Group Settings

Access the Timecard Online Group Settings page on the Timecard Online Dashboard component (https://<<servername>>/IFAS7/home/customize/ — Timecard Online tab).

Each employee group can have its own Group Settings if needed. Clients with many employee groups defined, however, may want to take advantage of a Group Hierarchy that may be used in setting up multiple Group Settings. The mechanism for this hierarchy uses a trailing wild-card character ( * ) to classify multiple groups under a single Group Settings configuration. This can be a much more efficient approach by reducing the total number of Group Settings needed. This is also a primary reason that Group Codes (Part1) within an organization should be very carefully planned.

As an example, an organization has many employee groups identified by Group Codes beginning with "AB," such as ABC, ABX, AB75, etc. If all such groups can use the same basic configuration, then a Group Setting under "AB*" can be used to apply to all. If group AB75 needs a specific configuration that is different from the other AB groups, a specific AB75 Group Settings can be created in addition to the AB* settings. The process searches for a specific Group Settings initially and uses that if found. Otherwise, it continues searching for the longest matching generic (wild card) Group Settings and uses that. Ultimately, if no other configuration is found, a Group Settings identified as * will be used.

Therefore, all clients will define a Group Settings configuration for Group *. Some clients will have multiple Group Settings configured for specific Group Codes. Some will have multiple generic (wild card) Group Settings defined. Carefully plan the structure of the Part1 (and Part2) codes.

Setup

Days Allowed before Period Start: This setting will increase the allowable date range for timecard entry by X number of days prior to the normal Period Start date.
Days Excluded before Period End: This setting will limit the allowable date range for timecard entry by X number of days prior to the normal Period End date.
Input Format Mask: Enter the numeric format (indicating decimal places) by which the number of hours will be entered.
Display Format Mask: Enter the numeric format (indicating decimal places) by which the number of hours will be displayed.
Display PM Assignment First: For employees with multiple Position Tabs, this setting may be used to force the PM Position to be the left-most tab on the page.
Pay Assignment Sort Field: Select from a list of options. The left-to-right sort order for the Position Tabs at the top of the page. This setting only applies in the case of multiple Position Assignments for an employee. There are several choices available, but Position Description is typically used.
Check Leave Balances: This setting controls whether Available Leave Balances are checked when Leave Hours are entered.Yes – Block if available Leave Balance is exceeded.No – Do not check available Leave Balance.Warn – Issue warning if Leave Balance is exceeded but allow the entry.
Use Verify Submit Panel: This setting controls whether the Verify Submit Panel is used or not. It also may specify whether the Submit button is functional or not. The standard setup is to require the employee to press a button to submit his/her timecards for approval. On pressing the Submit button, the Verify Panel displays a message by which the employee acknowledges that his/her time entries are true and accurate. This acknowledgement requires a second <Enter> step by the employee. There are three settings for this control:

Yes – The Verify Panel will display, and acknowledgement is required.
No – The Verify Panel does not display; no acknowledgement is asked.
Disable Submit – The Submit button is inactivated.

Workflow Code: This setting controls how Timecard Approvals are routed within the client's Workflow model. Various options are available for populating this code including Location (Worksite), Department, and Division.
Perform GL Validation: For Detail Panels where GL Account Numbers are being entered, this setting provides an option to validate the accounts or not. If set to "yes," the validation will detect undefined accounts and accounts invalid by date. If set to No Formatting, the detail panel does not enforce the GL formatting rules.
Start Day of the Week: Enter the day of the week that the one-week grid display should begin.
Allow over 24 hours per day? Check this box to allow more than 24 hours to be entered in the Hours field on the Detail panel. This setting can be used when hour codes are entered as dollars rather than hours.
Default Reason Code: Select a reason code to set as default in the ReasonCd field on the Detail panel.
Make Reason Code Read Only? Check this box to make the ReasonCd field read-only on the Detail panel.
Contract Addendums
Turn Off Auto Time?

Employee Panel

This section simply identifies the Employee Panel used and its title.

Panel File Path: Identifies the Panel name and directory path.
Panel Title: User-defined descriptive label for the Employee Panel.

Leave Panel

This section simply identifies the Leave Panel used and its title.

Display Leave Panel First? This setting causes the Leave Panel to display initially instead of the Employee Panel. The Employee Panel and Leave Panel occupy the same page area, so that only one of them displays at a time. By default, the Employee Panel displays initially, and the Leave Panel is accessed by clicking on the Leave tab.
Panel File Path: Identifies the Leave Panel name and directory path.
Panel Title: User-defined descriptive label for the Leave Panel.
Always keep the "*" setting. Clients may still add pages as site-specific rules for specific groups are defined.

Batch Name

Define the Batch name for the group. The name cannot exceed 12 characters. Suggestion: T+ PYPerMaster Period (e.g., T1101080)

In this example, the client set up one batch per group, so the setup is as follows: Constant + Part1 + Period. It will depend on the length of the client's Part1, so they may need to delete and re-enter to get them in the right order. This will be used to default the Batch ID. If using a part, multiple batches will need to be extracted per pay period. Remember to save the settings when done.

Group Panels

Define the Group Panels information. Set up at least one definition for all "*" positions. At least one reason code and rate code are required for 7.9 so it may be necessary to delete the position panel that was installed and add a new definition with reason and rate codes.

Be sure to have only one definition for the group by value. Add a new panel with:

Group By Value = *
Reason Codes = ALL
Rate Codes = ALL

Delete panels that were loaded with the reason codes blank.