Initial Setup

Preparing to migrate from an existing time and attendance / payroll system to TimeTrex.

For optimal results and a smooth transition period, it is recommended that you allow 4 pay periods running parallel with the existing system (2 for time & attendance & 2 for payroll runs) to determine if everything is set up correctly in TimeTrex and the data is accurate. This allows time to test the system, compare results, make any necessary changes and compare again.

 

Quick Start Wizard

Upon the first sign in to TimeTrex the Quick Start Wizard will automatically appear. The Quick Start Wizard is used to insert preset data most commonly used for the locations your company does business in. It is designed to jump start the setup process after which you may need to make further necessary adjustments.

 

Step 1	Read the instructions and then Click the blue right arrow,  to continue to the next step.
Step 2	Select the Time & Date options from the drop-down boxes for preferred settings that you would like to use to display information throughout TimeTrex. See New Hire Defaults>Employee Preferences Tab.
Step 3	Regardless if you use TimeTrex to process payroll or not, entering Pay Period Schedules is critical. Select the Pay Period Frequency from the drop-down box. Then, enter the start date, end date and transaction date for the next four pay periods and TimeTrex will automatically create subsequent pay periods for you.
Step 4	Select one or more location your employees reside within. Click to add more than one location. TimeTrex will automatically set up default policies based on commonly used policies for the location(s) you entered. If you happen to have more than one legal entity and only want to apply the new policies to a single legal entity, then you can chose which one.
Step 5	Click the green checkmark, to go to the Employee>Employees screen to start adding employees and tracking their attendance. Select the import button, if you want to import multiple employee records at one time.

Once you have gone through the Quick Start Wizard in most cases you would not go through this procedure again. Refer to the Initial Setup Guide below to edit any data entered through the Quick Start Wizard as well as additional steps to the setup process.

 

 

Initial Setup Guide

The chart below which includes links to further documentation is provided as a guide to assist you with the initial setup process. As you go through these steps you may see default data that has already been entered from the Quick Start Wizard. You should verify this data is correct or edit and enter additional data depending on your particular circumstances. Although the chart below is listed in the recommended order of setup, it may still be necessary to go back and forth between steps to ensure they are properly set up as required.

Some steps are optional depending on your needs, however steps that are absolutely required are marked with an asterisk (*). Where you see the Import button you have the option to import the specific data through the Import Wizard.

 

A. TIME AND ATTENDANCE

1. Company Information

STEP	MENU	NOTES
Company Information	Company -> Company Information	Company Address etc.
Legal Entities	Company -> Legal Entities	Only required if your organization has multiple legal entities. If you plan on using the payroll module and your legal entities are similar to each other, it may be beneficial to setup Payroll section (B) for one legal entity first, then Copy that legal entity to which will bring over the Payroll setup with it. You can then make any necessary adjustments for the few differences between entities.
Branches	Company -> Branches	It is recommend to add at least one branch.
Departments	Company -> Departments
Titles	Employee -> Titles
Create Pay Period Schedule *	Payroll -> Pay Period Schedules	Skip this step if already created through the Quick Start Wizard.

 

2. Policy Building Blocks

Although you would create these Policy Building Blocks in the following order you may not know which Policy building blocks you will need until you start setting up some of the other Policies in the next table below. So you can come back to these as often as needed. See Setting up Policies.

STEP	MENU	NOTES
Pay Formulas	Policy -> Pay Formulas
Pay Codes	Policy -> Pay Codes	Depend on Pay Formulas.
Contributing Pay Codes	Policy -> Contributing Pay Codes
Contributing Shifts *	Policy -> Contributing Shifts	Depend on Contributing Pay Codes.

 

3. Policies

Refer to above Policy Building Blocks as prerequisites.

STEP	MENU	NOTES
Regular Time Policies *	Policy -> Regular Time Policies	Depend on Policy Groups and Contributing Shifts. Time assigned to one regular time policy cannot also be assigned to another.
Overtime Policies	Policy -> Overtime Policies	Depend on Contributing Shifts.
Meal Policies	Policy -> Meal Policies
Break Policies	Policy -> Break Policies
Premium Policies	Policy -> Premium Policies
Recurring Holidays	Policy -> Recurring Holidays
Holiday Policies	Policy -> Holiday Policies	Depend on Recurring Holidays.
Accrual Accounts	Policy -> Accrual Accounts
Accrual Policies	Policy -> Accrual Policies	Depend on Accrual Accounts. Hour based accrual policies depend on Contributing Shifts.
Absence Policies	Policy -> Absence Policies
Schedule Policies	Policy -> Schedule Policies
Exception Policies	Policy -> Exception Policies
Rounding Policies	Policy -> Rounding Policies

 

4. Employee Information

STEP	MENU	NOTES
Create Employee *	Employee -> Employees	When creating employees it is important to consider using User names & Passwords or Quick Punch ID's & Passwords that will need to be communicated to the employees so they can sign in to TimeTrex or punch In/Out.
Employee Wages	Employee -> Wages
Policy Groups *	Policy -> Policy Groups	Must set up at least one policy group to apply one or more policies to an employee.
Create Hierarchy	Company -> Hierarchy	Only required if you have supervisors.
New Hire Defaults	Employee -> New Hire Defaults	Configure the New Hire Defaults, ignoring Taxes & Deductions for now.

 

5. Scheduling (optional)

STEP	MENU	NOTES
Recurring Schedule Templates	Schedule -> Recurring Templates
Recurring Schedules	Schedule -> Recurring Schedules	Depend on Recurring Schedule Templates.

 

6. Attendance

STEP	MENU	NOTES
Punching In/Out	In/Out Sign In screen, Quick Punch Kiosk (Tablet) / Mobile App	Have employees punch in/out, using the preferred method, for one or two pay periods to make sure all policies are set correct.
Check Exceptions	Attendance -> Exceptions	Check for any exceptions that appear in employee timesheets and make any corrections necessary.
Editing Punches	Attendance -> Timesheet	Double click on any exception that requires the punch to be edited.
Timesheet Reports	Report -> Timesheet Reports	View/Print Timesheet reports and verify the data is correct.
Payroll Export Report	Report -> Payroll Reports	Only necessary if you are using a third-party payroll system.

 

B. PAYROLL (optional)

1. Pay Stub Accounts, Tax & Deductions

STEP	MENU	NOTES
Pay Stub Accounts	Payroll -> Pay Stub Accounts	It is not recommended to delete or rename default pay stub accounts unless absolutely necessary.
Taxes & Deductions	Payroll -> Taxes & Deductions	Assigned to employees.
Taxes & Deduction Employee Settings	Payroll -> Taxes & Deductions	Marital (or Filing) status, claim amounts etc.
New Hire Defaults	Employee -> New Hire Defaults	Update the New Hire Defaults to include the Default Tax / Deduction records.
Test Run (parallel pay period). It is recommended to complete two parallel runs with the previous payroll system to compare results paying special attention to the type of taxes and deductions and make any necessary corrections. Acceptable discrepancies when comparing results would be small rounding differences, missing opening balances/accruals since they have not been added yet or a tax deduction cap applies at the time of year you do the test run. After you are confident that the system is calculating payroll correctly, delete all test run pay stubs created before totally switching over to TimeTrex or 'going live'.

 

2. Banking and Opening Balance Amounts

STEP	MENU	NOTES
Create Remittance Source Accounts	Payroll -> Remittance Sources	Determines where the payment or money comes from as well as the payment type or format. For example, payments come from the company's bank account in the form of a direct deposit or printed check.
Confirm EFT/ACH or Check Format	Click the Sample File button.	Generate a direct deposit Sample File for testing with your bank or generate and print a sample check to confirm the data aligns with the existing or chosen check stock. For more information on direct deposit file formats or customizing check formats see Remittance Sources.
Employee Pay Methods	Employee -> Pay Methods	How each employee is paid, such as by direct deposit to the employee's bank account or by printed check. The pay methods available to employees depend on the remittance source accounts created.
Create Opening Balance/YTD Amounts (Vacation/Taxes)	Payroll -> Pay Stubs or Payroll -> Pay Stub Amendments	Create Pay Stubs for Opening Balance/YTD dollar amounts. See Mid-Year Payroll Migration. NOTE:  Opening Balance/YTD amounts should only be entered after testing is complete and you are going live in the very next payroll run to ensure accurate year-to-date values. If you do not go live in that pay period the opening balance/YTD amounts will have to be re-entered as they will have changed.
Final check of pay stubs generated for your first live payroll.

 

3. Tax Wizard

STEP	MENU	NOTES
Create Remittance Agencies	Payroll -> Remittance Agencies	Determines which agencies receive funds or information as a part of payroll.
Create Remittance Agency Events	Payroll -> Remittance Agencies, Events tab	Specifies the events that apply to your company and the exact dates when payment or filing is required. Review each of the default events and Enable any that apply and Disable any that do not apply.

 

4. Time Balances

STEP	MENU	NOTES
Create Accrual Time Balances	Attendance -> Accruals	Add the accrual time balances from previous software or manual records. When entering accruals consider using the type, Initial Balance.

 

5. Record of Employment (ROE) - for Canada only

STEP	MENU	NOTES
Create Record of Employment	Employee -> Record of Employment	If in Canada, issue ROE's to employees from your previous payroll system up to the first live payroll in TimeTrex. Use reason code (K) Other / Change of Service Provider. Then go to Employee -> Record of Employment, click New and in Form Setup tab change Earliest First Day Since Last ROE to the day after the Last Day for Which Paid date set in the ROE's. This allows future ROE's to be easily generated completely within TimeTrex. Click the Form button, then Save Setup.

 

If you are running TimeTrex On-Site, confirm with your IT department that the data is set to be backed-up on a daily basis. This applies only to On-site applications as Cloud-hosted TimeTrex is already backed-up.