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When you think of account balances, money likely comes to mind. If you pull up your checking account, you typically have two balances displayed...
"Current" Balance
- Money that you have RIGHT NOW, not taking into account pending transactions or upcoming deposits/withdrawals.
"Spendable" Balance (aka "Pending" or "Available" Balance)
- What's left over of your Current Balance after your recent transactions and any money that has already been allocated elsewhere are factored in.
The spendable balance is offered so that you can avoid OVERspending your money, useful right? Well we thought so too, so we offer two features designed to help manage your time banks more carefully and clearly.
- Transaction Timing
- Projected Balances
Transaction Timing
These settings allow you to specify exactly when deposits and withdrawals should occur, once they are on the schedule.
NOTE: These settings do NOT affect the timing of any Accrual Rules that your site may have set up for one or more time banks.
Withdrawal Timing
Each time bank has a "Withdrawal Timing" setting that offers the following 2 options...
- On submission
- As soon as a time-off is entered onto the schedule (even if it's far in the future), it will withdraw from a person's time bank. If you were a user of Pace Scheduler prior to August 2019, this is how the system functioned by default.
- As soon as a time-off is entered onto the schedule (even if it's far in the future), it will withdraw from a person's time bank. If you were a user of Pace Scheduler prior to August 2019, this is how the system functioned by default.
- Day of shift
- Time-offs entered onto the schedule won't withdraw from the time bank until the day of that time-off actually arrives. This is a new option as of late August 2019.
To change these settings, go here...
- Admin Tab -> Time Banks -> Time Banks ...then click "edit" next to the time bank you'd like to modify.
You'll notice the "Withdrawal Timing" setting on this page. You can now select your preferred timing for withdrawals from this bank.
NOTE: The option you select here applies to any and all time-off types that are tied to this bank.
- e.g. If the "Personal" and "Vacation" time-off types are both linked to the Personal Time Bank, the withdrawal timing will apply to both of them.
Banked OT Deposit Timing
Your site has a site-wide setting that determines when deposits execute for OT shifts that have selected to earn the OT as banked hours, rather than pay. The "Banked OT Deposit Timing" setting offers 3 options. The first two are identical to the Withdrawal Timing options, the third is unique.
On submission
As soon as OT is entered onto the schedule (even if it's far in the future), any hours that are set to be banked rather than paid out, will deposit into a person's time bank immediately. If you were a user of Pace Scheduler prior to August 2019, this is how the system functioned by default.
Day of shift
OT entered onto the schedule and chosen to be banked rather than paid out, won't deposit into the time bank until the day of that OT actually arrives. This is a new option as of late August 2019.
End of pay period
OT entered onto the schedule and chosen to be banked rather than paid out, won't deposit into the time bank until the pay period containing that OT concludes. This is a new option as of late August 2019.
To change these settings, go here...
- Admin Tab -> Options -> Site Settings
You'll notice the "Banked OT Deposit Timing" setting on this page. You can now select your preferred timing for Banked OT deposits.
NOTE: This is a site-wide setting, meaning that the option you select here applies to all OT types, regardless of the time bank they are tied to.
Projected Balances
These will be offered alongside "Current Balances" on time-off requests. These start with your Current Balance, then factor in various upcoming deposits and withdrawals, based on various factors, such as transaction timing, and the selected date when submitting a request.
The following items are all potential factors in Projected Balance calculations. Which ones apply to your site's banks, and in what capacities, will vary depending on the settings we covered above, as well as whether or not you have auto-accruals set up on your time banks. The blue & pink sections below contain various examples/scenarios to help demonstrate that particular factor's influence on Current and Projected Balances.
Potential Factors
NOTE: Each example given below this shows a "simple" case, where only one potential factor is involved. However, in the real world these factors can (and usually do) all factor in in various combinations, not just by themselves, so while the below examples/scenarios are great demonstrations of each individual factor, they do not dive into the various combinations of two or more factors working at the same time, as there are countless possibilities.
FACTOR: Pending & Approved Time-Off Requests
Keep in mind that the "Withdrawal Timing" feature (covered in the 1st section of this document) only affects the Current Balance in the case of time-offs, not the Projected Balance.
As you submit time-off requests, they are all being withdrawn from your Projected Balance, regardless of how far into the future they are, and whether they are pending or approved. This allows you to see how many hours you still have to spend (Projected Balance) as well as how many hours you still actually have (Current Balance) even though some of the hours may already be "earmarked" for some future time-offs.
EXAMPLES
Assumptions
- Today is March 15th
- I have no other Time-offs or OT on the schedule
- My Current (not Projected) vacation bank balance = 100.0 hours
- No accrual rules exist for the vacation bank
- "Withdrawal Timing" for the Vacation Bank is set to "Day of shift"
- I already submitted a request for March 18th for a full day off (8 hour shift, vacation), but the request is still pending
- I have already been approved to leave 2 hours early (using my vacation time-off) on March 26th
How does it play out if...
I right-click any of my calendar days/cells that are on or between now (March 15th) and March 17th, and begin a vacation request?
- The vacation bank's Current Balance will show 100.0 hours, whereas the Projected Balance will show 90.0 hours, because it factors in ALL scheduled time-off's, even the future ones and pending ones.
I right-click any of my calendar days/cells that are on or between March 18th and March 25th, and begin a vacation request?
- The vacation bank's Current and Projected Balances will be the same as in the previous scenario above.
I right-click any of my calendar days/cells that are on or between May 1st the end of May (May 31st), and begin a vacation request?
- The vacation bank's Current and Projected Balances will be the same as in the previous scenario above.
Let's look at 3 more scenarios, identical to the previous 3, but let's change the "Withdrawal Timing" for the Vacation Bank from "Day of shift" to "On submission" instead.
How does it play out if...
I right-click any of my calendar days/cells that are on or between now (March 15th) and March 17th, and begin a vacation request?
- The vacation bank's Current and Projected Balances will both show 90.0 hours. The Projected Balance is the same as it was in the first 3 scenarios because it was factoring in ALL time-offs all along. The Current Balance, however, now ALSO shows 90.0 hours because, even though both of those time-offs are in the future, we have the vacation bank set to withdraw those hours as soon as the request is submitted.
I right-click any of my calendar days/cells that are on or between March 18th and March 25th, and begin a vacation request?
- The vacation bank's Current and Projected Balances will be the same as in the previous scenario above.
I right-click any of my calendar days/cells that are on or between May 1st the end of May (May 31st), and begin a vacation request?
- The vacation bank's Current and Projected Balances will be the same as in the previous scenario above.
FACTOR: Auto-Accruals
If your time bank(s) have an accrual rule in place, that accrual will ALWAYS factor into the projected balance. The only stipulation is that the date you are requesting needs to be on or after the date that the auto-accrual is set to deposit. This essentially means that the farther into the future you are requesting time-off for, the more accruals will be factored in.
EXAMPLES
Assumptions
- Today is March 15th
- I have no other Time-offs or OT on the schedule
- My Current (not Projected) vacation bank balance = 100.0 hours
- An accrual rule has been set up for the vacation bank that auto-deposits 5.0 hours on the first of every month
How does it play out if...
I right-click any of my calendar days/cells that are on or between now (March 15th) and the end of the month (March 31st), and begin a vacation request?
- The vacation bank's Current and Projected Balances will match, each showing 100.0 hours, because no deposits are scheduled to occur in that timeframe (either via OT or via auto-accrual), and there are no future withdrawals on any future dates.
I right-click any of my calendar days/cells that are on or between April 1st and the end of April (April 30th), and begin a vacation request?
- The vacation bank's Current Balance will show 100.0 hours, whereas the Projected Balance will show 105.0 hours, because of that auto-accrual that is scheduled for the first day of every month.
I right-click any of my calendar days/cells that are on or between May 1st and the end of May (May 31st), and begin a vacation request?
- The vacation bank's Current Balance will show 100.0 hours, whereas the Projected Balance will show 110.0 hours, because of that auto-accrual that is scheduled for the first day of every month.
FACTOR: Include Scheduled OT Earnings
Keep in mind that the "Banked OT Deposit Timing" feature (covered in the 1st section of this document) affects the Current Balance AND the Projected Balance in the case of OT earnings.
Whenever you initiate a time-off request, our system will recognize any Banked OT hours that you are scheduled to earn on or between the current date, and the date you are requesting. This is actually a toggle-able calculation, right on the request form itself. This allows you to look at "best-case" and "worst-case" projected balances.
Perhaps you just submitted an OT request for an extra shift tomorrow, but it hasn't been approved yet, then you want to ALSO submit a time-off request for next month; When you open that time-off request you can use this toggle to basically say "What if I do get approved for that OT" or "What if I don't get approved for that OT", and your projected balance will update accordingly, giving you the information you need to make an informed decision about whether or not you can afford that time-off.
EXAMPLES
Assumptions
- Today is March 15th
- I have no other Time-offs or OT on the schedule
- My Current (not Projected) vacation bank balance = 100.0 hours
- No accrual rules exist for the vacation bank
- "Banked OT Deposit Timing" on my site is set to "Day of shift"
- The OT type I'm requesting earns at a 1.5x rate (aka time-and-a-half)
- I always choose the "Bank Hours" option for OT, rather than paying it out
- Banked OT hours always deposit into the Vacation Time Bank
- I already submitted a request for March 18th for an 8 hour OT shift I plan to pick-up, but the request is still pending
- I have already been approved to work a 2 hour OT shift on March 26th
How does it play out if...
I right-click any of my calendar days/cells that are on or between now (March 15th) and March 17th, and begin a vacation request?
- The vacation bank's Current and Projected Balances will match, each showing 100.0 hours, because no deposits are scheduled to occur in that timeframe (either via OT or via auto-accrual), and there are no future withdrawals on any future dates.
I right-click any of my calendar days/cells that are on or between March 18th and March 25th, and begin a vacation request?
- The vacation bank's Current Balance will show 100.0 hours, whereas the Projected Balance will show...
- 100.0 hours if the "Include scheduled OT earnings" checkbox is unchecked. This is because I'm ignoring any scheduled OT earnings on the schedule on or between now and the date I'm requesting.
- 112.0 hours if the "Include scheduled OT earnings" checkbox is checked. This is because of that approved 8 hour OT shift I have scheduled for March 18th. Remember this OT earns at time-and-a-half, so that 8 hour shift earns me 12.0 banked hours.
- 100.0 hours if the "Include scheduled OT earnings" checkbox is unchecked. This is because I'm ignoring any scheduled OT earnings on the schedule on or between now and the date I'm requesting.
I right-click any of my calendar days/cells that are on or after March 26th, and begin a vacation request?
- The vacation bank's Current Balance will show 100.0 hours, whereas the Projected Balance will show...
- 100.0 hours if the "Include scheduled OT earnings" checkbox is unchecked. This is because I'm ignoring any scheduled OT earnings on the schedule on or between now and the date I'm requesting.
- 115.0 hours if the "Include scheduled OT earnings" checkbox is checked. This is because of that approved 8 hour OT shift I have scheduled for March 18th, and the pending 2 hour OT shift I have scheduled for March 26th. Remember these OT's earn at time-and-a-half, so that 8 hour shift earns me 12.0 banked hours, and the 2 hours shift earns me 3.0 banked hours. Notice that pending requests are still factored in as if they were approved when the checkbox is checked.
- 100.0 hours if the "Include scheduled OT earnings" checkbox is unchecked. This is because I'm ignoring any scheduled OT earnings on the schedule on or between now and the date I'm requesting.
FACTOR: Carryover Caps
If your site has carryover caps in place, and you decide to submit a time-off request for some future date, that is on or after that carryover date is set to occur (e.g. January 1st in many cases), that carryover cap will be factored into the projected balance, along with all other factors between today and the requested date, and ALL time-offs on your schedule.
EXAMPLES
Assumptions
- Today is December 15th, 2019
- I have no other Time-offs or OT on the schedule
- My Current (not Projected) vacation bank balance = 100.0 hours
- An accrual rule has been set up for the vacation bank that auto-deposits 5.0 hours on the first of every month
- "Withdrawal Timing" for the Vacation Bank is set to "Day of shift"
- I already submitted a request for December 18th, 2019 for a full day off (8 hour shift, vacation), but the request is still pending
- A Carryover Cap of 20.0 hours is in place for January 1st of each year.
How does it play out if...
I right-click any of my calendar days/cells that are on or between now (December 15th, 2019) and December 17th, 2019, and begin a vacation request?
- The vacation bank's Current Balance will show 100.0 hours, whereas the Projected Balance will show 92.0 hours, because it factors in ALL scheduled time-off's, even the future ones and pending ones.
I right-click any of my calendar days/cells that are on or between December 18th and the end of December (December 31st, 2019), and begin a vacation request?
- The vacation bank's Current and Projected Balances will be the same as in the previous scenario above.
I right-click any of my calendar days/cells that are on or between January 1st, 2020 and the end of January (January 31st, 2020), and begin a vacation request?
- The vacation bank's Current Balance will show 100.0 hours, whereas the Projected Balance will show 25.0 hours, because of that Carryover Cap (20.0 hours) followed by that auto-accrual (5.0 hours) that is scheduled for the first day of every month.
