Record time and Record costs

This page provides access to the Record time and Record costs functions that allow time and costs incurred in relation to the question number showing in the Question action bar, to be recorded. Libraries that want to know the cost of answering the questions they handle – especially if they need to bill those costs – will want to use these functions.

ServicePoint users cannot use these functions but all other levels of users can. Time and Costs can be entered on behalf of other staff members, and they can be entered for dates other than the date on which they are being entered. They can even be entered in relation to a question that has already been closed (as bills often arrive some time after the question was closed). Information entered using Record time or Record costs, is saved in the history record for the appropriate question and is available for reporting on time used and costs incurred in relation to that question.

Using this screen

The Record time and costs screens open in a separate window which means that you can capture time and cost usage hilst in the middle of doing other things in RefTracker.

Question summary:
At the top of the screen a short summary of this question is provided so that you can be sure you are working on the right question. It shows
– the Request type of the question,
– the Question, and any attachment/s submitted with the question, together with a “Manage question attachments” link that allows more client attachments to be added, or existing ones to be removed
– a summary of any Item information in relation to this question (as defined by the request form used for this question)
– the Assigned staff member,
– a status summary showing the current status and the date by which this question needs to be responded. An image indicating the priority of this question may also appear in this line.

Record time , and costs:
Staff – Select the name of the staff member that incurred the time or cost – defaults to your name but this allows you to enter time and costs on behalf of other staff when appropriate.
Date – Enter the date on which the time or cost was incurred – note that if the question is closed the date should be before the date the question was closed (defaults to today’s date unless the question is closed, in which case it defaults to the date on which the question was closed).
Time or Cost entry – Select type of time or cost – First select the type of time or cost that reflects what you need to enter, or if there is not a suitable entry use the “Other” entry. The values appearing here are set by your System Administrator using the Time type and Cost type code tables.
Time or Cost entry – Time or Cost incurred – Some times and costs have default values associated with them that are automatically entered into this field when you select them. You can change automatically inserted values. If you need to enter a value, time is entered as m (digits represent minutes), h:mm (hours:minutes), or h.d (hours.decimal parts of an hour), and costs are entered as n (whole currency units) or n.nn without any currency symbols. Supervisors and Administrators can make adjustments by entering negative numbers when this is required.
Where the clock icon appears you can use it to automatically measure and enter the amount of time used. Click the icon to start it. Click it again to stop the timer. It can be restarted. If you forget to stop it, it will be automatically stopped, and the time used saved,when you click Submit. If more than one clock is showing only one can be used at a time.
Time or Cost entry – Description – Especially if you have used the “Other” entry, enter a description of what the time or cost was incurred for. (Maximum 200 characters)

You can enter up to five time or cost entries at a time using this screen but each will be attributed to the same staff member and the same date and time. When you are happy with your entry click on any Submit button to record the information you have entered.

Journal history – When time and costs have already been entered in relation to the question you are working with, they (both time and costs) will show in the Journal history section at the bottom of this screen. You can use this display to ensure that you are not entering duplicate information. Note that this summary will also include time entered when using RefTracker screens like the Answer screen.