BigTime gives you the flexibility to customize timesheets. You can add columns and make certain information required, like notes.
This article will first explain how to navigate to your timesheet customization setting. Then, we’ll explain your customizing options.
Navigate to Your Timesheet Settings
1. Click TIME/EXPENSE...TIMESHEETS on your navigation bar to get to your timesheet.
2. Make sure you’re in a weekly view, since the customization settings are only available in this view. Get to this view by clicking on the WEEK button, located near the top-left corner of your timesheet.
3. Now, click on the GEAR ICON located on the far right of your timesheet window.
Your window should look like this:
We’ll go through each customization option next.
Customize Your Timesheet
Let’s start on the right-side of your window. We’ll start at the top and work our way down.
First Weekday, Submission Period, and Entry Rounding
At the top of the right-hand window, you’ll have some logistics to add or update: first weekday, submission period, and entry rounding. We’ll explain each one below:
- First Weekday. Begin your timesheets any day of the week. To select a day, click on the gray arrow under FIRST WEEKDAY. A picklist will populate and you can make your selection.
- Submission Period. How often do you want your staffers to submit their timesheets? Every week? Every other week? Pick from four options: weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly. Click the gray arrow under SUBMISSION PERIOD and make your selection.
Note: If you choose “bi-weekly,” then you can specify which week you want to start on. Click on the hyperlink MODIFY BI-WEEKLY START DATE and you can make your selection.
- Entry Rounding. You can control the rounding settings for time entered. For example, if Joe enters 2.75 hours for ABC Project, that time can be rounded 3 hours if you select ¼-hour (15 minutes). You have six rounding options to choose from, including the option not to round. Click on the gray arrow under ENTRY ROUNDING and make your selection.
- Lock Each Timesheet Period. Check the dialog box next to the phrase LOCK EACH TIMESHEET PERIOD to close the timesheet entry at the end of each submission period (the end of a submission period is determined under the label SUBMISSION PERIOD, near the top of the window). If you lock each timesheet period, two additional text boxes will appear: grace period and lock time entry date.
- Grace period. This gives your staffers a few extra days to enter time and submit it. You can update the grace period by typing a number into the text box.
- Lock time entry date. The date in this field will automatically populate based on the number of grace period days entered. Update this date by typing into the text box.
Detail Fields
You can require staffers to add certain details to their timesheets. For example, to require staffers to add notes, check the corresponding box under the REQUIRED column. You can also change the label to any field by typing into the text box under the LABEL column.
1. To add more fields, click on the button labeled ADD/EDIT CUSTOM FIELDS.
2. Several more options will populate. Below the gray header labeled FIELD, select the hyperlink labeled +ADD DETAIL FIELD to see all your field options. Notice that when you click that hyperlink, its name will change to -HIDE FIELD LIST.
3. Check the dialog boxes next to the field you want to add. Then, follow the same process as above: check the dialog box under the REQUIRED column if you want to require staffers to select the task, in this example, and change the label if you wish.
4. You can also check the dialog box at the end of your window—SHOW OVER/UNDER CAPACITY AFTER DAILY TOTALS—if you want BigTime to show your capacity totals. Checking the box next to SHOW BILLABLE % OF CAPACITY will show you what percentage of your capacity totals are actually billable.
5. Remember to click UPDATE TIMESHEET FORMAT, near the top-left of your window, to save any changes you’ve made.
Update Timesheet Columns
Now that we’ve gone through the details, let’s explore how to update the timesheet columns.
1. To edit a column, click on the GEAR ICON in the top right corner of your timesheet window.
2. You’ll be directed to the section where you can edit the timesheet format. Click on the column’s name. In the example below, we clicked on PROJECT.
3. The selected column will populate with many details that can be modified. Click on the gray arrow under the respective fields. A picklist will populate and you can make a new selection. You can also modify the column label by typing a new label into the text box under COLUMN LABEL.
4. Remember to click the SAVE button, located near the end of the column, to save your changes.
5. You can also click the blue PLUS SIGN button, located near the middle of your column, to add new columns with the fields of your choice.
A new column with a picklist will generate, from which you'll be able to check off which fields you'd like to be displayed.
After you save your work, your timesheet will populate with the changes you make. In the image below, we added a project column, as well as several others (class, task and labor code) which are in gray.
You can also add or remove columns at any time.