StoryPoint Workflows

Time Management

When you work with approval of Time Sheets it is possible to set up that reported time on Projects should be approved by the project manager specified on the project card as Person Responsible instead of the manager specified as Time Sheet Approver User ID on the resource card. This is set up on the Resource Setup page, by changing the Time Sheet by Project Approval field, to Always.

Approval by Manager

Reporting Time on Projects

The workflow for reporting time on projects in StoryPoint is as follows:

1. When a Project is created in StoryPoint, the Status is set to Planning. To be able to report time on it, the Status must be set to Open and the Project must have at least one Project Task with project task type Posting.
2. StoryPoint extends the reporting of time capabilities in Dynamics 365 Business Central, making it possible to add time for projects in Time Sheets from any device. See the User Guide for step-by-step instructions on how to report time in StoryPoint.
3. It is possible to make changes when the Status of the Time Sheet Line(s) is Open. The Type of the Time Sheet Line should be set to Project to report time on projects (projects).
4. Select the Submit action, when you are finished with the line(s).
5. StoryPoint extends the possibilities of approving time, making it possible to approve reported time on projects on from any device. See the User Guide for step-by-step instructions on how to report time in StoryPoint.
6. When the Status of the Time Sheet Line(s) is Submitted it is possible for the manager to either Approve or Reject the Submitted line(s), but the manager can not make changes to the quantities (only Time Sheet Admin. can change quantities), it is however possible to add comments. If a line is rejected by the manager, the time sheet user needs to make the changes and then select the Submit action.
7. StoryPoint extends the Project Journal Batches with the field Person Responsible Filter, making it possible for each project manager to have its own Project Journal Batch.
8. If the Project Journal Batch has a value in the field Person Responsible Filter, that filter will be used when selecting the Suggest Lines from Time Sheets action. The Suggest Lines from Time Sheets action inserts lines from time sheets with status approved.
9. It is possible to make changes to the Project Journal Lines if necessary, such as changing the Line Type or the Quantity.
10. Select the Post action, when the journal is ready for posting.
11. All lines in the Project Journal will be posted to the Project Ledger Entries and lines with line type Billable will also be created as Project Planning Lines, ready for invoicing. (Lines with line type Budget will also be created as Project Planning Lines).

Note

The main reason to post lines with line type Budget is to follow up remaining amounts and quantities when using the Apply Usage Link on Projects.

Note

The time sheet administrator can change reported time as long as it is not Posted.

Reporting Absence in Time Sheets

Absence is always approved by the manager specified as Time Sheet Approver User ID on the resource card.

The workflow for reporting absence in StoryPoint is as follows:

1. When Cause of Absence Code(s) exists, it is possible to start report time on it.
2. StoryPoint extends the possibilities of reporting time, making it possible to add time for absence in Time Sheets from any device. See the User Guide for step-by-step instructions on how to report time in StoryPoint.
3. It is possible to make changes when the Status of the Time Sheet Line(s) is Open.
4. Select the Submit action, when you are finished with the line(s).
5. StoryPoint extends the possibilities of approving time, making it possible to approve reported time on absence on Time Sheet Lines from any device. See the User Guide for step-by-step instructions on how to report time in StoryPoint.
6. When the Status of the Time Sheet Line(s) is Submitted it is possible for the manager to either Approve or Reject the Submitted line(s), but can not make changes to the quantities, it is however possible to add comments. If a line is rejected by the manager, the time sheet user needs to make the changes and then select the Submit action.
7. When a Time Sheet Line(s) with type Absence is approved, it will automatically be Posted, making the line not possible to change. (If changes need to be made, add a new line with opposite sign to the Time Sheet).

Note

StoryPoint makes it possible to export the reported absence to your payroll system. See the User Guide on how to export the file.

Tip

We recommend that you use the New Time Sheet User guide, to add new time sheet users. To be able to report absence, the user needs to be set up as an Employee, which the guide will help you with.

Note

You can also send your holiday application in time sheets. And if you have the Badger app, it is possible to use the Badger - Project file, to create reports to follow up on holiday applications.

From Approved Time to Invoice and Absence Export

The workflow from approved time to sales invoice and absence export is as follows:

1. To ensure that all time is fully Submitted and Approved, use the StoryPoint pages Time by Periods and Manager Time Sheet Cockpit to check and analyze time in Time Sheets.
2. If the Type of the Time Sheet Line(s) is Absence the line will be posted to the Absence registration when it's approved.
3. Time Sheet Line(s) with type Project needs to be posted in a Project Journal.
   1. StoryPoint extends the Project Journal Batches with the field Person Responsible Filter, making it possible for each project manager to have its own Project Journal Batch.
   2. The lines from the Time Sheets (with status Approved) will be filtered when selecting the Suggest Lines from Time Sheets action.
   3. The user set up as Time Sheet Admin. can have a Project Journal with the Person Responsible Filter field empty. Making it possible to Suggest Lines from Time Sheets without filters, to ensure that all Time Sheets Lines gets posted.
   4. It is possible to make changes to the Project Journal Lines if necessary, such as changing the Line Type or the Quantity.
   5. Select the Post action, when the journal is ready for posting.
4. All lines in the Project Journal will be posted to the Project Ledger Entries and lines with line type Billable will also be created as Project Planning Lines, ready for invoicing. (Lines with line type Budget will also be created as Project Planning Lines).
5. The Project Planning Lines with line type Billable can be invoiced and it does not matter if they have been posted or registered manually.
6. It is possible to Export Absence as a file, in the format specified in the Human Resources Setup page, to your payroll system.
7. The Project Task Lines can be used for analyzing Projects.

Tip

We recommend that each project manager has its own Project Journal Batch, adding their Resource No. in the Person Responsible Filter field.

Expense Management

StoryPoint provides the feature of expense management, making it possible to add, post, charge projects, invoice and pay expenses to employees that should be handled within Business Central and not by a payroll system.

Note

StoryPoint does not currently support export of expenses to a payroll systems.

Set Up Expenses

The workflow for setting up expenses in StoryPoint is as follows:

1. User ID for users who want to register expenses must be linked to a resource on the User Setup page (which is already set for users who uses StoryPoint for registering time).
2. Create at least one vendor for each expense user. See information in How To.
3. The users who should register and administrate expenses needs to be set up in the Expense Users page. See information in How To.
4. Create and select which number series to use for expenses. See information in How To.
5. Set which activities to use for expenses by entering a project task code. See information in How To.
6. Expenses are posted on general ledger accounts and the expense codes are used as the link. See information on how to add expense codes in How To
7. It is possible to start register and post expenses. See information in the User Guide.

Register Expenses

The workflow for registering expenses in StoryPoint is as follows:

1. To be able to register an expense in StoryPoint, the user needs to be set on the Expense Users page. See information on how to set up an expense user in How To.
2. An expense user can create a new expense from any device. See information on how to use a phone to register an expense in the User Guide.
3. When the entry is finalized, the user selects the Submit action, to send it to an expense administrator.
4. A user who is set as an Expense Administrator on the Expense users page can see all expense entries and has the option to reject an expense to allow the user to change the expense and resubmit it. They can also select to reopen the expense to correct it themselves. See information in the User Guide.
5. Expenses that should be posted, paid out and/or re-invoiced are created as purchase invoices, which is an action that is possible for the expense administrator to use.
6. The status of the expense will be set as In process when it´s created as a purchase invoice. The workflow below describes the process from when the purchase invoice is created.

Note

When an expense has the In process status, it is not possible to make any changes to it.

Tip

Enable Allow Participants and Allow Route on the StoryPoint Setup page to make the fields (Participants and Route) available on expenses. It is possible to control whether the fields should be mandatory on the Expense Code.

Post Expenses

Expenses that should be posted, paid to an employee and/or invoiced to a customer are created as purchase invoices.

The workflow for posting an expense invoice in StoryPoint is as follows:

1. When an expense has been converted to a purchase invoice, it is possible to start an approval workflow.
2. You can use a workflow in Dynamics 365 Business Central or use an external system to start an approval process of the invoice. See information on how to set up a workflow on Microsoft Learn.
3. The purchase invoice contains the information that has been stated on the expense, including appendices. Nothing needs to be changed or added before it can be posted.
4. If the expense user has specified that the expense should be charged to a project and that it should be invoiced to a customer, the invoice lines will include a project number, a project task number, a project unit price and line type set as billable.
5. The type of entries created by the invoice depends on what is set on the invoice lines.
6. Invoice lines with project number, project task number, project unit price and line type set as billable will create project planning lines which can be invoiced to a customer by using the Project Create Sales Invoice action.
7. The user set up in the Expense Users page are linked to to vendors, one for private expenses that should be payed to the expense user (employee) and another for business expenses that should be matched to an invoice that the company receives.
8. If the expense is set as private, the expense will be payed in the same process as vendor payments and the employee will be reimbursed for the expense.

Tip

We recommend that you set up vendors for company expenses with a payment method that has a Balancing Account Number, for example, you can use account 2860. When you receive the invoice, you will post the invoice on 2860 (remember that the cost has already been posted on the expense invoice). In this way, the expense invoice will be marked as paid and the debt is on 2860 until the "real" invoice is posted on 2860 and the total debt on 2860 is zero.

Tip

It is possible to use a price list for expenses to be charged to the customer, which enables an Expense Code to have different prices depending on which customer is charged.

See Also

Create Project Planning Lines with Parrot