Pay Blocks, Pay Cycles, Pay Grades, Pay Allowances, and Pay Rules - what are the differences between these and what do they mean for setting up Timesheets?
Timesheets can be complex - knowing the terminology will make it easier! So let's get you up to date on Clipboard's Timesheets terminology!
Pay Cycles:
The frequency of time that any business pays its employees. Examples:
Weekly
Fortnightly
Monthly
Pay Blocks:
Any period of time that may have a different pay rate associated with it. Examples:
Saturday Hours
Sunday Hours
Weekday Overtime Hours between 6 pm-6 am
Pay Grades:
A unit or level on a pay scale. Each staff user must be allocated a Pay Grade for each activity that they work. Examples:
Basketball Level 4.2
Debating Level 5.6
Note: Typically, only finance teams or payroll officers deal with pay grades.
Pay Rates:
A rate of pay that is located within a pay grade. This corresponds to the applicable pay block associated with the pay grade. Example:
Normal Hours (Pay Block example) for Basketball 4.2 (Pay Grade example) will have a Pay Rate of $30
Saturday Hours (Pay Block example) for Basketball 4.2 (Pay Grade example) will have a Pay Rate of $45
Pay Allowances:
A payment made to staff for completing certain tasks, working in certain locations, using a special skill, or for expenses occurred on the job. Examples:
First Aid Allowance
Laundry Allowance
Pay Rules:
These are special rules that can be set up to further configure how staff should be paid and how hours worked should be treated. Examples:
Trigger Rule: this only applies after the overtime conditions of the rule have been met. After 38 regular hours worked in a week, count the first 3 hours that exceed this as Saturday Hours, and the remaining exceeding hours as Sunday Hours.
Broken Shift Minimum Hours Rule: requires a minimum amount of hours to be logged for that Activity. If you work two or more Music Sessions on the same day, a minimum of 5 hours are required to be logged for that Activity.
Payroll Code:
These correspond to your Cost Code and are used by schools for costing and budgeting purposes. They are also known as Activity Codes or Position Codes and are completely optional. Having a Payroll Code makes it easy for school's to track how much is spent annually on each Activity. Example:
Basketball - Payroll Code (650) = Cost Code (650) in a school's accounting system.
For more information on Payroll Codes, check out our FAQ Timesheets: Payroll & Finance article.