Timesheets Module Setup – Genius Project Help Center

Initial setup of the following sections of the Timesheets database is done during the implementation phase of Geniusproject. Some information is only editable during the initial setup.

To access the Setup & Administration section of the Timesheets database, the Admin user must click on the gear icon at the top right hand corner of the screen and select Timesheets from the drop down list.

The Administration module of the Timesheets database consists of the following tabs:

Setup
Templates
Charts
Administration
Agent

Setup

Parameters in this section apply to the entire database.

Navigate to the [Setup] tab of the timesheets database and select General from the contextual navigation menu. Open the General document from the content window.

Miscellaneous Tab

Fields

Use

Input range from ... to ...

To set the input range for the creation of Timesheets or Expense report documents in order to prevent resources from creating timesheets starting before a given date, or to create them too far in the future.

It is possible to leave both fields empty (no control will be performed), to define any of the two dates (allowing the creation of timesheets for any period in the past or the future) or to enter both dates.

Only the timesheet or expense report start date must belong to the defined interval.

Genius Integrator

When enabled Genius Integrator makes the management of attached files easier. It allows for the generation of reports and management of Word and Excel templates.

It must be enabled to use MSP Direct plan types.

Disables the Genius Integrator attachment and Office templates management if needed.

See Application manager tasks for further information.

Timesheets Tab

Fields

Use

Workload unit

The workload unit for task assignments.

This parameter should not be modified if there are existing timesheets in the databases.

If this is the case and you modify this parameter you may have unexpected results.

Range of authorized values per cell

To specify the input range allowed in each cell of a 'Timesheet' document.

Minimum: the minimum value allowed. '0' means negative values are not allowed.

Default is '-24'.

Maximum: the maximum value allowed. Default is '24'.

Both values are expressed in the workload unit defined above.

Fields	Use
Approval mode	To define if the timesheets must be submitted for approval. If an approval mode is defined, the user must submit their timesheets for approval using the [Workflow > To be approved] menu option. Approval mode options are: None: The user changes the timesheet status to 'Completed' on their own, using the Workflow > Complete menu option. On the timesheets: Once a timesheet’s status is 'To be approved', the resource in responsible for its approval can approve or deny it. On the details: Once timesheets are submitted for approval, project leaders will be responsible for approving the detail lines corresponding to their projects.
Approval by the team lead	This option is only available if ‘Approval mode' is set to ‘On the timesheets’. It is used to indicate whether the resource’s team lead is responsible for approving their timesheets or if this task will be delegated to resources with the [Approver] role. If set to 'Yes', the approval is done by the team lead defined in each individual resource’s profile document in the 'Resources' database. The team lead does not need to have the [Approver] role (any resource defined in the 'Resources' database can be defined as another resource’s team lead). The resource document must be published into the 'Timesheets' database and the parameter must be enabled for this approval method to work properly. If set to 'No', then only resources with the [Approver] role will be able to approve the timesheets. Note that whatever the selected option is, resources with the role [Approver] always can approve any timesheet in the status 'To be approved'.
Update the actual workload of the assignments	This option is not available if 'Approval mode' is set to 'On the details'. In that case, the update of the actual workload will take place directly making approval on the details (by the project leader) only compatible with the direct update of the workload. After approval/ When completed: The time is pushed to the 'Projects' database only after the entire timesheet has been approved or marked completed. (timesheet lines are not pushed to the 'Projects' database until the timesheet is approved or completed) Directly: the time is pushed into the 'Projects' database, regardless of the status of the 'Timesheet' documents.
Update the final status of the assignments	This option is only available if ‘Update the actual workload of the assignments' is set to 'Directly'. After approval / When completed: If a task assignment is marked ‘Completed’ in a
	timesheet, it will be only be considered once the timesheet is approved or completed (to prevent a task from being marked completed before approval). Directly: If a task assignment is marked ‘Completed’ in a timesheet, it will be taken into account regardless of the status of the 'Timesheet'.
Type of automatic generation	The default type that will be used by the 'Automatic generation of timesheets' agent. If the option 'Use the default value of each user' is set to yes, then the agent will use the value chosen by each user. In this case, if the user has not set a default value, then the general value will be used.

Expense Reports Tab

Fields	Use
Default currency	Symbol of the default currency. The default currency is not used in the Timesheets database but was kept for a possible future usage. The list comes from the currencies defined in the General setup document of the 'Portfolio' database. Mandatory.
Reference currency	Symbol of the reference currency. This is the currency that will appear by default in all views of the database showing amounts. The list comes from the currencies defined in the 'General' setup document of the 'Portfolio' database. Mandatory.
Other currencies	The list of currencies that can be used in the Timesheets database (in the Expense report documents). The list of choices comes from the 'Other currencies' field in the 'General' setup document of the 'Portfolio' database. The default currency is automatically added to the list.
Approval mode	To define if the expense reports must be submitted for approval. If an approval mode is defined, the user must change the status of their expense report using the [Workflow > To be approved] menu option. None: The user can mark the expense report 'Completed' using the [Workflow > Complete] menu option. On the expense reports: If the status of an expense report is 'To be approved', the resource in charge of its approval will be able to approve or deny the document. On the details: Project leaders can approve or deny the expense details corresponding to their projects for expense reports with the To be approved status.
Approval by team lead	This option is only available if 'Approval mode' is set to 'On the expense reports'. It is used to indicate whether the resource’s team lead is responsible for approving their expense reports or if this task will be delegated to resources with the [Approver] role. If set to 'Yes', the approval is done by the team lead defined in each individual resource’s profile document in the 'Resources' database. The team lead does not need to have the [Approver] role (any resource defined in the 'Resources' database can be defined as another resource’s team lead). The resource document must be published into the 'Timesheets' database and the parameter must be enabled for this approval method to work properly If 'No', then only resources with the Approver role will be able to approve the expense reports. Whatever the selected option is, resources with the Approver role can always approve any expense report with a status of To be approved.
Expense types	List of the types of expenses to be used in the expense reports. Keywords selection field.

Notifications Tab

Fields	Use
Database path	Complete URL of the database. Used to create links in notifications for Web usage.
Sender name	It defines the sender name of automatic e-mail notifications (reminders for delayed timesheets, refused timesheets, etc.). The name of the sender must be entered in Internet format, for example: 'John Smith<jsmith@acme.com>'.

Automatic Reminder

Fields	Use
Number of weeks to trace	Defines the number of weeks in the past that the agent will check for incomplete timesheets (that is timesheets that are still 'In progress' or missing timesheets).
Reminder subject	The subject of the notification e-mail. Value '%0' will be replaced with the start date of the corresponding week.
Reminder text	Content of notification e-mail.
	Value '%0' will be replaced with the start date of the corresponding week.
Resources in copy	Resources who will receive a copy of the e-mail notification.
Notification for missing timesheets	Options are 'Yes' or 'No'. Indicate whether a reminder should be sent when timesheets have not been submitted for a given week. If set to 'No', then a reminder will only be sent if an incomplete Timesheet exists for a given week.

Rates Tab

The rates tab is used to define different types of billable and non-billable rates to be set for each timesheet line. Each rate type must be defined as a percentage of the default rate. The default rate being referenced will always be the one associated to the resource submitting the timesheet.

By defining different rate types organizations can automatically calculate billing variations based on different circumstances. For example, if an organization charges 150% of the default rate for a resource working overtime, they can create a rate type to accomplish this.

The input of these fields is done using the buttons.

Fields

Use

Billable rates

Used to define the list of different billable rate types.

The rates are expressed in % of the normal rate as it is defined in the 'Rates' section of the Resource document. They are used in the timesheets lines to compute the actual cost of tasks. They will also be used to compute the billable cost of the task.

Rate: abbreviation of the rate type’s name. This is how it will display in the selection list in the timesheet. Due to the limited display space, it is recommended to use short abbreviations or acronyms.
%: percentage to apply to the normal rate defined for the resource on the corresponding task.
Code: rate code, saved in the document. The code must be unique.
Description: a detailed description of the rate.

These four fields must be entered for each rate to be defined correctly

Non-billable rates

Used to define non-billable rate types. The rates are expressed in % of the normal rate as it is defined in the 'Rates' section of the 'Resource' document. They are used in the timesheets lines to compute the actual cost of tasks. With non-billable rates, the time entry will not be added to the billable cost of the task.

Rate: abbreviation of the rate. This is how it will display in the selection list in the timesheet. Due to the limited display space, it is recommended to use short abbreviations or acronyms.
%: percentage to apply to the normal rate defined for the resource on the corresponding task.
Code: rate code, saved in the document. The code must be unique.
Description: a detailed description of the rate.

These four fields must be entered for each rate to be defined correctly.

Templates

This place to define office template for timesheet and expenses entry lists and reports. See the chapter “Office templates” for more information.

Geniusproject provides the ability to export valuable data directly from a view into a Microsoft® Excel template using the Genius Integrator tool. This makes it possible to use extracted Geniusproject data to create Microsoft® Excel charts, powerful reports using Microsoft® Excel pivot tables, as well as manipulate data for simulations. In addition reports can be shared with individuals who do not have access to the Geniusproject application.

Charts

Consult Chart in the Resource Section

Administration Tab

Monitoring the Databases Periodically

The application manager should monitor the databases periodically to check for the following:

Identified problems,
Unexpected errors.

Identified Problems

During normal operation of the databases, some problems may arise when agents are processing documents in the Projects and Timesheets databases.

For example:

A task has been deleted after a user has already input time towards it in a timesheet.
A resource selects an assigned task in their timesheet and is subsequently removed from the task. The problem arises when the user continues to input time towards the task in their timesheet.

In these circumstances the documents are marked as problematic and displayed in a specific view which allows for the detection and reprocessing of the documents. Usually the documents must be corrected manually before reprocessing them.

The probability of these problems arising increases when users are working on different replicas of the databases.

Unexpected Errors

In all databases, errors can occur while agents are running or when users perform an action. In most of these cases a corresponding System event document will be generated and can be forwarded to Genius Inside's technical support for further assistance.

System Events

When an error occurs during the execution of an agent, (scheduled or run by a user), or during the execution of an action launched directly by a user, a corresponding System event document is created.

To review these documents, navigate to the 'Administration' tab of the 'Setup & Administration' module of the Timesheet’s database.

This system event document contains valuable information for getting useful support, and should be sent to Genius Inside's technical support if the problem cannot be solved directly by the application manager. A single screenshot of the contents of the document is normally enough.

Problems in Progress

The application manager must check this tab regularly for new problems as currently there are no automatic notifications sent to the application manager when new documents appear in this view.

To avoid inconsistencies between the values in the Timesheets and the Projects databases, it is very important to resolve all of the problems. To help the application manager solve the problems, a list of the most common problems and their solutions are available in the table below.

Problem	Explanation
Impossible to open the database with the ID XYZ123 on the server XX	Verify that the database with this replica ID is always on the specified server and that the database is accessible by the signer of the scheduled agent 'CheckNewOrModifiedDocuments'. Try running the scheduled agent on another server, or create a new replica of the database on this server.
The task no longer exists in the 'Projects' database	The task was deleted from the 'Projects’ database or its hidden ID was changed, for example by deleting and re-creating a task with the same name. Either remove the line from the 'Timesheet' document or try to reselect it from the 'Timesheet' document. Possible solution could be to deny the timesheet in order to modify it again and correct the error.
You are no longer assigned to this task	The task is no longer assigned to the resource specified in the timesheet. Either add the resource to the specified task, or remove the line from the timesheet. Possible solution could be to deny the timesheet in order to modify it again and correct the error.
The project does no longer exists in the Projects database	The project was deleted from the 'Projects' database. Either remove the line from the 'Timesheet' document or try to re-select it from the 'Timesheet' document. Possible solution could be to deny the timesheet in order to modify it again and correct the error. If the project was archived, then it is possible to restore it and retry.
Error ?: ?	An unexpected error at the specified line. Please contact Genius Inside's technical support.

When a problem occurs with a 'Timesheet' document, the problems listed below are prefixed by the following text:

"Error ? line ?:" Indicates the error number and on which line of the timesheet the problem occurred. The error number is useful only for problems not listed above. In this case contact the technical support.

"Error ? Line ?, day ?:" Same as above, but on a specific day of the week in the line.

Abandoned Problems

An ‘Abandoned problem’ is a ‘Problem’ document that has been flagged as 'Abandoned' and removed from the «Problems in progress» view in on the Administration tab of the Setup & Administration module. It is also excluded from the actions of the scheduled agents.

The most frequent reason to mark a 'Problem' document as abandoned is that the problem is due to an old or obsolete document (possibly already deleted or archived) or to an unrecoverable problem.

The abandoned problems are no longer displayed in the «Problems in progress» view; they can only be seen in the «Abandoned problems» view.

The documents will continue to be accessible from this view and can be reprocessed at any time. To reprocess an abandoned problem document click Actions on the action menu bar and select Reprocess.

This pushes it back to the «Problems in progress» view, and it will not be processed by the scheduled agents until it is manually marked to be reprocessed from the Problems in progress view.

Documents marked as an 'Abandoned problem' will still appear normally in the other views of the application.

Customizable views diagnosis

See chapter “Customizable view Management”

Customizable views settings

See chapter “Customizable view Management”

Agents Tab

Agents are actions carried out on specific documents and data across the Geniusproject databases. Agents either run in the background (scheduled agents), or may be initiated the user. Following is a list of the agents that can be run from the 'Agents' tab in the 'Setup & Administration' module of the Timesheets database.

Agents can be enabled and disabled or run manually from the 'Agents' tab. Refer to the following table to enable, disable or manually run the agents.

Icon	Description
Status	The status of the agent. The status is also represented with an icon. The agent is currently disabled. The agent is currently enabled. When enabled, the server on which the agent is enabled is also indicated.
Disable	Hyperlink to enable the agent. It turns the scheduled agent off. The agent will need to be enabled to run again.
Enable	Hyperlink to enable the agent. It turns the scheduled agent on. The agent will run according to the schedule or trigger. Refer to Schedule (default) in the table.
Run	Run. Manually executes the agent, regardless the current setting (Enabled/Disabled).
Last run	The date and time when the agent ran last

Agent	Action	Mandatory	Schedule (default)
New and modified documents	This agent generates timesheet lines and remaining work requests from the timesheets and replicates them to the 'Projects' databases. It generates expense lines from the expense reports and creates the corresponding 'Cost' document in the 'Projects' databases	Yes	Run when documents are ad or modified.
Projects list fetching	Only for compatibility with older version.	Yes	Run once every: 2 h.
Automatic generation of timesheets	Build 'pre-filled' timesheets for each user for the current week. If the timesheet exists already, it adds new tasks to the existing timesheet. The generation is based on the 'calculated' option. When running as a background task, the agent generates timesheets for all resources. It does not create an empty timesheet if there are no task assignments for a resource. See the 'Automatic creation' section of the Create and fill in timesheets document.	No	Run once every day. Starting at: 4:00 am.
Send reminders for unfilled timesheets	Sends a reminder to resources who have not completed their timesheets in the last x weeks, or whose timesheets from the last x weeks are still in progress. The value of ‘x’ is defined in the setup of the database.	No	Run once every week On: Sunday At: 2:00 am.
Timesheets archiving	Archives the expired timesheets according to the Archive setup document	No	Run each Monday at 1:00am
Check the consistency of timesheets	This agent checks the total consistency between the timesheets and the generated details. If the total is different between a timesheet and the details generated from this timesheet, the timesheet will appear in the 'Problems' view so it can be reprocessed.	No	Run once every day Starting at: 00:15 am
Update the name of the projects	When a project is renamed within a 'Projects' database, the lines of the timesheets continue to display the old project name. This agent updates the 'Timesheet' documents so that they have the correct project name (the agent 'New documents and modified documents' will then update the timesheet lines accordingly).	--	--
Upgrade the data to the current version	Upgrades the data of the database to make it compatible with the last installed version (migration agent).	--	Not available on SaaS

Please note that the schedules below are default values and can be modified by the application manager.

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