Catégories

Employees

Employees

The Collabox offers the necessary tools to manage your employees.

The employee description sheets contain all the necessary information. Contact details, hourly rate, entry date, anniversary date.

Timesheets are the essential tool for preparing employee payrolls.

We also have the “bank of hours” system depending on the types of projects your clients have.

You can also manage vacations and time off.

Timesheet – Speed up your day

By Calendar, Digital transformation, Employees, Timesheet

It is possible to speed up timesheet entry for all employees with these three options.

  • Copy the previous day
  • Duplicate an entry
  • Adding hours to a future date

Copy the previous day

This option allows you to copy the previous day’s activity to your current timesheet. Of course, the day before a Monday is Friday! This feature is designed to make your life easier: it copies the entry and project selections, start times, end times and comments from all of the time entries from the previous day.

Efficient and easy to modify the new entries are normal entries, which can be modified or deleted without consequence. Perfect for accountants on one-week assignments, or for those returning from a 2-week vacation. In a few clicks, he can update his timesheet.

 
Two conditions must be met to see this button appear under the comments of the timesheet : 1- to have entered timesheet entries the day before and 2- not to have entered any entries in his timesheet today.

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Duplicate this entry

The second way to speed up your timesheet entry is to use the “Duplicate Entry” option. This copies, in the same day, a time entry (project – service – comment). An example of use: 2 working sessions on the same project on the same day: select the entry (the little bar will turn red), the “Duplicate this entry” button will appear under the note:

Entering a timesheet: later date

It is possible to fill in timesheets for later dates, for example for upcoming holidays. Every employee can easily access this function. But first, a little setup is in order!

First, select “Organization” from the Preferences tab in the main menu at the bottom left of your screen.

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Location of the "Organization" tab in the main menu

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Among the options available to you, choose the “Info” tab.

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View of the "Info" menu

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Then, please select the option “Allow time sheets to be filled in for future dates”. That’s it!

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Check box

The Collabox timesheet, a clear advantage for the management of your company!

Invoice approval

By Billing, Configuration, Configure your Collabox, Employees

Do you have several project managers preparing invoices? Others need to consult them, but should not modify them? Simply ask Collabox for an invoice approval to stay in control.

Access to billing

First, you decide who has the right to create and view your company’s invoices. Then, go to the employee record to give or remove access to the billing.

Select “Configuration” at the top of the page, then “Employees” in the left menu.

Image showing the main menu of Collabox. The cursor points to the "Configuration" tab.
Image showing part of the left menu under the Configuration tab. The cursor points to the "Employees" link

Choose an employee whose access is to be modified, then click on the “Menus” tab.

Example of a customer file where the cursor points to the "Menus" tab.

Scroll down the page until you see the “Billing and Accounting” module. Check the Billing box if you want to give access, or uncheck it to remove it. Save your work.

Image of the Menus page of the employee record. The cursor points to the billing checkbox to give the employee access.

Now, still in the employee’s file, select the “Advanced configuration” tab.

Menu of the employee's file. The cursor points to the Advanced Configuration tab.

Scroll down to the Accounting Module. There are several access options available to you. You can approve invoices for which you are responsible, or the entire company’s invoices. You can view the invoices in edit or view only the invoices for which you are the account manager. The choice is yours.

Image of the Advanced Configuration page of the employee's record. Red boxes indicate where the checkboxes are to give an employee invoice approval, consultation only or full restriction.

Invoice approval

When you are the approver of invoices, you have an action to take before you can send them to the customer.

First, open a new invoice and check the information. Make changes as needed. Then, at the bottom of the page, click on the “Approve Invoice” button.

Series of clickable buttons at the bottom of the invoice. The cursor points to the "Approve invoice" button.

In the list of invoices for the current month, a green check mark appears next to the approved invoices.

Examples of approved invoices where you can see the green brackets next to the invoice number.

When they are pending approval, a red alert message is visible at the top of the invoice and no check mark is visible.

Example of an invoice that has not yet been approved. A red message appears at the top of the page "This invoice is not approved".

Watch several videos on our Youtube channel and visit our Tips and Tricks section in the Documentary Blog to continue using the Collabox!

If you have any questions, please contact us and we will be happy to answer you.

info@collabox.com (418) 907-9274 ext. 120

Configure the employee record

By Configure your Collabox, Employees

Setting up an employee record is easy!

It is essential to properly configure the employee’s file to give him access to his personal work tools. To set up the employee record, just follow these few steps.

Would you rather see a short video?

Check out the video which is entitled: Setting up an employee record (YouTube channel)

First, select the Configuration icon in the main menu at the top of the screen. Then, new options will appear and you can click on the Employees icon located in the left menu. This will give you access to the :

Add an employee” ** This feature is reserved for super-users

Set up an employee record

After this first step, several tabs will be displayed. The most important ones to configure the employee’s file are: info, menus, preferences, advanced configuration, rates and schedule.

The tabs of the employee's form

Tab : Infos

The tab -Info- corresponds to the personal information of the employee. First, fill in the fields that are most relevant to you. Next, it is important to create a username and password for your employee. Thus, he will have access to his Collabox account.

Please note that the superuser is the only person who can give access to employee accounts.

Collabox access to your employee file

Tab: Menus

The second tab, -Menus-, allows the super-user to select the Collabox accesses he will grant to his employee. Thus, he will be able to choose between the following modules, according to his needs:

  • Timesheet
  • Billing and accounting
  • Contacts
  • Management
  • Agenda
  • Dashboard
  • Configuration
  • Tools

For each of them, a series of specific assignments are possible depending on the needs of the employee. These include the expense entry in the timesheet, access to vacation reporting, administration of the customer contact record, the employee’s personal calendar and the creation of custom fields.

Employee file tab Menus

Tab: Preferences

The third tab, -Preferences-, has several items related to work habits and alerts. Among the elements to check are the granting of the choice of the type of timesheet to be used, the selection of types of notifications and alerts that the employee will receive based on their assignments to projects and tasks, as well as important related permissions related to the opportunity table .

In addition, it is in this tab that you will be able to configure your smtp and imap to manage the sending and receiving of emails via the Collabox. To take advantage of these functions, please contact us contact by email or by phone .

Employee record - preferences

Tab: Advanced configuration

On the other hand, the tab -Advanced configuration- allows certain users to administer other employees, as in the case of a project manager. Thus, this tab is not exclusive to the super-user. Other types of authorizations, such as those associated with the company’s accounting and financial management, including viewing, locking and unlocking invoices, adding payments or administering products, are also possible. The following is a list of modules with specific assignments available:

  • Timesheet
  • Parking meter
  • Tasks
  • Projects
  • Accounting
  • Agenda
  • Contacts
Employee record : Advanced configuration

Tab : Rates

The -Rates- tab contains the employee’s payroll and expense information. First, the salary can be established (cost and sales), and then the mileage rate conditions can be set. In addition, you can configure the information of the payroll system, as well as the rates for the various leaves (vacations, sickness, health), all according to your needs.

Employee Record: Employee Rates and Salary Update

Tab: Schedule

Finally, the tab -Schedule-, is the last one to use to configure an employee. It is used to establish the start and end times of the day, as well as break and lunch times. These items must be entered correctly, as they will have a direct effect on the timesheet, primarily in the“full day” box.

To add banks of hours, a box has been specially designed for this purpose. If you need help with the configuration of the banks or if you have other questions or specific requests, please contact us by email or by phone . We can then help you configure your Collabox to meet your needs.

Employee record: employee schedules

Produce an employee record configuration report

Finally, it is possible to duplicate employee configurations for new employee records. This saves you time and avoids handling errors. These configurations are also visible in a single report for quick and efficient management.

If you have super-user access, you can view all the access and rights of each employee in your company in a single report here .

Employee Configuration Report

By Configuration, Configure your Collabox, Employees

The employee configuration report

In this article, we introduce you to a little-known feature of Collabox: the Employee Configuration Report. It allows the Collabox super-user or administrators in your organization to display in table formats all the access and rights of each of your users in your company.

It makes your life easier when it comes to knowing, for example, if Ginette has the right to modify invoices or to see if Luc has access to the list of contacts in the CRM module. This is also useful when you welcome a new colleague and you need to check if they have access to the right Collabox modules and functions .

Here is how to access this report:

1- In the top menu, choose the CONFIGURATION function the famous wheel that is only accessible to super-users or administrators of the Collabox in your organization. If you don’t see it, you don’t have those rights.

2- In the left menu of your Collabox you will see the section: Employee configuration.

3- Click on the word: Employees. The list of all your users-employees will appear.

4- At the top of this list you will see : Employee configuration report.

staff configuration report
employee configuration report

5- Click on the link: Employee configuration report. You will have different types of tables that will allow you to display specific information.

report-configuration-employees-2

a- Info general information found in the employee’s file

INFO-report employee configuration

b- Menu : the menus to which employees have access

MENU-Setup-Report-Employees

c- Preferences all preferences that employees use

d- Advanced configuration Customized options granted to certain employees upon request

d- Services Services that are assigned to employees, especially time sheet management

SERVICES-report-configuration-employees

e- Project Projects that are assigned to employees, for their timesheet, access to reports, project sheets and others.

PROJECTS-report-configuration-employees

f- Schedules : Settings related to schedules

Make the most of it!

Geolocated timesheet

By 10 advantages of working with Collabox, Digital transformation, Employees, Timesheet

A new feature has just been added to Collabox: the geolocated timesheet! This addition allows you to know where your employees enter their hours. This monitoring tool is super handy to know if the little latecomer in the office is entering his hours while still on the bus.

How to activate or deactivate geolocation?

Whether you want to enable or disable this option for your organization, the path is the same, you will only have to check the box or not. To do this, you must display the settings of the organization by clicking on “Organization”.

Organization

To activate the function, all you have to do is check the “Geolocation of timesheets” box. However, don’t forget to save the changes!
screen-shot-2016-11-10-at-14-23-23

Do you want to consult the geolocation data of your employees? Nothing could be simpler, since the report by employees tells you so. We even thought about giving you a Google Maps link to view the entries on a map. 

To access the report, you must first click on the “Reports” icon in the navigation bar at the top of the page. 

Then you must at least choose an option in the category “Report by employees” like “Include details of hours” in the example below. Don’t forget to check “Include geolocation”! 

screen-shot-2016-11-10-at-14-24-30

Here is an example of a report by employees of the geolocated timesheet entries. As you can see in the column on the right, the entries with a geolocation have a location link.


screen-shot-2016-11-10-at-14-25-46

If you click on the link, you will see the position where the entry was made on the map.

screen-shot-2016-11-10-at-14-27-02

Types of timesheets

By 10 advantages of working with Collabox, Digital transformation, Employees, The Collabox, an ERP à la carte, Timesheet

Getting the most out of the Collabox timesheet

The timesheet is an indispensable tool for any business that needs to measure and bill hours to clients. Collabox offers you the possibility to choose between 4 types of reflected timesheets:

  • For those who like to keep their habits
  • With a trendy aesthetic
  • For those who need to see the big picture
  • The most accessible from phones

1. The Standard

The first type of timesheet is designed for people who like to keep their habits. Its design is reminiscent of traditional timesheets, while offering the advantages of digital. Detail your different tasks! Take a look at the standard timesheet

Example of a standard timesheet

2. The techno

Among the timesheet types, this template is the only one to offer a new “drag and drop” design that will appeal to techies. The more modern aesthetic of its new graphical interface retains all the standard timesheet options you love and use.

Example of a techno timesheet (“click-and-drag” design)

3. The weekly newspaper

With this timesheet, enter your hours per week rather than per day. It is perfect for generalists who want to register tasks with large blocks of time. It is also ideal when working on a project where the steps do not need to be detailed.

Example of a weekly timesheet

4. The express timesheet, the most accessible from phones

Although timesheets all complement each other on desktop or mobile, the express timesheet is best suited for the interface of phones. And as the name suggests, it complements itself very, very quickly. Fill it in just 3 clicks!

Note: At any time you can switch from the express timesheet to the detailed timesheet (standard or techno) by clicking on the blue link Detailed timesheet .

The express time sheet

Example of an express time sheet

See how to complete your express timesheet

The same day is already selected for you by default. To start your time recording, go to the first step with the button Following.

Express timesheet: home page

1) Select the project you worked on.

Express timesheet: project selection

2) Choose your service.

Express timesheet: choice of a service

3) Enter the number of hours worked. Don’t forget to save!

Express timesheet: registration of hours worked

You can then repeat these steps to list other projects you worked on during the day.
Note: The entries in the express timesheet will be concurrent in the standard or techno timesheets, that is, they will all start at midnight. This data conversion is perfect if you don’t need to know when or how long your employees have been working on a particular project.

Have you made your choice? Contact us to change your timesheet, we will be happy to tell you how to proceed!

Vacation Project

By Configuration, Employees, Reports, Sick vacation, Timesheet, Timesheet report

To help you better manage your employees’ vacations, Collabox is there for you. Just create a project called “Holidays”. Employees will be able to use it from their timesheet or agenda to request time off.

Initial configuration

First, click on the “Organization” menu in the left sidebar.

Preference menu and selection of the organization option

Then click on the “Projects” tab to access the project customization features.

Selecting the Project tab in the organization update to set up a vacation project

You must then update the project types by clicking on the link of the same name. This page shows you all the types of projects in your organization. Make sure you find a “Holiday” type...

Create a vacation project

Now create a project normally. Go to the list of projects and add one.

Give the name “Holiday” to the new project and don’t forget to select the project type of the same name.

There are other options in this “Project” tab, if needed. It is recommended to create a vacation project every year.

Configure time banks

Configure the time banks of your employees via the Employee File under the main menu “Configuration”. They will be very useful for vacation management. You can add the hours accumulated in the assignment by employee on the project Vacation. This way, you’ll see if an employee exceeds their accrued vacation time!

Watch several videos on our Youtube channel and visit our Tips and Tricks section in the Documentary Blog to continue using the Collabox!

If you have any questions, please contact us and we will be happy to answer you. info@collabox.com (418) 907-9274 ext. 120

Request and approval of vacations and vacations in the calendar

By Agenda, Digital transformation, Employees, Human resources functions

Plan your employees’ vacations and vacations by allowing them to create an appointment on a “Vacation” or “Leave” project. This way, they can plan their absences and you can be notified immediately and approve or not their request.

Create a project for vacations and vacations

First, create a vacation project, such as “Vacation 2022-2022” or a leave project, such as “Health Leave 2022.”

For even more efficient management, add your employees’ accumulated vacation hours in the “Assignment” tab of the project. These hours can be found in the time bank report which you can view here.

Add an appointment

Then add an appointment and assign it to the vacation or vacation project. This way, the supervisor will receive a notification and can approve the request. If necessary, move the vacation appointments by dragging them to another date.

Note: This box cannot be checked by anyone other than the employee’s immediate supervisor.
You cannot put more than one person at a time on this type of appointment.


As a supervisor, you receive a warning email that Mr. Employee has created a vacation agenda.

Click on the link sent in the email to approve the appointment.

After approving a request, the employee is automatically notified by email as well.

Viewing vacation and leave approvals

First, look in the “appointment” form and observe the green check mark including the date and name of the supervisor who approved the vacation.

Then, a green umbrella visual icon appears in the employee’s calendar. A black umbrella indicates that the application is still pending approval.

Have a great vacation!

Bank of accumulated hours

By Configuration, Employees, Sick vacation

Are you having trouble keeping track of your employees’ overtime? Collabox offers you a bank of accumulable hours. Determine thetypical schedule for each of your employees and the timesheet does the rest! In fact, when your employees enter their information in the timesheet, Collabox is able to deduce the total hours worked and if they exceed the usual schedule.

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How do I configure an employee’s schedule?

Click on the “Configuration” icon in the navigation bar.

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Then click on “Employees” in the left sidebar.

Select the employee whose schedule you wish to modify/consult to add the bank of accruable hours.

Click on the “Schedule” tab.

Finally, enter the days and hours worked. Do not forget to configure the bank of hours. You must enter the date of the start of the calculation of the bank of hours (generally associated with the start of the hiring of the employee) or the number of hours accumulated on the selected date (if you do not take the date of hiring). If you limit the number of hours that can be accumulated, indicate it in the specified place. Don’t forget to save your changes. You must complete these steps for each of your employees.

Once you have saved the changes, a detailed report will be generated automatically with hours worked, surpluses, etc.