Shift approvals import

In certain circumstances, you might want to export your pending shifts to make any necessary changes in bulk or share the data with someone external to your platform for sign-off.

Before doing this, it is essential to note that you can only export and edit shifts that have not been actioned. This option cannot be used for shifts that have already been approved or declined. 

To export your pending shifts:

1. Navigate to Time & Attendance > Approve Shifts.

2. Next to the CSV Export button, select the arrow and choose Export and edit.
    
     Hot tip: There is no need to filter in the Approve Shifts menu, as this will be done in the export. 

   

3. This will then take you to the Pending Shifts Import menu, where you can start with Step 1 and select:
   • The start date - This is a mandatory field. This is the commencement date of the week, which aligns with the Approve Shifts menu. 
   • Office Code - Optional. Filter operations & rosters by the office code assigned to the operation. 
   • Operation  - Optional. Filter rosters by the operation they sit under. 
   • Roster - Optional. Filter to a specific roster. 
   • Include clock times - Optional. Includes the clock times in the export. These times may not be edited. 
     
        Hot tip: This export respects admin user permissions. Meaning your admins will only be able to see the rosters and operations that are available to them.
4. Export Shifts to download the CSV file.
   
   

Once you have exported your shift details into the CSV file, you can review, edit, and manage them as needed. 

Before editing your downloaded CSV, please remember the following details:

• Unactioned pending shifts cannot be re-imported - All shifts must be approved or declined. Alternatively, you can delete a row if you want to manage that shift separately (via another import or the Approve Shifts page).
• Only certain fields can be edited - Only the fields highlighted below in our section on Data Verification can be updated.
• No new shifts can be added through the import - Any additional shifts that were not rostered initially or submitted will need to be added directly from the Approve Shifts page

To manage your pending shifts:

1. Navigate to your files, and locate and open the CSV file downloaded with all your pending shift information.
2. Edit the following fields as necessary.
   • Approval Start - The approved start time of the shift.  
   • Approval End - The approved end time of the shift. 
   • Unpaid Approval Break Start - The approved start time of an unpaid break. 
   • Unpaid Approval Break Length - The approved length of an unpaid break. 
   • Paid Approval Break Start - The approved start time of a paid break. 
   • Paid Approval Break Length - The approved length of a paid break. 
     
       Hot tip: If your employees took multiple paid or unpaid breaks, you can add these in by adding an additional column for each break, and numbering them accordingly.
     
     E.g Unpaid Approval Break Length 1, Unpaid Approval Break Length 2 etc.
      
   • Shift Status - The approval status of the shift (approve or decline).
   • Public Holiday Approval Type - Specify whether the permanent employee worked or not. 
   • Leave Type - Add leave to a shift. This will often be used when employees go home sick. 
   • Leave Hours - Mandatory if 'Leave Type' is used. The number of leave hours.
   • Absent Reason - Optionally add an Attendance code when declining shifts or adding leave. 
   • Absent Comment - Optionally provide more information when the 'Absent Reason' field is used. 
3. Save your CSV file, ready for import. Please don't close your file until you complete the import steps outlined below. 

With changes made to the exported CSV file, you are ready to import them back into your platform. Doing this will update the status of all the pending shifts on your Approve Shift page. 

To import your pending shifts:

1. Navigate to Time & Attendance > Approve Shifts.
2. Next to the CSV Export button, select the arrow and choose Export and edit. 
3. To the right, in Step 2, select Choose file, and find your file with the changes.
4. Select Import Shifts.
   • If the import encounters any errors with the CSV file due to incorrect data, you will be notified of the line where the error occurs and what the error is. 

   • In this case, resolve the errors and re-import the file.

     

5. The CSV will upload, and your changes will be reflected in the Approve Shifts menu. Feel free to double-check and ensure that all shifts have been managed before payroll. 

When importing data into foundU, the data must be provided in the correct format. Below, you will find all the information required about the included columns of this import as well as the accepted formats for editable data. 

  Please note: The bold rows in the below table denote editable columns in your export. 

Public holiday approvals

• When the Public Holiday column is populated, the Public Holiday Approval Type column will be mandatory for full-time & part-time employees. Casual employees are always paid public holiday rates for working so require no additional approval. 
• The Shift Status column (approve or decline) must still be used for public holiday approvals. 

Adding leave to a shift

• The Leave Type column should have the leave entitlement written exactly as it appears on your platform. For example, entering "sick leave" when your entitlement is "Personal Leave" will return an error. 
• You can find the entitlements in Payroll settings > Leave Rules or on the employee's profile. 

Adding an absent reason

• When declining a shift via the shift status column or when adding leave to a shift, you can optionally add a reason.
• The Absent Reason column should have the PM or ATT code title written exactly as it appears on your platform. For example, entering "Went home sick" when your ATT code is "Sick" will return an error. 
• You can find your PM & ATT codes in Platform Settings > PM & ATT Codes.
• When adding a code to the Absent Reason column, you can optionally add additional information in the Absent Comment column.