Templates
The template is essentially the equivalent of the Standard Pay in Payroll. It contains the wages and the allowances that each MyStaffInfo employee is expected/contracted to receive (in payment for their regular pay period).
Templates can also be used for rostering purposes - you may elect to set up a template that represents a particular work pattern or reoccurrence of start and finish times. You may then apply the template to employee groups.
Click the Add button to create a new template or the Edit button to edit an existing one. The Template Name and Template Status fields become active.
Template Name Enter the name of the template, as it will appear in the template list in the timesheet on the website.
Status Only templates that have an "Open" status will be visible on the website. The status can be altered at any time. For example, you may have a template for Christmas Pays, for which the template status will remain "Closed" for most of the year. However, in December, the status can be changed to "Open" so that the work patterns contained therein can be applied to the last batch of the year.
Normally, at least one of your templates will have an "Open" status. Once you have completed your template setup, you may elect to perform a synchronise operation. Any new open templates will immediately become visible on the website, meaning that you will be ready to create default transactions in the new template.
Copying Templates
Selecting an existing template and clicking the Copy button creates a new template with the same properties as the selected one. Copied templates are named "Copy of <original template name>" by default - this name can be edited by clicking the Edit button.
When a synchronise operation is performed, the copied template is uploaded to the MyStaffInfo website, and is populated with all of the entries that have been set up for the template it was copied from. After the initial synchronisation, the copied template can be edited on the MyStaffInfo website as normal - it will not be affected by any subsequent changes to the template it was originally copied from.
Setting up MyStaffInfo for Templates
There a number of configuration options available to set up the system for timesheets and templates. Exactly how the system should be set up depends on the requirements of the organisation and the processes you have in place around timesheets.
Access to the template functions is controlled by the following user security settings:
Manage Group Templates (Manager) – allows a manager to use the Templates page on the MyStaffInfo website to edit all available templates.
Manage My Template – allows a manager or employee to use the Templates page to edit their own "My Template" template.
Apply Group Templates (Manager) – allows a manager to apply a template to one or more employees' timesheets on the Enter Time page.
Apply My Template – allows a manager or employee to apply their "My Template" template to their own timesheet on the Enter Time page.
The appropriate settings for these options depends on the process you want to use for templates. Example scenarios are discussed below.
Scenario 1 - Manager is responsible for all timesheets
In this scenario, a manager is responsible for all timesheet entry. The manager goes to the Templates page to set up templates containing the expected hours for each group of employees, and uses them to speed up data entry when entering employees' times on the Enter Times page. Employees do not have access to the Timesheets pages of the MyStaffInfo website.
To enable this scenario, the following user security settings should be enabled (ticked) for the manager(s) responsible for entering timesheets:
- Manage Group Templates (Manager)
- Apply Group Templates (Manager)
This gives the manager(s) access to the Timesheets page, and allows them to apply the templates on the Enter Times page.
All security settings in the MyStaffInfo Timesheets category should be disabled for all employees, so that they do not have access to any of the Timesheets pages.
Scenario 2 - Employees enter their own times
In this scenario, a manager sets up templates containing the expected hours for all employees. Employees then use these templates when entering their own times.
For this scenario, Manage Group Templates (Manager) should be enabled (ticked) for the manager(s) responsible for setting up templates. This gives the manager(s) access to the Timesheets page, where they can set up all templates.
To give employees access to the Enter Times page, enable the View Timesheet security setting, and any/all of the following settings as appropriate:
- View Summary
- View Timesheet Entry
- View Wages Entry
- View Leave Entry
- View Allowances Entry
- View Other Entry
The Apply My Template security setting should be enabled for all employees who will be entering their own times.
The Apply Group Templates (Manager) setting can also be enabled; this will mean that a manager can use the templates they have set up to enter times on an employee's behalf if necessary.
Scenario 3 - Employees enter their own times and templates
In this scenario, employees are fully empowered to enter their own timesheet information. Employees set up their own personal templates and apply them when entering times to speed up data entry.
To give employees access to the Templates page and their personal templates, the Manage My Template security setting should be enabled (ticked) for all employees.
To give employees access to the Enter Times page, enable the View Timesheet security setting, and any/all of the following settings as appropriate:
- View Summary
- View Timesheet Entry
- View Wages Entry
- View Leave Entry
- View Allowances Entry
- View Other Entry
To allow employees to apply their personal templates on the Enter Times page, enable the Apply My Template security setting for all employees.
If employees' times do not change very much from pay period to pay period, the Apply My Previous Pay option could also be enabled, to give users another method of quickly entering times.
The Manage Group Templates (Manager) and Apply Group Templates (Manager) settings can also be enabled for managers, to allow a manager to enter times on an employee's behalf. The manager will have access to each employee's personal template, which they can use to enter times for each employee.