Office Timesheets Help

Office Timesheets allows you to make collective changes to task, expense and time entries. With one command you can make changes to hundreds of entries.

Use the Mass Update… command of the View Sheets tab to update or change all (or a subset) of your time, expense and/or task entries.

View Sheets tab: The Mass Update Screen

Note: The Mass Update screen contains four panels—Elements, Time/Expense Entries, Employees, and Tasks. Excluding the Elements panel, the other three panels may or may not be visible depending upon the access rights provided to you in the Security Policy attached to your User Account.

See Providing access to Task-related Functions and Providing access to Entry-related Functions for more details about setting the Mass Update access rights. See Controlling Access with Security Policies for more details about Security Policies.

The Mass Update… command is very powerful. Using the Mass Update screen you can—

Change the status of time and/or expense entries.
Lock time entries.
Lock expense entries.
Change pay rates.
Change the start and /or due dates for a task.
Change the status of task entries.

The following table describes the elements of the Mass Update screen—

Item

How to use the Item

Default Value
(if any)

The Elements panel

Use the contents of the Elements panel to specify the criteria for selecting the records that you want to update. Click on the various Ellipsis button buttons and select values from the Select Element dialog box that appears.

Note: The items in the Elements panel are user-defined. Hence the items on your screen may be different from the items shown in the above figure. (See Defining the Elements to Track Time and Expense Entries for more details on defining element items.)

Tip: You need not select items from all the elements. For example, if you want to update a particular employee’s Standard Pay Rate, only select the employee’s name (by clicking on the Ellipsis button in the Employee row). Or, if you want to update the status of a specific task of a particular client, then select only the Client’s name (from the button in the Client row) and the Project name (from the button in the Project row).

Office Timesheets will update the values of only those records that match the criteria you set in the Elements panel.

The Time/Expense Entries panel

Use the Time/Expense Entries panel to select whether to modify the status of time entries, expense entries or both. If you specify a range of dates (From/To), Office Timesheets will update only those entries that fall within the range of dates.

Modify expense entries

Check the Modify expense entries check box if you want to modify the status of Expense entries.

Note: The rest of the items (i.e. From, To and the Entry Status panel) appear only after you have selected either the Modify expense entries check box or the Modify time entries check box.

Unchecked

Modify time entries

Check the Modify time entries check box if you want to modify the status of Time entries.

Unchecked

From

If you want to limit the update to a range of entries between two specific dates, specify the starting date in the From box, using the Date Picker.

Note: The From box is visible only after you have selected either the Modify expense entries check box or the Modify time entries check box.

Note: If you don’t specify the From date, Office Timesheets will update entries starting from the first entry.

Hidden from view

If you want to limit the update to a range of entries between two specific dates, specify the ending date in the To box, using the Date Picker.

Note: The To box is visible only after you have selected either the Modify expense entries check box or the Modify time entries check box.

Note: If you don’t specify the To date, Office Timesheets will update entries right upto the last entry.

Hidden from view

The Entry Status Fields panel

The Entry Status Fields panel displays the names of the various Entry Status Fields.

Note: The Entry Status Fields panel is visible only after you have selected either the Modify expense entries check box or the Modify time entries check box.

The panel also contains two columns—Include and Set as. For every status field you want to change, select a value in the Include column, and specify the new value in the Set as column. For example, to mark the entries as 'Billable', in the Billable row, select “Unchecked” in the Include column and “Checked” in the Set as column.

Tip: At times, you may want to change the status of an entry irrespective of the current status of that entry. In that case, select “Ignore” in the Include column, and specify the new value in the Set as column. For example, to set the Approval status of all entries to “Approved” irrespective of the current Approval status of the entries, select “Ignore” in the Include column, and “Approved” in the Set as column.

Note: The entry status fields are all user-defined. Hence the items on your screen may be different from the items shown in the above figure, or mentioned in the above examples. (See Customizing Entry Status Values for more details on defining entry status fields.)

Hidden from view

Include

For any Entry Status value you want to change, select the current value of the Entry Status Field from the drop-down list in the Include column. For example, to change the status of Overtime from “No” to “Yes”, in the Overtime row, select “Unchecked” in the Include column.

Set as

For any Entry Status value you want to change, select the new value of the Entry Status Field from the drop-down list in the Set as column. For example, to change the status of Overtime from “No” to “Yes”, in the Overtime row, select “Checked” in the Set as column.

The Employees panel

Use the Employees panel to lock time and/or expense entries, and change the rates for employees.

Lock time

Check the Lock time check box to disallow changing of time entries prior to a specific date. Specify the date using the Date Picker. Office Timesheets will then lock the time entries prior to the specified date.

Note: The Date Picker will appear only after you check the Lock time check box.

Unchecked

Lock expense

Check the Lock expense check box to disallow changing of expense entries prior to a specific date. Specify the date using the Date Picker. Office Timesheets will then lock the expense entries prior to the specified date.

Note: The Date Picker will appear only after you check the Lock expense check box.

Unchecked

Change rates

Check the Change rates check box to change the standard or overtime rates for the employees. Select the rate item that you wish to change from the drop-down list.

Note: The drop-down list and the Rate, Start Date and End Date items will appear only after you check Change rates.

Unchecked

Rate

Type the new rate in the Rate box.

Note: The Rate box becomes visible only after you have checked the Change rates check box.

Hidden from view

Start Date

In the Start Date box, use the Date Picker to specify the starting date for the rate change.

Note: The Start Date box becomes visible only after you have selected the Change rates check box.

Hidden from view

End Date

Check the End Date check box to specify an ending date. Once you select the End Date check box, Office Timesheets will allow you to specify the ending date, using the Date Picker.

Note: The End Date box becomes visible only after you have selected the Change rates check box.

Hidden from view

The Tasks Panel

Use the Tasks panel to change the start date, due date and rates for tasks. You can also change the value of the task status fields.

Change start date

Check the Change start date check box to change the starting date of the tasks. Use the Date Picker to specify the new start date.

Note: The Date Picker will appear only after you check Change start date.

Unchecked

Change due date

Check the Change due date check box to change the due date of the tasks. Use the Date Picker to specify the new start date.

Note: The Date Picker will appear only after you check Change due date.

Unchecked

Change rate

Check the Change rate check box to change the rate for the tasks. Type the new rate in the Change rate box.

Note: The Change rate box will appear only after you check the Change rate checkbox.

Unchecked

The Task Status Fields panel

The Task Status Fields panel displays the names of the various Task Status Fields. The panel contains two columns—Include and Set as. For every status field you want to change, select a value in the Include column, and specify the new value in the Set as column. For example, to mark the tasks as 'Billable', in the Billable row, select “Unchecked” in the Include column and “Checked” in the Set as column.

Tip: At times, you may want to change the status of an entry irrespective of the current status of that entry. In that case, select “Ignore” in the Include column, and specify the new value in the Set as column. For example, to mark a task as “Cancelled” irrespective of the current status of the tasks, select “Ignore” in the Include column of the Cancelled row, and “Checked” in the Set as column.

Note: The task status fields are all user-defined. Hence the items on your screen may be different from the items shown in the above figure, or mentioned in the above examples. (See Customizing Task Status Values for more details on defining task status fields.)

Include

For any Task Status value you want to change, select the current value of the Task Status Field from the drop-down list in the Include column. For example, to change the status of Billable from “No” to “Yes”, in the Billable row, select “Unchecked” in the Include column.

Set as

For any Task Status value you want to change, select the new value of the Task Status Field from the drop-down list in the Set as column. For example, to change the status of Billable from “No” to “Yes”, in the Billable row, select “Checked” in the Set as column.

The OK button

After specifying the details as given above, click the OK button to perform the update. Office Timesheets will update the entries and then display a message.

Message that appears after completing the mass updating of entries.

Note: Office Timesheets displays this message whenever it completes the Mass Update process even if it has not found any records to update. Therefore, after performing the update, always remember to check a couple of entries to verify that the update has taken place.

Tip: Office Timesheets performs the update only after you click the OK button. Therefore, if you change your mind and do not want to update the entries, simply go to some other screen, without clicking the OK button.