Recording Labor and Completing the Task

An important step in managing a work order or task is to properly record labor and notes within a task. Time entered into the Timecard tab is copied into the worker's timecard.  Labor time from multiple pay periods or multiple monthly periods can be entered within the same task.   

This information can be entered directly into the task window if the repair personnel have access to a computer. A secretary can enter time after the job is completed if the technician records his time on a printed work order. Review the Printing Tasks and Work Orders section for details on hard copy work order options.

Entering Time

The amount of time and a description of the project should be recorded within the Time tab of the task as shown below:

The Hours setting consist of the following:

The Date will default to today’s date. This date should reflect the date the work was performed.

The Hours value can be set using any of the following methods:

Documenting the activity for a task is valuable for billing and future reference.   Enter work summary notes for the customer in the Billing Note column and internal notes that should not be communicated to the customer in the Internal Note column.  EBMS contains an optional tool to copy the Billing Note content to the billing invoice.

The task's pipeline Phase and Rank setting are recorded each time an employee's time is recorded. This information allows the user to track the amount of days between phases or the amount of employee time spent on each phase. Review Scheduling Tasks > Pipeline for details on pipeline settings.

Using the Enter Time button

Click the Enter Time button to enter time for a group of employees.

Enter the Date when the time was rendered.

Enter the From and To time. The From time will default from the time the task was opened. The To time will default to the time the Enter button was clicked.

The user can enter the total Hours or adjust the times to calculate the hours.

Record Internal Note describing the activity and record notes for the worker in the Billing Note entry.

The Billable option will default based on the task's Timecard > Work Code.  Review Billable Time section for more details on this option.

Change the optional Task Phase.  Review Scheduling Tasks > Pipeline Phases for task phase setting details.

The user can remove Workers by hitting the ctrl + delete keys.

The user can also add Workers to the list.

Click the OK button to insert a time line for each employee listed with the times populated within the dialog.

Associating timecard time to a task

The most common method of adding time to the task is to enter labor into the timecard tab of the task.  An alternative method is to associate time within the timecard to a task.  Right click on the timecard line and select either of the following task tools from the context menu as shown below:

  1. View Task:  This option is used to view a task that is already associated with a timecard detail line.

  2. Attach to Different Task...:  This tool is used to associate the highlighted timecard line with a different task.  Only available unassigned tasks are available to select.

  3. Attach to Different Task (Show All)...:  All tasks are listed with this option.  

Review Time and Attendance > Timecard Color Codes for information on the green and blue timecard line color codes.

Completing a task

A task is marked completed by enabling the Completed option within the Timecard tab as shown below:

The completed option affects the status of the task. Review the Customizing Task Views > Task Status Settings section for more details on task status options.

The completed switch is frequently enabled by the technician or the secretary that is entering the technicians’ time. A separate approval step is recommended if a manager reviews the total time spent on a task before the billing occurs. Review Approving Tasks and Assigning a Manager for more details.