As the end of the year approaches, there are a few processes that we recommend in order for your TimeStar system to continue functioning in the most efficient manner possible.

Year End Checks:

  1. Create pay periods for the upcoming year.

For employees to able to request time off in the upcoming year, as well as enter time, new pay periods will need to be generated.  For instructions on how to create new pay period dates, follow the steps on the Generating Pay Periods section.

If your site is configured to generate accruals and/or utilizes the requests feature in TimeStar, it is best to generate 2 years’ worth of pay periods. This will allow employees to request time off through the end of the following year. TimeStar will not allow employees to request time for a pay period that does not exist.
  1. Create Holidays for the upcoming year.

For holidays hours to populate in the upcoming year, new holidays will need to be generated.  For instructions on how to create holiday dates, follow the steps on the Generating Next Year’s Holiday Calendar section.

  1. Assure end of year accrual transactions are calculating properly.

It is unusual that the last pay period of the year and the end of the accrual year occur on the same day. This procedure will assure that your accrual year end and carryover hours are handled correctly.  For full instructions on how to review an employees accruals, please see the section titled Accruals Summary.

While on the Accrual Summary/Transactions tab, update the Date range to include the end of year dates.  You may also select the Accrual Type to review.  See below for an example.

Accruals View and Expired Transactions

If your accruals are based on the calendar year, then at the end of the year, your system will first expire and then award new accrual balances. How you see this will depend on how your pay periods and awards are configured.

    • If your last pay period of the year ends on 12/31:
      • A. When you view accrual summaries for the period that ends on 12/31, you will see your remaining balance.
      • B. You will see a Carryover Adjustment deduct from the balance to account for hours that will carry over into the new accrual year if allowed.
      • C. You will see an Expired* expiration of hours that reduce the total to 0.  These hours are lost to the employee.
      • D. When you view accrual summaries for the period that begins on 1/1, you will see your carryover (if allowed) 
      • E. Any new pending Accrual amount in the new accrual year will show.

*Depending on your company’s setup, your exact view of future Accrual Transactions may vary.

EXAMPLE:

  • Your company allows 80 hours of PTO to carry over into a new year. Jane Smith has 242.99982(A) hours left at the end of the year.
  • At the end of the accrual year, any hours over 80(C=-162.99982) will expire and be lost.
  • At start of new accrual year, the allowed carryover hours(D=80) will be added.
  • Any accrual in the new accrual year that may be available will be added(E=6.92307).

Performing these tasks will assure that your TimeStar system continues to work correctly for you over the transition into the near year. If you have any questions about these instructions, please feel free to contact Delphia Consulting at (888) 421-2004 or at TimeStar Support.

To open this information in a new window or to email, use the following link: What End Of Year Procedures Should I Be Taking?