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Types of time recording

Time recording in xentral can be applied in several ways:

• Time clock
• Post time recording with TARGET specification
• Post times without TARGET specification (standard)

Time clock

Working times can be booked by time clock via Team > Time Clock.

Note: Until version 21.1 it's via My Area > Time Clock.

With the time clock the working time is booked by one day. I.e. coming, going and break start and break stop. In addition, vacation and illness can be maintained in the time clock. The time clock can also be used in combination with the subsequent time entries. This allows times to be booked during the day to customers, projects, productions, etc.

The employee time recording with time clock enables a booking also with time specifications. It is also suitable as a time recording for payroll accounting as well as a booking of work steps in production. The time clock can be used with or without time card and offers a detailed hours recording with overview per employee.

Note: The time clock can be used with the punch cards (QR code card + QR scanner + tablet) or via the software interface (from the PC/laptop, with the normal login).

Use time clock

Post time recording with TARGET specification

As a simple service provider, however, times should often not be booked classically, like a manufacturing industry, via a time clock. Therefore, in this case, the classic time recording form from xentral can be used and times can be booked manually without gaps for work, breaks, vacation, sickness, vacations or compensatory time off.

To see how many hours still have to be booked or how much vacation has already been taken, there is an app Time Recording Hourly Overview. For each employee, target hours or overtime tolerances can be set for each month.

The following scenario can also be useful, e.g. to use the time clock only for hourly accounting/tax consultant. The regular time recording is additionally used to settle up with customers and to transfer the hours into documents.

Time recording hourly overview

Book times without TARGET specification (standard)

If the company also has no TARGET specifications, the times can simply be booked via the Time Recording. Via the tab Book time tracking a weekly view appears in which the time to be booked can be clicked directly. A new dialog box opens in which details and the duration can be entered. Clicking on the button Book a new time also opens the dialog box. Via the tab Own time recording overview the booked hours can be viewed and edited.

Booking to customers, orders, projects, etc. enables an accounting of the times for a customer or a project. Here, an order/invoice can be created from the times via the hourly rate. In general: In the standard time recording every employee can enter his hours independently. This is especially suitable for employees with fixed working hours or if the times are billed to customers.

Settings time recording

On the one hand, system-wide settings can be made for time recording, and on the other hand, a template app can be used to provide a better overview.

System settings

It is now possible to individually modify some settings. Under Administration > Settings > System > Basic settings > System these can be made under the area Time tracking.

• Allow posting to other employees: Select that employees should be allowed to book times for colleagues as well
• Internal comment field visible: Selection that the "Internal comment" field should appear in the time recording interface
• Location field visible: Displays an additional text field for a location specification in the interface. Note: If the recorded times are also billed to customers, the last check mark is mandatory so that you always get the extended interface for time recording
• Extended time indication: Displays additional options in the interface, e.g. customer, order, order entry. If the recorded times are also billed to customers, this check mark is mandatory
• Billing preselected: Selection that the "Accounting hook" is set by default in the interface
• Close time recording: There is a possibility to prohibit older bookings. To do this, select the option Close time recording. Here you can enter the maximum number of days a booked time may be in the past
• Time recording obligation: It is also possible to have xentral check whether the employees have booked times on the last working day. If this is not the case, the employee is automatically taken to the form for booking times with a corresponding message

In the example above, this means: The employee can add time entries that are no more than 3 days old.

Note: To exclude a user from this rule, the user can be given the Allow editing right in the Time recording rights block.

App "time recording templates"

If different activities are to be mapped via defined designations, this can be integrated in the time recording. In the App Center the app Time recording template can be called up and a new template created. Via +NEW, the desired designation can be entered in the Description field.

When employees book times in the future, clicking on the magnifying glass icon next to the description field will display all existing templates, which can then be selected.

Billing of times with date without time specification

When billing times, the option Transfer marked times with date to invoice or order can also be selected, which will then print the date on the document, but not the times.

Time recording

Employees can register their working and break times in xentral under Team > Time Tracking. The following three tabs are relevant for time recording:

• Book time tracking
• Own time recording overview
• Hours overview

Note: Until version 21.1 it's via My Area > Time Tracking.

Book time recording

Calendar view

In the tab Book time tracking, times can be entered directly into the calendar. In addition, the booking of negative times is also prevented here.

Clicking in the calendar opens a new window. The day and time of the position clicked on in the calendar is preselected during time booking, but can be changed as desired. To edit an appointment that has already been set, click on it. The same window that appears when creating the appointment will open and the appointment can be modified. Furthermore, the length of an appointment can be changed quickly using the = symbol. To do this, click on the symbol and keep the mouse pressed while the bar of the appointment can be adjusted in length. With Drag&Drop booked times can be moved easily.

In the overview on the right, further settings and actions can be made.

• Appointments from calendar: Displays all other appointments from the calendar
• Show time clock times: Shows all appointments that have been booked via the time clock
• Book a new time: Create a new appointment
• Form view as standard: Choose between "normal" time booking form and calendar view as default

Form

The working time can be entered in the Form view under the Book time recording tab.

• At the: Specification of date and time from when to when the appointment should be booked. For quick booking the green buttons (15 min, 30 min,...) are available

• Type/activity: Specify whether the appointment is work, break, vacation, sickness, time off or vacation. The activity can be specified in the rear field. Please note that breaks must be booked separately as breaks (i.e. not type: work, activity: breaks), otherwise the break time will be counted as working time

• Book time for other employees: If a time is to be booked for another employee, this checkbox must be set

• Details: More precise details of the appointment

• Internal comment: Comment for internal purposes

• Place: Specification of a location. This is especially important for external appointments.

• Load GPS data: Load GPS data

• Project: Assignment of a project

• Subproject: Assignment to a subproject

• Customer: Assignment of a customer

• Sales order:

• Order item:

• Production:

• Service order:

• Settle up: Check the box if a recorded working time is to be settled later with the customer.

• Book: Book time into the logbook

• Vehicle: Specify the vehicle

• Route: Specify the distance driven

• Kilometers: Indication of the kilometers driven

The date and time period are mandatory, as well as a brief description. Optionally, a detailed description of the activity and the place of execution can be added. The GPS data of a terminal device can also be used to determine the location, provided that this function is supported and released. It is not possible to book negative times. Booking of times on order items Booking of time on order items is possible for articles that are marked as "Service". Other articles are not suggested in the time recording. The Order item field is used in the time recording.

Speciality completed projects

It is not possible to post to projects that have already been completed. As a result, completed projects do not appear in the drop-down menu in the project field.

Overview

In the Overview area on the right side, it is possible to set the date to past days/weeks in order to get an overview of the number of hours worked there. With the back/forward buttons it is possible to jump forward/backward day by day. With the date field an exact date can be selected.

This makes it more convenient to add past times.

Personal time recording overview

Under the tab Own time recording overview you will find a list of the booked times.

Here, the time period can be narrowed down via the filter.

Overview of recorded times

There are three different overviews of recorded times via Team > Time accounts.

Note: Until version 21.1 it's via Administration > Time accounts.

Time account customer

Under the tab Time account customers there is a list of all customers to whom times have been booked for billing.

Time account employee

All times recorded by employees are listed under the Employee time account tab.

Time account calendar view 

Under the tab Time account calendar view all booked times are visible in the calendar.

Billing of recorded times for customers

The view via Team > Time accounts can be used to trigger the accounting of booked times in the Time account customers tab.

Note: Until version 21.1 it's via Administration > Time accounts.

To do this, click on the edit icon (pencil) of a customer in the list to open the detailed view with a list of the times booked for this customer. In this view, invoicing can be triggered using the corresponding button at the bottom of the page. Time bookings can be marked as billed or not billed in this overview.

The next step is to assign an article to the times - this can be, for example, an hourly rate that is to appear on the receipt for the times. A separate hourly rate can be defined for each individual time that is to be accounted for.

It is still possible to specify a general article below, which will also be used as long as the field Deviating article is not filled. It is also possible a combination that below an hourly rate is indicated and e.g. from 10 times only 2 are individually occupied - with the remainder the general article is pulled.