Introduction

This article provides a convenient end-to-end guide for the Dock Pay enhancement to Time Sheets. We will discuss how to enable and configure the feature, the behavior of dock pay lines, and limitations of the system with respect to its integration with USPS.


A. Problem Statement

Docking pay is a relatively common way to reconcile payroll accounting; however, the administration of this strategy has been manual in SCView, making it a slow and tedious tool to use.


B. Solution

To improve the efficiency and user experience of our payroll-inclined users, SCView presents an automatic Dock Pay Lines feature. Simply follow along to learn how to set up the feature and learn how it functions.


Step 1: Enabling and Configuring Dock Pay

To access the options used to enable and configure Dock Pay, please use the main SCView navigation bar to go to Admin > Site Settings > Time Sheets. You will need to be an administrator to see this option.


Image: Navigation Path for Dock Pay Settings


Once on the target page, please turn your attention to the Dock Pay options found in the Submission Options section, as shown below.


Image: Submission Options, Including Dock Pay


Dock Pay Enabled: This is a simple toggle. If Dock Pay Enabled is checked, then Dock Pay is active on your instance of SCView. If it is not checked, then Dock Pay is inactive.


Dock Pay Grace Period: The Dock Pay Grace Period is your lenience measured in minutes. For example, with a Dock Pay Grace Period of 30 minutes, a worker on a standard eight-hour day will not receive a dock pay line on that day's work if he works a minimum of 7.5 hours. 


Dock pay lines are all-or-nothing. An 8-hour-day worker who works 7.51 hours with 30 minutes of Grace will receive no Dock Pay line, but an 8-hour-day worker who works 7.49 hours will receive a 0.51 hour dock pay line for going over the Grace period.


IMPORTANT: When changing Admin Site Settings, please be sure to click the green Apply button in the top-left corner. This is required to save your changes.


Step 2: Generation of Dock Pay Lines

From here on out, this article will assume that you have Dock Pay enabled on your instance of SCView.


SCView automatically generates up to one Dock Pay line per position per day when a time sheet is posted to USPS in the Workflow module. To post a time sheet to USPS, simply approve the time sheet through your workflow as normal until you reach the queue with the "Submit Time Sheet to USPS" button. This button does the posting.


Image: Submit Time Sheet to USPS Button in Workflow


When you click the button, a confirmation popup appears, as shown below. After a quick validation check, appropriate Dock Pay lines will be added to the time sheet. 




Please follow article Time Sheets: Export for USPS Import to complete this popup successfully. When the "Close" button is clicked at the very end of this popup's process, then Dock Pay lines will be added to the document image and the time sheet accessible through the Time Sheet Manager.


Step 3: Dock Pay Lines in Document Image and Dock Pay Manager

As we just established, when you post to USPS, appropriate Dock Pay lines are automatically generated; then, when you confirm the posting by clicking the "Close" button, the Dock Pay lines are added to the document image and the Time Sheet Manager. Let's take a look at what that looks like!


This document image was taken from the Workflow page. Note here how the Dock Pay line is associated with a lacking attendance line, and that the two lines add up to 8 hours, or the time of a standard day's work for this employee.


Image: Example of a Document Image Dock Pay Line


Finally, let's look at the same time sheet in Time Sheet Manager. To get there, go to Tools > Time Sheets using the main navigation bar.


Image: Navigating to Time Sheet Manager


Once there, you can double click a time sheet to pop it open and take a look at its Dock Pay lines, if any. For our example here, we are looking at the same time sheet as the document image from Workflow. Just like the document image, note how we have a Dock line and an Attendance line on the same day, with the two of them adding up to 8 hours. 


Also note that we have the Dock Pay line's row selected, prompting the error message, "Row has already been submitted." Rows that have already been submitted can't be edited, and as Automatic Dock Lines are added just before submission, that means all of them you ever see in the Time Sheet Manager will be uneditable. If you are using our Dock Pay feature, be sure time sheets are correct before you submit them, as payroll errors will require manual dock line correction in USPS.


Image: Dock Pay Line Time Sheet from Time Sheet Manager


C. Best Practices

  • While Automatic Dock Pay lines are convenient, they are only as powerful as the process driving them. Make sure to minimize time sheet errors, as corrections will require manual intervention in USPS.
  • Remember that Dock Pay Grace Period is all-or-nothing. If an employee goes under, then the entire shortfall is docked.


D. Troubleshooting

  • If an employee performs the same role for multiple departments each day, any dock pay lines will only show the first department. Be aware of this limitation when planning how to use Automatic Dock Pay.
  • Once a dock pay line is created, it cannot be edited. Adding more attendance lines to a submitted day of work will not move the dock pay line and will require manual intervention.


E. Related Articles

Time Sheets: Export for USPS Import


Conclusion

The Dock Pay enhancement for Time Sheets in SCView offers a significant improvement in payroll management efficiency and accuracy. By automating the generation of dock pay lines, this feature eliminates manual intervention, reducing errors and saving time for administrators. While the step-by-step guide provided here helps users enable, configure, and understand the feature, it's crucial to remember the importance of accurate time sheets before submission and to be aware of the system's limitations. Despite these considerations, the Automatic Dock Pay feature represents a powerful tool that streamlines the payroll reconciliation process, offering a more efficient and user-friendly approach to handling dock pay situations in SCView.