State Software Employee Self-Service Timesheets

If your district is NOT using a third-party application for time and attendance, the State Software ESS timesheet menu includes the ability to manually create new timesheets and view, edit, or recall existing timesheets. If your user account has been granted additional roles (other than the Standard User role), you may have additional options under the Timesheet menu.

My Timesheets – Users with User role

The user’s position must have the ‘Timesheet Required’ selected in USPS > Positions for one or more positions a user needs to create a timesheet for in ESS. Also, in order for the employee’s timesheet to process through the approval workflow, their position record(s) must have a supervisor defined.  If positions were entered in the Automatic Period Generator, once the period is automatically generated, it will also automatically create a timesheet for the specified positions. The employee can then view, edit (if needed), and submit their automatically created timesheet for approval.

Create a Timesheet – The steps provided below are for employees who need to create a timesheet manually:

NOTE: A period and shift must be created for the employee’s position(s) before the employee creates their timesheet.  Under My Timesheets, click ‘Create’.  Select the timesheet period and position for which you create a timesheet and click ‘Create Timesheet’. NOTE: If a timesheet already exists for the employee, an alert notification will display on the screen, and the employee will be redirected to their existing timesheet.  The timesheet will be pre-filled with the information from the corresponding period and shift setup.  Click on a line item in order to edit the pre-filled information. You may overwrite any columns shaded gray. Once the timesheet has been exported, the exported column will display a checkmark.  Please refer to Flexible Shift for more information on shifts enabled with the ‘flexible shift’ option.  By default, timesheets will not include weekend days. Select ‘+’ to add line items to your timesheet (i.e. weekend work). To remove any items, check the box to the left of the item(s) and select ‘-‘.  If the employee has an approved leave request inclusive of the timesheet period, the leave request line item is added to the employee’s timesheet automatically after clicking Create.  Click ‘Create’ to add your timesheet to your timesheet grid. Your timesheet is currently at a status of Initiated. The employee can view the timesheet after creation to confirm any leave request(s) are included. Leave request items are not editable in the timesheet. It will automatically adjust the times on the REG line item (or remove it entirely if the entire time is taken up by the leave request line item.)  Creating the timesheet DOES NOT submit the timesheet to the workflow process. You must submit the timesheet for approval. See below.

Submit a Timesheet for Approval – You may submit your timesheet for approval one of two ways:

1. On your timesheet grid, click the checkmark icon to submit your timesheet for approval. A pop-up notification will be displayed indicating the timesheet has been submitted.
2. Or click the eye to view your newly created timesheet. Click ‘Submit for Approval’ to submit it to the approval workflow. Again, a pop-up notification will indicate that the timesheet has been submitted.

Timesheet Grid – Displays a user’s existing timesheets in a grid format.

Approval Status indicates where in the approval workflow the timesheet is currently at:

• Initiated: Originator has created their timesheet
• Submitted: The originator has submitted their timesheet for approval
• Approved: Timesheet has been through the entire approval workflow
• Rejected: The timesheet was rejected at some point during the approval workflow
• Exported: The approved timesheet was exported to a CSV (in order to be posted to USPS).
• Cancelled: N/A

Grid Options

• User may view the details of their timesheet regardless of the approval status.
• User may edit their timesheet if the approval status is ‘initiated’. Once the timesheet has been submitted to the approval workflow process, the user can no longer edit it.
• Users may submit their timesheets for approval. Once submitted, if the timesheet has not been approved yet (and the period is still open), the user may recall it to make additional changes.
• A user may recall a submitted timesheet (as long as it hasn’t been approved and the period is still open). Once recalled, the timesheet is back at an initiated status so the user can make additional changes. Once changes are complete, the user will need to re-submit their timesheet for approval.
• User may delete their timesheet if it’s at an initiated status and the period is open.

Viewing a timesheet

• Timesheet Details: This includes the information entered on the timesheet. If the timesheet has not been submitted for approval yet, the user may edit it to make any changes. Click on ‘Submit for Approval’ to submit the timesheet to the timesheet approval workflow.
• Timesheet Approval Trail: Tracks the activity on the timesheet from original requester to final approver.

Supervisor Timesheet – For users with Timesheet Approver, District Manager or Admin role.

The supervisor must have the Timesheet Approve role to approve a timesheet. The supervisor can approve timesheets via the Home screen (under Pending Workflow Tasks—Timesheet Approval) or the Timesheet Approval menu option.  This allows supervisors the ability to view their staff’s timesheet information regardless of approval status.

• Timesheet Details: includes the information entered on their staff’s timesheets
• Timesheet Approval Trail: Tracks the activity on the timesheet, from original requester to final approver. The ‘Note’ column on the grid will indicate the Group Chain the timesheet is tied to.

Approval Status indicates where in the approval workflow the timesheet is currently at:

• Initiated: Supervisor can edit or submit their staff’s timesheets for approval
• Submitted: Supervisor can recall their staff’s timesheets
• Approved: Supervisor can view their staff’s timesheets only
• Rejected: Supervisor can edit or submit their staff’s timesheets for approval
• Exported: Supervisor can view their staff’s timesheets only
• Cancelled: N/A

District Timesheet – For users with Timesheet Manager, District Manager, or Admin role

• Allows users the ability to view timesheets for anyone in the district regardless of approval status.
  • Timesheet Details: includes the information entered on all staff’s timesheets
  • Timesheet Approval Trail: Tracks the activity on the timesheet, from original requester to final approver. The ‘Note’ column on the grid will indicate the Group Chain the timesheet is tied to.
• Allows users the ability to delete initiated or approved timesheets.

Approval Status indicates where in the approval workflow the timesheet is currently at:

• Initiated: User can edit staff’s timesheet or submit staff’s timesheets for approval
• Submitted: User can recall staff timesheets
• Approved: User can view (only) staff timesheets
• Rejected: User can edit staff’s timesheet or re-submit staff’s timesheets for approval
• Exported: User can view (only) staff timesheets
• Cancelled: N/A

Timesheet Export – For users with Timesheet Manager, District Manager, or Admin role

Allows users the ability to export timesheets with a status of ‘approved’ in order to post timesheet information into USPS.  User may filter approved timesheets by:

• Specific Period: Select a specific timesheet period. You may only select one period to export.
• Specific Employees: Select one or more specific employee(s) approved timesheets to be included in the export.
• Selecting Only Show timesheets with exception and/or overtime hours will filter the grid to only display timesheets that include timesheet activity marked as overtime or exception hours.
  • When exporting, the ‘only export exceptions’ flag will be selected by default due to the ‘only show timesheets with exceptions and/or overtime hours’ being selected.

Once your grid displays the desired timesheets you would like to export, click on ‘Export Timesheets. You will be provided with the following export methods:

• Post Attendance: This function creates an attendance spreadsheet (CSV format) of the timesheet data included in the filtered grid. The default filename is timesheet-export.csv. The file can then be imported into USPS manually via the USPS Utilities> Attendance/Absence Import.
• Only export exceptions: This includes timesheet items marked with an activity of ‘EXC’ (exception) only from their normal timesheet period. These items will be saved into a CSV file, which can then be imported into USPS manually via the USPS Utilities>Attendance/Absence Import.
• Mark all timesheets as exported: If checked, all included timesheets will be marked as exported. Leave Unchecked to only mark exported line items.

Once timesheets are exported, their status will change from ‘Approved’ to ‘Exported,’ and they will no longer appear in the Timesheet Export grid.

Timesheet Overview Report

This option provides the ability to generate a CSV file of summarized timesheet data. All timesheets will be automatically included in the report unless you filter by entering a specified period and/or employee(s) located in the filter area in the top half of the screen. On the bottom half of the screen, by default, it will display all existing timesheets unless filtering has been applied, in which case it will only include the timesheets inclusive of the selected filters. You can sort by period start/end dates or employee.  For example, to review all existing timesheets for the 11/1/24-11/15/24 pay period, select the pay period and click ‘Generate Overview Report’. The resulting CSV file includes all timesheet data (regardless of status) inclusive of that period. 

eFinancePLUS

Verify Your 1099 Vendor Setup: Steps to Stay Compliant

As the year-end approaches, it’s crucial to ensure that your vendor records are correctly set up for 1099 reporting. Follow these steps to verify your data and avoid potential issues:

1. Check the 1099 Information Tab in the Vendor List

• Navigate to FAM > Reference Tables > Fund Accounting > Vendor List.
• Open the 1099 Information tab for each vendor.
• Verify that vendors are assigned the appropriate 1099 Box Codes.
• Use the Advanced Search tool to filter for 1099 Type M Vendors and easily locate records needing review.

2. Run the Cognos Vendor 1099 Report

• Access the Vendor 1099 Data – TCCSA – V2 report in Ohio Shared > Fund Accounting.
• Review highlighted fields with issues, marked in light red for easy identification.
  • Common issues include:
    • Commas in vendor names, addresses, or city fields. These must be removed to avoid upload errors on the IRS FIRE site.
    • Missing critical information for 1099-M Vendors, such as:
      • Vendor Name and Address
      • Federal Tax ID Number
      • Correct 1099-M Box or payment amounts that don’t match.

3. Use Filtering Tools to Refine Your Data

• Identify vendors needing status changes or updates with these filters:
  • Total Transaction Amount ≥ $600 and 1099 Flag = N.
  • 1099 Flag = M for missing or incomplete data.
• Confirm all vendors marked 1099-M meet IRS requirements for proper filing.

4. Make Necessary Adjustments

• Correct errors directly in the Vendor List to ensure smooth 1099 reporting.
• Run additional reports as needed to confirm all issues are resolved before submitting your 1099 data.

Stay Ahead of Deadlines

Verifying your vendor setup now will save time and prevent complications when generating your 1099s. Taking these proactive steps ensures compliance with IRS requirements and avoids filing delays.