Permissions control the ability of your Users to see certain data and take specific actions. Before moving forward review Time Clock Administrator - Required User Permissions.
One or more people in your organization should be selected to work with the Jackrabbit Time Clock.
Managing the Time Clock is a four-step process that should be completed in the following order:
- View time entries and resolve incomplete time entries.
- Approve or Unapprove time entries.
- Close the pay period (all time must be approved before a pay period can be closed).
- Export to Excel to work with the data or export it to Express Payroll for payroll processing.
Jackrabbit only accepts a 12-hour format when entering time into the time fields. You will be prompted to enter the next digit and am or pm. Note: when entering a single-digit number, you must either enter a "0" before the number or enter a ":" after the number. Military time is not accepted!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why can't I see some of the options under the Time Clock menu?
A. There are several User ID permissions that control a User's ability to work with the Time Clock.
These permissions are located in the Staff and Staff Portal permission categories. Edit a User ID's permissions from the Gear (icon) > Settings > General > User IDs (left menu) > click link on the User ID to be edited > User Permissions (left menu).
Refer to Time Clock Administrator - Required User Permissions for a complete list.
Q. Can I export staff time data from Jackrabbit to a payroll system?
A. Jackrabbit exports time data (hours) to Express Payroll for payroll processing and to Excel as an CSV file. Additionally, most reports are exportable to Excel using the Export button on the report.
Q. Why is the Time Clock time off?
A. Check your Daylight Savings time settings. Go to the Gear (icon) > Settings > General > Organization Defaults (left menu) > Time & Date Settings (section).
Review and confirm your Time Zone and Observe Daylight Saving settings are correct. Enter current DST Start and DST End dates. Click Save Changes.
If a Jackrabbit User has appropriate permissions, all time entries are viewable, for each staff member, under their Time Card tab.
Time entries that have been approved are highlighted in yellow. Hours that have been split are highlighted in brown and when the hours are displayed in red, it indicates that the actual hours have been changed.
Time entries may also be viewed when Approving Time or using Time Clock Reports.
Incomplete Time Entries
Any staff person that doesn't have an out time for the day is considered an Incomplete Time Entry. To find Incomplete Time Entries, go to the Staff menu > Time Clock > Incomplete Time Entries. It is important to go through these regularly to find staff with Incomplete time entries.
You can either enter individual Out Times for each Incomplete Time Entry, or if all the Incomplete Time Entries are checked out at the same time, enter the time in the Set Out-Time for all Incomplete Time Entries field. This is a global box, so all Incomplete Time Entries will be marked with this time. Save Changes.
Incomplete Time Entries are also displayed on the Executive Dashboard in the Alerts widget. Click the alert to open the Incomplete Time Entries Report.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do I remove time entries with zero hours?
A. From the staff member's record, on the Time Card tab, use the Time Period or From/To dates to locate the time entries you wish to edit. Click the Garbage Can icon next to the time entry you want to delete.
Q. How do I delete a time entry?
A. From the staff member's Time Clock tab, click the Garbage Can icon next to the time entry you want to delete. The Garbage Can icon will only appear next to unapproved time entries. If the time entry you want to delete has been previously approved, you will need to unapprove the time entry before you are able to delete it. See Manage the Time Clock Step 2 - Approve/Unapprove Time for more information.
Q. What happens if I enter time for a past pay period?
A. It will appear as approved in the current pay period, it will be ‘paid’ with the current. However, it will still be dated with the prior date.
Q. How is time computed in the Time Clock when a staff member works a partial hour?
A. The clock recognizes minutes as a portion of an hour and computes them accordingly. Example: Sarah clocked in at 3:46 pm and clocked out at 4:04 pm. She worked 18 minutes, so Jackrabbit calculates the partial hour as 18 minutes / 60 minutes and displays the result as .30 (18 / 60 = .30).
Q. If I pay a flat fee for events instead of an hourly rate, how should this be entered?
A. When staff members are paid a flat amount, their time needs to be entered as the quantity of work, not the hours actually worked. For example, Jen is paid $100 per birthday party, and Jen worked for "1" party last weekend. Jen would record a time entry as "1 hour" instead of the actual hours worked. 1 hour, in this case, accounts for "1" event at the flat rate of pay (even if Jen worked 2 pm to 5 pm, she should enter 1 hour as the total time worked).
If you look at Estimated Gross Wages, create a Department for the flat-amount type of work (for example, "Parties"). In our example, Jen would have a Department Rate of $100 for the Parties department.
It's also possible to record a Time Entry while logged into Jackrabbit (without launching the Staff Portal). In order to do this, the user must have a Jackrabbit User ID (not just a Staff Portal Login ID) and have appropriate permissions for that User ID.
- Go to the Staff (menu) > Active Staff.
- Click the staff member's name.
- Click the Add Time Entry button.
- If the staff member has a Manual In/Out or a Clock In/Out time entry method, the Add Time Entry window displays with an In Time and Out Time field.
- If the staff member has the Total Hours time entry method, the Add Time Entry window will offer a Total Time field.
- After entering time, be sure to click Save. If prompted, click OK. The entered time will be recorded on the staff member's Time Card tab.
In order to complete a pay period, it is necessary for all time to be approved. Time can be approved as soon as the time entry is created. If you have assigned Managers to Departments, you may decide to have the Managers approve time. They can choose to approve time in any frequency they prefer (daily, weekly, etc.), or they can wait and perform the approval process at the end of the pay period.
If you pay instructors for the time before or after class/day/time entry, be sure you set a Time Buffer. See the Time Clock: Time Entry Settings topic for details on setting a Time Buffer.
Approve/Unapprove Time Entries
Follow these steps to walk through the time entry approval process.
- Point to Staff (menu) > Time Clock > Approve/Unapprove Time. If needed, filter your search by selecting criteria from the Search Criteria section.
- Select a Display Setting.
- Click Preview Staff Hours.
- Click the Note (icon) if any contain the word Note so that you can read any messages left by staff.
- Use the Email icon to email staff members any questions you may have.
- Make changes to time if necessary.
- Approve hours by clicking the Approve checkbox for each entry or use Check All Rows to approve time globally.
- Click Save Changes.
Display Settings
Display Settings offers three choices.
Staff Summary
This displays the total hours per staff person per department.
Individual Time Entries
This displays the in/out times and the actual number of hours worked for each time entry.
When the Individual Time Record option is selected, the Show Actual vs. Scheduled Hours? and the Find Time Entries from prior pay periods? fields become active. If Show Actual vs. Scheduled Hours? is set to Yes, the result will indicate both the Actual Hours and the hours a staff person was scheduled to work. If Actual Hours are higher than Scheduled Hours, this field will display red in the report, alerting you there may be an overage/problem with this time entry.
Scheduled Time is determined by adding the class duration for any instructor's class. It is very important for Classes to be entered correctly in order for Scheduled Time to calculate correctly. The following must be entered for each class and is entered from the Class page.
- Status=Active
- Start Time & End Time (in format 4:00pm)
- Class Meets (a day must be checked)
- Class must have students enrolled.
- Class must have instructors listed under the Instructor tab.
Tip: Verify this information is correct for all classes by using Classes > Edit All Classes.
If Find Time Entries from prior pay periods? is set to Yes, any unapproved time entries in previous pay periods will also display.
Edit Time from Approve Time
With the appropriate permissions, a User can edit staff Actual Hours while in Approve Time. This allows the user to make changes to the actual hours worked without having to edit the original in and out times and without going into the individual staff person's time clock tab.
To give this permission to a user, ensure that Edit Actual Hours in Approve Time is checked in the Gear (icon) > Settings > Users & Permissions for this user.
Tip: The clock recognizes minutes are a portion of an hour and computes them accordingly. Example: Zippy clocked in at 3:46 pm and clocked out at 4:04 pm. He worked 8 minutes; so Jackrabbit calculates the partial hour as 8 minutes / 60 minutes and displays the result as .13. (8 / 60 = .13).
View a Note
If a note has been added to a Time Entry by a staff member, the Note icon will display with the word "NOTE" in it. Click the icon to view the note.
Send an Email
To email the staff member directly about a time entry, click the envelope icon to the right of the entry.
Add your email message in the Approve Time Card Email box and click Send.
After all time is approved for a pay period, you can close the pay period. See Close Pay Periods.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What happens with old time entries that have not been approved?
A. If they are legitimate, approve them. If they were entered in error or while testing, delete them. Jackrabbit recommends that you do not leave old unapproved time entries in the system.
After all hours within a pay period have been approved, the pay period should be closed. The process of closing the pay period marks all hours as being paid with a Paid Date.
- Go to the Staff (menu) > Time Clock > Close Pay Period. Tip: There is also a Close Pay Period button on the Approve/Unapprove Time page.
- Select the Pay Period.
- If you'd like the report to display any unpaid time entries prior to the selected pay period, select Yes in the Find unpaid time entries dated prior to this pay period? field.
- Click Preview Staff Entries to Close.
- A pop-up warning message opens if there are hours within the pay period that haven't been approved. If this alert pops up, click the View Not Approved Time link within the pop-up to view and approve the time.
- If necessary, you can re-open a Pay Period by going to Staff > Staff Portal > Portal Settings. Click the Re-Open Pay Periods button in the Time Clock Pay Periods section.
- A pop-up warning message opens if there are hours within the pay period that haven't been approved. If this alert pops up, click the View Not Approved Time link within the pop-up to view and approve the time.
- Select the Pay Date in the Re-Open Pay Period window.
- Click Re-Open Pay Period. Click OK in the warning window.
- Preview the hours listed by ensuring the Process checkboxes in the last column are checked.
- When satisfied with the list, click Confirm Staff Entries to Close.
- Change the Pay Date if necessary.
- Click Close Pay Period. If prompted, click OK.
After you've closed the pay period, you can export it to payroll. See Export to Express Payroll or Excel (CSV File).
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What happens if you reopen a pay period?
A. When a CLOSED pay period is re-opened, Jackrabbit removes the PAID DATE. Remember, a Pay Period that is not closed is assumed, not paid. Make sure the SAME PAID DATE is re-entered before reclosing.
IMPORTANT! If a mistake is made and there is reason to reopen multiple pay periods, reopen ONE pay period at a time, fix the issue, and re-close it before reopening another closed pay period.
Q. How do you correct a mistake made to a time entry for a closed pay period?
A. Reopen the pay period, correct it and reclose the pay period making sure to use the same End Date. You are done if the affected staff members have already been paid. If the changes affect a staff person who had not yet been paid, send an updated time report to the payroll company and leave a note asking them to rerun the payroll with the new file.
Q. How do you close a pay period with approved time entries that are not Previous, Current, or Next?
A. If you have an open pay period from the past, you will need to close the pay period from the Staff portal settings screen. To close the pay period with all approved time entries:
- Step 1 - Click on the word Close for the old opened pay period.
- Step 2 - The total hours per staff member will display. Click the Confirm Staff Entries to Close button.
- Step 3 - The Pay Date for the selected Pay Period is shown. Click the Close Pay Period button. All time entries will be stamped with the specified Pay Date.
To use this feature, you must be an Express Payroll client. Jackrabbit recommends Express Payroll due to the flexibility of unlimited custom pay rates which support Jackrabbit Departments. Jackrabbit can create a CSV file to export at the end of each pay period. This file is specifically formatted to enable import into the Express Payroll payroll system.
If you are using Express Payroll, be sure you've read through Express Payroll information in the Export Settings topic before attempting your first export.
Export to Express Payroll
- Go to Staff > Time Clock and click Export to Payroll.
Note: There is also an Export to Payroll button on the Close Pay Period page. - Select a Location and a Pay Date from the drop-down choices.
- Click Email File to Express Payroll. In the Email Express Payroll pop-up window, notice the Email Subject Line includes the name of the Org, Org ID, and the Pay Period Ending Date. This line is not editable.
- Alternatively, if you need to make updates to the CSV file, click Export/Edit CSV File. Open the file and select the option to save the file to your computer. Make updates as needed and email to Express Payroll.
Note: We recommend you create a special folder on your desktop to help keep these files organized.
- Alternatively, if you need to make updates to the CSV file, click Export/Edit CSV File. Open the file and select the option to save the file to your computer. Make updates as needed and email to Express Payroll.
- Add a message if applicable. For example, you can enter any pay rate changes and other important information in the message area.
- Select applicable email addresses for Send Additional Emails To. We recommend that you include your own email address, so you can keep a copy for your records.
- Click Send.
Related Section
These sections should be used when you need to modify and provide staff details and additional payroll information to Express Payroll.
Export Staff Details
Click Download CSV. Open the file and delete rows for staff that do not require any updates. Make changes as needed to existing staff details and add rows for new staff information. Attach this CSV file as an email to Express Payroll.
Payroll Codes
Click Payroll Codes to add Payroll Codes to your CSV file. These codes will add columns to the file. Enter information in these columns that is not included in your regular staff payroll, for example, if you have staff that use the Clock In/Out method to enter time worked and you pay a flat fee for specific events. Attach the CSV file as an email to Express Payroll.
The Time Report displays hours by Location and Department. With nine different display options, you can view your staff hours in a variety of formats.
Run a Time Report
- Point to the Staff (menu) > Staff Reports > Time Report.
- Select Search Criteria.
- Select Display Settings. (See a brief explanation of each of the 9 display formats below.)
- Click Submit.
Display Settings
There are nine display formats:
| Staff Detail | Displays each staff person's time entries including the following: Location, Department, In and Out Times, Hour Type, and Total Hours. |
| Staff Summary | Summarizes all staff time. Includes: Staff Last Name, Staff First Name, and Total Hours. |
| Staff Summary by Department | Breaks out total hours by Department and staff members in each department. |
| Staff Summary by Dept with Estimated Gross Wages | Breaks out total hours by Department and staff members in each department with pay rate and estimated gross wages. |
| Staff Summary by Location | Breaks out total hours by location and staff members in each location. |
| Department Detail | Groups by Department and displays the following information: Location, Staff First Name, Staff Last Name, Hour Type, and each individual time entry Total Hours. There is also an option to view Estimated Gross Wages. |
| Department Summary | Groups by Department and displays the following information: Location & Total Hours. Option to view Estimated Gross Wages. |
| Location Detail | Groups by Location the following information: Departments, Staff First Name, Staff Last Name, Hour Type, and Total Hours. |
| Location Summary | Groups the department total hours worked per location. Displays Dept, Total Hours, and Estimated Gross Wages. |
Estimated Gross Wages
The option to display Estimated Gross Wages is only available using the Department Detail and Department Summary formats.
Estimated Gross Wages is also reported on the Staff Summary by Dept with Estimated Gross Wages. This is called estimated because the Time Clock does not calculate overtime dollars, only regular hour dollars. Jackrabbit also does not calculate any withholdings, deductions, or payroll taxes.
The estimated gross wage calculation is based on the hours the staff person enters into the time clock multiplied by the appropriate pay rate. If Department Pay Rates were entered, Jackrabbit matches up the Time Entry Department with the Department Pay Rate. If a Time Entry doesn't have a Department Pay Rate, the Base Hourly Rate is used to calculate Estimated Gross Wages. (Pay rates for each staff member can be entered in the staff person's Compensation tab.)
Only the two reserved Pay Rates - Base Pay Rate and Department Rate - can be used to calculate Estimated Gross Wages.
This report displays all staff members that have a Time In but do not have a Time Out recorded for the current day. Incomplete time entries from previous days are not displayed.
- Go to the Staff (menu) > Staff Reports > Staff Here Now Report.
- Select a Location and/or Departments if applicable.
- Click Submit.
Any staff member that clocked in but never clocked out will be displayed in this report.
The Staff Time Audit report offers a record of the activity in the time clock displaying the date & time, the staff member's name of the time record affected, the action (insert, update, delete), the field name, the old & new values, and the person involved.
- Go to the Staff (menu) > Staff Reports > Staff Time Audit Report.
- Select Search Criteria. (You must choose a Pay Period to generate the report.)
- Click Submit.
The Pay Rate report provides you with a list of staff pay rates based on filters (Search Criteria) you select.
Get to this report from the Staff menu > Staff Reports > Pay Rate Report.
- Customize your report to list employee pay rates based on Pay Type, Pay Rate Status (Current/Future), and Department.
- Review your employee's current pay rate and the effective dates.
- Review pay rates to determine if you can increase the rates for your employees.
Search Criteria
You can filter your list of staff pay rates using any or all of the Search Criteria and Jackrabbit will compile the report to meet ALL of the criteria chosen.
Report Results
The report results can be further customized with the ability to show or hide columns of information, sort columns, or modify column widths.
- Click the Show/Hide Columns button, to select which columns of information you want displayed.
- Click a staff member's name to open their Staff record > Compensation tab.
When you have worked through all of the articles outlined in the lesson, select the Take the Quiz button to be taken to the Lesson #6 Quiz where you can test your understanding of the concepts in this lesson. You will be asked to enter an email address for quiz results to be sent. The quiz includes Review questions.
Quiz #6 - Manager Use of the Time Clock
| Number of Questions | Total Possible Points | Points Needed for an "A" | Points Needed for a "B" | Points Needed for a "C" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
