Payroll accuracy depends on getting timecards right before they are posted. In Trimble Vista, Smart Payroll helps payroll teams identify potential timecard discrepancies before those records make it through the posting process. It evaluates timecard entries using predefined validation rules, employee history, compliance settings, and other applicable business rules, then gives you an opportunity to review, correct, or accept discrepancies.

At the center of this functionality are two Smart Payroll forms: the PR Timecard Validation Rules Form and the PR TimeCard Compliance Form. One is used to configure how Vista validates timecards; the other is used to review the discrepancies that validation finds.

What Is Smart Payroll?

Smart Payroll is a Vista payroll feature designed to improve timekeeping and payroll accuracy by automatically identifying discrepancies in timecard batches before they are posted. If a discrepancy is found, Vista can warn you or prevent posting, depending on the severity assigned to the rule.  This gives payroll staff a review point before the timecard information moves forward in the payroll process.

The Two Smart Payroll Forms

Trimble's Smart Payroll Forms documentation identifies two primary forms.

1. PR Timecard Validation Rules Form

The PR Timecard Validation Rules Form is the setup form. It allows you to enable the predefined validation rules, assign severity levels, and configure rule parameters. The rules are supplied by the system—you cannot add or delete validation rules.

The available rules include:

• Daily hours variance

• Meal Break Compliance

• Minimum wage compliance

• Multiple site detection

• New state or local code

• Overtime Validation

• Pay period hours variance

• Pay rate validation

The severity setting determines what happens when Vista finds a discrepancy:

🟢 Allowed No Warning Vista does not warn you about the discrepancy and allows the timecard batch to be posted.

🟡 Allowed With Warning Vista warns you about the discrepancy but allows you to accept it or correct it before posting.

🔴 Not Allowed Vista identifies the discrepancy and requires it to be corrected before the batch can be posted.

The form also contains a Parameters tab. Depending on the rule, parameters can control how validation is performed. For example, historical-data rules can use a specified number of look-back months and a tolerance factor to determine how much a timecard can differ from an employee's normal historical pattern before it is flagged.

2. PR TimeCard Compliance Form

The PR TimeCard Compliance Form is the review form. It appears when you process a timecard batch and Vista finds discrepancies that have a severity of Allowed With Warning or Not Allowed.

The form shows information about the violated rules and the affected timecard records, including items such as the employee, date, department, earning code, hours, and rate.

If a discrepancy is accepted without correction, Vista maintains an audit record on the Compliance tab in PR Pay Period Control.

⚙️How to Set Up Smart Payroll

Before you begin configuring the validation rules, Trimble requires several pieces of setup.

Step 1: Set Up State Compliance Information

Start with the HQ State Compliance form. Configure the applicable compliance information for each country, state, and effective-date combination, including relevant Department of Labor and Department of Revenue requirements.

This information is important because certain Smart Payroll validations use state compliance data when evaluating timecards.

Step 2: Enable Timecard Compliance

Next, open PR Company Parameters and go to the Info tab.

Select Enable Timecard Compliance.

This step is required before you can access the PR Timecard Validation Rules form or the Timecard Rules tab in PR Company Parameters.

Step 3: Review FLSA Exempt Employees

In PR Employees, go to the Add'l Info tab and select FLSA Exempt for employees who are exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Vista uses this information during certain timecard validation processes.

Step 4: Configure the Validation Rules

Open Payroll > Programs > PR Timecard Validation Rules.

For each validation rule you want to use:

1. Select Enabled.

2. Select the appropriate Severity.

3. Select Save.

4. Open the Parameters tab.

5. Enter the required parameter values for the rule.

Remember that validation rules are predefined. You can enable or disable them, set their severity, and configure the available parameters, but you cannot create new rules or delete existing ones. Trimble continues to develop additional rules based on user feedback and requests. If you have a suggestion for a new rule, you can submit it through the Suggestion Box on the Trimble Network Community, where other users can vote on suggestions.

What Happens When You Process a Timecard?

Once Smart Payroll is configured, the validation process becomes part of processing a timecard batch.

In PR Timecard Entry, select File > Process Batch. Vista automatically runs the timecard validation process when Timecard Compliance is enabled. If no applicable discrepancies are found, you can continue with normal batch processing. If discrepancies are found, the PR TimeCard Compliance Form displays them for review.

From there, you can:

• Accept eligible yellow warnings.

• Correct the affected timecard information.

• Delete a timecard record when appropriate.

• Submit the changes.

• Re-run validation if additional discrepancies are identified.

Once all required issues have been addressed, the batch can proceed to validation and posting.

Keeping an Audit Trail

One useful part of the Smart Payroll workflow is that accepted warnings are not simply forgotten.

When a payroll user accepts an Allowed With Warning discrepancy without correcting it, Vista records that information on the Compliance tab in PR Pay Period Control. The record provides an audit trail showing the violated rule and information about the affected timecard, including who accepted the discrepancy.

This provides visibility into exceptions that were reviewed and intentionally accepted.

Final Thoughts

Smart Payroll gives Vista users a structured way to review timecard information before it is posted. The PR Timecard Validation Rules Form controls what Vista looks for and how discrepancies are handled, while the PR TimeCard Compliance Form gives payroll staff a place to review, correct, accept, or delete flagged records.

As always, if you need assistance with any Vista processes, please visit our website ConstrucTech Consulting and Book a Call with one of our consultants.  

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