task, Pay Type and Bill Type to reduce the actual hours logged to the proper number.

Example Of Corrective Entries

Buck submitted his timesheet with 6 hours logged to Project A and 2 hours logged to Project B on Tuesday. After the timesheet was approved, Buck realized that he actually only worked 4 hours on Project A and also worked 2 hours on Project C on Tuesday. Buck opens his timesheet for the time period in question and prepares to make corrective entries.

Buck prepares a subtractive correction entry the same way he would prepare a normal entry, by selecting the Project, Task, Pay Type and Bill Type to be logged. In the case of correcting his hour overage on Project A, Buck carefully chooses the exact combination of these factors, including duplicating the comment field exactly, that comprised the original record. Buck then enters -2 (minus 2) hours for Project A on Tuesday.

Buck creates an additive correction entry the same way he would prepare a normal entry, by selecting the Project, Task, Pay Type and Bill Type to be logged. To add the missing two hours for Project C, Buck creates the record "from scratch" as though he were entering time normally and enters 2 hours for Project C on Tuesday.

Buck's timesheet now contains the following records for Tuesday:

If Buck has any other corrections to make, he should make them now. Once Buck has added and subtracted hours as needed from his timesheet, Buck should click the Button located at the bottom of his screen. Timesheet will refresh the Time Entry Screen and display a green text message confirming the corrective entries. Furthermore, the corrected timesheet is submitted for approval as soon as the Button is clicked. The corrected timesheet will now flow through the approvals processes that a normal "new" timesheet would follow.

If further corrections are required, the timesheet will either be rejected through the approvals process and returned for direct editing of the corrective entries or the timesheet will need to be accessed for a new round of corrective entries after it has been completely approved.

Sheet History By Status

Timesheet allows Users to view historical time, expense and mileagesheets grouped by the status of those sheets. The status options available are:

Additionally, Users may view "All" historical sheets.

When a User clicks one of these links at the bottom of an entry screen, the sheets whose status match the link chosen will be listed by Timesheet. Individual sheets may be accessed for viewing and, if the sheets are still open, editing from this list.