Spreadsheet Option To Collect Data

Over the past several years, many of the companies I support have found significant efficiency in processing payroll through the use of spreadsheet collection of data.

Spreadsheet collection of data can:

be done online or offline from the network to allow portability of collection
be done right on the shop floor using workstations or laptops
largely eliminate the manual entry of thousands of payroll entries each period, thus saving time and $
be more efficient for supervisors to log data instead of using paper forms
still maintain all the current functions of your payroll system

Adding the capability of importing a spreadsheet is an add-on to the Crosse-Over Time Cards or Payroll system. Approximate cost would be around $1800 (price will vary up or down based on the specifics of the design for your company). All of your existing functions remain the same. A new function is added to the Daily Work menu to Import From Spreadsheet. The data is pulled into the system and merged into the live transaction file. All your current reports and edit functions remain the same - the data is just like you had entered it manually. In minutes, the entire set of transactions for the period can be imported.

Generally, one spreadsheet design template is created for your company. You have complete control over how this sheet is designed and can design it to fit your company needs. Once the template is set, I design an import program to read the data elements from the sheet. All data is collected on copies of this sheet. The sheet may contain one day's set of data, a week, or an entire pay cycle depending on your needs and desires. Supervisors use a copy of this template each day to fill in the cells with the appropriate data. The template may already have work crews defined, so times and pieces may be added as needed.

Here are different examples that may give you ideas:

While the examples above pertain to collection of client data, staff data may also be collected in this way.

So if your company would like to explore the efficiencies of electronic collection of payroll data using a spreadsheet, let me know. These projects fit in well this time of year for testing and implementation. The efficiencies gained by using these functions can pay for themselves in a matter of months in most cases. My schedule does not allow me to work on these projects during the months of December and January, so evaluate things today and let me know how I can help.