Schedules

Users may have access to any number of schedules, and may even create their own schedules to meet their individual needs. Each user may also have exactly one default schedule assigned to them. This default schedule will automatically fill in the hours it represents on every new timesheet for this user when those timesheets are accessed.

Timesheet 5.5 supports two forms of schedules: Group Schedules and User Schedules. Group Schedules are created by the administrator and assigned to specific groups, whose members may then access these shared schedules as needed. User Schedules can be created by the Timesheet Administrator as well as by other users, managers and project managers. The admin can create these schedules for any user, while a specific user can only create a schedule for himself. Every User Schedule is unique to a specific user and are not available to any other user withing Timesheet.

Group Schedules

The Group Schedule Management Screen

This screen provides the admin with access to the controls needed to create and modify group schedules as well as the ability to designate or change the group affiliation of existing schedules. Additionally, this screen includes a graphic representation of information regarding the group assignments of currently existing group schedules.

Creating A Group Schedule

1. Choose a Time Period for the new schedule and click
   The first screen in the new Group Schedule creation process requires you to indicate which time period will be used by this schedule. By default, only the standard Weekly time period is available. If you have already created additional time periods, they will be available to select on this screen as well. Please Note: The time period selected for schedule building does not affect the time period used during the time, mileage or expense entry processes. Additionally, a semi-monthly time period will not be effective for the group schedule creation process: since the days of the week and actual dates of a month vary from month to month, Timesheet is unable to correlate schedules created on a semi-monthly time period to the next month.
2. Enter a Name for the new schedule and click
   The next screen in the new Group Schedule creation process requires you to enter a name for the new schedule. Schedule names may be up to 60 characters in length and should be specific enough to allow users to differentiate once Group Schedule from another in a dropdown menu.
3. Choose the groups to which this schedule will be assigned and click
   The next screen in the new Group Schedule creation process requires you to specify which groups will have access to the new schedule. You may use the Check All checkbox to select all available groups for the assigning schedule process. Once you have indicated the groups that should have access to the new schedule, you should click the button to make this assignment complete. Timesheet will refresh the Group Schedule Assignment screen, displaying a green text message indicating that the Group schedule has been assigned to the selected groups.

   There are three additional buttons available on this screen:

   • 
     This button takes you to the Schedule/Group Assignment Selection Screen, which is used to select schedules to assign to new groups. This screen is discussed in detail below. Please Note: If you click this button before clicking the button when you first access the New Schedule Group Assignment Screen, group assignment for the new schedule will be lost.
   • 
     This button takes you to the Group Schedule Creation Screen, where you can begin the Group Schedule creation from the top. Please Note: If you click this button before clicking the button when you first access the New Schedule Group Assignment Screen, group assignment for the new schedule will be lost.
   • 
     This button takes you to the Modify Group Schedule Screen, which is used to specify the actual time entries for a Group Schedule. This is the next step in creating a new Group Schedule and is discussed immediately below. Please Note: If you click this button before clicking the button when you first access the New Schedule Group Assignment Screen, group assignment for the new schedule will be lost.
4. Click the button.
   Timesheet will display the Modify Group Schedule Screen. This screen resembles a standard Time Entry Screen and is used in the same fashion. Simply create the Time Entries that you wish to be part of this schedule and click the button when you have finished. Timesheet will refresh the Modify Group Schedule Screen and display a green text message confirming the modification of the Group Schedule. You will be able to make further modifications to this Group Schedule using this screen immediately, or you may return to this Schedule and make modifications in the future. Modification of existing schedules is covered below.

Modifying Group Schedules' Group Affiliation

1. Click the button
   Timesheet will display the Select Schedule Screen
2. Select the Group Schedule you wish to modify and click the button
   You may modify only one schedule at any given time. Therefore, you will not be able to select multiple schedules on this screen.
3. Select the groups that should have access to this Group Schedule
   You may use the Check All checkbox to select all available groups for the assigning schedule process. Once you have indicated the groups that should have access to the new schedule, you should click the button to make this assignment complete. Timesheet will refresh the Group Schedule Assignment screen, displaying a green text message indicating that the Group schedule has been assigned to the selected groups.

Modifying Group Schedules' Time Records

Click the button
Timesheet will display the Modify Schedule Screen. You may use this screen exactly like any other time entry screen to create new time entries or to modify or delete existing time entries. Please Note: To delete an existing time entry, change the actual hours for that entry to zero. That entry will be deleted when you click the button.

When you have finished working with the time entries for the Group Schedule in question, click the button. Timesheet will refresh the Modify Group Schedule Screen and display a green text message confirming the modification of the Group Schedule. You will be able to make further modifications to this Group Schedule using this screen immediately, or you may return to this Schedule and make modifications in the future.

Once you are satisfied with the your changes to this Group Schedule, you may return to the Group Schedule Management Screen to modify other existing Group Schedules or to create new Group Schedules by clicking the Return to group schedule screen link at the bottom of this screen.

Deleting Group Schedules

1. Navigate to the Modify Group Schedule Screen
2. Select the Group Schedule you intend to delete
3. Click the button
   Timesheet will refresh the Modify Group Schedule Screen and display a green text message confirming the deletion of the selected Group Schedule.

User Schedules

Creating User Schedules: Admin Users

1. The User Search Screen
   This screen is used to search for a user to create a User Schedule for. Timesheet allows you to search by:
   • Project - show users who have access to the selected project(s). To select multiple Projects, CTRL-click each project name in the project list.
   • Group - show users who are members of the selected group(s). To select multiple Groups, CTRL-click each group name in the group list.
   • Name - show users whose name match the string entered. Partial strings are accepted by this field, so that you may search for all users whose names contain that string.
   Once the desired search criteria have been entered, click the button. Timesheet will display the next screen in the User Schedules creation process.
2. The User Selection Screen
   This screen displays the results of the search performed in the User Search Screen. Each user who met the criteria outlined in the search will be displayed on this screen. If more than fifteen users meet the search parameters, you may use the though and the and buttons above the search results to navigate the results more effectively.

   Once you have located the user for whom you will be creating a new User Schedule, click that user's name. Timesheet will open a new window that contains the User Schedules Management Screen.

3. The User Schedules Management Screen
   This screen provides access to tools that allow the creation, modification and deletion of User Schedules for the user selected on the User Selection Screen. Additionally, this screen allows a default schedule to be set for the user in question. These tools are divided into two parts:
   • Schedule Management
     This section allows the admin to view the available Group and User Schedules for the selected user. Please Note: Group Schedules viewed on this screen can only be set as th default schedule for the selected user, i.e., they cannot be modified, or deleted via these tools.

     There are four buttons available in this portion of the User Schedules Management Screen:

     • 
       This button will open the Modify User Schedule Screen for the User Schedule selected in the Available Schedules dropdown box at the top of the Schedule Management section of the User Schedules Management Screen. Editing User Schedules is discussed below.
     • 
       This button will delete the User Schedule selected in the Available Schedules dropdown box at the top of the Schedule Management section of the User Schedules Management Screen. Deleting User Schedules is discussed below.
     • 
       This button sets the User Schedule selected in the Available Schedules dropdown box at the top of the Schedule Management section of the User Schedules Management Screen as the default schedule for the selected user. A default schedule is a schedule that will automatically fill in the hours it represents on every new timesheet for this user when those timesheets are accessed. The default schedule for a particular user appears first in the Available Schedules dropdown menu and are marked with an asterisk (*). Please Note: A user may have only one default schedule assigned to him at any given time.
     • 
       This button clears the default schedule for the selected user. This action removes the default assignment of a User Schedule and leaves the selected user open to having a new default schedule assigned to him.
   • Create New Schedules
     This section of the User Schedule Management Screen allows the admin to enter a name for a new schedule and begin the actual process of entering hours into that new User Schedule. To proceed with User Schedule creation, enter a name for the new schedule and click the button. Timesheet will display the Modify User Schedules Screen.
4. The Create User Schedule Entries Screen
   This screen resembles a standard Time Entry Screen and is used in the same fashion. Simply create the Time Entries that you wish to be part of this schedule and click the button when you have finished. Timesheet will refresh the Create User Schedule Entries Screen and display a green text message confirming the modification of the User Schedule.

   This screen also contains a duplicate of the tools available on the User Schedules Management Screen. These tools may be used to continue working with the schedules of the selected user as needed. Once you have finished working with the schedules for the active user, you may close this second window. Your original browser window should still be open, displaying the original results of the user search you performed at the beginning of the User Schedule Creation process. You may select a different user for User Schedule creation or modification purposes or you may return to the main Timesheet admin screen as desired.

Modifying And Deleting User Schedules: Admin Users

To modify a User Schedule:

1. Select the User Schedule to modify from the dropdown list of available User Schedules
2. Click the button
3. Timesheet will display the Modify User Schedules Screen
   This screen functions exactly as the Create User Schedule Entries screen as described above.
4. Once the desired changes have been made to the selected schedule, click the button
   Timesheet will refresh the Modify User Schedules Screen and display a green text message confirming the modification of the User Schedule.

1. Select the User Schedule to delete from the dropdown list of available User Schedules
2. Click the button
   Timesheet will refresh the User Schedule Management Screen and the selected User Schedule will no longer be available in the dropdown list of Available Schedules.

Creating User Schedules: Non-Admin Users

The process for creating a new User Schedule for non-admin users is described below.

1. Enter a name for the new schedule
   Schedule names are entered in the text box located in the Create New Schedule portion of the Time Entry Scheduling section of the Time Entry Screen.

   If you would like to use the time entries that are already entered in the currently active Time Entry Screen, check Apply Above Time Records checkbox.

2. Click the button
   Timesheet will display the Schedule Record Modification Screen. This screen resembles a standard Time Entry Screen and is used in the exact same fashion. Once you have entered the time records that you intend to include in this new schedule, click the button. Timesheet will refresh the Schedule Record Modification screen, including a green text message confirming the changes to the newly created schedule.

• Create a new User Schedule
  Please Note: Unlike creating a new User Schedule from the Time Entry Screen, this option will not allow you to include currently entered hours in your new schedule.
• Edit an existing User Schedule
• Delete an existing User Schedule
• Set an existing Group or User Schedule as your default schedule
• Clear your default schedule assignment

Modifying And Deleting User Schedules: Non-Admin Users

To modify a User Schedule:

1. Select the User Schedule to modify from the dropdown list of available User Schedules
2. Click the button
3. Timesheet will display the Schedule Records Modification Screen
   This screen is the same as the Schedule Records Modification Screen as described above and function in the same manner.
4. Once the desired changes have been made to the selected schedule, click the button
   Timesheet will refresh the Schedule Records Modification Screen and display a green text message confirming the modification of the User Schedule.

1. Select the User Schedule to delete from the dropdown list of available User Schedules
2. Click the button
   Timesheet will refresh, displaying a green text message confirming the deletion of the selected User Schedule. The deleted User Schedule will no longer be available in the dropdown list of Available Schedules.

Using Schedules

To apply a schedule to your Time Entry Screen:

1. Select the schedule to apply
   All available schedules are listed in the Available Schedules dropdown menu located within the User Schedules Control Panel.
2. Click the button
   Timesheet will refresh your Time Entry Screen and display a green text message confirming that the selected schedule has been loaded. The hours represented by the schedule will now be displayed as part of your timesheet.
   • If you need to make changes to these hours, you may modify or remove them exactly as if you had entered them yourself.
   • If you are satisfied with these hours, click the button.
     Please Note: Loaded schedule hours will not be applied to your timesheet until you click the button.

Default Schedules

Timesheet Population Schemas

The screens that are used for Population Schema creation, assignment and execution are available from the main admin screen via the links located under the Timesheet Population and Mass Approval header.

Please Note: Each user who is to be affected by Population Schemas must have a default schedule assigned to him by the Timesheet Administrator. If a user has access to exactly one schedule, Timesheet will consider that schedule to be the user's default schedule for Population Schema purposes only.

Creating Population Schemas

• The top portion of this screen contains the Create New Schema section, which consists of a text field for the name of the new schema.
• The middle portion of the screen contains the Population Schema Navigation Options, which consists of four buttons:
  • 
    This button, when clicked, displays the Create A New Population Schema Screen. This screen is discussed in this section.
  • 
    This button, when clicked, displays the Assign Users To Schemas Screen. This screen is described below, in the Assigning Schemas To Users section.
  • 
    This button, when clicked, displays the Execute Mass Approval Screen. This screen is described below, in the Mass Approvals section.
  • 
    This button, when clicked, displays the Execute Population Screen. This screen is described below, in the Executing Populations Schemas section.
• The bottom portion of this screen contains the Schema Execution History, which provides the following information for each existing schema:
  • The schema name
  • The number of users assigned to each schema
  • The last action associated with each schema

Assigning Schemas To Users

The schema assignment process may be started either via the Assign a Population Schema to Users link, located under the Timesheet Population and Mass Approval header on the main admin screen or by clicking the button that is displayed on each schema-related screen within Timesheet.

Schema Assignment User Search

• Project - show users who have access to the selected project(s). To select multiple Projects, CTRL-click each project name in the project list.
• Group - show users who are members of the selected group(s). To select multiple Groups, CTRL-click each group name in the group list.
• Name - show users whose name match the string entered. Partial strings are accepted by this field, so that you may search for all users whose names contain that string.

Population Schema Assignment

Timesheet will display the Schema Assignment User Search Screen including a green text message confirming the assignment of the selected Population Schema to the selected users.

Please Note: The schema assignment process does not allow you to select a subset of users from the returned search results. Therefore, each user who matched the search criteria, even those not actively displayed on the Schema Assignment Screen, will be assigned to the selected schema when the button is clicked.

Executing Population Schemas

• The schema to be executed
  The available schemas are listed in the dropdown menu located under the Population Schema header.
• The number of Time Periods to be affected
  This number indicates the number of user time periods that will be affected by the Population Schema. Therefore, if you enter "10" and your users have biweekly time periods, 20 weeks will be populated.
• The date to begin the schema execution
  Indicates the date that the population will actually begin.
• An email address for the schema report to be sent to
  This field is required. Timesheet will send an email report detailing the results of the Population Schema execution, including any errors to this email address.

The schema execution process may be started either via the Execute a Population Schema link, located under the Timesheet Population and Mass Approval header on the main admin screen or by clicking the button that is displayed on each schema-related screen within Timesheet.

To execute a Population Schema, enter the information as described above and click the button. Timesheet will refresh and display a green text message indication that the schema is being executed. Additionally, a second window will be momentarily displayed. This window will close itself after a few moments. Finally, Timesheet will send an email report to the specified email address detailing the results of the schema execution.

Population Schema Reports

• The number of timesheets affected
• The actual number of time records that were created
• The total hours that were applied for each user

• Time Already Exists For This User
  Timesheet will return this error if a time period affected by the schema already has any hours entered. This exception will occur regardless of the status of those hours (i.e., saved or submitted, approved or rejected). This error can be corrected by removing an time entries within the affected time period.
• User Does Not Have A Default Schedule
  Timesheet will return this error if a user does not have a default schedule assigned to him, either by the Timesheet Admin or by the user himself. This error can be corrected by assigning a default schedule to the user(s) in question.
• Other Standard Timesheet Errors
  Additional errors, such as a user not having access to a particular project, task, pay type or bill type (as specified by group affiliation), may occur. These errors are standard Timesheet errors and must be corrected directly within Timesheet.

Mass Approvals

The Time Mass Approvals Screen is available from the main admin screen via the Mass Approval Of Populated Timesheets link, located under the Timesheet Population and Mass Approval header or by clicking the button which is found on each screen associated with Population Schemas.

Please Note: Users must have an approval process assigned to them before implementing a Mass Approval of open timesheets.

To execute a Mass Approval of Populated Timesheets:

1. Select the schema whose populated timesheet will be approved
   All available schemas will be listed in the dropdown menu under the Schema header on the Mass Approvals Screen
2. Enter the email address to which the Mass Approvals report should be mailed
3. Click the button.
   Timesheet will refresh and display a green text message indication that the Mass Approval is being executed. Additionally, a second window will be momentarily displayed. This window will close itself after a few moments. Finally, Timesheet will send an email report to the specified email address detailing the results of the Mass Approval execution.

Mass Approval Reports

• The user login of each affected user
• The full name of each affected user
• The number of timesheets approved for each affected user

• User does not have an approval process
  Timesheet will return this error if a target user has not been assigned an approval process within Timesheet. To correct this error, simply assign an Approval Process to the affected user(s).
• Rate Rule Errors
  Timesheet will return this error if a target timesheet violates an established Rate Rule. Timesheets that violate Rate Rules will be rejected and must be edited to comply with the Rate Rules that govern them. Please Note: Rate Rules are an optional expansion module that is available for Timesheet that your organization may not be using. If the Rates & Rules module is not being used by your organization, you will not receive any Rate Rule Errors when executing a Mass Approval of timesheets.