Adjusting the timesheet
The timesheet is the most important page of the application. Only when the hours are registered correctly can the reports that use those hours produce useful results. For an employee using the timesheet, time registration should be as simple as possible, resulting in quick and precise time registration. There are a large number of settings that determine the functionality that is shown in (or hidden from) the timesheet and the way the timesheet is ordered.
Figure 1 Timesheet with all extra features disabled
Figure 2 Timesheet with all extra features enabled
week format
This option determines the number of days that is visible in the hour registration screen; weekdays only or all seven days of the week. This system setting will be applied when no week format has been chosen under user settings. If a user setting is found it will overrule the system setting.
displaying projects in the timesheet
This setting determines the appearance of the timesheet screen. Project elements can be displayed in two different ways: “show all project elements” and “group by project”. Selecting the first option means that all project elements are shown immediately and makes it possible to record hours directly. Selecting the second option means that first all projects are displayed, with the related project elements collapsed. By clicking the plus sign next to a project, the corresponding project elements are displayed. This latter option is especially useful if a user needs to be able to record hours for a large number of project elements.
If this field is empty for the logged in user, the default system setting is used. In the timesheet itself it is always possible to switch between the two display methods by using a dropdown list.
validation
The Timesheet application supports two methods of registered hour validation; validation by manager or validation by project leader and manager. When only managers do the validation, the checkbox “validated” will show the validation status of the week. Validated hours cannot be altered by the employee. When the project leader is also involved in the validation process then one checkbox per project element is visible on the right side of the page. A checked checkbox means the project element is already validated by the project leader for that week.
registering time
There are three different methods to register time in the timesheet. First, there is the option “by hand”, where the number of hours worked is typed in directly. The second option is to measure time by clicking on the timer icon using it as a stopwatch. The final method for registering time is by entering the start time and end time. Any combinations of these three options can be used.
extra information fields
After the project name and project element name a number of optional information fields can be shown in the timesheet.
days till deadline
This setting determines whether the “days till deadline” value of the project element is shown in the timesheet. The deadline is the difference of the “expected end date” field of the project element and the current date.
hours till estimated (project element level)
This setting determines if the difference between the estimated hours and the registered hours are shown for project elements. If the value is a negative value then the estimated hours have been exceeded and the value will be displayed as a red number. If the value is a positive one then there are still hours left and the value will be displayed in black
hours till estimated (resource level)
This setting determines if the difference between the estimated hours and the registered hours are shown for resources. The meaning of the colors (red and black) is the same as for the hours till estimated in the project element level.
copy planning
If this option is enabled, a button will be displayed at the bottom of the timesheet with which all hours from the planning can be copied into the current week as long as the current week is still empty.
copy last week
If this option is enabled, a button will be displayed at the bottom of the timesheet with which all hours from the previous week can be copied into the current week as long as the current week is still empty.
timesheet pdf
If this option is enabled, a button will be displayed at the bottom of the timesheet with which a pdf containing the timesheet can be created. There is an option to have all project elements displayed in the pdf and one to only show project elements where hours are registered