WorkZone for QuickBooks Online Advanced Payroll is a native iOS and Android app which has been created to give employees the traditional employee self service functions, with a sleek user experience on their smartphone.
Getting started
Employees need portal access to use WorkZone and when it is installed they will be prompted to enter their email address (the one linked to the portal) and password. You can download WorkZone by searching for ‘WorkZone’ from the App Store or from the Google Play store.
Employees will then need to create a 4-digit, quick access PIN (to be entered twice) which they will need to enter each time they open the app.
Once logged in, employees can view the Side Menu by tapping menu ≡ in the top left corner. From here the employee will see:
- Log out option
- Settings ⚙️ (this includes the app authentication options)
- Employee access (the employee can access their own personal payroll details and functions from here)
- Business access (this is only relevant for any restricted access users that have Employee Manager permissions)
- The version of WorkZone the employee has installed
The dashboard view is accessed by clicking on the Home icon and shows the following details:
- Any documents that require acknowledgement
- The last payslip
- Next shift (if applicable)
- Ability to CLOCK IN (if applicable)
- Timesheet summary (if applicable)
- Expenses summary (if applicable)
- Leave Balances
Once logged in, users can tap the Profile icon and view their:
- My Details (read-only)
- Payslips
- P60s
- Bank Accounts (read-only)
- Leave
- Unavailability
- Emergency Contacts (read-only)
- Other Documents
Note: If you log out of WorkZone (using the Log out option) you will be required to enter your email, password and PIN again but if you just leave the app and go back in you will only need to enter your PIN.
Enabling WorkZone
Clock in/out is now available within the WorkZone app.
This feature is not automatically enabled. You will need to enable this in the business portal in order for it to be available for employees to use from their smartphones. To do this, go to Payroll Settings, Employee Portal Settings.
The first step is to select Employees can clock in/out using WorkZone. The sub-settings are then optional but will determine the employee workflow when clocking in and out. The settings available are:
- Capture employee photo when clocking in/out
- Allow employees to select a higher classification when clocking in
- Allow employees to apply rostered start/finish times when clocking in/out (you then set the parameters for this)
- Send employee reminder notifications (you then set the parameters for this)
Last step is to tap Save.
Clock in/out
- Tap Clock In.
- This next step varies based on the Employee Portal Settings and employee’s profile setup. The employee will select:
- If there is a rostered shift (and it is within the time parameters set), the employee will have the choice to clock in now or clock in at rostered time.
- The location (this will auto populate if the employee only has access to one location).
- A work type (may not be required for every shift and will only appear if the employee has work types activated in their profile).
- A higher classification (if the setting is activated for the employee and within the portal settings – and, of course, this is only required when working higher duties).
- Any relevant shift conditions (if a shift condition is attached to the location the employee has selected, the shift condition will auto populate).
- Employee can add a note relevant to the shift.
- The employee will be required to take a photo (if this setting has been enabled).
- The employee will tap Start Break (if they are required to capture break times) or tap Clock Out to finish their shift. Both activities will require a photo to be taken (only if this setting has been enabled).
- Once the employee clocks out, the timesheet will generate in the system ready to be approved and imported into a pay run.
Shifts
WorkZone allows employees to view their past and future rostered shifts. To access this information, tap the Next Shifts section of the WorkZone homepage.
The next page will show the current weeks shifts, but you are able to view previous and future shifts by tapping on the left or right arrows.
Note: you can only view shifts in weekly segments, not fortnightly.
The shift details on this page show the start/stop time as well as the location. In order to view further details (if applicable) such as work type and notes, tap on the shift.
Timesheets
If employees are configured to use timesheets, they are able to view, create and delete timesheets from within the WorkZone app. This feature is available for both iOS and Android phones.
If you want employees to access timesheets in WorkZone they need to be configured to use timesheets in the Employee Details, Pay Run Defaults page, and also Payroll Settings, Employee Portal Settings.
Timesheets are accessed in two ways. You can select the timesheet icon on the bottom of the screen, or you can tap the timesheet area of the homepage.
ViewingTimesheets
Employees are able to change the view of timesheets to weekly or fortnightly by pressing on the drop down box at the top of the screen, and then scrolling down the screen to view further dates if necessary.Timesheets are displayed with the following information:
- Date
- Start/End time
- Status (approved, rejected, submitted or processed)
- Location (employee default if none selected)
- Work Type (if selected)
To view a different timesheet period, click on the left or right arrows in the date field box.
Creating Timesheets
To get started, tap Create ⨁ in the top right hand corner of the leave screen. The data available to be entered is:
- Work Type (optional, unless the business has marked this timesheet setting as compulsory)
- Location (optional, unless the business has marked this timesheet setting as compulsory)
- Shift Conditions (optional, this field will only appear for iOS users if shift conditions have been set up for you or the location you are working at)
- Date (required)
- Enter Hours instead of Start/Stop times (optional if configured to allow hours instead of start/stop times)
- Start/End Time (required)
- Break/s (optional)
- Classification (optional, this field will only appear if you are able to select a higher classification when working higher duties)
- Notes (optional)
If you want to pre-fill additional days with the same timesheet info, select the Apply this timesheet to option and simply tap on the required days and select Done when finished.
You can add additional timesheet lines to the same day if you tap Create + and select the date. This will allow you to add another timesheet on a day that already has a timesheet. This applies for both iOS and Android.
The timesheets will then be sent to the approving manager(s).
Deleting a Timesheet
Find the timesheet the needs to be deleted and select it. Tap Delete this timesheet.Timesheets that have the status of approved, submitted or rejected are able to be deleted. Processed timesheets have already been included in a pay run and therefore cannot be deleted.
Applying, cancelling and/or viewing leave
You are able to request leave straight from the phone, including the ability to attach a supporting document just by using your Smartphone’s camera.
To access leave in WorkZone, either tap the Leave Balances section of the dashboard or the Leave section on the profile page.
The leave screen will show an employees leave balances as well as current leave requests. If a current leave request is selected it will show further detail including:
- Leave category
- First/last day of leave
- Hours required for the leave
- Notes
- Ability to add an attachment
- Ability to cancel the request
To apply for leave from the app, simply tap Create ⨁ in the top right hand corner of the screen. From here the following details can be entered by tapping the headings:
- Leave Category
- First day of leave
- Last day of leave
- Leave required (hours) - from here you are able to show details to check any leave balances
- Notes
- Attachments (from your phone's camera or gallery)
Once the details have been entered tap Submit.
Approving Timesheets
A restricted user (or Manager) with access to a group of employees or a location, can perform tasks related to their relevant user permissions on the WorkZone app straight from their smartphone.
Navigating the side menu
Once the user logs into the WorkZone app their side menu will have the options to either view their own personal employee details (if they are an employee) or any businesses they have restricted access to.
Permissions
If the restricted access user has timesheet permissions, they will have the ability to undertake the following actions in WorkZone based on their permission type, as follows:
- Approve + Create Timesheets permission: The user will have the ability to view, edit, approve, reject or delete a timesheet. The user will also be able to view/download any attachments added as part of a leave request timesheet.
- Create Timesheets Only permission: The user will not have access to any timesheet manager features in WorkZone.
Note: A restricted access user will NOT have the ability to create a new timesheet via WorkZone (this function is only available via the web portal).
Timesheet screen
Once the user taps on the business name they have restricted access to, they will see the option for Timesheets at the bottom of the screen.
This is where they can view any submitted timesheets. This view can be toggled to show a weekly or fortnightly view. Tapping on the left and right arrows beside the date range will show previous and forward weeks/fortnights.
The displayed information can include:
- Timesheet date
- Employee's name
- Start/stop times
- Status
- Attachment icon
- Notes icon
- Shift duration (hours & minutes)
- Location
- Work type
- Cost (if the user is enabled for shift costs view):
If the restricted user has permission to view shift costs, they will see the option to show timesheet costs. This setting is switched off by default. The user just needs to switch the toggle to the right to activate the cost display.
If the restricted user has access to multiple locations and/or employee groups but the costing permission is not activated for all locations and/or employee groups, the costing will appear as "N/A" for timesheets that do not allow the costing view.
How to action a Timesheet
To edit, approve, reject or delete a timesheet the user will need to tap on the relevant timesheet. This extended display also allows the user to add notes, save any changes, approve, reject or delete the timesheet.
If you're using WorkZone on an iOS device, you can quickly approve or reject a timesheet. Simply swipe left on the timesheet tile for the approve/reject actions to appear and then tap on the appropriate action.
How to search for Timesheets
You can search for historic timesheets and ALL submitted, approved, rejected and processed timesheets by tapping on the search icon in the top right corner of the screen.From here the user will have the ability to toggle the view between weekly and fortnightly and use the left and right arrows beside the date range to show previous and forward weeks/fortnights. The user can also filter the Search Timesheets screen by Status, Employee, Location, and Employee group. The option to show timesheet costs will appear if the user has costs permissions.