Time Accounting

This process is used to create time reports. When the process is completed, the time reports are approved, authorized and transferred to the general ledger.

Before you start

The parameters described in Basic Data for Time Accounting must be defined.

Follow these steps

  1. Enter Projects and Activities

    Projects and activities to be time accounted can be:

    • Entered immediately in Time Accounting

      In Time Accounting, projects are entered in 'TAC Project. Open' (TAS001). In this program, you can enter the project manager, customer number, VAT calculation method, price lists to be used, etc.

      For each project you also enter a transaction type. The transactions type determines the type of project and also how the reported time on the project will be processed. The valid types are:

      • 1 = Customer project – reported time and costs will be invoiced to the customer and recorded in order to be transferred to general ledger
      • 2 = Internal project – reported time and costs recorded to be transferred to general ledger
      • 3 = Internal project – reported time and costs not to be transferred to general ledger.

      A call is made from (TAS001) to 'TAC Project. Connect Activities' (TAS003). This is where you enter the project activities to be time accounted.

      The following status codes are used for projects and activities in Time Accounting:

      • 05 = Preliminarily entered, not approved to start
      • 10 = Preliminarily entered, approved to start
      • 15 = Started, entry permitted
      • 20 = Started, transfer permitted
      • 80 = Finished.

      The following four settings, as specified in 'Settings - Time Accounting' (TAS900), are essential for entering a time report:

      • If a journal will be printed
      • How the time reports will be numbered
      • How the invoices will look
      • Where the cost center is retrieved. A cost center that is entered in 'Time Report. Open' (TAS100) will override any entry in 'Settings - Time Accounting' (TAS900).
    • Selected for time accounting in Project Management

      Enter in TA

      Enter in Project Management

      A project entered in Project Management automatically becomes a project in Time Accounting. Activities to be time accounted are selected in 'Project. Open' (POS100). When an activity starts in Project Management, the same activity is created in Time Accounting and assigned status 10.

      The following information in Time Accounting activities is retrieved from Project Management:

      • Start and finish date is retrieved from the locked time planning version
      • The authorized person is the same person as the project manager
      • The price lists to be used
      • The transaction type.

  2. Report Time

    Time reports are created in 'Time Report. Open' (TAS100) and are entered per employee.

    There are two different ways to report time and costs for a time report:

    • Use 'Time Report. Open Detailed' (TAS101)
    • Use the quick entry in 'Time Report. Enter' (TAS102). When doing so you use a template which can save a lot of time when the employee always works on the same project, activity or labor code.

    'Time Report. Open Detailed' (TAS101) contains an information view at the top of the panel and an entry view at the bottom of the panel. There are three alternative views to choose from. View 1 can be used for weekly entry. Use view 2 or 3 to enter an amount for such items as mileage compensation in time reports.

    Different status codes are used in Time Accounting to indicate the status of each time report.

    • 00 = Time report is entered
    • 10 = Time report is completed and ready for approval
    • 20 = Approved and ready for authorization
    • 30 = Authorized and ready for transfer
    • 80 = Invoiced or transfer complete.

    The specified settings for how the time report is to be processed determine which status code is used.

  3. Approve and Authorize

    Approval and authorization are optional. In 'Person. Open' (CRS530), you specify whether an employee's time should be approved.

    In 'TAC Project. Open' (TAS001), you specify whether a time report in a project should be authorized. Generally speaking, a team leader approves and a project manager authorizes. Approval IDs are created in 'Authorized Person. Open for Time Report' (TAS045). Authorization IDs are created in 'Authorized Person. Open for Invoice' (TAS050) and are connected to different information groups, user groups and authorization groups in M3.

    Approval is done in 'Time Report. Approve' (TAS110). Authorization is done in 'Time Report. Authorize' (TAS115).

  4. Transfer to General Ledger and Accounts Receivable

    Completed time reports should be transferred to the general ledger. How the transactions are processed is determined by the transaction type. A customer invoice journal and a customer invoice are created for type 1 transactions. An accounting journal is created for type 2 transactions.

    Type 3 transactions can either be completed in 'Time Transaction. Close Internal' (TAS15) or automatically when the other transactions are transferred to the general ledger. Note that it is not necessary to complete type 3 transactions.

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