Unpaid (Lunch) Breaks in TimeTrak

Previously in TimeTrak, unpaid breaks such as lunch breaks were left as unscheduled time or setup as breaks which are unable to be adjusted on a day-to-day basis.

In TimeTrak from version 19.3, there is the ability for unpaid breaks such as lunch breaks to be recorded without this data going to payroll export files or affecting productivity calculations.

For many clients it is preferable that lunch breaks are recorded as often field staff are used to recording their lunch breaks on manual paper timesheets.

In the below example of how breaks were managed previously (version 19.2), Bridget has breaks setup for 11 – 12 each day, the break does not move regardless of a time entry overlapping this time frame and if lunch was taken later in the day it would need to be left as unscheduled time which can be confusing visually to many users.

In the below example of how breaks work now in 19.3, unpaid breaks are recorded as a time entry and can be moved to the actual time they were taken on a day to day basis.

Setup Unpaid Breaks in TimeTrak:

In the TimeTrak Administrator Console > Billable Statuses > Non Productive

A new time analysis code can be setup and marked as a “break” as per below:

Roster configurations have been moved from the TimeTrak Administrator Console below, into TimeTrak Professional personalisation settings.

Please note: Only Global Administrators have access to rosters via the Professional website.

Down the bottom of the Rosters form the logged in user is notified what roster they are currently assigned to and any roster can be reviewed and altered by selecting it.

The standard settings such as time units, start and end time as well as daily minimum and productive hours are all housed against the roster as per previous versions of TimeTrak and the previous roster functions have not changed.

For more information on rosters within TimeTrak please click here

Please note: Daily minimum and productive hours are used in calculating TimeTrak Productivity reports. For more information on TimeTrak Productivity calculations click here

Adding to roster functionality within TimeTrak version 19.3, there is now an additional “Breaks” tab housed against the roster as per below:

Users can manually add breaks one by one by clicking the green “+” icon in the top right hand corner.

Alternatively users can add weekday lunch breaks by clicking “Add Week Day Lunch Breaks” in the bottom right hand corner.

Once breaks are added, the description, start time and duration can be amended.

If there is a Non Productive time analysis code setup in the TimeTrak Administrator Console marked as “break” this can be mapped to the break against the roster as per below:

Once breaks have been setup for the roster click “Save”

Unpaid Breaks in TimeTrak Professional:

Breaks will still display in user’s calendars as a slightly different shade like below:

When a time entry is created that spans over this time your “break” will be enabled by default as per below.

As per below, the break specified automatically creates a “lunch” time entry:

Breaks can be disabled on the time entry by unticking them, or users can alter the time taken by simply adjusting the time or mins field.

As per below fields which have been altered display in green:

Lunch breaks can be enabled on any time entry even if the current time entry has not passed over the lunch break specified on the roster.

For example if the user took lunch early this could be enabled on the time entry and the time adjusted to suit.

Note: If the user took their lunch break earlier in the day like the below example, when a time entry is added that passes over the rostered break then the break will not be enabled by default as the website recognises that the break has already been entered for the day.

If a time entry is being entered for the same exact time period as the “break” specified against the users roster then the break will be disabled by default to prevent the users time entry being lost and replaced with the break.

Non Productive time analysis codes marked as “breaks” are excluded from the Non Productive report which is often used for payroll reporting purposes.

Unpaid Breaks in TimeTrak Mobile:

Similar behaviour flows through to Mobile, instead of slightly different shades in the calendar like Professional the break is displayed like an appointment as per below:

On creating a time entry which goes over the set lunch break, this will be enabled by default.

The user can untick this if they did not take lunch at this time or alter the start time and duration that they did take lunch.

As per below, the lunch will be inserted if “breaks” is enabled at the time specified and the duration specified.

The “lunch” appointment will also no longer display for the day (previously this always displayed which was again confusion for the field staff).

If the user was onsite 8am – 1.30pm and didn’t take lunch like below they would just need to untick the “breaks” section like below:

The rostered “lunch” icon stays in the users calendar, if they don’t take lunch it shouldn’t be touched.

However, in the above case if I have now finished with my job that went from 8am – 1.30pm and I am now going to take lunch I can simply click the “lunch” icon from my home screen and enter when I did take lunch.

Once lunch has been recorded the appointment icon is removed and the Mobile users calendar should reflect clearly what they did for the day.

Unpaid Breaks at a user level in Professional

Often unpaid breaks are user based and rosters are applied to many users.

At a profile level there is a new setting “allow user to personalise breaks”, once enabled as per below:

In Professional, if a user has the above setting enabled against their profile they will have a My Breaks section in configuration settings as per below:

Similar to Roster Breaks the logged in user can setup breaks specifically for themselves which will override the breaks they inherit from their roster:

Please note: It is currently not possible for “My Breaks” to be setup and managed in TimeTrak Mobile this feature is only available for Professional users currently.