Piecework has no form or menu of its own. Units are entered in an extra field on a regular working time. You create this field yourself and mark it as a piecework field.
1. Setup (administrator)
1.1 Turn on the Piecework feature
Go to Configure → Settings → Features.
Find Working times and, under it, Piecework. Tick the box.
Save.
Piecework is part of working times, so Working times must also be turned on.
Features can be changed by users who have the permission "Can edit settings".
1.2 Create the extra field for units
Open Extra fields and add a new extra field.
For Place of use, choose Working time.
For Type, choose one of these:
Integer: whole units only, e.g. 5.
Float: allows decimals, e.g. 12.5 m².
Tick "Use in piecework report".
You only see this option when the Piecework feature is on and the field type is Integer or Float.
Give the field a name employees will understand, e.g. "Windows installed (pcs)".
If needed, also set these:
Is required: the employee can't save the working time until they enter the number of units.
Work types for which the field is displayed: the field only shows for the work types you pick, e.g. only "Assembly".
Display in view: the number of units also shows in the working times list.
Save.
Extra fields can be created by users who have the permission "Can configure extra fields".
Several piecework fields: you can mark more than one field as a piecework field, e.g. "Windows" and "Doors". The report adds up the values of all these fields into one number, Units. If you want to see different kinds of units separately, use work types (see 4.2) or data types (see section 5).
1.3 Give managers access to the report
The piecework report can be seen by administrators, and by users whose permissions include the "Piecework" report. If a manager can't see the report, check their permissions.
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2. How employees use piecework
The employee adds a working time as usual: start, end and, if needed, object and work type.
The form has the units field the administrator created. The employee enters how many units they completed during this working time.
If the field is linked to a work type, it only appears once that work type is selected.
If the field is required, it must be filled in before saving.
An Integer field only accepts whole numbers.
The employee saves the working time.
Tip for employees: if you do different jobs during the day, e.g. on different objects or with different work types, add a separate working time for each job and enter the units there. This way your manager sees exactly where and in which job the units were done.
If the employee later changes the working time, e.g. switches the work type, it's worth checking the units field again. If the field is linked to a work type that is no longer selected on that working time, those units are not counted in the report.
3. How managers use piecework
3.1 The Piecework report
Open Reports.
Choose Piecework as the report.
Choose the Period.
Choose employees or groups. If you leave this empty, the report includes all employees.
Click Show. You can also download the report as an Excel, PDF or CSV file.
What you see on screen and in the Excel file:
Each employee has a separate row for each work type they did. Below these is the employee's Total row.
At the very end is the row Total (All employees).
The columns show:
each day of the period;
each object where work was done;
Total.
Under each column there are two numbers. T means units and H means hours.
Cells that contain units or hours are coloured green.
What you see in the PDF file: the PDF is laid out differently.
At the top are Total worked time and Total units for the whole period.
For each employee, you see:
their total hours and units;
the table "Worked time per work type";
a list of all their working times: date, start, end, work type, hours and units.
The u/h column shows how many units were done per hour on average. You can use it to compare the productivity of employees or work types.
3.2 Units in the customer report
If you use objects and customers, the Customer (long) report also has a Units column for each working time.
3.3 Sending the report automatically by email
You can have the piecework report sent automatically, e.g. every week or every month.
Open Automatic reports and add a new one.
Choose Report name → Piecework.
Choose how often the report is sent, who receives it, and the Format (PDF or Excel).
To create an automatic piecework report, you need access to the piecework report yourself.
4. How units are counted
4.1 Basic rules
Units are taken from working time extra fields that have "Use in piecework report" ticked.
If there are several such fields, their values are added together for each working time.
An empty field counts as zero.
Hours are the working time's counted working hours. This is the time between start and end, minus the Length of break and any time deducted from the working time. So the working hours can be less than the time between start and end.
Declined working times are not counted in the report.
4.2 Fields linked to a work type
If a units field is set to show only for certain work types, it is only counted on working times with those work types. If a working time has a different work type, the value is left out, even if it was saved earlier.
4.3 Working time that runs past midnight
On screen and in the Excel file, the units are split between the two days by hours. Example: a shift runs from 8 pm to 4 am and 100 units were done. Each day gets 4 hours, so each day gets 50 units.
In the PDF, the whole working time and all units go to the day the working time started.
Because of this, the daily numbers in the PDF and in Excel can differ slightly. If the whole working time falls within the period, the period total is the same in both.
4.4 Unapproved working times
If you use working time approval:
on screen and in the Excel file, working times that are not yet approved are also counted;
in the PDF, only approved working times are counted.
If the PDF shows fewer hours or units than the screen, check whether all working times in the period have been approved.
4.5 Units belong to their working time
Units always belong to the working time they were entered on. If the working time was on object X with work type Y, the report shows the units under object X and work type Y.
5. Units in data types, the timesheet and report templates (advanced)
You can also use units in your own calculations.
5.1 The "Units" data type
Create a new Data type and choose Type → Units. Then you can choose which units are counted:
only on certain days of the week;
only at certain times of day (Starting time and Ending time);
only on public holidays;
only for selected employees, objects, work types, special rates, types of contract or salary types.
The Coefficient multiplies the result. For example, with a coefficient of 2, each unit counts double.
If you limit the times of day, units are counted in proportion to the hours.
Example: a working time lasts 8 hours, 2 of those hours fall in the selected time, and 80 units were done in total. Then 80 × 2 / 8 = 20 units are counted.
Data types can be added to and subtracted from each other. For example, you can create a data type that shows units without night hours.
Data types can be created by users who have the permission "Can create report templates and take all the template based reports".
5.2 In the timesheet
You can add a units data type to the Timesheet as a column. Then each employee's units total is visible right in the timesheet. The column is visible to anyone who has permission to view working times.
5.3 In report templates
In your own report template (Report templates), you can use the Units indicator. There is also the indicator "Units done outside working hours in workdays". It only counts units done on working days outside the company's regular working hours.
6. Calculating pay based on units
You can calculate pay for units. For this, the Wage rates feature must be turned on in Configure → Settings → Features.
Create a data type with the type Units (see 5.1).
Open Wage types (HR → Wage rates → Wage types) and add a new one. For Wage base, choose that data type.
Open Wage rates and add a rate, i.e. the price per unit. You can set the rate:
for all employees or for one specific employee;
for a specific object and/or work type, e.g. €2 per unit for assembly and €1.50 per unit for finishing;
for a specific time (with a start and end date).
Pay is calculated like this: number of units × rate × wage type coefficient. If no coefficient is set, it is 1.
Units are counted by object and work type. That way the right rate is used even when different jobs have different prices.
Pay is calculated through the Wages feature. You can't turn this feature on yourself in the settings. If you'd like to use it, contact Wemply support.
7. Frequently asked questions
I can't see the "Use in piecework report" option.
Check that the Piecework feature is turned on in the settings. Also check that the extra field type is Integer or Float. Other field types don't have this option.
I can't find the "Piecework" report in the list of reports.
The Piecework feature must be turned on, and you need access to this report. An administrator can give you access.
The employee entered units, but the report shows 0.
The most common reasons:
the field is linked to a work type, but a different work type is selected on the working time;
the working time is not within the selected period;
the field doesn't have "Use in piecework report" ticked;
the working time was declined;
you're looking at the PDF and the working time is not yet approved.
Why are the numbers different in the PDF and in Excel?
There can be two reasons. If a working time runs past midnight, Excel splits the units between the days by hours, while the PDF puts all units on the start day. Also, the PDF only counts approved working times. See 4.3 and 4.4.
Can I enter units without a working time?
No. Units are always entered on a working time.
What do T and H mean?
T means units and H means hours.