Creating, configuring and making effective use of time types

How time types work in Jobilino

1. One time type = one booking category with rules

   A time type is the category under which an employee records time – e.g. 'Working time', 'Break', 'Sickness', 'Holiday'. For each time type, you define whether it counts as working time, whether it is recorded in hours or days, whether a supervisor must approve it, whether supporting documentation is required, and whether it consumes holiday days.

   Tipp: Think of time types like accounts in bookkeeping: they are the 'drawers' into which every time entry is placed – and each drawer has its own set of rules.

2. Standard types are included out of the box

   For every new account, Jobilino automatically creates four default types: 'Working Time' (hourly, with location and project), 'Break' (deducted from working time), 'Sick Leave' (daily, with substitute, document and approval) and 'Holiday' (daily, with substitute, document, approval and holiday allowance consumption).

   Tipp: These default types can be renamed, adjusted or supplemented – however, not all properties can be combined freely (see FAQ).

3. Hourly vs. Daily

   Hourly types are recorded with a start/end time (e.g. 08:00–17:00). Daily types are recorded with a start/end date (e.g. 11/06–20/06). 'Working Time' and 'Break' are typically hourly, while 'Holiday' and 'Sick Leave' are daily.

   Tipp: Day-based types are the only ones that can consume holiday days.

4. Selectable or not

   With 'Selectable' you control whether a time type appears in the dropdown in the employee form. By default, 'Sick leave' and 'Vacation' are not selectable – they are offered via dedicated actions such as 'Request vacation'.

   Tipp: Simply set types that you do not currently wish to use to 'not selectable' – instead of deleting them.

5. Order of entry rules

   When saving a time entry, Jobilino checks in the following order: 1) required fields according to the time type (e.g. receipt, substitution), 2) overlap with existing entries on the same day, 3) for vacation types: sufficient vacation balance, 4) approval process (if active).

   Tipp: If the balance is insufficient, Jobilino rejects the entry immediately upon saving with the message 'Not enough vacation days available'.

The properties of a time type – in detail

1. Name and Description

   The name appears in the employee dropdown and in reports. The description is optional and intended for internal notes.

   Tipp: Keep names short and unambiguous: 'Holiday', 'Special Leave Wedding', 'Break', 'Travel Time'.

2. Is Working Time

   Active: hours count towards target vs. actual and therefore also towards overtime. Inactive: bookings under this type are not counted as working time.

   Tipp: Examples: 'Working Time' = active. 'Break' = inactive. 'Travel Time' can be active or inactive – depending on whether you want to count it as working time.

3. Is daily (instead of hourly)

   Active: Entry is made with date fields (start/end date). Inactive: Entry is made with date + time (start/end).

   Tipp: Only daily types can consume vacation days – the 'Consume vacation' option cannot be activated otherwise.

4. Selectable

   Active: Employees see the type in the dropdown when making a manual entry. Inactive: The type still exists, but is hidden in the standard form.

   Tipp: 'Sick leave' and 'Vacation' are not selectable by default – they are offered via dedicated buttons such as 'Request vacation', so that the correct approval workflow is triggered.

5. Has Location

   Active: The location selection appears in the entry form (useful for field service, construction sites, multiple branches).

6. Has Project

   Active: The project selection appears in the entry form. This allows hours to be evaluated by project at a later stage.

   Tipp: You can also use this field for cost centres if you do not maintain your own projects.

7. Has Substitute

   Active: Employees specify a colleague as a substitute (typical for 'Holiday' and 'Sick Leave').

   Tipp: The substitute is visible in the request and in notifications – but does not affect permissions or time tracking.

8. Has proof / file upload

   Active: When recording, a file must/can be uploaded (e.g. medical certificate, marriage certificate).

   Tipp: Useful for 'Sick Leave' (doctor's note), 'Special Leave' (supporting document) or 'Training' (certificate of participation).

9. Has approval process

   Active: The entry moves to the 'Pending Review' status and requires approval by a supervisor/HR. Inactive: The entry takes effect immediately.

   Tipp: For leave-consuming types with an approval process, the balance is initially only reserved (pending) and is actually deducted only upon approval.

10. Consumes holiday days

    Active: Bookings of this type reduce the holiday balance. Can only be combined with 'Is daily = active'.

    Tipp: Classic examples: 'Annual leave' consumes holiday, 'Sick leave' does not consume holiday. 'Time off in lieu' also does not consume holiday – it reduces the hours balance.

11. Count holiday days (working days / calendar days)

    Only visible when 'Consumes holiday days = active'. Here you can define per time type whether working days or calendar days are counted – independently of the default rule of the holiday policy.

    Tipp: Example: 'Special leave' is to be calculated in fixed calendar days, because it covers only a few days anyway – even if the policy otherwise uses 'working days'.

Standard types supplied by Jobilino

1. Working time

   Hourly, is working time, has location, has project. Default booking type for regular hours.

   Tipp: Is automatically marked as the default time type during account setup – this speeds up time entry.

2. Break

   Hourly, is NOT working time. Is deducted from the target-actual balance without creating its own hour category.

3. Sick leave

   Daily, not selectable (hidden in the dropdown), with substitute, document and approval process. Does NOT consume any holiday.

   Tipp: Is typically recorded via a dedicated 'Sick note' action, not via the standard entry form.

4. Holiday

   Daily, not selectable (hidden in the dropdown), with substitution, receipt, approval process and holiday consumption. By default, it counts working days (according to the leave policy).

   Tipp: Employees book it via 'Request leave' – this takes them directly into the correct workflow.

Create new time type

admins

1. Open administration

   In the dashboard, go to 'Administration' → 'Time types'.

2. Click Add

   Click on 'Add'. The form with all properties will appear.

3. Name and description

   Enter a short, descriptive name (e.g. 'Special leave – wedding') and optionally a description.

4. Define basic behaviour

   Decide: Hourly or daily? Working time yes/no? Selectable in the dropdown yes/no?

   Tipp: Tip: Set these three fields first, then fill in the dependent options below – some only become active once 'Is daily' is set.

5. Required and additional fields

   Enable 'Has location', 'Has project', 'Has substitute', 'Has receipt' as needed.

6. Approval process

   Enable 'Has approval process' if bookings should only take effect after confirmation.

   Tipp: Mandatory for leave-consuming types; otherwise employees can book unlimited leave without any control.

7. Holiday consumption

   If this type should consume holiday: enable 'Consumes holiday days' and select 'Holiday as working days / calendar days'.

   Tipp: Only visible when 'Is daily = active'.

8. Save

   Click 'Save'. The new time type is immediately available – including for existing employees.

Edit existing time type

admins

1. Assess impact

   For a name change: purely cosmetic. For behaviour changes (e.g. switching 'Is working time'): takes effect retroactively on the evaluations of all existing bookings under this type.

   Tipp: If the change should only apply 'from now on', it is better to create a new time type and set the old one to 'not selectable'.

2. Open time type

   Administration → Time types → Click on the desired entry.

3. Adjust and save values

   Change the fields, then click 'Save'. Existing time entries under this type will be re-evaluated in reports using the new values.

   Tipp: The entries themselves (date, note, receipt) remain unchanged – only their 'character' (e.g. whether they count as working time or not) changes.

Deactivate or delete time type

admins

1. Recommendation: Deactivate 'Selectable'

   Types that are no longer in use should not be deleted, but set to 'not selectable'. Existing bookings are retained and evaluated correctly.

   Tipp: This keeps evaluations historically consistent, but the type disappears from the input forms.

2. Actually delete only if never used

   Via 'Delete' in the editing form. This is possible as long as no time entries exist under this type.

   Tipp: If bookings already exist, Jobilino blocks deletion in order to protect data integrity.