Category Archives: Alternate user

Alternate user

What happens when someone isn’t here? Let’s talk about Alternates

TimeControl Alternate User , Chris Vandersluis, Christopher Vandersluis, Christopher Peter VandersluisOne of the first questions we were ever asked about TimeControl features way back in version 1, some 30 years ago was “What do I do if a user is absent?”  It’s a simple question and our answer was to ask some more questions.  Were we referring to an end user?  That was simple.  TimeControl could already allow anyone in the release path to enter a timesheet on their behalf.  This strategy led to several deployments where an administrative assistant would be entered into the release path before the end-user who would normally do their timesheet.  Given the clerk was in the release path, they could create a timesheet on behalf of the other user.  But that was the easiest.

“What about if it’s a supervisor who approves timesheets?” we were asked.  This quickly led us to creating one of the least talked about but most used TimeControl features, The Alternate User.

TimeControl Alternate Users, Chris Vandersluis, Christopher Vandersluis, Christopher Peter VandersluisAn Alternate User is a user who has been given permission to enter TimeControl as though someone else.  If you are logging in to TimeControl and you have been defined as an alternate user by another user or users, you’ll get an extra login screen question asking who you’d like to log in as.

If you select to login as someone else, then at the top of the screen you’ll see the username of who you’ve logged in as and your own username in brackets. Here, Joseph Gardner has logged in as Chris Peters.
TimeControl Alternate User Logged in, Chris Vandersluis, Christopher Vandersluis, Christopher Peter VandersluisYou will have all the views, data access, features and other privileges of the user who you’ve logged in as.  But, as always, TimeControl is keeping track of who actually made changes.  So, if you release a timesheet for approval as an alternate.  The visible record will say that it was the alternate user but in the background, for auditing purposes, TimeControl also has your own username identified as who actually did the action.

You can easily create your own Alternate user in the Alternate User tab of MyAccount accessible at the top right of the screen.  When you do, you can also enter the date the alternate user’s permissions will expire.  Plus, you can have numerous alternate users and even send them email notifications if they have logged in as you.

If you are an organization that uses this feature a lot, then when you click on your username at the top of the screen, you can instantly revert back to your own user account or to any of the alternate users who have authorized you to be an alternate who are presented in the list.

Alternate users has been around TimeControl for a very long time but it remains one of the most used features.

 

Alternate user, banked time, dashboard, hr timesheets, human resources, time and attendance, timecontrol, TimeControl 6.2, TimeControl Mobile, TimeRequest, Tips, Tips and tricks, vacation, Validation Rules

Manage your vacations with TimeControl

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It’s summer time and the vacation schedules are just about to get underway. Here at HMS we thought it would be a good time to share with you a free guide on how to use TimeControl to better manage vacations in your organization. TimeControl is one of the most recognized timesheet systems for organizations who need a single timesheet interface to fulfill the multiple requirements of payroll, human resources, project management and finance.

vacations webcast 2 We’ve created a free webcast narrated by HMS Software’s President, Chris Vandersluis. It’s only a few minutes long and you can see some key functionality demonstrated that helps organizations manage vacations whether from an end-user or administrator perspective. Included in the webcast are discussions on:

The TimeControl Dashboard
The TimeControl dashboard includes a module by default which shows Vacation, Sick Leave and Personal time banks with indicators of how much time the employee has available in each bank, how much they’ve taken and how much is remaining. Just knowing how much time is left available to them lets employees plan their vacations better.

Managing Banked Time
TimeControl can also control banked time in a number of ways. TimeControl can be configured to accrue vacation as its earned so the bank of time increases each month. You can also track banked overtime if your organization has such a policy and track deposits of overtime into the bank and withdrawals of time off from the bank.

Vacation Approvals with TimeRequest™
TimeControl’s TimeRequest feature let’s the employee request approval for vacation right inside the timesheet itself. Then, once approved, the vacation is automatically inserted into the employee’s future timesheet.

Validation Rules
TimeControl’s Validation Rules let administrators determine what vacation rules are acceptable. You can restrict an employee from taking time that they’re not entitled to or, if you allow it, permitting time to be taken before it’s earned. These business rules have everyone who enters their vacation timesheet already complying with the organization’s policies.

Alternate User Functionality
We’ve thought of supervisors also. After all, managers and supervisors take vacation too! TimeControl’s Alternate User function lets a supervisor delegate their approval responsibilities to someone else while they’re away. (TimeControl still tracks who has actually done the approvals for proper auditing.)

TimeControl Mobile
Finally, if the vacation is going so well that you’d like to keep it going for another week, TimeControl Mobile is a part of every TimeControl implementation. Use your Smartphone to log into TimeControl from wherever you are and add a week’s vacation in your timesheet!

To see the free webcast, visit the TimeControl HR Solutions page at http://www.timecontrol.com/solutions/hr/. The webcast is available in the Webcasts area at the bottom of the page.