Departments Tab - Introduction
The Departments Tab of the Policy Update Form displays a list of all Departments configured in the software. Departments are used to separate employee hours performed under different disciplines and / or types of activity. Employees can punch into and out of departments in order to track hours worked under separate departments such as Programming, Technical Support, or Shipping or separate tasks such as Welding, Painting, or Finish Work. Initially, it is important to understand the following concepts regarding InfiniTime Departments and Job Costing:
- InfiniTime includes four default departments as shown in the image above. If desired these departments can be removed. It should be noted that InfiniTime will only permit a department to be deleted if the department 1.) Is not assigned to any employees. 2.) Is not assigned to any timecard records.
- The default department is highlighted blue in the department table. When a new employee is inserted they are automatically assigned the default department.
- There is no limit to the number of departments that can be inserted into the software.
- Job Costing permits customers to track employee hours under various levels. Job costing is generally utilized in organizations where employee labor costs are of special interest when compared to the cost of finished goods such as manufacturing related organizations or where hours are billable to clients. An example Job Costing Configuration, using only InfiniTime Departments is shown below for a Construction Company. Additional details on job costing and configuration can be found in the Job Costing Section of this document.
| Department | Job | Task |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | Philly Mae Pizzeria | Framing |
When using job costing it is important to identify the lowest level. In the above example Task is the lowest level. To perform job costing using only Departments within InfiniTime for ABC Construction Company, one department would be required for each distinct Department, Job, and Task combination.. Department numbers can be broken into sections with a specific number of digits for each level in order to represent all departments, jobs, and tasks in a clear fashion. The employee can then punch in and out of tasks using the department number. Care must be taken when designing the numbering scheme in order to avoid limiting the possible combinations and providing for future growth. An example is shown below.
| InfiniTime Department Name | Department Number | | -------------------------- | ------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | | Construction | Philly Mae Pizzeria | Framing | 1010000101 | | Construction | Philly Mae Pizzeria | Drywall | 1010000102 | | Electrical | Philly Mae Pizzeria | Wiring | 2010000210 | | Electrical | Philly Mae Pizzeria | Engineering | 2010000211 |
Technical Note: The Job Costing Scenario above uses only 1 Job Costing Level (Departments) within InfiniTime. InfiniTime supports up to three Job Costing Levels. The scenario above could also be handled by configuring Departments, Jobs, and Tasks within the InfiniTime Software. One Department within InfiniTime would need be configured for each Department tracked by ABC Construction Company. One Job would need be configured within InfiniTime for each Client / Work Order serviced by ABC Construction. One Task would need to be configured for each low level task performed by ABC Construction employees. Refer to the Job Costing Section of this document for additional details. The exact configuration required for a given organization depends upon the requirements of the customer's Payroll Application for importing Employee Hours and Earnings.
Department Update Form - Introduction
The Department Update Form is used to create new Departments within the InfiniTime Software and can be accessed from the Departments Tab of the Company Update Form by clicking on Insert or by selecting an existing department and clicking on change. Initially, it is important to understand the following concepts relating to Department Configuration. Keep these in mind when preparing a list of your organization's departments for use during software configuration.
- The Department Name and Department Number are unique fields. Multiple departments cannot share the same department name or number.
- Department Cost Center - The cost center is used as a payroll identifier, providing the ability to match departments within InfiniTime to Hours Categories such as Tasks, Jobs, Classes, and/or Activities within a 3rd Party Payroll Application. Departments are generally identified by either a General Ledger Account number or an Alphanumeric Code within a payroll application. The Department Cost Center must be configured for customers who wish to track how employee hours are distributed between departments in their payroll application.
- The Default Schedule Tab of the Department Update Form is one method for defining employee schedules. Department schedules effect all employees assigned to the specific department. This scheduling method is most useful if the majority of employees within a department work the same schedule. Additional information can be found within the Scheduling Section of this document.
- The Premium Pay Tab of the Department Update Form can be used to configure a specific wage for different Hours Types (IE: Regular Hours, Overtime Hours, etc.) worked in the respective Department. Additional information can be found within the Pay Premiums Section of this document.
- The Hours Mapping Tab of the Department Update Form can be used to direct specific hours types worked in the respective Department to a different Hours Type. This feature is often utilized for Payroll Export purposes to separate hours that are paid at different rates. Additional information can be found within the Hours Mapping Section of this Document.