Record 7 hour fields before you approve today's time

• Read the name in full, and the symbol or number only when it stands in place of the name.
• Match your reading of the workweek start to the time of day and day of week the workweek begins.
• If the 7th consecutive days overtime rule is ON in Housecall Pro, the first 8 hours are overtime, anything over 8 hours is double time, regardless of the hours worked that week, according to Housecall Pro.
• Confirm the booking status and the work order status before you treat the time entry as ready to approve.

Write today's date and your workweek start on a card, then list the seven hour fields beside the place you will read each one before you approve hours.

The wage rule defines specific data points that must appear for employees subject to minimum wage or minimum wage and overtime provisions. The first field is the employee's name in full, as used for Social Security recordkeeping purposes, and on the same record, the employee's identifying symbol or number if such is used in place of name on any time, work, or payroll records, according to Legal Information Institute.

The second required field is the employee's sex and occupation in which employed, noting that sex may be indicated by use of the prefixes Mr., Mrs., Miss., or Ms., according to Legal Information Institute. The rule states that employee's sex identification is related to the equal pay provisions of the Act which are administered by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The third field specifies the time of day and day of week on which the employee's workweek begins, according to Legal Information Institute. For employees employed under section 7(k) of the Act, the rule requires the starting time and length of each employee's work period instead. Confirm this start time matches the shift schedule your dispatch system uses.

The wage record rule names seven specific fields you must capture for each employee before you approve the pay. The Legal Information Institute lists these requirements under 29 CFR § 516.2, which applies to employees subject to minimum wage or minimum wage and overtime provisions pursuant to section 6 or sections 6 and 7(a) of the Act.

The first field is the employee's name. The second is sex and occupation. The third is the time of day and day of week on which the workweek begins, or for section 7(k) employees the starting time and length of the work period. The fourth is the regular hourly rate of pay for any workweek in which overtime compensation is due, according to Legal Information Institute. The rule also requires you to explain the basis of pay by indicating the monetary amount paid per hour, per day, per week, by the piece, as commission on sales, or on another basis. It further requires recording the amount and nature of each payment which is excluded from the “regular rate,” noting that these records may be in the form of vouchers or other payment data.

The fifth field covers hours worked. The rule specifies "Hours worked each workday and total hours worked each workweek," according to Legal Information Institute. For purposes of this section, a “workday” is any fixed period of 24 consecutive hours. A “workweek” is any fixed and regularly recurring period of 7 consecutive workdays. These definitions anchor how you count time for the record.

The sixth field is the total daily or weekly straight-time earnings or wages due for hours worked during the workday or workweek, exclusive of premium overtime compensation, according to Legal Information Institute. This figure represents the base pay before any overtime premium is added.

The seventh field is the total premium pay for overtime hours, according to Legal Information Institute.

When you sit down to approve today's hours, check that your system has captured all seven of these data points. If your job system writes a time entry when a booking is completed, verify that the entry includes the workday hours and the workweek total. Confirm that the straight-time earnings and the overtime premium pay are calculated separately. The rule distinguishes between the base earnings and the premium pay, so your record must show both figures distinctly.

Do not assume that a single total pay figure satisfies the requirement. The rule asks for the basis of pay and the specific amounts for straight time and overtime premium. If your system only shows a final check amount, you may need to look at the underlying time entry to verify the seven fields are present.

One employee works 8 hours on the workday shown. The illustrative workweek total is also 8. The illustrative regular hourly rate is 10, and illustrative straight-time earnings are 80. Illustrative total premium pay for overtime hours is 0. Read the name, sex and occupation, and the workweek's start time and weekday with these 7 hour figures before you approve.

The wage record and the tax record run on separate clocks. You must keep them apart in your filing system so you do not discard a time card while the tax record is still required.

Time cards and earning sheets

Under 29 CFR § 516.6, each employer required to maintain records under this part must preserve supplementary basic records for a period of at least 2 years, according to Legal Information Institute. This 2-year period applies specifically to basic time and earning cards or sheets. These records include those on which are entered the daily starting and stopping time of individual employees, or of separate work forces, or the amounts of work accomplished by individual employees on a daily, weekly, or pay period basis, according to Legal Information Institute. The rule applies when those amounts determine in whole or in part the pay period earnings or wages of those employees. The 2-year count starts from the date of last entry on the card or sheet.

Employment tax records

The Internal Revenue Service requires a different retention period for tax-related documentation. Keep all records of employment taxes for at least four years after filing the 4th quarter for the year, according to Internal Revenue Service. This four-year period is distinct from the 2-year period for time cards. Do not treat the end of the 2-year time card retention as the end of your recordkeeping obligation for tax purposes.

Practical separation

When you approve today’s hours, you are finalizing the data that goes into the time card.

When a technician finishes a job, the specific data captured depends on the status of the booking and the work order. In Track time expenditure with time entries - Dynamics 365 Field Service | Microsoft Learn, time entries serve a specific function for the business. You use time entries for reporting, invoicing, and billing for the provided services, according to Microsoft. This defines the purpose of the data before you look at how it is generated.

The visibility of this data changes once the field work is done. You can view the time entries after a technician sets the Booking Status to Completed, according to Microsoft. At this stage, the hours are visible for review. The system distinguishes between the booking being finished and the work order being closed.

The creation of financial records happens at a later stage. When the Work Order System Status changes to Closed-Posted, the system creates records for actuals based on the time entries, according to Microsoft. This step links the recorded hours to the actuals in the system. The two statuses trigger different system actions.

Not all bookings generate these entries automatically. The system only automatically creates time entries for work order bookings, not for independent bookings or bookings related to other tables, according to Microsoft. If your crew works on a booking that is not tied to a work order, the system will not automatically create the time entry for you. You must verify that the booking is linked to a work order if you expect the system to handle the time entry creation. See Field Service Work Order Checklist for Dispatch Handoffs and Move a booked visit: 3 rules and 6 fields when the booking is still in dispatch.

Check the Work Order System Status before you assume the actuals are ready. Confirm that the booking is a work order booking if you rely on automatic time entry creation. This ensures you are looking at the correct records when you approve today's hours.

The table below lists the seven wage-record fields named in the rule, one row for each field, traceable to the quoted definition. Each row names the publisher and cites the exact rule from its source.

Match each of these seven fields to the place you will read it before approving hours.

Today, read the seven fields on one unapproved time card: name, sex and occupation, workweek start, regular hourly rate, hours worked, straight-time earnings, and overtime premium. Before you approve, you can also read travel charge types.

Which seven fields does the wage record ask for?

The wage record requires the employee's full name and, if such is used in place of the name on any time, work, or payroll records, an identifying symbol or number, plus sex and occupation, the time and day the workweek begins, and the regular hourly rate. It also requires hours worked each workday and total hours worked each workweek, total straight-time earnings, and total premium pay for overtime hours. These fields are defined in 29 CFR § 516.2 according to Legal Information Institute.

How long are time cards kept?

Employers must preserve supplementary basic records for at least two years from the date of last entry. This includes basic time and earning cards that record daily starting and stopping times or work amounts that determine pay. This two-year requirement is stated in 29 CFR § 516.6 according to Legal Information Institute.

How long are employment-tax records kept?

You must keep all records of employment taxes for at least four years after filing the fourth quarter for the year. This period is separate from the two-year wage-record keep. The Internal Revenue Service specifies this four-year duration in its employment tax recordkeeping guidance according to Internal Revenue Service.

When does the job system create a time entry?

Dynamics 365 Field Service automatically creates time entries for work order bookings. You can view these time entries after a technician sets the Booking Status to Completed. The system does not automatically create time entries for independent bookings or bookings related to other tables. Microsoft documents this behavior in its Field Service time entry guide according to Microsoft.

What can you view when a booking is completed?

Setting the Booking Status to Completed allows you to view the time entries. The system creates records for actuals based on the time entries when the Work Order System Status changes to Closed-Posted. Microsoft explains that Closed-Posted status triggers the creation of actuals records according to Microsoft.