ELECTRONIC TIMESHEETS
This page is to provide a basic overview and answer some frequently asked questions regarding our new QuickBooks Time, Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) timesheet system. The primary reason we are transitioning from paper timesheets to EVV is due to Medicare requirements for organizations being reimbursed by Medicare (such as Veteran’s Administration and PACE). This transition has been challenging, but once everyone becomes familiar with the new system, I believe EVV time recording will prove to be beneficial for everyone (more accurate, efficient and convenient with no more timesheet drop-offs).
Watch the video below and then review the following Frequently Asked Questions:
Important Functions & Terms:
“Time Clock” tab (phone/PC apps) - this is where you “Clock In” and “Clock Out” during a shift; identify which “Customer” you worked for; identify the “Service Code” and enter any pertinent “Notes” from the shift.
“Schedule” tab (phone/PC apps) - this is where staff can view and verify their regular assignments. On the phone app, “Schedules” tab will initially be found under the “More …” tab (along with other app functions). On phone app, the “Schedule” tab can be re-organized to be viewed in the main “tab bar preview” along with any other desired functions.
“Timesheets” tab (phone app only) - this is where previous “Time Clock” entries are stored as “Timesheets” for each shifts worked. Within this tab/function of the app, “Timesheets” can be viewed, edited, new entries generated and where staff “Submit” their “Timesheets” at the end of the pay period.
“Time Entries” tab (PC app only) - this is where previous “Time Clock” entries are stored as “Timesheets” for each shifts worked. Within this tab/function of the app, “Timesheets” can be viewed, edited, new entries generated and where staff “Submit” their “Timesheets” at the end of the pay period.
“Overview” tab (phone app only) - this is where staff can view at a glance: 1) your current “Clock In” status (click section for full “Time Clock” display); 2) your total hours worked (by day, by week and pay period); 3) your “Schedule” (today or click section to open full “Schedule” tab); 4) your weekly hours worked by “Customer.” The “Overview” function can be re-organized to display a list of desired information.
“Customer” tab (phone/PC apps) - is located in the “Time Clock” and “Timesheet” functions. This is where you identify which client you are serving during your shift from among those clients you are included as part of their care team. Some clients are included within “Customer” sub-folders (agencies we serve): “AHC APS, AHC RCRC, AHC PACE, AHC VETERAN”
“Service Item” tab (phone/PC apps) - is located in the “Time Clock” and “Timesheet” functions. This is where you identify the type of service being provided for your client: “Regular Shift” (shifts lasting two-hours or longer) or “Wellness Visit” (shifts lasting one-hour or less).
“Submit/Submit Time” function (phone/PC apps) - is located in the “Timesheet” tab. This is how “Timesheets” are turned in at the end of the pay period.
Frequently Asked Questions:
schedules:
QUESTION: What if my online “Schedule” is wrong?
ANSWER: Contact Brian ASAP (texting works best) with the client’s full name, the correct days and hours you are scheduled to work. Brian will update the online schedule and confirm when done. Please Note: if the online schedule is wrong, you will still be able to clock-in to any clients within your “Customer” list.
QUESTION: Will fill-in shifts show up on my “Schedule”?
ANSWER: No. Only ongoing, regularly assigned clients will appear on your “Schedule”; however, you will be able to “clock-in” on the “Time Clock” and/or create a “Timesheet” for any clients within your your “Customer” list.
QUESTION: What if my assigned client is not showing up on my “Customer” list on the “Time Clock/Timesheet”?
ANSWER 1: Contact Brian ASAP (texting works best), and he will add you to the client’s care team so you can gain access and clock-in.
ANSWER 2: If Brian is unable to add you to the client’s care team before your scheduled shift, you can select “Agape (new client)” from the “Customer” list on the “Time Clock” to clock-in. Document the client’s full name in the “Notes” section of the “Time Clock” for the shift. You will be able to go back and reassign that shift to the actual client served once you’ve been added to the client’s care team (see TIMESHEET EDITING below).
QUESTION: What if I am filling-in for a shift that someone else is showing as regularly scheduled/assigned to?
ANSWER: Disregard the posted schedule and clock-in for the shift as requested.
QUESTION: Why do “Wellness Visits” show up as two-hour shifts on the “Schedule”?
ANSWER: All schedules are entered in two-hour blocks of time, even “Wellness Visits.” In the “Service Item” section of the “Time Clock/Timesheet,” enter “Wellness Visit,” and you will be compensated at the “Wellness Visit” rate.
QUESTION: What if I am getting notifications from the app about a shift I am no longer assigned to?
ANSWER: Contact Brian ASAP (texting works best) with the client’s full name and the erroneous shift. Brian will update the online schedule.
TIME CLOCK RECORDING:
QUESTION: What if I accidentally clocked-in to the wrong client on the “Time Clock” while at a scheduled shift?
ANSWER: Click the “Switch >” option on the “Time Clock” (on the phone app only) and enter the correct client as soon as the error is discovered. Document what happened in the “Notes” section of the “Time Clock” (EX - “I clocked into the wrong client”). If you worked an entire shift clocked-in to the wrong client and have already clocked out, you will need to edit your “Timesheet” entry (see TIMESHEET EDITING below).
QUESTION: What if I need to leave the client’s residence for a client’s errand/shopping trip during my shift?
ANSWER: Remain clocked-in to the “Time Clock” during the entire shift and document each destination and total miles traveled in the “Notes” section of the “Time Clock” (EX - “WINCO and Walgreens, 5.5 miles).
QUESTION: What if my client is not home or the client declines services upon arrival for my scheduled shift?
ANSWER: Clock-in at the scheduled time on the “Time Clock” and document why you left early on the “Notes” section of the “Time Clock” (EX - “Client not home” OR “Client declined services”) and then clock-out. The “Timesheet” will show “0” time for the visit; however, you will be paid for the full “Wellness Visit” OR the minimum service of 2 hours - whichever you were scheduled.
QUESTION: What if my client releases me early from my scheduled shift?
ANSWER: Clock-out when you are released and document why you left early on the “Notes” section of the “Time Clock” (EX - “Client released me early because of unexpected guests”). You will be paid for the full “Wellness Visit” OR the minimum service of 2 hours - whichever you were scheduled.
QUESTION: What if I have to leave my scheduled shift early for personal reasons?
ANSWER: Clock-out when you leave the shift and document why you left early on the “Notes” section of the “Time Clock” (EX - “I left early for personal reasons”). You will be paid for the actual time worked rounded to the nearest quarter-hour.
QUESTION: What is a “Wellness Visits” and how are they compensated?
ANSWER: Wellness Visits are short visits lasting between fifteen minutes and one-hour (even if the online schedule shows two hours). Mark “Wellness Visit” in the “Service Item” section of the “Time Clock,” and you will be paid the Wellness Visit rate: one hour paid at overtime (time-and-a-half regular pay). You must remain “clocked-in” for a minimum of fifteen minutes before “clocking-out” on the “Time Clock.”
QUESTION: What about lunch breaks?
ANSWER: If you have opted for “paid, on-duty” lunch breaks (per your employment agreement), you do not need to clock-out for lunch breaks. If you have opted for “unpaid, off-duty” lunch breaks, you will need to clock-out when leaving for your lunch break and then clock-in upon return on the “Time Clock” (this will generate two “Timesheets” for the visit).
QUESTION: What information should be included in the “Notes” section of the “Time Clock/Timesheet”?
ANSWER: The “Notes” section is ONLY for documenting the following information: time corrections & explanations for altered schedules; client name when selecting “Agape (New Client)”; errand locations & total miles for errands. The “Notes” section is not for client logbook entries (duties performed or client’s health concerns) or for messaging administrative staff.
timeSHEET editing:
QUESTION: What if I did not accurately clock-in and/or clock-out on the “Time Clock” during my shift?
ANSWER: You will need to go to the “Timesheets” section of the phone app (“Time Entries” on PC) to edit and correct the “Timesheet” entry before submitting it. You will be able to adjust the “Time In” and “Time Out” for any “Timesheet” entry that requires corrections. Whenever you make any changes to “Timesheet” entries, make sure you are accurate and that you document what changes were made and why in the “Notes” section of the “Timesheet” (EX - “I forgot to clock-in when I arrived”)
QUESTION: What if I forgot to enter anything on my “Time Clock” for a previously worked shift?
ANSWER: You will need to go to the “Timesheets” section of the phone app (“Time Entries” on PC) to create a “Timesheet” for any unrecorded time. Click the “+ Add Time” button (“+” on top right of phone app) to create a new “Timesheet,” and enter the “Date, Time In, Time Out, Customer name and Service Item” for the shift. Whenever you generate a “Timesheet” in this way (instead of using the “Time Clock”), make sure you are accurate (time entered to nearest quarter hour) and that you document why you created the “Timesheet” in the “Notes” section of the “Timesheet” (EX - “I was unable to log into the app”).
QUESTION: What if I accidentally entered my time to the wrong client on the “Time Clock” or I entered my time to “Agape (new client)” due to not having access to the client I was assigned to in the “Customer” section?
ANSWER: You will need to go to the “Timesheets” section of the phone app (“Time Entries” on PC) to edit and correct the “Timesheet” entry before submitting it. You can change the “Customer” and “Service Item” to accurately reflect who you served. Whenever you make any changes to “Timesheet” entries, make sure you are accurate and that you document what changes were made and why in the “Notes” section of the “Timesheet” (EX - “I clocked into the wrong client” or “I was unable to enter the client’s name during the shift”)
QUESTION: What if I have ”Timesheet” entries that were erroneously generated?
ANSWER: You will need to go to the “Timesheets” section of the phone app (“Time Entries” on PC) to delete any “Timesheet” entries that do not reflect actual time worked before submitting your time at the end of the pay period.
timeSHEET submission:
QUESTION: When do I submit my timecards?
ANSWER: The pay periods are set within the app, and you will receive a notification at the end of the pay period (within the app itself and by email) when it is time to submit your timecards.
QUESTION: Will I be able to review and edit my “Timesheet” entries before submitting them at the end of the pay period?
ANSWER: Yes. In the the “Timesheets” section of the phone app (“Time Entries” on PC), you will be able to review each “Timesheet” entry for accuracy, edit/correct entries as needed, add any forgotten/missed entries and delete any erroneous entries before submitting your “Timesheets.” When adding or editing your entries, always be sure to accurately record your time and document what changes were made and why in the “Notes” section of the “Timesheet” (See TIMESHEET EDITING above).
QUESTION: How do I submit my timesheet at the end of the pay period?
ANSWER: After reviewing an editing your “Timesheets” for accuracy within the “Timesheets” section of the phone app (“Time Entries” on PC), you will be able to “Submit” (top right of the phone app, “Submit Time” on PC). A screen will pop up for you to verify the weeks to be submitted, select only those weeks in the current pay period.
QUESTION: What if I accidentally submitted the wrong pay period weeks and/or I submitted my “Timesheets” before I reviewed them?
ANSWER: Notify the Brian of the error ASAP, and he will have the payroll processor “reject” the submitted “Timesheets.” You can then review, edit and resubmit them.
QUESTION: What if my “Timesheets” are rejected after submitting them?
ANSWER: Your “Timesheets” were likely submitted incorrectly (wrong pay period or containing errors that require correction). The payroll processor will send you text message explaining why your “Timesheets” were rejected (also automated email and notification within the app).
TECHNOLOGY:
QUESTION: I have a limited data plan, how much data will the QuickBooks Time app use?
ANSWER: QuickBooks Time reports that the app uses about 5MB of background data per month, and their users are averaging less than 30MB of data per month in total, which is very low. That there are 1000 MB per 1GB, so if you have a 2GB data plan (which is average), you will only use 30MB out of 2000MB of data, leaving 1970MB (1.97GB) of data remaining.
QUESTION: Who do I call for technical support if Brian cannot answer my question?
ANSWER: QuickBooks Time has phone technical support that is available Monday through Friday, from 6am to 6pm, 888-836-2720.
QUESTION: What if I do not own a smart phone and/or a computer?
ANSWER: Those who do not own a smart phone or computer can schedule an appointment to come into the Administrative Office on Monday at the end of the pay period to manually enter their time using a company tablet/computer. If you’ve completed all scheduled assignments before the end of the pay period, you can schedule an appointment to enter and submit your time anytime during regular office hours, 9A-5P, Monday through Friday, excluding major holidays. Because of the new EVV requirements, individuals who are not using the QuickBooks timesheet app with GPS tracking will have to call from the client’s home phone upon arrival to verify the visit.
GPS TRACKING:
QUESTION: Does this app track me when I’m not working?
ANSWER: No. The app ONLY tracks when you are clocked-in to an assignment.
QUESTION: Why does the app ask me to clock in if I’m near a client’s house and I’m not scheduled to work?
ANSWER: The app has a geofencing feature that is helpful if you get sent to a shift that is off schedule. If you have not been sent to the client, but still get within a certain distance, the app automatically asks you if you would like to clock in. If you are not working, simply ignore the notification.
QUESTION: Can the app be turned off after arriving and clocking-in to my shift?
ANSWER: No. The app must remain on and running with you signed-in/clocked-in and location set to “always” and “precise” to accurately log your hours.
QUESTION: Can the app be turned off when I am not working?
ANSWER: Yes. If you are concerned about privacy, you can turn your location off when not working. The app will need to be turned back on in order to clock-in to your next shift, with location set to “always” and “precise.” Again, regardless of the app being on or off, the app ONLY tracks when you are clocked-in to an assignment.