Entering labor transactions

The Time Card Entry window allows you to record labor costs for service calls, jobs, Equipment Management workorders, and unbilled or general ledger transactions.

You must have Equipment Management registered if you want to integrate with TimeTrack. Before you enter workorder transactions, make sure you have the Integrate to Equipment Management Workorders check box marked on the Setup Options window (Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup >TimeTrack > Setup Options). The enabled fields on the Time Card Entry window are determined by setup options. See Choosing setup options.

1. Choose Transactions > Time Track > Time Card Entry.
2. Complete the following fields, as necessary.
   • Batch ID: After entering a batch ID, you can view which employees and week-ending dates are included in the batch by choosing the expansion button. Double-clicking an employee name on the Expanded Batch Lookup window populates the employee ID and week-ending date.
   • Employee ID: Select the employee that you are creating the transaction for.

   • Week Ending: This date populates based on setup options. You can edit the date. If a default week-ending day was set up on the Setup Options window, you will receive a warning message for entering a new date that does not fall on the week-ending day. 

     If you are using Certified Payroll reports, the week-ending date should fall on a Saturday.

   • Certified Payroll: This check box will be marked when you select a job, if the transaction type is Job Cost and the job is a certified payroll job.
   • Transaction Number: The transaction number is assigned when the transaction is saved, or when you attach a note to the transaction using the notepad button. See Entering notes. The number is taken from the Computer Check field on the Payroll Setup Options window (Setup > Payroll > Payroll > Options).

   • TRX Type: The transaction type defaults based on setup. Depending on the transaction type, certain Time Card Entry fields will become disabled. If you choose a transaction type of WO-EQS, the Cost Type field will default to Labor. WO-EQS transactions work only with the Labor cost type. 

     To automatically enter the type, you can enter the first letter and tab off the field.

   • Cost Type: To create a labor transaction, use the drop-down menu to choose a cost type of Labor.
   • Job Number / Service Call ID / Workorder Number: For Job Cost transactions, the Job Number field is enabled. For Service transactions, the Service Call ID field is enabled. For WO-EQS transactions, the Workorder Number field is enabled. For Unbilled transactions, this field is disabled.
   • Day of Week: Enter or use the lookup button to choose the day of the week. You can also type a partial entry or type the number of the day (1 = Monday, etc.) and tab off the field to automatically enter the date.
   • Cost Code: For Job Cost and Service transactions, enter a cost code. Only cost codes relating to labor display. For Job Cost transactions, cost codes with a cost element type of Labor. For Service transactions, cost codes 6 - 10. For WO-EQS transactions, enter a task ID. If you have the same cost code assigned to different cost element types, use the lookup to ensure you select the correct cost code. You can also enter a new cost code.
   • Equipment ID: For Job Cost or Unbilled transactions, this field is disabled. For WO-EQS transactions, the equipment defaults from the workorder number. For Service transactions, enter the equipment serviced on the call. Use the expansion button to open the Contract Task Completed window, where you can mark a task complete and enter a completion date. The user date defaults. The task is marked complete in the Service Call Tasks window and the Maintenance Tasks window. If you choose Mark All or mark the task as complete and tab off the field, the task will be automatically saved.
   • Asset ID: The Asset ID field is disabled for Service, Job Cost, Unbilled, and WO-EQS transactions.
   • Pay Code: Enter a pay code. For Service or Job Cost transactions, the employee must have a pay code, position, and department belonging to a labor rate group established. See Creating labor rate groups in the Service Management and Job Cost user manuals. If you want to edit payroll information for the employee, you can open the Edit Payroll Fields window using the Pay Code expansion button, Options > Edit Payroll Fields, or Ctrl+F. These changes only apply to this transaction and do not change the employee defaults. All fields on this window default from Job Cost and Microsoft Dynamics GP setup, except for Days Worked and Weeks Worked. The Rate Class field pertains to Job Cost transaction types only. You can enter days worked and weeks worked data, which is used for calculating benefits in Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll.
   • Hours: Enter the number of labor hours. If the transaction type is Job Cost and the job is a certified payroll job, after entering hours, the Time Sheet Certified window opens where you can distribute the payroll hours among different days. If the pay rate for an employee is zero, the Edit Pay Rate window will open automatically after tabbing off the Hours field.
   • Transaction Description: Enter a transaction description using up to 30 characters. Do not use quotation marks or commas in the description.

   • Pay Rate: This field displays if the Edit Financial Fields and Display Pay Rate on Trx check boxes are marked in Payroll Setup Options (Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Payroll > Payroll > Options button). To override a pay rate, open the Edit Pay Rate window using the expansion button, Ctrl-E, or Options > Edit Pay Rate. This window allows you to change the pay rate for only this transaction, for prevailing wage type jobs. If the pay rate for an employee is zero, the Edit Pay Rate window will open automatically after tabbing off the Hours field. 

     Zero cost labor transactions will be saved and committed in TimeTrack and sent to Payroll. Zero cost labor transactions can be entered for any transaction type. A zero balance journal entry will be created in General Ledger. Zero balance journal entries must be deleted manually.

   • Shift Code: If you are using shift premiums, select a shift code.
   • Shift Premium: Shift premiums can be used for Job Cost, Service, and Unbilled labor transactions. Flat dollar amount is calculated per hour. Percent is calculated based on the gross pay rate. Decimal places for shift premiums are determined by the Decimal Places for Pay Rate field on the Payroll Setup Options window (Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Payroll > Payroll > Options button).
   • Total Cost: The total cost calculates automatically, depending on the transaction type. For Job Cost transactions, the hourly pay rate multiplied by hours plus overhead. For Service transactions, the hourly pay rate multiplied by hours plus overhead and extended costs. For Unbilled transactions, the hourly rate multiplied by hours plus overhead. For WO-EQS transactions, the hourly rate multiplied by hours. If you marked the Total Cost Display Excludes Overhead check box in Setup Options, the total will not include overhead for the Job Cost and Service transaction types. If you marked the Total Cost Display Is Hidden check box in Setup Options, the Total Cost field and Cost column on the list view window will be hidden.
   • Hours: Only labor hours appear in the Hours column.
   • GL Account: For Unbilled transactions, if the Create a GL Journal Entry for Unbilled Transactions check box is marked in Setup Options, enter a GL account. For WO-EQS transactions, the GL account number comes from the task ID. This field is hidden if the Integrate to Fixed Asset Management and Create a GL Journal Entry for Unbilled Transactions check boxes are not marked in Setup Options.
3. Choose Save. Saving clears the transaction information, places the data in the list view window, and updates the Hours column.
4. Choose File > Print to print the Employee Weekly Time Edit List, based on the batch number, employee ID, and week-ending date. Transactions are separated by pay code. The total labor hours by day are at the bottom of the page. These hours do not include fixed asset or expense/travel transactions.
5. Commit the transactions. See Committing time card transactions.

Entering salary labor transactions

You can enter time for salaried employees. The system calculates an average hourly rate by dividing an employee's weekly salary by the number of hours worked. Salary amounts can be entered for Job Cost, Service Management, Equipment Management, and Unbilled transactions.

To use this feature, mark the Use Average Salary Labor Rate check box in the Setup Options window (Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > TimeTrack > Setup Options).

1. Choose Transactions > TimeTrack > Time Card Entry.
2. Complete the Time Card Entry window. See Entering labor transactions. Use a salary Pay Code, or a pay code based on a salary pay code. Commission pay codes should not be used.
3. Save the transaction.
4. Use the Calculate Average Rate button to calculate the rate for this transaction. Pay rates are automatically calculated when committing the batch or printing the Employee Weekly Time Edit List or Time Sheet Edit List. Pay rates appear as zero until they are calculated.
5. Double-click a transaction from the scrolling window to view the pay rate and total cost. The Pay Rate field will be visible if the Edit Financial Fields and Display Pay Rate on Trx check boxes are marked in Payroll Setup Options (Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Payroll > Payroll > Options button).
   
   Due to rounding, the Pay Rate field for salary transactions displays five decimal places when the Use Average Salary Labor Rate check box is marked in Setup Options. If you are not using this feature, the number of decimal places is determined in Payroll Setup Options.
   
   Since salary transactions can be in any pay period, all pay periods can be used when calculating an average hourly pay rate. To calculate the hourly pay rate, the calculated amount is divided by the number of hours worked in a week, including sick, vacation, and holiday time. For each pay period, the weekly pay amount is calculated as follows:
   • Weekly: Pay amount
   • Biweekly: Pay amount / 2
   • Semimonthly: (Pay amount * 24) / 52
   • Monthly: (Pay amount * 12) / 52
   • Quarterly: (Pay amount * 4) / 52
   • Semiannually: (Pay amount * 2) / 52
   • Annually: Pay amount / 52
   • Daily: Pay amount * 5

   The calculation includes all the employee's salary transactions and transactions with pay codes based on salary with the same week-ending date. All salary transactions with the same week-ending date for an employee must be entered in the same batch.
   
   Rate classes will not affect the pay rate of salary transactions when the Calculate Average Salary Labor Rate check box is marked in Setup Options.
   
   If you have a batch of transactions that all have a salary pay code, you may end up with a Payroll batch of zero transactions after committing the batch, even though there are transactions in the batch.

6. If you want overhead amounts calculated in Service Management, build the checks for this batch as usual. Otherwise, do not mark a batch with zero transactions.
7. If you want to post the transactions to Job Cost, you must mark the Payroll Post to Job Cost Only check box in Posting Options before posting the batch. If this option is not marked, you cannot select the batch in the Job Cost Payroll Post window. Unmark the Payroll Post to Job Cost Only option after posting the batch. When committing and exporting batches, transactions with a salary pay code are only sent to U.S. Payroll, Canadian Payroll, or ADP if they have a pay type of vacation or sick. Be sure to base your vacation, sick, or holiday pay codes on the salary pay code, with the same pay rate. If you need a salary-based pay code to have a different pay rate, the hours for the salary-based pay code must be entered in Payroll. For example, salaried employees may get paid an overtime rate 1.5 multiplied by their salary rate.
8. Choose File > Print to print the Employee Weekly Time Edit List, based on the batch number, employee ID, and week-ending date. Transactions are separated by pay code. The total labor hours by day are at the bottom of the page. These hours do not include fixed asset or expense/travel transactions.
9. Commit the transactions. See Committing time card transactions.