SwipeClock: TimeWorksPlus integration overview

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For live payroll processing only

Accounting CS integrates with one of SwipeClock's cloud-based time and attendance solutions, TimeWorksPlus, which can help to simplify time tracking. If your firm currently works with clients using SwipeClock, you can take advantage of this integration and avoid the need to manually import or export information between Accounting CS and SwipeClock TimeWorksPlus.

This overview steps you through the process of starting service with SwipeClock's TimeWorksPlus and setting up your client and employee records for SwipeClock's TimeWorksPlus import.

The prerequisites to integrating Accounting CS and TimeWorksPlus are noted below. It is imperative to follow these steps before setting up payroll processing in TimeWorksPlus. 

The system date and time on your computer must be correct for Accounting CS to communicate with TimeWorksPlus.

Starting service with SwipeClock

To set up service with SwipeClock, contact their sales staff directly by phone, email, or on the Web.

Setting up TimeWorksPlus clients in Accounting CS

  1. Choose Setup > Clients.
  2. Highlight the existing client name and click Edit , or add the new client as described in the Entering basic client information article .
  3. Click the Payroll Information tab and, in the Employee Data Integration section, mark the SwipeClock checkbox.
  4. Click the Ellipsis button next to the checkbox, and in the SwipeClock dialog, enter the Site ID (which is provided in the TimeWorksPlus application) and the File format name (which, in most cases, should be csxml5). If the csxml5 file format does not work for your client, you'll need to work with SwipeClock support to have them provide a custom format for you.
  5. Accounting CS transfers all employee setup information to TimeWorksPlus for SwipeClock's TimeWorksPlus clients. However, if you want only to import time clock files from TimeWorksPlus into Accounting CS, mark the Import time clock files only checkbox. Click OK to save your settings.
  6. Click the Ellipsis button next to the  Payroll Schedules field.
  7. In the Payroll Schedules dialog, select a payroll schedule and then click the Edit button.
  8. In the Time Entry Method section, choose the Import option and then select SwipeClock in the Source drop-down list.
  9. Verify that the period begin dates and period end dates of the payroll schedule match the pay periods in SwipeClock.
  10. Click Enter and Done to close the dialog, and then click Enter to save the client information.

Setting up employees of TimeWorksPlus clients in Accounting CS

  1. Choose Setup > Employees.
  2. Set up your employee as usual, as described in the Entering basic employee information article.
  3. If the employee uses multiple payroll schedules, select the TimeWorksPlus pay schedule in the Primary payroll schedule field in the Main tab. You can select other pay schedules in the Alternate payroll schedule field.
  4. On the Payroll Items tab, make sure that each employee has at least one active pay item set up.

Notes: 

  • Employees must be set up in Accounting CS prior to being imported to TimeWorksPlus.
  • The Employee ID is the unique identifier used to match employee records between Accounting CS and TimeWorksPlus. Changing or re-using an Employee ID could cause time to be associated with the incorrect employee, or possibly cause a duplicate employee to display in TimeWorksPlus.
  • If the client creates a new employee record in TimeWorksPlus, that same employee record must be manually created in Accounting CS as well. Both records must use the same employee ID number to establish the connection and enable future synchronization. 
  • Changes to employee information must be made in Accounting CS, and will then transfer to TimeWorksPlus. Employee information changed in TimeWorksPlus will not transfer back to Accounting CS.

Setting up client information in TimeWorksPlus

This section provides some tips and reminders that may be helpful as you set up client information in the TimeWorksPlus application. For further information about setting up your clients in TimeWorksPlus, refer to the TimeWorksPlus Partner Knowledge Base article Thomson Reuters Accounting CS Integration External link . ( What's this?)

This icon appears alongside links to resources that are not developed or maintained by Thomson Reuters. We provide access to these resources for your convenience, but we are not responsible for their accuracy. If you need additional assistance, please consult your qualified technician and/or the vendor who developed the resource.

Setting up punch categories in TimeWorksPlus

Punch categories are the "Category" selections found on employees' time cards in TimeWorksPlus and are used to record the hours worked by the employees during time entry. These punch categories will later be mapped to payroll items in Accounting CS.

  1. Choose Settings menu > Processing Rules and then choose the Processing option.
  2. Select the PunchCategories rule.
  3. In the Punch Categories grid, enter the categories that will be used for this account's time entries. Show me.
    Punch Categories grid in TimeWorksPlus

Mapping payroll items and accruable benefits in TimeWorksPlus

Prior to importing time clock information from TimeWorksPlus, you'll need to make sure that your payroll items and accruable benefits match. Follow these steps in the TimeWorksPlus application.

  1. Choose Settings menu > Processing Rules and then choose the Processing option.
  2. Click the PayCodeTranslation rule.
  3. In the Pay Code Translation pane, map your TimeWorksPlus payroll items and accruable benefits to those that you want to use in Accounting CS. Show me.
    Payroll Item Mapping

Employee data sent to TimeWorksPlus

When information is saved in the  Setup > Employees screen, Accounting CS sends it to TimeWorksPlus automatically. The following table provides details about which fields in Accounting CS correlate to which fields in SwipeClock when that data is sent.

Accounting CS field SwipeClock field
Employee ID Employee Code
First, Middle, Last name fields First, Middle, Last name
Home phone Phone
Email Email
Hire date Start date
Inactive date Separation date
Primary department Department
Primary location Location
Job title Title

Processing payroll checks for TimeWorksPlus clients

If you have completed all of the setup steps detailed above, Accounting CS retrieves time clock data from TimeWorksPlus, based on the period beginning and ending dates, when you process payroll checks for TimeWorksPlusclients.

We recommend that you verify that employee pay rates are up to date and correct in Accounting CS before you retrieve the timeclock information. If there are changes in employee information (rates, addresses, etc.) they must be made in Accounting CS and then that information will transfer correctly into TimeWorksPlus.

  1. Choose  Actions > Enter Batch Payroll Checks.
  2. In the Payroll schedule field, select the applicable schedule from the drop-down list. The Time Clock Entry Import dialog opens automatically and retrieves the data from TimeWorksPlus based on the current pay period.
  3. Accept or enter any necessary rate changes on the Rate Changes tab, review the time that has been retrieved on the Time Clock Entry Detail tab, print the details from each tab if you choose to, and then click the Continue button to proceed with the import.
  4. After the time clock information has been successfully imported into the Enter Batch Payroll Checks screen, process the checks as you normally would, as described in the Entering batch payroll checks procedure.

Important limitations or exceptions

  • New payroll items and accruable benefit items can be added only in Accounting CS.
  • TimeWorksPlus does not currently support the import of deduction items. However, any deduction items that you set up for an employee in Accounting CS will be calculated on payroll checks after time entry is imported from TimeWorksPlus. You will need to make any manual amount adjustments to the deduction items in Accounting CS.
  • To avoid problems with synchronization between Accounting CS and TimeWorksPlus, employees should be added only in Accounting CS, and then imported to TimeWorksPlus. Additionally, employees should not be deleted, but rather set as inactive.

Troubleshooting

Duplicate employees are showing up in TimeWorksPlus

The Employee ID is the unique identifier used to match employee records between Accounting CS and TimeWorksPlus.  If you need to change an employee ID, You  must make this change in Accounting CS and let the integration automatically update the employee ID in TimeWorksPlus to match.  If the employee ID is changed in TimeWorksPlus first, that change does NOT transfer back to Accounting CS. Therefore, the next time Accounting CS sends the employee’s information to TimeWorksPlus, it will use the original ID.  Because the old ID no longer exist in TimeWorksPlus, it creates a new, duplicate employee using the old ID.

Use the following steps to correct this situation.

  1. Remove the employee ID from the duplicate employee listed in TimeWorksPlus that imported from Accounting CS and enter a separation date that is equal to the hire date. This will inactivate the duplicate employee in TimeWorksPlus.
  2. Select the original employee and verify that the employee ID, first name, middle name, last name, and start date match the employee record in Accounting CS exactly. The system will then sync with that employee record.

Location <Location Name>, Department <Department Name> for employee <Employee ID> is missing or invalid
If you receive this message when trying to import time from TimeWorksPlus into Accounting CS, this means that hours were entered in a Location/Department distribution for an employee in TimeWorksPlus, but that Location/Department distribution is no longer active on the employee in Accounting CS.  To correct this issue you will need to cancel the batch, go into the  Setup > Employees screen, select the employee, and verify that all of the Location/Department combinations that were used in TimeWorksPlus are still active on the employee. 

This error may also occur if the employee was set up in TimeWorksPlus but not in Accounting CS. To correct this, verify that the employee record exists in Accounting CS.

TimeWorksPlus data is not importing to Accounting CS for certain employees or payroll items 

If hours entered for a particular employee or payroll items are not importing from TimeWorksPlus to Accounting CS, it could be because the description for the payroll item is not an exact match in each application.  In Accounting CS, choose Setup > Payroll Items and make sure that the description in the Description field in the Main tab matches the description for that payroll item in the Client Configuration screen of TimeWorksPlus. You should also review the Pay Code Translation under Processing Rules in TimeWorksPlus and verify that the pay items are mapped correctly. Finally, verify that the pay item is active on the employee in Accounting CS.

Accruable benefit balances in TimeWorksPlus are different than in Accounting CS.

If the balances for an accruable benefit item are out of sync between the two applications, it could be because the description for the accruable benefit is not an exact match in each application. In Accounting CS, choose Setup > Accruable Benefits and make sure that the accruable benefit description in the Description field in the Main tab matches the description for that accruable benefit in the Client Configuration screen of TimeWorksPlus. Also, note that accruable balances do not show up in TimeWorksPlus until you have finalized a pay period in TimeWorksPlus.  You should also review the Pay Code Translation under Processing Rules in TimeWorksPlus and verify that the pay items are mapped correctly.  Note that if the accruable benefits are set up to accrue by pay period or any method other than hourly (per month, per year, etc), accruable benefit balances do not show up in TimeWorksPlus until you have finalized the pay period in TimeWorksPlus.

Error: Data could not be imported from SwipeClock

If you receive this error message, choose Setup > Firm Information > Firm and click the Preferences tab. In the SwipeClock Integration section, click the ellipsis button in the SwipeClock partner login credentials field and verify that the Accountant ID and Accountant Secret fields are correct.

If you still receive the error, verify that the payroll item descriptions exactly match in TimeWorksPlus and Accounting CS.

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