Question 1

Update Employee Earnings Rates from CSV File

Accepted Answer

Overview

A CSV file can be used to bulk update Ordinary Earnings Rates for Employees. This is useful for situations where you may be updating the base rates for multiple employees after an annual pay review or similar.

This functionality is currently only available for :

Users with an active subscription
Users in Australia (please contact us if you need this in UK/NZ)

This function only updates the ordinary earnings rate for the employee and does not change any other settings (such as the number of hours or calculation type)

File Format

The file format required can contain any number of columns, but it must contain the following with the header row:

If the file has multiple columns for first_name, last_name they can be easily combined using a formula in Excel such as =CONCAT(A2," ",B2)

Download a sample file

Updating

The process works as follows:

Select the file and click Validate File.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/4gmeAow8Vn/update_er_file.png (update_er_file)

The validation results are displayed. If there are any errors, these records will not be loaded. To resolve them, update the file and repeat step 1.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/yvHKy6mX3G/update_er_validated.png (update_er_validated)

Once all records are validated OK, click Update Earnings Rates to update Xero.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/0JTnVhVFYr/update_er_done.png (update_er_done)

Question 2

Calculate Leave Hours Automatically

Accepted Answer

Overview

Enabling this function will let UpSheets calculate leave hours using the employee setup in Xero and the working days in the given period. The hours column becomes optional and if included will override the calculated value.

Setup

To enable this function, select the Leave Hours option in your user settings and save.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/UhoZiF9KHf/leave_hours_setting.png (leave_hours_setting)

Note: In order for this function to work, the Pay Item for Annual Leave must be named Annual Leave. If you have modified this value, please contact us.

Defaulting Leave Hours

When importing a file that includes Leave, the Hours column will display as Hours* and be optional.

If a value is provided in this field for any lines in a file, UpSheets will use this value. For all lines that do not have a value, UpSheets will calculate the hours automatically.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/YNZgfZHkE8/leave_hours_select.png (leave_hours_select)

When the file is validated, the number of hours is calculated automatically.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/kfep1UO5xp/leave_hours_validated.png (leave_hours_validated)

The calculation is made using the employee setup in Xero and uses the number of working days between the date and end_date of the imported line.

Question 3

How are Leave hours allocated over multiple pay periods?

Accepted Answer

Overview

It is possible for a Leave request to span multiple pay periods, however only the total hours are provided in the file. The following article explains how these hours are distributed in this siuation.

Alternatively, UpSheets can be configured to calculate leave hours automatically to change this behaviour.

Allocation

In order to allocate the hours to multiple periods, the total number of hours are split evenly between each period (in whole hours). If there are any additional hours they are allocated to the total of the first period.

Example 1 - Single Pay Period, 10 Hours

Period one: 01-Jan-2019 to 06-Jan-2019 / 10 Hours

Example 2 - Two Pay Periods, 20 Hours

Period one: 01-Jan-2019 to 06-Jan-2019 / 10 Hours

Period two: 07-Jan-2019 to 13-Jan-2019 / 10 Hours

Example 3 - Three Pay Periods, 20 Hours

Period one: 01-Jan-2019 to 06-Jan-2019 / 8 Hours (This record has the additional 2 hours allocated)

Period two: 07-Jan-2019 to 13-Jan-2019 / 6 Hours

Period two: 14-Jan-2019 to 20-Jan-2019 / 6 Hours

Question 4

Exclude Lines from Files Automatically

Accepted Answer

Overview

Some files contain rows of data that are either incomplete or do not need to be loaded for various reasons. UpSheets provides the ability to create mappings to automatically remove these lines when you validate your file.

Methods

There are two ways to create Exclude Mappings:

Creating an Exclude Mapping

Select Mapping from the menu:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/4fVPPKVG6L/mapping.png (mapping)

Excluding Empty Values

Checkboxes are available to ignore lines with no value. If selected, any lines that do not have a value will automatically be deleted. This is available for:

Employee Name
Date
Hours
Tracking Code (if enabled in Xero)

The below options would exclude any lines that do not have a value for Employee, Date or Tracking Code.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/8FRXztJMA3/mapping_flags.png (mapping_flags)

Excluding Specific Values

Specific values can also be excluded by:

Select Create Mapping
Select the Mapping type to exclude (Employee, Type, Tracking Code, Project, User)
In the File Value field enter the value in your file to ignore
Select *EXCLUDE* in the** Xero Valu**e field and click Save Mapping

In the below example, UpSheets will exclude any lines where the Employee Name is Jimmy Lebron

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/qZs8PleqEk/mapping_exclude_employee.png (mapping_exclude_employee)

In the below example, UpSheets will exclude any lines that have a Tracking Code of XXXX

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/zspktaMYmW/mapping_exclude_new.png (mapping_exclude_new)

Viewing Excluded Lines

When importing a file that matches an exclude mapping, a message is displayed indicating the number of excluded lines. Hovering over the number will also show a breakdown of which types have been excluded.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/BIjPUXdq25/exclude_links.png (exclude_links)

Removing an Exclude Mapping

To remove an exclude mapping navigate to the Mapping screen and click Delete. Then click Confirm to delete it.

The mapping will not apply to any future files imported. You can also click Reload Data from File from a file that is already validated to process it without any deleted rules - any other edits since importing the file will also be deleted.

Question 5

Create a Mapping for Employee, Type or Tracking Code

Accepted Answer

When uploading a file you may see an error that has a link to Create a Mapping.

In Payroll, mapping is available for:

Employee,
Type (Earnings Rate)
Tracking Code (if enabled in Xero)

In Projects, mapping is available for:

Projects
Users
Tasks

This option enables you to map the value in your file to a valid value in Xero and will be applied to the current upload and any future uploads (until the mapping is edited or deleted).

Mappings can also be created without loading a file by selecting Mapping from the menu:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/4fVPPKVG6L/mapping.png (mapping)

Create a Mapping

To create a mapping simply click the link and select the desired value to map it:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/HhZb4wX1s7/map1.gif (map1)

Edit a Mapping

To edit a mapping simply click the mapped value, select a new value and click Save Mapping. The new mapping will be used for the current and all future uploads (or until the mapping is edited or deleted).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/mtXMKtRHQb/map2.gif (map2)

Excluding Lines

You may optionally choose to exclude mapped lines from your file if you don't wish to see them or process them. To do so, simply select *EXCLUDE* from the menu.

Any mapped lines will automatically be deleted from your file when it is validated. This can be useful if you have specific data in your file that does do not need to be uploaded.

In the example below - any line were the full_name is Jimmy Lebron would excluded.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/PZ6OzHOrgz/exclude_employee.png (exclude_employee)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/HKoq4Pwgnr/excluded_employee.png (excluded_employee)

To exclude values that are not in error, follow these instructions.

Delete a Mapping

To delete a mapping simply click the mapped value and click Delete Mapping.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/5oe5RZKn3R/map3.gif (map3)

Download All Mappings

To download a file with all of your defined mappings, Click Manage from the Organisations screen and click Download Mappings.

Question 6

UpSheets with BrightHR

Accepted Answer

How does it work?

UpSheets provides the ability to import your data from BrightHR and then upload it to Xero. Depending on your process, there may be a small amount of setup required, but for many users everything is ready to go.

The process is:

Run an report in BrightHR to export a CSV file with your data
Import the file into UpSheets
Validate the file to check everything is correct
Upload the data to Xero
Optionally approve timesheets and create pay runs from UpSheets

Please view the following video to see the process in action:

REGISTER FOR UPSHEETS

What can I upload?

The following BrightHR reports can used to upload data:

Blip Timesheet => Xero Timesheets
Absence Report => Xero Leave Requests

Earnings Rates

The options available for determining the earnings rate are selected when importing a file by selecting the Earnings Rate field:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/gVhYCVPxVd/setting-er.png (setting-er)

Default Value

This setting will apply the selected value to the entire file.

To enable it, set the Earnings Rate field to the value you wish to default, such as Ordinary Hours. No earnings rate needs to be provided in the file and this value will be used for every line.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/j7BDmSUNDe/default-er.png (default-er)

Employee Ordinary Earnings Rate

This setting will apply the Ordinary Earnings Rate set on the Employment tab for each employee.

To enable it, set the Earnings Rate field to Use default Earnings Rate for each Employee

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/3DQhTyz1ju/employee-er.png (employee-er)

Provided in the File

This setting indicates that a column in the file will be used to determine the earnings rate.

Typically the value would contain a value that matches an Earnings Rate in Xero. However, UpSheets also allows you to map any value in your file to an Earnings rate in Xero. Once created this mapping will be automatically applied. For example, the value Shift could be mapped to Ordinary Hours. Whenever the file has a type of Shift, Ordinary Hours would automatically be used instead.

To enable it, set the Earnings Rate field to File contains Earnings Rate

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/uDsX7dcHlf/file-er.png (file-er)

Smart Formulas

If you have a more complicated scenario or award that cannot be satisfied by the previous options - Smart Formulas can be used to determine the Earnings Rate based on the date, time of day. They also include in depth functionality to include allowances, minimum engagement, broken shifts and many other scenarios.

Read more information about Smart Formulas here

Question 7

Using a Xero Demo Company

Accepted Answer

When testing new features or functionality, it is often a good idea to use a demo company, rather than your real Xero company.

Xero provides the option of setting up a demo company for exactly these situations.

Some things to be aware of:

They are free to set up and use (no charge from Xero or UpSheets)
They come pre-loaded with data, so you can get started immediately
If you make a mess, you can reset them and start again
They expire after 30 days (keep this in mind if setting up anything complicated)
You can use Xero Projects
You can use Xero Payroll - but renmember to complete the setup in Xero before connecting to UpSheets

Xero's instructions to set up a Demo Company are below:

Setting up the Xero Demo Company

Question 8

Pricing Examples

Accepted Answer

What is a line?

Different transactions require different file formats to upload. A line represents a row in a csv file that is imported to UpSheets and uploaded to Xero.

For example: if you have 50 lines in your file, you will be billed for 50 lines when you upload the file, even though this may create a combination of timesheets/leave/payslip adjustments on payroll (or tasks/time for projects).

Below are some examples to show each type of transaction in detail.

Payroll

Timesheets

A timesheet line is a unique combination of employee/date/earnings rate/hours/tracking code (if using).

The file below will use 6 lines:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/Wr4bmdknUL/timesheet_lines.png (timesheet_lines)

And would appear in Xero as below:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/8hKlkH7PQE/timesheet.png (timesheet)

N.B. The Xero timesheet will look slightly different in NZ/UK versions.

Leave Requests

For leave, one line is used for each leave request (regardless of how many days it is).

The file below will use 3 lines:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/nqjlHGDzSo/leave_lines.png (leave_lines)

And would appear in Xero as below:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/aCn9Bu4eaW/leave.png (leave)

Payslip Adjustments

For payslips, one line is used for each earnings, reimbursement, deduction, leave accrual line in the file.

The file below will use 3 lines:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/DaX7zNhWWW/payslip_lines.png (payslip_lines)

And would appear in Xero as below:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/f54tnAl2XP/payslip.png (payslip (1).png)

Projects

Tasks

For tasks, one line is used for task created.

The file below will use 3 lines:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/QLA0TTQyHh/task_lines.png (task_lines)

And would appear in Xero as below:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/bvi9cVVve4/tasks.png (tasks)

Time

For time, one line is used for each entry logged against a task.

The file below will use 3 lines:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/duUfjrIt34/time_lines.png (time_lines)

And would appear in Xero as below:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/O5uTgvt5Mf/time.png (time)

How are Lines Billed?

At the end of each month, an invoice is generated using the Base and Usage component applicable to your subscription plan.

The Base component is fixed.

The Usage charge is variable and is calculated by multiplying the total lines uploaded in a period by the charge per line.

The invoice total will be:

Total = Base + Usage x Lines Uploaded

Example 1

Using the AUD-Basic plan:

Base = $10/month
Usage = $0.08/line

If you have 10 employees and your file has 25 lines per employee a total of 250 lines will be uploaded.

Your invoice would then be generated as follows:

Total = Base + Usage x Lines Uploaded

Total = $10 + $0.08 x 250

Total = $10 + $20

Total = $30

Example 2

Using the GBP-Standard plan:

Base = £10/month
Usage = £0.04/line

If you have 100 project tasks and 900 project time entries in your file, a total of 1000 lines will be uploaded.

Your invoice would then be generated as follows:

Total = Base + Usage x Lines Uploaded

Total = £10 + £0.04 x 1000

Total = £10 + £40

Total = £50

Question 9

Adding/Removing Users from Your Xero Organisation

Accepted Answer

If you have added your Xero organisation via the Connect/Add Organisation, you are able to administer the access of other users.

Adding a User

To Add a User, click Manage, or select Organisations from the drop-down menu.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/ph7Pd6uWRM/15.png (15.png)

Click Manage on the Organisation you wish to manage.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/qo3cxPiXNB/17.png (17.png)

Select Add User, enter an email address and then click Add User.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/P7xuZXkm4C/18.png (18.png)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/hkwbWMKka3/19.png (19.png)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/rsawnnPYaS/20.png (20.png)

Restricting User Access

User access can be restricted to specific employees along with the ability to create pay runs and approve timesheets - click here for more details.

Removing a User

To Remove a user, click the Remove button and click OK to confirm your choice. If you wish to add the user again, you can do so using the above process.

Question 10

Restricting User Access

Accepted Answer

When adding an UpSheets user to your organisation, they have full access to all employees and functionality.

After adding them, it is possible to limit the following:

Creating Pay Runs
Approving Timesheets
Access to selected Employees

Manage Access

To manage user access, navigate to the Organisations screen:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/ph7Pd6uWRM/15.png (15)

Click the Manage button next to the appropriate Organisation:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/qo3cxPiXNB/17.png (17)

You will then see any assigned employees and can update their access individually by clicking Manage Access:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/Kzo8V3hUs4/manage%20access.png (manage access)

The Manage Access screen allows you to control the options the user has and which Employees they have access to. By default, all actions and employees are enabled. To restrict creating pay runs or timesheet approval, simply deselect the options.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/KRWLTTgD2K/manage%20access%20detail.png (manage access detail (1).png)

To restrict access to specific employees, select those that the user should have access to from the dropdown. Those employees listed are the only ones that the user will be able to validate and upload data for. Any new employees will need to be added explicitly before they will have access.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/j0x2GOjMS3/resources/LbwGXLiL4z/manage%20access%20employee.png (manage access employee)

To restore full access simply click clear all to reset the default options.