Timesheets: Populate linked customer from job

[25left]

We have a lot of repeat clients with multiple projects/jobs & some projects with multiple clients.

We have recently started using timebilling & job lists, and are surprised by the way the program behaves.

I would expect once assigning a linked customer to a job, when we are entering our timesheets and selecting a job number, the customer would auto populate with the "Linked customer" from the job.

Currently MYOB doesn't do this, the jobs "linked customer" is purely for reporting purposes. However if it the job "linked customer" & the Time sheet customer were linked (ie the same) the time taken to enter our  timesheets  and the number of errors of allocating work to the wrong customer would be greatly reduced.

We are also looking into importing timesheets, & this data connection would eliminate the error of incorrectly billing customers by entering the wrong customer on their timesheets.

"Connecting Jobs list customers to timesheets customers"

[Steven_M]

Hi @45left

Thanks for your feedback in regards to the AccountRight Live program.

The "Linked Customer" option for an activity is used for tracking reimbursable. This is so it can track the reimbursements of the job to the relevant customer.  Its not just a reportable field it does have a key function in the program. For more information please see Reimbursable expense I assuming from your idea you wish for the linked customer to have additional features such as being able to have that customer appear as default for activities on timesheets and activity slips. 

I would encourage other members of the MYOB Community that would like to see the linked customer play more of a entering of timesheets and activity slips to vote and comment for the idea if required.

[PELCON]

Hi I have been using Account right for some time now for my building company that I run. I no longer do the bookwork myself and have a staff member do it, but I am becoming interestingly frustrated with the way that we have to process our timesheets for our staff members and how a simple wrong click can dramatically change our billing as we use our timesheets then to do timebilling invoices.

Below is a few ideas that I think would make that programme allot more approachable for small business users especially those in the building industry as it would save allot of time doing things twice.

1- When filling out a time sheet the staff member states which job they were on, when entering on MYOB we type the job number in and then in the next column we then have to enter the client even though in the jobs list the client is linked to the account, I would have thought it would just pop up. In the unlikely event that you would have two clients could we not link two to the job card and then have a drop down box that only gives you the option of the two. Thus removing any chance of error that one click can make at the time of entering timesheets when every client we have on our card files comes up. We seem to go to allot of effort to set up our card files correctly and then they don't get used for anything.

2- Overtime

This follows on from the previous question about card files. When entering a staffs time sheet if they have done any overtime we have to enter everything twice, if the have done more that 10 hours for the day 3 time. eg

Daniel works 11 hours on Monday

Timesheet on MYOB looks like this

Base hourly =8

Overtime x1.5 =2

Overtime x 2 = 1

Add to this the above message about entering in the jobs and the clients you then end up entering three lines of information that is already known by the computer.

What I think would be a good idea is that in you employee card under standard pay you set a "calculated category"

That you type in their standard day ed eg Monday 8 base, anything more that 8 entered in under "calculated" in the pay category in the timesheet section would then know that Daniel gets 8 base then the next 2 hours are 1.5 and anything over that is 2x.

So you type in there card file for each day mon-fri base anything up to 8hours between 8-10hour =1.5 anything over 10=2x Sat 1.5x up to 2h and 2x anything over that, Sun 2x

This could be easily changed for each company depending on their EBA

Its just using all of the information that we already enter but just linking it better and removing the chance for getting something wrong. Also if you have someone new entering in timesheets on MYOB you don't need to explain the overtime rates because they only get changed in the card file.

3- MYOB on the GO

For any of your MYOB customers that pay hourly and enter timesheets, that staff don't work in one particular location have a log it for each staff member or even simply another app that is purely for letting them enter in their own timesheets in you correct format. I know their are third party apps, but they dont work well enough to try. If your own staff were using it you they would click what job they are on from the available list and then it would appear in our cloud file.

Also as we have site supervisors could there not be a way to quickly create P/O on their phones when purchasing form one of our suppliers in our card files. Then they are simply matched up on the computer when entering in the purchase register, similarity to the bank feeds.

As I said at that start I have been using this programme for a while and really like it as I am trying to grow my buisness I am always looking for other programes to make it easier for all staff members, I feel that will a few modifications this programe would outwiegh the need for many building companies to run another building programe on the side for tracking costs and allow them just to use MYOB,

Look foward to hearing back.

Scott

"Payroll"

[Aspen]

The suggestion regarding overtime etc is a great one.

MYOB offers a payroll functionality, however if we compared this payroll funtion to other purpose made Payroll Software there are a lot of gaps (obviously keeping in mind that MYOB isnt made to be a payroll solution, however a lot of great ideas can be gleaned from software that serves its purpose as a complete soloution for payroll requirements)

But if MYOB is going to have a payroll function, it should work as best as is possible. Pelcon's comments will improve the MYOB payroll feature greatly. 

Other ideas are entering in the actual start finish times, as all Australian Businesses are bound by awards/ agreements and National standards which say that in most instances staff starting before/after certain times are paid penalties, overtime, when they get their lunch breaks etc all need to be accounted for, and having rules within MYOB would be a fantastic feature to compliment the way that businesses are obligated to pay their employees.

[Steven_M]

Hi @Aspen 

Thank you for voting for this idea and your feedback, I have shared your comments with the team.

[JonathanN]

I agree.

I believe it would be a great improvement within the timesheet functionality that once a linked customer is designated to a particular job, it the customer field  automatically updates once the job is selected within the timesheet.  T

his would certainly save a bucket load of time especially when filling out timesheets for employees across multiple jobs.  I call my jobs "1234 Smith" just so it is easy remember who the customer is, otherwise I need to constantly revert back to the physical file to remember.  I know most of the jobs/customers fairly well as I work on all jobs, however this is very different for admin staff.

I also am finding that when I start a new job, and add a new customer details within the linked customer field as part of this process, the customer does not appear in the list.  When I exit the new job and check the card list, the new customer information is there, and when I go back into creating the new job again, the customer details appear in the linked customer list.  This is a bit frustrating

[Steven_M]

 Hi @JonathanN

Thank you for your feedback and voting for this idea

In regards to your point of having to close down the job and reopen it when you add a new card, rather than doing that process select to refresh that customer list. This can be done using the green arrow in the bottom right of the Linked Customer List. This should repopulate the list, after the card has been added to which you can select without the need to close the job window.

[HeatherDBS]

I think item 1 especially is a great idea. The info is there already, and it should be linked. I too find this incredibly time consuming. Or, have the option to remove the "customer" column if not required.

[MrsFerret]

Trying to remove the need to type the same information into MYOB twice, in different areas.

The particular scenario I was hoping could be improved is detailed below:

When a job is created in the jobs list, each unique job number contains information boxes for details such as "Job Name", "Description", "Linked Customer" as well as others.

When a timesheet is created, a job number is entered, and I then have to re-enter details into the "Customer Name" and "Notes" fields.

Couldn't the information from the job lists fields be linked across to the timesheet field when the job number is entered?  Therefore automatically placing the details from the "Linked Customer" field on the job number to the "Customer Name" field on the timesheet.  As well as the "Description" details from the jobs list to the "Notes" field on the timesheet.

[Chris-RCS-Group]

All the staff at our company support the change request to automatically datafill the customer name linked to a job as a default when entering timesheet activities. It will avoid erroneous errors and save time.

many thanks,

Chris

[Land_Surveyor]

Yes please autofill the "job linked customer" after the "job selection" when entering timesheets (TS).  This will reduce errors where timesheet entries are allocated to the correct job but the wrong customer.  These errors result in the "Prepare Time Billing Invoice" not having all the TS entries as the invoice is created by selecting the "Customer" and then the "Job". 

Alternativly the "Prepare Time Billing Invoice" could have an option to create the invoice by selecting "Job" and then "Customer".