Leave plans

A leave plan is a rule used to automatically create leave ledger entries. Leave plans can update one or more leave ledgers.

To determine if a leave plan can update two (or more) ledgers, consider the business rules for accruals. If the business rules have the same basis, such as "vacation accrues every week" or "sick leave accrues every week", it is highly likely that one leave plan can do the automatic accruals for both. Also, a company policy such as "when an employee's sick leave is used up, start withdrawing from their vacation leave" suggests that one leave plan can drive both types of leave.

A few things you should know about leave plans:

Leave plan rules are defined in a custom SQL procedure that is associated on the leave plan record. These SQL procedures are typically written by AccountingWare based on your company's policies.
A GL calendar is assigned to each leave plan to determine how frequently leave is accrued. In general, the GL calendar on a leave plan matches the calendar for payroll runs.
Leave plans are assigned to employees in the Seniority & Leave Plans table on the Seniority & Leave tab of the employee record. You can optionally assign a range of effective dates to the employee's leave plan. Specifying a begin date allows the automatic accruals for a new employee to be delayed until a specific date. Assigning an end date allows automatic accruals to stop in case the employee is assigned to a different leave plan.

In reality, leave plans can track any kind of balance in Payroll that could be regarded as statistical. Think of a leave ledger as an accumulator for tracking and presenting a balance of the items it accumulates. Such items could include:

Vacation and sick leave, where an employee accrues time and uses it periodically.
Service months, where an employee earns tenure.
Events worked, where an employee receives special credits for working extra events.

Example

To track hours worked and apply special rules to those hours, such as limiting the accrual to a certain number per month, or to use hours as a basis for determining vacation leave accruals, you could set up an hours-worked ledger. The number of months or weeks worked can be tracked by calculating an accrual based on a payroll calendar or on the number of hours worked.

Since accrual calculations are custom procedures, virtually any "leave" policy can be accommodated.

Create a leave plan

Process a leave plan

The following procedure describes how to process a leave plan to accrue leave. Leave usage is calculated from time sheets. You should process leave plans after proofing time sheets but before printing checks and direct deposit advice (if you are printing leave ledger activity on check stubs). However, if check calculation relies on leave ledger balances, process the leave plans before processing time sheets.

Tip

Leave entries can be deleted and the plan(s) that created the (deleted) entries can be reprocessed at any time.

In brief, this is how leave plan processing works:

The Process Seniority & Leave Plans wizard looks for the calendar period in the GL calendar which is associated with the leave plan you are processing that falls completely within the date range specified in the wizard.
For each valid period for each selected employee, the wizard calls the custom SQL procedure to calculate the accrual and usage amounts to post and inserts rows into a temporary table.
The wizard compares existing entries with the entries in the temporary table and does one of the following:
- If there are no existing entries which match the entries in the temporary table, the entries in the temporary table are posted.
- If the existing entries match the entries in the temporary table, no postings are generated.
- If the existing entries do not match the entries in the temporary table, adjusting entries are created to reverse the existing entries and the entries in the temporary table are posted.

To process a leave plan:

Process a leave plan

In the Navigation pane, highlight the Payroll/Human Resources > Leave Plans folder.
Start the Process Seniority & Leave Plans wizard.
- To process all or a filtered subset of leave plans:
  1. Right-click and select Select and Process from the shortcut menu.
  2. On the Selection tab, define any filters to apply to the data.
- To process specifically selected leave plans:
  1. In the HD view, select the leave plans to process. You can use Ctrl and/or Shift selection to select multiple leave plans.
  2. Click .
- To process a particular leave plan from the Seniority & Leave Plans window:
  1. In the HD view, locate and double-click the leave plan to process. The Seniority & Leave Plan window opens with the leave plan record loaded.
  2. Click .
Select the Process tab.
In the Begin Date and End Date fields, enter the range of dates for which to process the leave plan. The range of dates must completely contain one or more of the periods in the leave plan calendar. Typically, this is the pay period begin and end dates.
Select the Employees tab.
Define any filters to apply to the employees selected for leave plan processing.
Click Next >>. ActivityHD prompts you to confirm your action.
Click Yes. ActivityHD creates entries for the leave plan(s) and reports its results.
Click Next >>. ActivityHD shows the leave entries created in the process.
At this point, you can double-click the leave entries in the right pane to drill down to the Seniority & Leave Entry window, or you can print the Entries Listing.
When you finish viewing or working with the leave entries, click Finish.

Plans Listing

Purpose

The Plans Listing provides a list of leave plans defined in Payroll.

Content

For each leave plan included on the report, the listing shows:

description
step level
calendar
SQL procedure.

In addition, you can include one or more of the following:

timestamps
memos
custom fields.

The following total appears on the report:

record count.

Print the report

In the Navigation pane, highlight the Payroll/Human Resources > Leave Plans folder.
Start the report set-up wizard.
- To report on all or a filtered subset of leave plans:
  1. Right-click the Leave Plans folder and select Select and Report > Plans Listing from the shortcut menu.
  2. On the Selection tab, define any filters to apply to the data.
- To report on specifically selected leave plans:
  1. In the HD view, select the leave plans to include on the report. You can use Ctrl and/or Shift selection to select multiple records.
  2. Click .
- To report on a particular leave plan from the Seniority & Leave Plan window:
  1. In the HD view, locate and double-click the leave plan to report on. The Seniority & Leave Plan window opens with the leave plan loaded.
  2. Click .
Select the Options tab.
To include a section at the end of the report with the report settings used to produce the report, leave the Include Report Options checkbox marked. To produce the report without this information, clear the checkbox.
Mark the checkbox(es) for the additional information to include:
- Timestamps
- Memos
- Custom Fields (only visible if custom fields are set up)
Select the Output tab.
In the Design field, look up and select the report design to use.

In the toolbar, click the icon for the type of output you want:

- Provides access to two preview options.
- Preview - Click the icon or click the drop-down arrow and select Preview from the drop-down menu to view the report in the Crystal Reports viewer.
- Preview to PDF - Click the drop-down arrow next to the icon and select Preview to PDF to view the report in the PDF reader.
- Opens the Print dialog so that you can select and configure a printer and then print a paper copy of the report.
- Opens the Report Email dialog so that you can address and compose an email that the report will be attached to. For best results, ensure your email client is running before you attempt to send a report via email.
- Opens the Export Report dialog so that you can save the report to a file. File types include Crystal Reports (.rpt), PDF (.pdf), Microsoft Excel (.xls), Microsoft Word (.doc), rich text (.rtf), and XML (.xml).

Data extensions

The following data extension is available for the report:

Leave plans

Leave Plan Record ID

Code

A unique code for the leave plan.

Description

A description of the leave plan.

Plan tab

Step Level

A number to indicate the order in which to process this leave plan.

Calendar

The calendar to use to determine how often automatic leave entries are created for this leave plan.

Press F3 to look up the value.

If a value is already selected, you can press F4 to open the record in its native editor.

Procedure

The name of the SQL procedure to use to calculate automatic leave entries.

Custom tab

This tab is visible if custom fields exist for the entity. At a minimum, if there are custom fields, a Fields subtab will be present. One or more additional categories of subtabs may also be visible.

Fields subtab

This tab prompts for values for any custom fields set up for entity records of this entity type. Respond to the prompts as appropriate.

References subtab

This tab is visible if other records reference the current record.

Reference

From the drop-down list, select the custom field to view references for. Reference custom fields have the following format: PackageName.EntityName.CustomFieldName.

Example

Suppose a custom field exists on PRCodes that references an ARCode. On the ARCode record, on the Custom > References subtab, you can view all the PRCodes which reference that ARCode.

Exchange Folder subtab

This tab is visible only if you set up a custom field with a data type of "Exchange Folder". The label on this tab is the name assigned to the custom field.

This tab shows the contents of the specified Exchange folder.

File subtab

This tab is visible only if you set up a custom field with a data type of "File". The label on the tab is the name assigned to the custom field.

This tab renders the contents of the specified file according to its file type.

Internet Address subtab

This tab is visible only if you set up a custom field with a data type of "Internet Address". The label on this tab is the name assigned to the custom field.

This tab shows the contents of the specified web page.

Network Folder subtab

This tab is visible only if you set up a custom field with a data type of "Network Folder". The label on this tab is the name assigned to the custom field.

This tab shows the contents of the specified network folder.

Employees tab

The Employees pane shows the Employees HD view filtered to show all employees with the selected leave plan.

Double-click a row in the pane to drill down to its record in the Employee window.

Attachments tab

The Attachments tab is visible if any record for a given entity has an attachment. If the Attachments tab is not visible, this implies that no record of the entity type has an attachment on it; however, once an attachment is added to any record of the entity type, the Attachments tab will become available.

Attachments

The list box shows the files which are attached to the current record. Highlight a file name to preview the file in the adjacent pane. Double-click a file name to open the file in its native editor.

Preview pane

If a file name is highlighted in the Attachments list box, this pane shows a preview of the file contents. Some file types cannot be previewed but can be double-clicked to open in their native editor.

Change Logs tab

This tab is visible if the user has "Change Logs" access to the associated data folder resource.

The Change Logs pane shows the Change Logs HD view filtered to show all change logs for the selected entity record.

Double-click a row in the pane to drill down to its record in the Change Log window.

Other tab

Memo tab

To include additional information about this record not collected elsewhere, enter it in this text box. This area supports common keyboard shortcuts such as Ctrl+C to copy and Ctrl+V to paste.

Timestamps tab

This tab shows the user who created this record and the date and time of creation as well as the user, date, and time of the latest modification to the record.

Developer tab

This tab is visible only when developer features are enabled.

Automation subtab

This subtab shows field names and values for the current data record. Use the information in the subtab to assist when creating automation objects such as bots and import files. The field names and field values can be copied from the text box and pasted directly into your code or application. To copy content from the text box, highlight the content to copy and press Ctrl+C or right-click your selection and select Copy from the context menu.

Export (XML | JSON) subtab

This subtab shows the XML syntax for exporting the selected data record. The syntax can be copied from the text box as an exemplar for creating your own automation objects for bots, import files, ActivWebAPI, etc. To copy content from the text box, highlight the content to copy and press Ctrl+C or right-click your selection and select Copy from the context menu.

Import (XML | JSON) subtab

This subtab allows you to select a file for import and shows the XML syntax for importing data records. Use the subtab to explore the XML syntax for importing data records. In particular, you can investigate the syntax which results when using Data.Import and ActivWebAPI data POST and DELETE routes.

Change Log (XML | JSON) subtab

This subtab is visible only when the Enable Change Logs option is marked in System Options or Company Options (depending on whether the feature applies at the system or the company level). This is the default setting when developer features are enabled.

This subtab allows you to investigate changes to the current data record. The syntax can be copied for use in bots, dashboards, ActivWebAPI, and other automation. To copy content from the text box, highlight the content to copy and press Ctrl+C or right-click your selection and select Copy from the context menu.

Select Statement (SQL) subtab

This subtab allows you to investigate the SQL select statement used to retrieve the current data record. The syntax can be copied as an exemplar for data sources and other automation. To copy content from the text box, highlight the content to copy and press Ctrl+C or right-click your selection and select Copy from the context menu.

Extras\Payroll\Import Employee Leave Plans.xls

Common accesses available on leave plans

Access	A user with this access can...
Change	Use the mass change action on leave plans.
Change Logs
Custom Fields	Create and edit custom fields for leave plans.
Data	Have read-only access to leave plans from anywhere in the software (e.g., field validations, filters, date expressions).
Delete	Delete leave plans.
Edit	Edit leave plan records.
Export	Export leave plan records from ActivityHD.
Import	Import leave plan records into ActivityHD.
New	Create new leave plan records.
Read	Have read-only access to leave plan records.
Report	Run reports with leave plan information.
Report Designs	Create and edit report designs with leave plan information. This access enables the Report Designs button on the Output tab of report dialogs.
Shared Answers	Create and edit saved answers related to leave plans.
Shared Filters	Create and edit shared filters on leave plans.
Visible	View the Leave Plans folder in the Navigation pane.

Special access available on leave plans

Access	A user with this access can...
Process	Process leave plans.

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Leave plans

Create a leave plan

Process a leave plan

Plans Listing

Purpose

Content

Print the report

Data extensions

Leave Plan Record ID

Plan tab

Custom tab

Fields subtab

References subtab

Exchange Folder subtab

File subtab

Internet Address subtab

Network Folder subtab

Employees tab

Attachments tab

Change Logs tab

Other tab

Developer tab

Automation subtab

Export (XML | JSON) subtab

Import (XML | JSON) subtab

Change Log (XML | JSON) subtab

Select Statement (SQL) subtab

Leave plans security

Common accesses available on leave plans

Special access available on leave plans