Time America Interface Information

What is the Time America Interface?

The Time America Interface is a bi-directional exchange of information between the Paychoice Connection and certain Time America time clocks. Pay information is sent to the Paychoice Connection in the form of an ASCII file and employee information is sent from the Paychoice Connection back to to Time America. New Employees need to be added only once via the Paychoice Connection.

Which Time America clocks does the interface work with?

This interface works with TA100, TA50, and Genpro Time clocks. For these three time clocks, the minimum version of the software that can be used is:

For TA50 – Version 1.00C

For TA100 – Version 1.02F

For GenPro – Version 7.00C

What information is exchanged between Time America and the Paychoice Connection?

Fields Exported from the Paychoice Connection and Imported Into Time America

Employee Number

Social Security Number

Phone Number

First Name

Middle Initial

Last Name

Address 1

Address 2

City

State

Zip

Birth Date

Hire Date

Status(Active or Inactive)

Hourly or Salary Switch

Fields Exported From Time America and Imported into the Paychoice Connection

Company Code

Employee Number

Division

Earnings Code

Earnings Type

Hours

Plus_Minus

Rate

Labor/Dept Code

Employee Name

How do I get started using the Time America Interface?

1.You must either contact Stephanie from PAI or call Time America to purchase a time clock.

  1. You must get a Time Clock Key code from PAI.
  1. The time clock software and the Paychoice Connection must be installed out at your client’s site.
  1. The key code is entered in the PAI Setup Screen in the Paychoice Connection. (More information is available in the Service Bureau Guide).
  1. Follow instructions for Configuring the Time Clock located in this document.

6. In the Paychoice Connection, export all employees from the Paychoice Connection to Time America. Refer to the section in this document.

Can Time Clock Punches Appear on the employee’s pay stub?

Time clock punches can appear on the employee’s pay stub as long as the bi-directional interface with Time America is being used. Information on setting up Time Clock Punches is available in the Service Bureau Guide and in this document. The time clock punches must be set up in Paychoice using Additional Personnel Fields.

Configuring the Time Clock

The screens will look different depending on what Time America time clock you are using.

1.Login to Time America.

2.Click on Configure, Company, Main Company. Enter the name and address of your company.

4.Click on the Defaults button. Change the Department Length to 4. Click on the Close button.

5.From the Main Company Setup Screen, click on the Exports button. Click on the button to the left of Alpha Fields. In the field called Field Code, you must enter the 4 digit client number. If this field is not completed, the punch detail will not appear on the employee’s paystubs. Click on the Close button.

6.From the Main Menu, click on Configure, Categories, and edit all work categories that will be exported.

7.For example, if you want to edit Worked Time, highlight Worked Time and click on the Edit Button. Click on the Export Code button.

8.Match the Paychoice Code with the Time America Code. For example, enter 01 in the REG column and enter 02 in the OT1 column. Click on the Close button.

Exporting Employees from Paychoice Connection To Time America

  1. Select Activity.
  2. Select Process Time Clock Employees.
  3. Select Export All Employees to Time Clock.

Using the Time America Interface

Click on Activity, then Time Clock. When you see the Confirmation message, click on Okay. If you do not see this message, you may have to press ATL TAB.

Enter the user id and password to access the Time America Interface.

Click on the Add All button to select all employees.

The Hours Export file(hrs_16db) is saved to \Genwin\. Genwin the default directory that the software was installed to. The default directory may be different depending where you installed the software and depending on which Time America Time clock you areusing. Click on the Save button.

The Pay Check Detail File(tapnchdt.asc) is saved to \Genwin\. Click on the Save button.

Click on Okay.

Click on the Import Button. The hours will be imported into the Paychoice Connection.

Time Clock Punches

Service Bureau Setup Instructions

  • The client must use 8 ½ by 11 check stock.
  • You must obtain a Company Name and Time Clock Key from Payroll Associates.
  • Time Card Punches only work with the Paychoice Connection Time America Interface.

Setting Up Time Card Punches in Paychoice

  1. Get into build change a company.
  2. Make sure the 8 ½ by 11 checks are selected. (Punches can be setup for 8 ½ by 14 checks but nothing will print on the check stub. It will display on the addt’l F3 screens.)
  3. Go to additional personnel screens maint.
  4. Add two quadrants: “CURRENT TIME PUNCHES” and “LAST TIME PUNCHES”. The quadrants MUST be named this.
  5. As you add each quadrant, you will be asked if you want the system to automatically add the required items in the quadrant. Always answer yes to this, unless you want to key 48 entries by hand. The system will add them in the correct order for screen display and check stub printing.
  1. 24 entries will be added into the CURRENT TIME PUNCHES quadrant. MON1 through SUN3 plus TOT1, 2 and 3. (If all of these entries DO NOT exist, the connection and PayChoice will not process punches!)
  1. 24 entries will be added into the LAST TIME PUNCHES quadrant. 1MON through 3SUN plus 1TOT, 2TOT and 3TOT. (If all of these entries DO NOT exist, the connection and PayChoice will not process punches!)

What PayChoice does:

  1. When the payroll is received in the branch from the connection client, the payroll process (checks and vouchers to be exact) checks for CURRENT TIME PUNCHES quadrant and validates that all 24 entries exist.
  2. As each check\voucher is created, the F3 screen entries for CURRENT TIME PUNCHES are gathered for that employee. Only the entries that have amounts are printed. For example, a weekly payroll will generally only have MON1-FRI1 and TOT1. If this is the case only 6 items will print on the check stub.
  3. These quadrants can be used for custom reports during the payroll process.
  1. When the payroll is completed, the Create New Master process moves all the CURRENT TIME PUNCHES entries to the LAST TIME PUNCHES quadrant.

Setting up Time America Interface in the Paychoice Connection

  1. On the Paychoice Connection Setup Screen, click in the Network Tab. In the field called Company Name, enter the company name that was given to you by Payroll Associates. This should be the name of your client’s company. The case and spacing of the company name must be to be exact.

2.Click on the Options tab on the Paychoice Connection Setup Screen. In the Active Time Clock field, click on the down arrow and select Time America. In the Time Clock Key field, enter the Time Clock Key that was given to you by Payroll Associates. In the field called Time Clock Path, browse for the Time America executable.


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