Downloading an Import Time Sheet Template

This is part of a series of articles on Importing Time Sheets with Excel.

In this article, we are going to review the Download Template screen for the Time Sheet Import program. 

If we want to import data into Time Portal via Excel, we first need to download one of two templates from the Download Template page. To get to the Download Template page, lets navigate to the Import Time Sheets page by clicking on Import > Import Time Sheets.

Next, lets click on the Download Template button located at the top left corner of the Time Sheet Imports screen.

We are now on the Download Template page. This page allows us to configure the templates prior to download. Time Portal will use the selected criteria to dynamically build the spreadsheet for you. i.e. Time Portal will automatically write your employees' and other information into the spreadsheet so that you don't have to. This can be a huge time saver.

Let's review the different options on this screen.

* - Denotes a required field.

• Template Type * - There are two different types of templates, a Weekly template and a Daily template. These two templates both contain the same information but, are formatted differently based on how you would like to enter your data. Please see these template's respective articles for full details on their format and use.
  
  
• Crew* - The Crew select box allows you to select a Crew whose workers will be added to the template. When the template is downloaded, Time Portal will dynamically create a row in the Excel file for each worker. 
  
  
• Start Date * - This is the start date of the pay period. The template will be generated with this date plus the number of Pay Period Days. i.e. If we were to set the Start Date to January 1st and the Pay Period Days to 7 days, our template would be generated with the dates Jan 1st - Jan 7th. 
  
  
• Payroll Date * - This is the date of Payroll for the pay period.
  
  
• Pay Period Days - This is the number of days for the pay period. This can either be 7 days or 14 days.

• Crop/Variety -  Can be selected to prepopulate a column in the Excel file for entering Crop/Variety if you are tracking crop/variety and all work will be performed for the same crop.
  
  
• Location - Can be selected to prepopulate a column in the Excel file for entering Location if you are tracking locations and will be performing all work at the same location.
  
  
• Start Time - Can be specified to prepopulate a column in the Excel file for entering Start Time if all work will start at the same time each day. If left blank, Time Portal will use 8:00 AM as the Start Time.
  
  
• Hourly Hours - Can be specified to prepopulate a column in the Excel file for entering Hourly Hours if all employees are expected to work the same number of hours on hourly jobs each day.  When importing the file, Excel (and Time Portal) will calculate Hourly Pay using Hourly Hours and the Hourly Pay Rate described below.  
  
  
• Hourly Pay Rate - When specified, is used as the pay rate for hourly work as well as the minimum wage for piece and hourly work.  If left blank, the hourly pay rate will be determined for each employee based on Company, Crew, Job, Worker Contract, Employee and Wage Rule settings as described in the article Hourly rates and how they are applied.  The Hourly Pay Rate can still be edited within Excel and (read only) columns for minimum wage rates are used in the Excel formulas to calculate Minimum Pay and Makeup Pay. In the rare situation (such as a Worker Contract change) where minimum wage rates change during a pay period, the average minimum wage rate for the period will be used when determining makeup pay for the period. 
  
  Note that the minimum wage rates which are used in Excel's Minimum Pay and Makeup Pay calculations are determined from company or other settings.  Therefore, it is important to ensure that the Minimum Wage Rate has been specified on the My Company Screen before downloading the Time Sheet Template.
  
  
• Piece Work Hours - Can be specified to prepopulate a column in the Excel file for entering Piece work Hours if all employees are expected to work the same number of hours on piece jobs each day. When importing the file, Excel (and Time Portal) will calculate Makeup Pay using Piece Work Hours, Piece Pay and Piece Minimum Wage Rate.  Time Portal will display an error message if Piece Work Hours are missing for any employee/date for which Piece Counts have been entered. 
  
  
• Piece Rates - Up to ten piece rates can be specified and will appear at the top of the Piece columns when the Excel file is generated. When the Excel file is filled out, the number of pieces for each piece rate can be entered for each employee.  If the piece rates are not known at the time the template is generated, they can be entered into the column headings when the piece quantities are entered.  
  
  
• Break Hours - Can be specified to prepopulate a column in the Excel file for entering Break Hours if all employees are expected to have the same break period each day.  When importing the file, Time Portal will create Time Sheet records that skip the break period, if Break Hours and Break Start Time are entered into the Excel file.  Time Sheet Records for piece work will be created first, if piece work hours have been specified. 
  
  
• Break Start Time - Can be specified to prepopulate a column in the Excel file for entering Break Start Time if all employees are expected to start their break at the same time each day.  When importing the file, Time Portal will create Time Sheet records that skip the break period, if Break Hours and Break Start Time are entered into the Excel file. 
  
  
• Employee Name Presentation - Determines how employee names will be shown in the Excel file. For example, "Last, First" will present the name like this: "Doe, John".

• Extra Employee Section Count - This defines how many blank sections you would like generated for you at the bottom of the spreadsheet. These sections are useful when you don't have a worker in the spreadsheet and would like to add them on the fly.  Extra rows will show the employee number and name as "[Employee Number]" and "[Employee Name]".  If you use this feature to add new workers "on the fly", please be sure to specify a unique employee number and also the employee name without the brackets "[]".  Also, please ensure that "read only" fields such as minimum wage have a value for each new employee.
• Destination - Select how you want to create the file.
  • Download File - downloads the template to a file. 
  • Queue - When downloading a Time Sheet Import Template, you may choose to Queue the download to be run in the background.  This feature may be useful when creating an Excel Spreadsheet for a large crew.  With the "Queue" Destination selected, clicking "Download Template" will create a background task which may be tracked in the Notification Drawer which is shown next to the "bell icon" at the top right side of the page.  Click on that icon to open the drawer and download the file when it is completed.