Add Basic Information About Staffers on the Staff Dashboard

Use the Basic Info tab, located on the Staff Dashboard, to add details about your staffer. On this tab alone, you can:

• View contact details.
• Integrate a staffer with QuickBooks.
• Determine a staffer’s cost rates and management settings.
• Establish billing rates.
• Set up cost centers.
• Incorporate custom fields.

We’ll cover all of these details in this article.

After you add a new staffer in BigTime, you’ll be directed to the Basic Info tab within the Staff Dashboard. It’ll look like this:

Now, let’s start adding details about your staffer!

Contact Information

When you add a new staffer to BigTime, their name and email address automatically populate on this tab. You can modify this information by typing directly into the fields. You can also add a title, such as president or software engineer.

You’ll also notice a STATUS field. At BigTime, we refer to the information that populates in this field as a status code. By default, each staffer has two status codes to pick from: "terminated" or "active." Newly added staffers will have an “active” status. You can change this status to “terminated” or create your own status code, like “sabbatical” or “maternity leave.”

QuickBooks Integration

Add QuickBooks details in order to link a staffer with your QuickBooks file. Click here to learn about the QuickBooks integration.

Budget and Management Settings

Add employment details and expectations under BUDGET/MANAGEMENT SETTINGS.

Below are brief descriptions of each field within this section:

• Capacity. The number of hours a staffer is expected to work in a month is capacity. In BigTime, this number is usually 160, since the average full-time staffer works 40 hours each week for four weeks each month. This field defaults to 160, but you can change this number by typing into the text field.
  
  
• Cost rate. This term refers to how much an employee costs the company. For example, Zack charges $100 per hour, and his cost rate is $25. That means it costs the company $25 for each hour he bills.
  
  
• Employee start and end dates. Add this information by typing a numerical value into the text field. Or click into the text field and select a date from the calendar that populates.
  
  
• Department. This is the division your staffer works in, like sales or editorial. If you’d like to add more values, click EDIT THESE VALUES at the end of the picklist.
  
  Alternatively, you can click MY COMPANY...FIELD VALUES.A new window will populate, and you’ll select FIELD VALUES...STAFF DEPT. Now you’re able to add new values, which will populate in the department picklist.
  
  Click the hyperlink ADD NEW VALUE, and add details about the value on the right-side of the window. To modify existing values, click on a value listed on the left-side of the window and make modifications on the right-side. Then, click SAVE to save your work.

• Default Category. A default category means a specific category, like editorial, automatically populates under the Category section in the staffer’s timesheet. The staffer can override this default by clicking on the red triangle and selecting another category from the picklist.

Billing Rates

Each staffer can have up to five different billing rates, which is helpful when a staffer has multiple rates, such as a discounted rate and a standard rate. Type in the billing rates into the text fields. You don’t have to fill out all five rates.

NOTE: By default, the five different billing rates appear as Rate A, Rate B, and so on. However, you can customize these labels by adjusting your firm’s lexicon settings. For example, you may prefer “Standard Rate” instead of “Rate A”, or “Discounted Rate” instead of “Rate B.” 

Cost Centers

Businesses use cost centers to organize expenses and allocate costs. For example, if a staffer buys a new computer, the cost will be applied to the engineering cost center. The cost center section in BigTime allows you to select the staffer role (such as administration or sales) and service (such as consulting or engineering). Click on the red triangle to make your selection from a picklist.

NOTE: You can adjust the lexicon for these field values. For example, replace the label “N/A” with “Location,” if your firm has multiple locations. Then, run a report and see which office location, Chicago or Boston, is under-performing and costing you the most money.

Here are some additional points to keep in mind:

• Staff Role. This refers to the function of your employee, such as administration or sales. To add more values, click EDIT THESE VALUES at the end of the picklist.
  
  Alternatively, click MY COMPANY...FIELD VALUES. Then, click COST CENTERS on the gray navigation bar, and you’ll be directed to Staff Role.
  
  Now you can add new values. Here, you’ll add cost centers that'll populate in the staff role picklist. Click the hyperlink ADD NEW COST CENTER, and add details about it on the right-side of the window. You can also modify existing values. Click on a value listed on the left-side of the window, and make changes on the right-side. Click SAVE to save your work.
  
  
• Service Offering. This value describes the service a staffer offers, such as consulting. You can add values to this picklist by clicking EDIT THESE VALUES at the end of the picklist.
  
  Alternatively, you can click MY COMPANY...FIELD VALUES. Then, click COST CENTERS...SERVICE OFFERING. 
  
  Now you can add new values that’ll populate in the service offering picklist. Click the hyperlink ADD COST CENTER, and add the details about it on the right-side of the window. You can also modify existing values: click on one of the values listed on the left-side of the window and make changes on the right-side. Click SAVE to save your work.

Add a Custom Field

Create a custom field in order to add extra information, such as a website link or a few reminders pertaining to a project.