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OTL With Projects Overview 12.1.3
OTL With Projects Overview 12.1.3
Disclaimer: The following is intended to outline our general product direction and is intended for information purposes. The
development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for Oracle's products remains at the sole
discretion of Oracle.
Copyright 2006 Oracle Corporation
All Rights Reserved
Copyright Information
Table of Contents
1.
Introduction ________________________________________________________________________________ 4
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Preferences _______________________________________________________________________________ 17
7.
8.
9.
Time Entry_________________________________________________________________________________ 23
9.1
9.2
Timekeeper ______________________________________________________________________________ 24
9.3
9.4
Authorized Delegate______________________________________________________________________ 26
10.
Templates _________________________________________________________________________________ 27
11.
12.
13.
14.
Timecard Approvers________________________________________________________________________ 36
15.
1. Introduction
1.1 Purpose of this Document
As of November 2004, the Oracle eBusiness Suite has replaced time entry in Oracle Internet Time
(Oracle iTime, or OIT) with OTL. OTL is now a single point of time entry for multiple applications in the
eBusiness Suite. A number of OIT customers are currently upgrading from their OIT modules to OTL, or
are planning their upgrade. To assist those customers, as well as any customer considering
implementing OTL in a Projects environment, this document describes OTL's features that replace OIT's
and deliver a powerful, flexible solution that complements Oracle Projects.
We have also received feedback and questions from customers who have implemented OTL in a Projects
environment. We would like to share that information from this common pool of knowledge in this
document, and address the most common questions that customers have raised as well. This document
also provides a number of additional resources available to assist customers with their OTL
implementation. For customers considering upgrading from OIT to OTL, OTL provides the functionality
available in OIT as well as a number of new features that are not available in OIT. This document will
also examine some of the important differences between the two products, and some key new features in
OTL that customers may find very beneficial.
If you are currently an OIT customer, this document assumes that your setup in OTL will resemble your
setup in OIT. OTL provides many additional options for configuration if you find that your business
requirements have expanded to more than just capturing time for integration with Oracle Projects, though.
For example, you may find that OTLs integrations with Oracle HR, Oracle Payroll, Oracle Purchasing,
and Oracle Enterprise Asset Management would enable your business to benefit more fully from your
licenses of those products. Please refer to OTLs implementation and user guide, and to its online help
manual, for more specific information about how to implement these other aspects of OTLs functionality.
NOTE: This document does not replace or duplicate existing documentation. Rather, it provides a brief
description of items for the reader to consider when implementing OTL in a Projects environment, and
refers the reader to appropriate additional sources for further information about each of the items.
1.2 Intended Audience
This document assumes the reader has some familiarity with Oracles eBusiness Suite of applications but
may not necessarily be familiar with OTL. Its intended audience is functional or technical administrators
or consultants who may be deciding if OTL is a suitable product for the companys business
requirements, or who may be currently implementing OTL in a Projects environment. We will indicate
which sections are intended for a more technical audience in the orientation below and inside each
section.
1.3 Document Orientation
If you are looking for specific information or have specific questions, this list provides an orientation for
where you can find that information in this document.
Audit data entering reasons for late or changed time entries: Section 12
Human Resources
OTL can be the single point of entry for all data transferred to these other applications.
OTLs time entry is very streamlined and flexible. Some examples are:
o
Preferences that allow time to be entered and approved differently for subpopulations
of workers
Security Profile
Controls access to organizations, positions and employee and applicant records within the Business
Group. System administrators use them in defining users' responsibilities.
Shared HR
See HR Foundation above.
Timecard Details Page
If workers have Projects in their applications set, you may assign a layout for the details page. On this
page that your workers access from their timecards, they may enter provide additional information related
to your expenditure items. You can set up the segments on this page so that they are context sensitive.
Timecard Header
The section of the timecard layout where the fields with information such as the workers name, employee
number, and the time period in question are displayed
Timecard Matrix
The section of the timecard layout where the fields for the individual time entries and their attributes are
displayed
Timekeeper
The set of features in Oracle Time & Labor that allows you to enter and maintain timecard information for
multiple workers in a single session
Using Timekeeper, your timecard data may be entered in a "heads-down" data entry mode, or in a mass
edit mode that allows your Timekeepers to enter or update timecards for a number of workers
simultaneously.
Timekeeper Group
A group of workers whose timecards the timekeeper enters, updates, and submits.
Time Store
OTL's central repository where all time data is stored
The time store serves as a gatekeeper of data to all other Oracle applications.
Time Store Deposit API
OTL's API for storing timecard data in the time store
The system validates and stores this time data in the time store just as it would if you entered it through
the Self Service timecard. You also can use the API to update or remove existing timecard data.
HR licensing
Although you must upgrade your system from HR Foundation to a full HR installation to
implement OTL, you can run OTL with the Restricted Use HR license that is included with
your OTL license, or you may choose to purchase a full HR license.
You will require a license for a full HR implementation if you wish to use more of Oracle HR
than absolutely necessary for your OTL implementation. For example, if you wish to use
Oracle HRs appraisal functionality, you would need to buy the full license.
Your Oracle account representative will help you determine which license is appropriate for
your installation, as well as what parts of HR you may use if you choose the Restricted Use
HR license.
Your Oracle Support sales representative can assist with transferring your support contract.
Complete all necessary setups in Oracle Projects, including defining expenditure items
Descriptive Flexfields (DFFs). Please refer to the implementation guide for Oracle Projects for
more specific setup information.
NOTE: Former OIT customers will likely already have all of the necessary setups for Oracle
Projects in place.
Optional Oracle Projects setups when using both Oracle Projects and OTL:
o
Client extensions
Change HR Foundation (Shared HR) to fully installed HR; this step only applies to current
Projects and/or OIT customers who have not already implemented Oracle HR.
Download and read all about documents and readmes for OTL's latest mini-packs and rollups.
Confirm that your OTL installation has the highest patching level available, including the most
recent rollup at that patching level; apply any more recent rollups as necessary.
Set up all HR objects required, including setting up your workers with person and assignment
records in Oracle HRMS.
Set up HR security, responsibilities, menus, and users; assign the appropriate responsibilities and
security to each user.
Setups in OTL
This list of setup steps provides a high level overview of the steps to implement OTL. Not all setups
may be necessary for your businesss needs; these steps are noted as optional. Please refer to the
Oracle Time & Labor Implementation and User Guide (Metalink Note: 207333.1) for a complete listing
of setup steps specific to OTL as well as more complete information about the steps.
Approval styles required if using configured approval styles rather than delivered ones
Schedule Workflow Background Process required unless using Approve on Submit for all
timecards, or if the profile has been set to not defer workflows
Retrieval rules and rule groups required if using configured rules rather than delivered rules
Preferences required
Timekeeper configurations required only if timekeepers are entering time for other workers
Timekeeper groups required only if timekeepers are entering time for other workers
Authorized delegates required only if authorized delegates are entering time for other workers
Line Manager Self Service required only if line managers are entering time for their workers
Migrate timecards from OIT to OTL optional and only applies to former OIT customers
NOTE: If the OTL setups are incomplete or invalid, your timecards will not migrate correctly. If
your OIT timecards were entered for periods during which the worker did not have an active
assignment record, those timecards will also not transfer to OTL.
10
11
NOTE: By setting this parameter, all entries will be made as date track corrections, i.e.,
any updates will overwrite existing data, rather than retaining the original data with an
effective end date and introducing the updated data with an effective start date that is
later than the original datas effective end date.
b. Set the profile, DateTrack:Reminder, at the appropriate level to disable the Date Track
reminders upon entering the form.
c.
Check that the profile HR:National Identifier is set to appropriately validate the national
identifier on this form (error/warning/no validation). The validation is based on the Fast
Formula NL_VALIDATION, and is legislative specific.
12
13
2. If you are currently using the Position form in HR Foundation and wish to continue to use the
same form in after full HR has been installed, you will need to apply patch 3968264.
3. Confirm that you will be able to assign OTLs preferences to the correct workers, based on your
HR records. You should ensure that your data will allow you to uniquely identify the workers to
whom you wish to assign preferences while not inadvertently causing any omissions from your
eligibility criteria rules. See the section on OTLs preferences below for more information about
setting up and assigning preferences.
Please refer to Migrating from Shared to Full HR (Metalink Note: 304002.1) for more specific information
about your HR installation and upgrade. Please also see Supplement for Using the Enter and Maintain
Employee Information Template (HR Foundation) (Metalink Note: 284027.1) for more information on how
to add this template to your menu and its functionality.
14
All assignment records must have an HR organization on them. By default, your business group
is the organization on the record. If your business requires a more robust definition of
organizations, though, you will need to set them up in the HR application.
Many localizations have fields on the assignment record for capturing required data for managing
workers records in that country. For example, if your workers are in the United States, you must
have an organization set up as a Government Reporting Entity, as GRE is a required field on US
assignment records. Please refer to the appropriate HR implementation guide for the specific
requirements for your localization.
NOTE: Localizations and legislative requirements are only available if you have purchased a full
HR license.
To enter Projects information on their timecards, they must have a job on their assignment
record. To add a job to the assignment record, you must have set up jobs in the HR application.
You may optionally set up positions and use them and the position hierarchy. Positions are not
required to enter time on Projects timecards, though.
If you wish to have your workers direct supervisors approve their timecards, you must also add
the supervisors names to the assignment records. These records allow your Oracle applications
to build the supervisor hierarchy. If you select HR Supervisor as the approval method for your
timecard data, OTL will first notify the workers direct supervisor of timecards needing approval. If
that supervisor does not respond to the notification, OTL will forward the notification to the next
supervisor in the hierarchy and will continue to climb the hierarchy until the timecard has been
approved.
OTLs preferences may be linked to your workers based on a number of criteria based on fields
on their assignment records such as by organization, by job, or by location. If none of these fields
suit your needs, you may wish to set up the People Group Key Flexfield and use one or more of
its segments to allow you the flexibility you need in defining eligibility for OTLs preferences.
For more specific information on these setups, please refer to the HR implementation guide for your specific
localization. You can find all of these implementation guides on Metalink.
The table below indicates which HR data is required, and which application that integrates with OTL
requires the data. Many of the required fields have default values, which are indicated in the table as well.
If a field exists on the person or assignment record that is not listed here, that field is optional from OTLs
perspective and the perspective of its integrating applications. If those data assist you with your business
requirements, for example, to help you assign OTL preferences, you may wish to consider providing those
optional data. Please be advised that you must consult your account representative about the licensing
implications if you choose to use any of the optional data, though.
15
HR Data
Enterprise
Asset
Management
Human
Resources
Payroll
Projects
Purchasing
Last name
Gender
X
Value defaulted
from action used
to create
person record
X
Value defaulted
from action used
to create
person record
X
Value defaulted
from action used
to create
person record
X
Value defaulted
from action used
to create
person record
X
Value defaulted
from action used
to create
person record
X
Value defaulted
from business
group
X
Value defaulted
from business
group
Person Type
National
Identifier
Date of birth
Address
information
Organization
X
Value defaulted
from business
group
X
Value defaulted
from business
group
X
Value defaulted
from business
group
Job
X
Payroll
Assignment
Status
X
Value defaulted
from action used
to create
person record
X
Value defaulted
from action used
to create
person record
X
Value defaulted
from action used
to create
person record
X
Value defaulted
from action used
to create
person record
X
Value defaulted
from action used
to create
person record
X
Purchase
Order
Information
16
6. Preferences
You may have a variety of types of users in your business. For example, you may have exempt employees
who only report exceptions to their normal work schedule such as absences (sick or vacation time), you may
have contingent workers who report time against purchase orders, and you may have engineers, consultants,
or construction workers who report all time against projects and tasks. You can set up OTL such that each
set of workers may enter time on different timecard layouts, may have their timecards approved in different
ways, and their timecard data may be transferred to different Oracle applications.
OTL's preferences enable you to define rules about how individual workers or groups of workers can use the
application. There are rules for the time store, such as which set of applications can retrieve data about a
worker's time, and rules about Self Service timecard entry, such as whether the worker can enter a negative
number of hours. You can also choose which preferences workers can see, and which ones they can edit.
NOTE: The preference, Time Store Application Set, is a required preference. OTLs default value is Human
Resources. Be sure to override that preference in your setups to specify the correct application set for your
needs. In an Oracle Projects environment, the application set must at minimum include Projects, plus any
other applications that you may be integrating with your OTL installation.
OTL allows you to assign preferences to different groups of users with eligibility criteria rules. Following the
example above, you can define one set of preferences and assign them to all workers in your consulting
organization, define another set of preferences and assign them to all of your contingent workers, and define
yet another set of preferences and assign them to all workers at your company's headquarters.
Please refer to the Oracle Time & Labor Implementation and User Guide (Metalink Note: 207333.1) for more
specific information about preferences.
17
Even after your timecards have been submitted, approved, and transferred to Projects, your users can update
their timecards retroactively if necessary. You can enable this functionality with OTLs Self Service Timecard
Status That Allows User Edits preference. Depending on how you set this preference, your users may update
existing entries, or they may even add time entries as needed. Once you have transferred your projects
timecard data to Oracle Projects, if you change the time entry in Oracle Projects though, the system will
prevent your users from updating or deleting existing time entries in OTL regardless of how their status
allowing edits preference is set. This feature ensures appropriate accounting of your users time and prevents
any duplication of data.
18
Please refer to the Oracle Time & Labor Implementation and User Guide (Metalink Note: 207333.1) for more
specific information about defining and assigning time periods.
19
In the Context Field Values area, enter a line for each expenditure type class or expenditure
type for which you want to display a context-sensitive field on the timecards details page.
In the Segments Summary window, define the segments for the global data element context
(these fields appear for every expenditure type), and for each context field value.
2. Run OTLs Generate Flexfield and Mapping Information process, making sure you select Yes in the
Include Expenditure Items Flexfield field.
3. Review the contexts and segments that the process generated in the OTL Information Types flexfield
(the names you provided plus a system-generated prefix). Make sure that the contexts you want to
use in Oracle Time & Labor are enabled, and that there is at least one enabled segment for each
context.
Suggestion: Consider making all the segments that will appear on the Details page optional, even if
they are required in the Expenditure Items flexfield. If the segments are required in the OTL
Information Types flexfield, you must enter values for all the instances of the required field on the
Details page (each day of the week). You cannot close the page until all the values are entered. If
you make these segments optional, the validation will happen when the users complete their entry
and submit their timecards. At this point, the system validates the entries on the Details page against
the Expenditure Items flexfield.
4. Recompile the OTL Information Types flexfield.
5. Select a Details page layout in the Details Page segment of the Timecard Layout preference for your
Projects workers. They will be able to click on the Details icon displayed in each row of the timecard.
20
21
3. Add the Timekeeper Misc Setup Items preference. Enter the same Timekeeper Layout Item in the
Attribute Item Name for Detail Information Segment as you used for your TK Expenditures List
attribute and the value in the Descriptive Flexfield to Display segment.
22
9. Time Entry
Oracle Time and Labor (OTL) provides a number of methods for entering time:
You can upload data from a third party system or a time collection device such as a time
clock to create or modify time entries using this API.
For more specific information on how to use this API, please refer to Oracle OTL HXC
TimeStore Deposit API (Metalink Note: 223987.1).
Workers can enter their own time directly into a timecard by either manually creating the
time entries or by applying templates with predefined time entries.
Users can use disconnected entry to create and modify spreadsheets when not connected
to the Oracle applications, and then upload the spreadsheets upon next logging in to them.
Line managers enter time for the workers in their organization on a timecard-by-timecard
basis.
They also have template and disconnected entry functionality in this user interface.
Timekeeper
o
Timekeepers, usually clerical personnel, enter time in a "heads down data entry" mode for
a large group of workers. The Timekeeper user interface is available in the professional
forms.
A delegated user enters time for other workers in a Web-based user interface. This
method is useful for those customers who require decentralized time entry by a user other
than the worker, but the timecard preparer has no access to the professional forms.
This user interface permits time entry on a timecard-by-timecard basis, and provides
template and disconnected entry functionality as well.
Configurable layouts
Disconnected entry for downloading a template into a spreadsheet, modifying, and uploading into a
timecard.
23
9.2 Timekeeper
Oracle Time & Labor provides a heads-down approach to enter time for multiple workers in a single session
using the Timekeeper feature. A person in the role of a timekeeper can:
Enter time for other employees from a paper-based system filled out by the employee
Review and make changes to timecards imported from other time collection devices, including OTL
Self Service.
Timekeepers enter time for a large group of workers, called a timekeeper group. Timekeepers define their
groups using various criteria, such as assignment sets defined in Oracle HRMS, and organizations. You
can choose to add or delete specific workers from the chosen criteria and place them in another timekeeper
group. A super timekeeper can define a timekeeper group across the entire business group, and give a
group to another timekeeper to process and maintain. Timekeepers can also enter information for workers
who do not have an active assignment, such as making adjustments after a worker has been terminated.
Timekeepers select a specific timekeeper group which they have responsibility to maintain, and perform
time entry for individuals or the entire group in a window called the Timekeeper Entry window. The
timekeeper enters time, then validates, reviews, and corrects time entry errors, and submits the timecards
for approval. A Timekeeper is not necessarily an approver, although an approval responsibility may be
assigned to a user who has a timekeeper responsibility.
A timekeeper can perform mass edits on the entire group of workers or a selected subset. For instance, a
timekeeper might change an entered project code for a designated subset of the workers in that timekeeper
group.
In most respects, the timekeepers are acting on behalf of the workers in their groups. In general, they are
subject to the workers' assigned preferences, just as the line managers and authorized delegates are.
Because the timekeeper will see many timecards for a large number of employees on one screen, and not
all of them may have identical preferences assigned to them though, you may assign three preferences to
your timekeeper responsibilities:
24
Timekeeper Layout Attributes determines which columns will appear on the Timekeeper Time
Entry form. For example, if you want your timekeepers to enter project, task, and expenditure types
as the attributes of your workers' time entries, add them as the values for the segments on this
preference.
Timekeeper Misc Setup Items determines if the timekeeper will see start / stop time columns and
the workers' names or employee numbers. This preference also determines which fields will
require the timekeeper to enter reasons if the timecard data changes.
Timekeeper Change and Late Audit Items allows you to specify if your timekeepers must enter
CLA information, and if any is entered, whom to notify about the entered data.
Please refer to the Oracle Time & Labor Implementation and User Guide (Metalink Note: 207333.1) for
more specific information about Timekeeper's features and setups.
9.3 Line Manager Self Service
Line managers can create, edit, and submit timecards for workers in their organization within their assigned
security profile, based upon the workers' preferences: the managers are acting on behalf of their workers.
The timecard that they see for each worker is the same timecard that the workers themselves would see if
they were entering their own time through the Self Service timecard.
Line managers can access workers using the supervisor hierarchy, or using the SSHR My List function to
access workers within their security profile. This function allows managers to record timecards for absent
workers, or for workers who may not be available to enter their time before the timecard data must be
transferred to a recipient application.
The Self Service Line Manager functionality allows your managers to see a list of the workers in their
organizations, displayed in a hierarchy, where the manager can expand the list to see workers reporting to
the manager's direct reports. The managers can also use the 'My List' submenu option to select workers
that are not shown in the hierarchy. Clicking on the Action icon in the hierarchy sets the context for the
selected worker and displays the Recent Timecards page for that worker.
NOTE: The Self Service Line Manager user interface allows you to enter time only on a timecard-bytimecard basis. If your business requires a large number of timecards to be entered in heads-down data
entry mode, Timekeeper is a better option.
By default, line managers can enter their own timecard information using their assigned Line Manager
responsibility. If you do not wish to allow them to enter their own timecards through this interface, you can
restrict them from doing so in two ways:
25
Set the security profile 'Exclude User' if the 'My List' sub menu is enabled for the Line Manager
responsibility.
NOTE: If your Line Manager responsibility's menu does not include the 'My List' sub menu, then
the security profile 'Exclude User ' is not evaluated.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Use delivered menus and responsibilities as an example only for
configuration. Do not modify delivered menus or responsibilities, to ensure delivered they update properly in
future patches.
Please refer to the Oracle Time & Labor Implementation and User Guide (Metalink Note: 207333.1) and to
Configuring, Reporting and System Administration in Oracle HRMS (Metalink Note: 214791.1) for more
specific information about Self Service Line Manager's features and setups.
9.4 Authorized Delegate
If you need to delegate time entry for your workers to designated time entry personnel other than line
managers, but those personnel do not have access to the professional forms of the Oracle applications, you
may wish to use this method of time entry. For example, you may wish to authorize executive assistants to
enter time for their managers, or to have a clerical worker submit timecards for all workers at a given
construction site or only for workers while they are on vacation.
You assign the list of workers whose timecards they will enter to your authorized delegates by means of an
HR security profile. The authorized delegate selects a worker from within that security profile, then enters
or updates timecards on behalf of that worker. Like in Self Service Line Manager, the authorized delegates
act on behalf of the workers for whom they enter time, so the workers' preferences determine how the
authorized delegate may use the system. The timecard that they see for each worker is the same timecard
that the workers themselves would see if they were entering their own time through the Self Service
timecard.
NOTE: The authorized delegate can only enter time on a timecard-by-timecard basis. If your business
requires a large number of timecards to be entered in heads-down data entry mode, Timekeeper is a better
option.
By default, authorized delegates can enter their own timecard information using their assigned
responsibility. If you do not wish to allow them to enter their own timecards through this interface, you can
restrict from doing so by setting an additional parameter on the time entry function on the responsibility's
menu, just like for Self Service Line Manager (see above).
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Use delivered menus and responsibilities as an example only for
configuration. Do not modify delivered menus or responsibilities, to ensure they update properly in future
patches.
Please refer to Authorizing Delegates for Time Entry (Metalink Note: 344280.1), to the Oracle Time &
Labor Implementation And User Guide (Metalink Note: 207333.1), and to Configuring, Reporting and
System Administration in Oracle HRMS (Metalink Note: 214791.1) for more specific information regarding
Authorized Delegate functionality and its setups.
26
10. Templates
While accounting for your workers time is necessary for many businesses, most managers would like time
entry to happen as rapidly and as accurately as possible. To that end, OTL provides templates that store
timecard data for reuse. Templates help users to avoid repetitive and error-prone data entry. Your workers
can focus on entry of any time that is different from their expected working pattern by simply correcting any
entries that need to change, and by adding new entries.
For example, you might define a project-specific template for a weekly timecard that records four hours per
day charged to one project and task, and another four hours per day charged to the same project but a
different task. After applying the template to the timecard, you can update the entries created from the
template just as you would any other entry. You can add more entries, and can even append any other
appropriate template to the existing entries, depending on your assigned preferences.
Dynamic templates
o
Last Timecard This template uses the time entry data from the most recently submitted
timecard. You typically use this template when an employee is working on the same
project week after week, eliminating the need for repetitive entry of project and task
numbers.
PJRM (Projects assignments) If you have implemented Oracle Project Resource
Management for your workers' assignments, this template generates time and labor
entries from the project, type, and hours information held in that module.
Work Schedule OTL provides a number of objects such as Work Schedule, Rotation
Plan, etc, that when set up, provide the information needed to auto-populate your users
timecard with the basic structure of their work schedule, including start and stop times as
appropriate.
27
Private templates
o
You can grant some or all of your users the ability to create their own templates, using
preferences. Your users can then create and save templates that contain time entries
whose attributes consist of your users most frequently entered or current projects and
tasks.
There are two ways to create a private template: by saving a timecard as a template, or
by creating a new template from scratch, much as you would create a timecard.
Public templates
o
Since your administrative users often have more information about your projects and
tasks, they can create templates and assign them to your users to simplify and speed up
your users time entry.
Your administrative users can create groups of public templates and assign them to a
specific worker, a group of workers, or to all workers through OTL's preferences.
28
Please refer to the Oracle Time & Labor Implementation and User Guide (Metalink Note: 207333.1) for
more specific information about using templates and enabling templates for your users.
29
You can assign the appropriate layout of an exported timecard for your workers to use by the value of the
Export segment of the Timecard Layout preference. OTL delivers seeded export layouts for each
predefined timecard layout.
Once the time has been recorded offline, Self Service users, line managers, and authorized delegates can
upload the data directly into OTL. Once the data appears in the timecard, your users can edit the uploaded
values, enter the new values, and submit the timecard, just as they would if they were entering the time in a
blank timecard.
Oracle Development recognizes that customers use a wide variety of spreadsheet applications, so by
default the exported file (.csv file) is not formatted for any particular spreadsheet application. Many former
OIT customers find the MS Excel formatting of the template for disconnected entry useful, though. Please
refer to Formatting an Exported OTL Template (Metalink Note: 283593.1) to assist you in formatting your
downloaded .csv file for MS Excel, if that is your spreadsheet application of choice. Please refer to the
Oracle Time & Labor Implementation and User Guide (Metalink Note: 207333.1) for more specific
information about disconnected entry in OTL.
30
You may define when a timecard is considered late. If the user attempts to enter any time
entered after the due date has passed, the system will require the user to enter a reason.
You can track all changes to new timecards, as well as to previously saved and submitted
timecards.
You may define your own reason codes to fit your business's requirements. When prompted to
enter a reason for a changed or a late time entry, your users may only select from the reason
codes that you include in this list.
OTL delivers rules defining when reasons for late or changed entries must be entered. You may
use the delivered rules, or you may configure your own rules to meet your business's needs.
You cannot delete timecards or time entries from your timecards when using CLA, because
deleting timecards and time entry data eliminates accurate audit trails. However, instead of
deleting a line item from the timecard, you can enter zero (0) in the Hours field. This update
creates a change record, so the system will require your user to enter a change reason.
For Self Service users using the Change and Late Audit feature, the Audit Information page
automatically appears after a worker selects Review from the time entry page. The Audit
Information page requires the worker to enter a reason code for each day of the modified
timecard. You may also enter a comment to correspond with the changes made to each line item.
Timekeepers can also use the CLA feature to enter change and late-entry reasons when entering
time for other workers. The Timekeeper Group and Timekeeper Entry windows display the
workers for whom timekeepers can enter reasons and comments.
NOTE: Even if you have enabled CLA for some of your workers, you may choose not to have
your timekeepers enter reasons for late or changed entries if you consider that doing so would
slow down their time entry too much. You may decide that your paper timecards contain
sufficient audit information, and entering it into OTL may be unnecessary for your business.
Your authorized delegates and line managers can use the CLA feature as well. The user
interfaces for line managers and authorized delegates behave just as the Self Service timecard
would, so the system will require authorized delegates or line managers to enter reasons under
exactly the same circumstances as it would for any Self Service users.
You can even make your configured timecard layouts, including columns that you add, subject to
CLA rules.
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Original timecard
Changed timecard
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Please refer to the Oracle Time & Labor Implementation and User Guide (Metalink Note: 207333.1) for
more specific information about CLA's features and its implementation.
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Entry Level Approval a means to route portions of your timecards to various approvers. The
approvers will only see the portion of the timecard that requires their approval. With this approval
style, you can set up categories for different types of time entries and specify the appropriate
approval style for each time category.
Project Manager Because the Projects data changes frequently in many organizations using
Oracle Projects and maintaining time categories for each project would be quite time-consuming
and prone to human error, OTL categorizes the time entries on your timecards according to the
associated Projects data for you. OTL then determines the appropriate project manager for each
category it has identified and sends the time entries to that project manager. If the same
manager is identified for more than one category, OTL combines the data for each category into a
single notification, so the manager does not receive multiple notifications. Since this style is a
special case of Entry Level Approval, each of the project managers will see only the timecard
data related to their own projects, though, and no other timecard data.
Formula (Selects mechanism) you may write a FastFormula that determines what approval
style is necessary, based on the data entered on the timecard
Workflow you may develop your own workflow for handling notifications, rather than using the
functionality in OTLs workflow for notifying approvers.
You can also use a combination of these mechanisms on your approval styles. For example, if you are
integrating OTL with Oracle Payroll as well as with Oracle Projects, you may wish to have the HR
Supervisor approve the payroll data on the timecard, but still have the Project Manager approve the
Projects-related data. Based on the configuration of your approval style, the appropriate approvers will
receive notifications and will only see the relevant data in their notifications.
For further flexibility, approval rules, known as data interdependency rules, provide a means to specify
under which conditions the timecard data requires approval. For example, if you only require approval of
overtime, you can configure a rule such that it will detect when overtime has been entered on the timecard
and thus route the notification to the approver that you specify.
OTL also supports Projects client extensions that allow you to control how your timecards are approved.
You can write code to determine if your timecards require approval, or you can define an approval
hierarchy. OTL will execute any client extension that determines if timecards are required, and will execute
a client extension that specifies an approval hierarchy if you set your approval method to HR Supervisor. In
this case, OTL will override the HR supervisor hierarchy with yours. If you implemented a client extension
in OIT, you do not need to re-code it or migrate your code during the upgrade. OTL will automatically detect
your existing code that determines if approval is required, and it will detect your existing code that defines
an approval hierarchy if you set your approval method to HR Supervisor.
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Please refer to the Oracle Time & Labor Implementation and User Guide (Metalink Note: 207333.1) for
more specific information about timecard approvals and client extensions in OTL.
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The Worklist Timecard Approval interface The timecard approvers may review and approve or
reject individual timecards in this interface.
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The Mass Timecard Approval The timecard approvers may review individual timecards, and may
select a number of timecards to approve or reject with one action in this interface.
The email notification If you configure your system to send email notifications, the timecard
approvers may review individual timecards and approve or reject them directly from the notification.
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You can also allow your timecard preparers to enter override approvers, based on assigned preferences.
The predefined Oracle Projects timecard layout has an Override Approver field. The worker, line manager,
or authorized delegate can select anyone in the business group as the override approver. The timecard is
sent to this approver only, and the usual approval style is not activated. You can restrict the list of values
for the Override Approver field by modifying the Overriding Approver view.
Please refer to the Oracle Time & Labor Implementation and User Guide (Metalink Note: 207333.1) for
more specific information about approving OTL timecards.
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15. Timecard Retrieval and Transfer to Oracle Projects and Other Applications
Once your timecards have been submitted and/or approved in OTL, they are ready to be retrieved by the
recipient applications that use the data. For example, using an Oracle Projects responsibility, you run
PRC: Transaction Import to transfer your approved timecard data from OTL to Oracle Projects. Your setups
in Oracle Projects also indicate whether the incoming time entries should be designated as billable during
this process. Once you have run this process, all transferred timecard data is available for normal
processing billing, project accounting, etc. within Oracle Projects.
If you transfer your timecard data to other recipient applications, such as Oracle Purchasing, each
application can have its own rules for what timecards may be retrieved. For example, Oracle Projects
allows you to only transfer approved timecards from OTL to Oracle Projects, but you may need to transfer
timecards to Oracle Payroll as soon as they have been submitted, even prior to the timecard's approval.
OTL's retrieval rules permit you to define in what status your timecards may be retrieved and transferred
into other applications.
NOTE: Using other applications with OTL requires the appropriate licenses. Please contact your account
representative if you need to enter time and transfer it to any applications other than Oracle Projects.
Your timecard data may be modified, updated, or deleted in OTL, depending on your businesss needs,
even after you have transferred it to Oracle Projects or other applications. Such changes are called "retro
adjustments". If you permit your users to update their timecards retroactively, you can re-run the PRC:
Transaction Import to transfer only changed data to Oracle Projects, once the timecard data has again been
approved. You can also prevent your users from making retro adjustments, or any updates at all, by
defining and assigning OTL's Timecard Status Allowing Edits preference.
NOTE: If you make any changes to the timecard data within Oracle Projects, you cannot edit the timecard
within Oracle Time & Labor, regardless of how you have defined the Timecard Status Allowing Edits
preference. You will receive an error when you try to submit a retro adjusted timecard.
OTL also provides the Retrieval Error Handling Report, so you can check the results of the retrieval and
transfer processes such as PRC: Transaction Import.
Please refer to the Oracle Time & Labor Implementation and User Guide (Metalink Note: 207333.1) for
more specific information about retrieving and transferring OTL timecards to recipient applications.
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Projects. See Sections 6 and 15 for more information about preferences and transferring timecard data
to other applications.
8. Can I migrate my old OIT timecards to OTL so my users can see them in OTL?
All of your old timecards can be migrated to OTL. If you migrate them, your users will be able to see them
in OTL just like the ones they will create in OTL. See OIT to OTL Migration (Metalink Note: 289674.1) for
more information about migrating your OIT timecards to OTL.
9. The OTL timecard shows the project and task numbers; can I add the project and task names to
the timecard?
Yes, you can configure OTLs timecard and notification layouts to display the project and task names, as
well as other information or fields that you might find useful for your time entry. See Oracle Time & Labor
Timecard Configuration 11.5.10+ (Metalink Note: 304340.1; customers whose systems are not yet at the
11.5.10 level should refer to Oracle Time & Labor Timecard Configuration, Metalink Note: 227603.1.) for
more information about configuring your OTL layouts.
10. Can I have any time periods of any length for my timecards if I am a Projects user?
Yes, you can have any time period of any length for your timecards. If you choose to have a weekly time
period for your timecards that have Projects in their application set, then you should start your time period
on the same day of the week that your Projects start. See Section 7 for more information about time
periods in OTL.
11. Are the same client extensions supported in OIT and OTL?
Yes, OTL supports and calls OITs client extensions. If you have implemented a client extension to
determine whether or not approvals are required, OTL automatically calls your existing code. If your
client extension implements a hierarchy of approvers, you must use the HR Supervisor approval method.
If you have set that approval method on your approval style, OTL will call your code and override the HR
supervisor hierarchy with your own. See Section 13 for more information about approval styles, and the
Oracle Time & Labor Implementation and User Guide (Metalink Note: 207333.1) for more information
about using client extensions in OTL.
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Oracle Time & Labor Timecard Configuration 11.5.10+ (Metalink Note: 304340.1; customers whose
systems are not yet at the 11.5.10 level should refer to Oracle Time & Labor Timecard Configuration,
Metalink Note: 227603.1.)
Supplement for Using the Enter and Maintain Employee Information Template (HR Foundation) (Metalink
Note: 284027.1)
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