Time and Reimbursement Entries for Employees & Payroll Staff

Time entries record the labor and travel hours employees work on jobs, service calls, and general activities. Reimbursements record out-of-pocket amounts an employee paid on behalf of a service call so the employee can be repaid through payroll and the cost can be billed to the customer. This guide is for employees who record their own time and reimbursements, and for payroll staff and administrators who enter time for other employees, from the desktop Time Entries page. For technicians entering time and reimbursement entries in FORGE Mobile, see FORGE Mobile Time.

Open a Timesheet

1. In the navigation menu, select Time Entries. A loading message appears until the employee and timesheet information is ready.

2. In the page header, choose the employee from the employee list and the pay period from the pay period list. The pay period list shows periods that have already started, newest first, and defaults to the current period. If more than one timesheet matches your selection, the page shows a Timesheets list. Select the timesheet you want to open.

3. Use the tabs to move between the parts of the timesheet.

   • Travel/Labor lists labor and travel entries.

   • Employee Reimbursements lists reimbursements.

   • Submission History shows submitted timesheet reports.

   • Notes holds notes and attachments for the timesheet.

4. The Travel/Labor and Employee Reimbursements tabs show a badge, such as 2 Open, with the number of entries that have not been submitted.

Add a Labor or Travel Entry

1. On the Travel/Labor tab, select Add Time Entry. You can also select Add Time Entry in the page header to add an entry without first opening a timesheet. The New Time Entry window opens.

2. Choose who did the work and what the time applies to.
   Complete the following fields:

   • Employee (Required): Shows the employee whose time you are entering. When you add the entry from an open timesheet, the employee comes from that timesheet and cannot be changed. When you start from the page header, select the employee; standard users can select only themselves.

   • Pay Period (Required): Shows the pay period that will hold the entry. When you start from the page header, select the pay period. If the employee does not yet have a timesheet for that period, one is created automatically when you save.

   • Work Type (Required): Select Job, Service Call, or General. Job and Service Call appear only when Job Cost or Service is in use for your company; General is always available. Changing Work Type clears the work, appointment, cost category, and billable selections made for the previous type.

   • Job (Required): Appears when Work Type is Job. Select an active, open Job. The entry can be saved without it but cannot be submitted until a Job is selected.

   • Job Cost Code (Required): Appears after you select a Job. Select one of the Job's active labor cost codes; the code also sets the Job Cost Category. The entry can be saved without it but cannot be submitted until a cost code is selected.

   • Service Call (Required): Appears when Work Type is Service Call. Search for the service call by number. Closed service calls are not available. The entry can be saved without it but cannot be submitted until a service call is selected.

   • Appointment: Appears after you select a Job or Service Call. Select one of that Job's or service call's appointments when the time belongs to a scheduled visit. Options display as the parent number followed by the appointment number.

   • Labor Activity (Required): Appears when Work Type is General. Select the activity that describes internal or non-customer work, such as training or shop time. The entry can be saved without it but cannot be submitted until an activity is selected.

   • Cost Category: Appears when Service is in use and applies to Service Call work. For service call entries, only labor cost categories are listed. The value is not saved for Job or General entries.

   • Rate Category (Required): Select the category that prices and costs the time, such as Regular, Overtime, or Travel. The list contains the employee's active Employee Rates. If the list is empty, a message explains that no active labor rate categories were found for the employee; ask your administrator to set up the employee's rates.

3. Record when the work started and ended. Note that an entry cannot cross pay periods. If work starts in one pay period and ends in the next, record it as two entries, one in each period.
   Complete the following fields:

   • Start Time (Required): Select the date and time the work began, then select OK to apply it. The date and time must fall within the selected pay period.

   • End Time (Required): Select the date and time the work ended, then select OK. It must be later than Start Time, fall within the same pay period, and be no more than 24 hours after Start Time.

   • Duration (hours): Enter the number of hours worked, using up to two decimal places, such as 1.5 for 1 hour 30 minutes. Entering a duration updates End Time from the selected Start Time.

   • Billable: Available only when a service call is selected, and selected by default for service call entries. Clear it when the customer should not be billed for the time. Job and General entries are saved as not billable.

   • Is Travel: Select it when the time was spent traveling so travel can be tracked separately from on-site labor.

   • Notes: Enter a short description of the work performed.

4. Save the entry Select Create. The entry appears on the Travel/Labor tab with a status of Open. If a required field is missing, an inline message appears under that field.

Add a Reimbursement

A reimbursement is entered as an amount rather than hours. It must be tied to a service call. When it is approved, the employee is repaid through payroll and a related service call cost is created so the expense can be billed to the customer.

Your administrator must first create at least one reimbursement rate category (a Rate Category with Usage set to Reimbursement and a product assigned). Default reimbursement rate and cost categories can be set in Settings > Administration > Service Settings to prefill new reimbursements.

1. On the timesheet, select the Employee Reimbursements tab.

2. Select + Reimbursement. The New Reimbursement window opens. A message at the top explains that approved reimbursements create a related service call cost.

3. Identify the service call, how the expense is categorized, and the amount to repay.
   Complete the following fields:

   • Employee (Required): Shows the employee being reimbursed. It comes from the open timesheet, or you select it when starting from the page header.

   • Pay Period (Required): Shows the pay period that will hold the reimbursement. It comes from the open timesheet, or you select it when starting from the page header.

   • Service Call (Required): Search for the service call the expense was incurred for. Closed service calls are not available.

   • Appointment: Appears after you select a service call. Select the appointment the expense relates to, if any.

   • Cost Category (Required): Select the cost category for the expense, such as Materials or Mileage. Only non-labor cost categories are listed. The category is copied to the service call cost created at approval and determines how the cost is posted.

   • Rate Category (Required): Select the reimbursement category, which controls how the customer is billed and how the amount is paid through payroll. Only reimbursement categories are listed. A note under the field shows whether billing uses a fixed amount or the price list for the service call.

   • Date (Required): Select the date of the expense. It defaults to today and must fall within the selected pay period.

   • Reimbursement Amount (Required): Enter the amount to repay the employee, up to two decimal places. The amount must be greater than zero. This is the value sent to payroll; it is separate from the amount billed to the customer.

   • Billable: Selected by default. Clear it when the expense should not be billed to the customer.

   • Is Travel: Select it when the expense is related to travel.

   • Notes: Describe the expense, such as what was purchased or where mileage was driven.

4. Select Create. The reimbursement appears on the Employee Reimbursements tab with a status of Open and shows the amount instead of start and end times.

Edit or Delete an Open Entry

Open entries can be edited freely. Approved entries are locked; in limited cases an approved entry can be reopened with Edit, and otherwise it must be corrected with Reverse. See the Correcting Time Entries for details.

1. Open the timesheet and select the Travel/Labor or Employee Reimbursements tab.

2. In the Actions column, select Edit, update the fields, and select Save.

3. To remove an entry that has not been submitted, select Delete in the Actions column and confirm. Deletion cannot be undone and is available only for Open entries.

Submit Entries for Approval

You can submit individual entries as you finish them, or submit the whole timesheet at the end of the pay period. Submitted entries are sent to your manager for approval.

1. On the Travel/Labor tab, select the check box for each Open entry you want to submit. Only Open entries can be selected.

2. Select Submit Selected Time Entries. The entries change to Submitted.

3. On the Employee Reimbursements tab, select the Open reimbursements and then select Submit Selected Reimbursements.

Submit Your Timesheet

Submit Timesheet appears only for your own timesheet when it is Open or Rejected. It is unavailable while a previous submission is still being processed.

1. Optionally, select Preview Timesheet to review the timesheet report before submitting it. The report opens in a preview window and is not emailed.

2. Select Submit Timesheet. Any remaining Open time entries and reimbursements on the timesheet are submitted first.

3. When asked whether you want to add a submission note, select Skip Note to continue, or select Add Note, enter text in Note, and select Continue. The note is saved to the timesheet's Notes tab as Timesheet Submission Note only after the timesheet is submitted successfully.

4. If your company requires an acknowledgement, read the Timesheet Acknowledgement message and select Continue to Signature.

5. In the Sign and Submit Timesheet window, sign in the signature box. A signature is required when your company enables it; otherwise it is optional. Select Clear to start over, then select Submit Timesheet. The signature is used only for this submission. If you select Cancel before submitting, no note is saved and the timesheet is not submitted.

6. Confirm the result The timesheet is submitted for approval, and the generated report appears on the Submission History tab. If you add a new entry to a submitted timesheet, the timesheet reopens and must be submitted again.

After Approval

When a manager approves a service call labor or travel entry, a related service call cost is created for invoicing. Approved Job entries create a draft Job cost. Approved reimbursements create a service call cost using the selected cost category, and the Reimbursement Amount is included when the timesheet is exported to payroll. After an entry is exported to payroll, the Travel/Labor tab shows a green Exported label in the last column.