PCSHIFT EMPLOYEE TIME SCHEDULING BOTTOM LINE SOFTWARE COPYRIGHT 1988 (All Rights Reserved) Version 1.00 September 1988 TABLE OF CONTENTS LICENSE AGREEMENT AND WARRANTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 DISK CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 FLOPPY DISK INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 HARD DISK INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 SYSTEM OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 HELP SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 DATA ENTRY CURSOR CONTROL KEYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 SYSTEM MENUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Main menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Update all schedules by location. . . . . . . . . . . 8 Update all job descriptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Add a new job description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Delete an existing job description. . . . . . . . 9 View schedules on screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Print reports to printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Quit. return to DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 ENTERING DATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Beginning date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Location, Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Job title, description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Max pay scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Minimum qualification level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Maximum qualification level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Minimum Security level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Maximum Security level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Delete this job? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Job time scheduling screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Time schedule entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 PRINTING THE REPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 BACKUP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Floppy disk procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Hard disk procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Large files procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 LICENSE AGREEMENT AND WARRANTY I have read and agree to the following license agreement. The program and the users manual contain valuable intellectual property and trade secrets of Bottom Line Financial Software, Inc. I understand that I may make as many copies as I want for backup but I will not sell, rent, loan, give or otherwise transfer possession of any copy of the program or of any other materials supplied, to any person or other entity. This product is supplied with only one warranty. Within 15 days of receipt, if this product fails to perform any advertised function, I may return it postage prepaid, with a printout of any erroneous result, or a written description of the advertised function which failed, for a full refund. Computer rounding differences are not considered to be erroneous operation. Bottom Line Financial Software, Inc. disclaims any other warranty expressed or implied, including without limitation, the warranties of merchantability or fitness for any purpose. PCShift 1.00 @Bottom Line Software page 1 DISK CONTENTS The PCSHIFT system consists of the following files: PCSHIFT1.ARC This file, if you have it is an archive file that contains all the other files. If your program came from a bulletin board system, you probably have this file. Otherwise you probably will not have it. PCSHIFT.EXE This is the program file. The shareware version and the registered version both have the same name. Any batch files you create for the shareware version should work fine with the registered version. The registered version will be exactly like the shareware version except it will not have the extra screens at the beginning. ESJOBS.DBF This file is the data base file. It is 100% Dbase III compatible. If you have Dbase and know how to use it, you can use it to modify the data file in any manner. You can also use it to trash the data file. The file you receive will have no data in it. You should not add data to the original file. You should copy it to a working disk before adding data. If you do this, you will not have to delete all your records if you want to start over. PCSHIFT.MAN This file contains the manual, this manual. It is an ASCII text file. It is already formatted into pages. You can print it with the DOS print command or with the PRINTMAN.EXE program provided. PCShift 1.00 @Bottom Line Software page 2 PRINTMAN.EXE This is a program to print the manual for you. It is designed to be run from a batch file but you can run it from the keyboard by typing its name and name of the file it is to print. Like this: A>printman pcshift.man INSTALLATION The program comes to you on a non copy protected diskette. It is recommended that you IMMEDIATELY make a backup copy using your diskcopy program from your DOS disk. NEVER USE YOUR ORIGINAL DISKETTE FOR ANYTHING BUT MAKING COPIES! Only the files PCSHIFT.EXE and ESJOBS.DBF are required to operate the employee scheduling system. Copy these two files to your working disk and the installation is complete. FLOPPY DISK INSTALLATION If you want to install the program on a floppy disk, you must first prepare a working diskette by formatting it. If you want to use this diskette to boot the machine, you must format it using the /s option. See your DOS manual for details of the FORMAT command. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS DOS COMMANDS IT CAN COMPLETELY WIPE OUT AN ENTIRE DISK. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO USE IT, GET HELP! 1) Place the previously prepared new disk in drive B:. 2) Place your program disk in drive A: 3) Copy the two files, PCSHIFT.ESE and ESJOBS.DBF to the floppy in drive b: PCShift 1.00 @Bottom Line Software page 3 HARD DISK INSTALLATION If you install the system on the fixed disk, you will most likely want to place it in a special sub directory. This step is optional. If you do not know what a sub directory is, just copy the two required files to the hard disk and go. SYSTEM OVERVIEW The employee scheduling system allows you to use the computer as an aid in scheduling your employees to fill your companies various positions. The program divides your company into locations or departments and within each department or at each location, there are jobs. A location might be a physical address, a completely separate facility. This would be a good system for a chain of convenience stores. Alternatively, a location might be a separate department within a single central location. This arrangement might be used by a factory or a department store. There are no limits on how many locations you may define. The next division is the job. A job is the position that must be filled by a specific identifiable employee who is responsible for doing that job during the defined time periods. PCShift 1.00 @Bottom Line Software page 4 The division looks like this: Department 1 Job 1 Job 2 Job 3 Department 2 Job 1 Job 2 Job 3 Customer Service New Accounts Complaints Returns and Adjustments Accounting Accounts receivable Accounts payable Filing Billing General ledger Counter Sales Counter 1 Counter 2 Counter 2 Or possibly 101 North Main Cashier Sacker Stocker 303 South Henderson Cashier 1 Cashier 2 Sacker Stocker For each job, you may divide the day into 96 fifteen minute periods. This covers each 24 hours period by subdividing it into quarter hour time slots. PCShift 1.00 @Bottom Line Software page 5 You may assign any employee to any time slot. If you like, an employee can be assigned any period of time as short as 15 minutes any time during each 24 hour period. It is your responsibility to insure that each employee is assigned to a time slot that is possible to meet. That is to say, the program will not warn you if you have the same employee scheduled at 101 North Main and at 399 East Oak and at 14555 West Ave, ALL AT THE SAME TIME. HELP SCREEN During data entry or date editing operations, you may press the F1 key to display a list of cursor control and editing keys. When you have determined the key you need, pressing the key, or any other key, will return you to your data entry screen. DATA ENTRY CURSOR CONTROL KEYS During data entry, you will move the cursor around the screen and enter or change data until you have it like you want it. You will use the cursor control keys to control the cursor. The cursor control keys are controlled by the NumLock and the Shift keys. The NumLock key toggles the numeric key pad back and forth between the numeric mode and the cursor control mode. The Shift key does the same thing but on a temporary basis. for example: You have the numeric key pad set for cursor control. You move the cursor to a numeric entry. Next press and hold down the shift key, this action changes the numeric keypad to numeric entry. You now enter your number (still holding down the shift key) and then release the Shift key. The numeric key pad shifts back to cursor control. If you are a WordStar fan, you will find the Wordstar diamond works pretty much as you would expect but none of the other WordStar commands are implemented. ^ Indicates the Control key labeled Ctrl. Thus ^LeftArrow means hold down the control key while pressing the LeftArrow key. PCShift 1.00 @Bottom Line Software page 6 DATA ENTRY CURSOR CONTROL KEYS This same information is available when needed by pressing the F1 key. This key: Does this: Home Move the cursor to the beginning of the current field. ^Home Move the cursor to the beginning of the first field on this screen. End Move the cursor to the last character of the current field. ^End Move the cursor to the beginning of the last field on this page. UpArrow Move the cursor to the previous field. DownArrow Move the cursor to the next field. Will not end the current input screen by continuing to the next screen. RightArrow Move the cursor one character to the right in the current field. ^RightArrow Move the cursor to the beginning of the next word in the current field. LeftArrow Move the cursor to the left one character in the current field. ^LeftArrow Move the cursor to the beginning of the current word. If it is already at the beginning, move it to the beginning of the previous word. ^T Delete from the cursor to the end of the current word. ^Y Delete from the cursor to the end of the current field. PgUp PgDn Save the data on the current screen and continue to the next document or (PgUp) back to the previous document. Esc Return to the main menu. Do not save the changes, if any were made to the current screen. Changes made to previous document screens will be saved. ^U Restore the current field to its original value. This only works before the cursor is moved out of the field. Once the cursor has been moved, the only way to restore the original value is to retype it. Backspace Delete the character to the left of the cursor. PCShift 1.00 @Bottom Line Software page 7 Delete Delete the character under the cursor Insert Toggle between insert and type over modes. SYSTEM MENUS Main menu Employee Time Scheduling MAIN MENU ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Update all schedules by location. 2) Update all job descriptions. 3) . 4) Add a new job description. 5) Delete an existing job description. 6) . 7) View schedules on screen. 8) Print reports to printer. 9) Quit. return to DOS. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Update all schedules by location. This menu option will ask for a location description and will then display all job schedules and ask you to update them. You can leave them the same, change them or change only the starting date, PCShift 1.00 @Bottom Line Software page 8 Update all job descriptions. This option allows you to change the starting date, the job description, or any of the memo data items. It does not gibe you access to the screens used to change the time schedules. Add a new job description. This option allows you to create a new job. You will be asked to enter a job location and description and several other items of information about the job. This option MUST be used first. There are no jobs to schedule until you use this option to create them. This option does not allow you to set time schedules. After a new job has been created, you must return to the main menu and select one of the options to update time schedules. Delete an existing job description. This option allows you to delete jobs. It is IRREVOCABLE. When it tells you the job has been deleted, it is GONE! the only way to get it back is to use the main menu option to create a new job and re enter it. You may also delete jobs using the update options. The first question update will ask you is do you want to delete all jobs with at this location. If you answer Y for yes or T for true, they will be deleted. You will not be given an opportunity to modify them. You may also delete a job during the update of the job description by changing the delete this job code to T or Y. If this is done, the job is not really deleted until you exit the program, (return to DOS). Any time before doing this, you may change that code back to F or N and the job will not be deleted. View schedules on screen. This option produces the same schedules as the print option but displays them on the screen. Print reports to printer. You may print time schedules that look like the scheduling screens or you may print a schedule that places a 12 hour time period on one line and prints below it which employee is assigned during which time slot. PCShift 1.00 @Bottom Line Software page 9 Quit. return to DOS Close the file and return to dos. NEVER EXIT THE PROGRAM BY TURNING OFF THE COMPUTER! Always use this option to get out of the program. ENTERING DATA Job description screen Before you can enter a schedule, you must first create a job. To do this, select the create new job description option from the main menu. You will see a data input screen that looks like this: Beginning date Location, Department Job title, description Max pay scale Minimum qualification level Maximum qualification level Minimum Security level Maximum Security level Delete this job? PCShift 1.00 @Bottom Line Software page 10 Beginning date This is the beginning of the work schedule period. The period may be a day, a week, a month, or any other period of time. This means that beginning on this date, the work schedule for this position is to be filled by the employees entered for this job. This date is the only data item that can be changed from either the jobs description screen or from the job scheduling screen. Location, Department This is where the job is located if it is at a different location, or the department if it is at this location. Note. This means what ever you say it means. If you don't like the suggested description, you may call it what ever you like. It is simply the method of grouping jobs together. This can be any description that will fit the data input block. It should be something that makes sense however because you will have to remember it to update the schedule. Job title, description This also can be any description that will fit the data input block. It should be something that makes sense however because you will have to remember it to update the schedule. The file can be sorted into alphabetical order using the location and job description. If you assign numbers, the file will be sorted into numerical order. NOTE. The file is sorted ONLY if and when you request it to be sorted. The sort option is on the print menu. PCShift 1.00 @Bottom Line Software page 11 Max pay scale Minimum qualification level Maximum qualification level Minimum Security level Maximum Security level These items are simply memos to the person responsible for the scheduling of employees. They have meaning only to the extent you give them meaning. The program does not use them for anything. It simply displays them when requested to do so. Delete this job? One method of deleting a job is to change this item to T or t. When you exit the program from the main menu, the job will be deleted. If you change your mind before exiting the program, you may change it back to F or f, and the job will not be deleted. Job time scheduling screens These screens are reached from the job scheduling options on the main menu. Jobs can be scheduled on a 12 hour screen that covers 6:00AM to 6:00PM or on a 24 hour screen (actually two screens) that covers 00:00AM to 12:00PM in two screens. The first screen of the 24 hour schedule covers midnight to noon. The second screen covers noon to midnight. The time schedule input screens look like this: 0:00 |0:15 |0:30 |0:45 |1:00 |1:15 |1:30 |1:45 |2:00 |2:15 |2:30 |2:45AM -----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|---- 3:00 |3:15 |3:30 |3:45 |4:00 |4:15 |4:30 |4:45 |5:00 |5:15 |5:30 |5:45AM -----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|---- 6:00 |6:15 |6:30 |6:45 |7:00 |7:15 |7:30 |7:45 |8:00 |8:15 |8:30 |8:45AM -----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|---- PCShift 1.00 @Bottom Line Software page 12 9:00 |9:15 |9:30 |9:45 |10:00|10:15|10:30|10:45|11:00|11:15|11:30|11:45AM -----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|---- 12:00|12:15|12:30|12:45| 1:00| 1:15| 1:30| 1:45| 2:00| 2:15| 2:30| 2:45PM -----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|---- 3:00 |3:15 |3:30 |3:45 |4:00 |4:15 |4:30 |4:45 |5:00 |5:15 |5:30 |5:45PM -----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|---- 6:00 |6:15 |6:30 |6:45 |7:00 |7:15 |7:30 |7:45 |8:00 |8:15 |8:30 |8:45PM -----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|---- 9:00 |9:15 |9:30 |9:45 |10:00|10:15|10:30|10:45|11:00|11:15|11:30|11:45PM -----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|---- Note that each line consists of a three hour time period divided into fifteen minute time slots. This is the minimum unit of time the program can recognize. All jobs must be scheduled from some quarter of the beginning hour to some quarter of the ending hour. There are no other limits on how long a shift may be. It may be any time from fifteen minutes to fifteen days. Time schedule entry 6:00 |6:15 |6:30 |6:45 |7:00 |7:15 |7:30 |7:45 |8:00 |8:15 |8:30 |8:45AM -----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|---- 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 200 200 200 200 9:00 |9:15 |9:30 |9:45 |10:00|10:15|10:30|10:45|11:00|11:15|11:30|11:45AM -----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|---- 200 200 200 200 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 PCShift 1.00 @Bottom Line Software page 13 Time is scheduled by placing an employee code into each quarter hour time slot. The above schedule means that employees are scheduled like this: 6:00 employee 100 comes on 8:00 employee 100 goes off employee 200 comes on 10:00 employee 200 goes off employee 300 comes on Employee 300 stays until noon (at least). The example does not show what happens after 12:00 noon. PRINTING THE REPORTS Select option 8 from the main menu and then request a report. You will need to print each of the reports to become familiar with them. If you attempt to print the report while the printer is not ready, the computer may hang. if it does, you MAY have to reboot it (Ctrl-Alt-Del) to recover. BACKUP Floppy disk procedures To make a backup copy of a floppy data disk, on an other floppy disk, you can use the DOS command COPY. If you are ever required to go to your backup, you simply use the same COPY command to copy the backup files to a new working data disk. Remember to make backup copies of ALL your floppy data disks. Hard disk procedures If you have a backup program like FASTBACK, use it! It is quicker and more reliable than the backup facilities provided by dos. PCShift 1.00 @Bottom Line Software page 14 Large files procedures When your files become too large to fit on a single floppy disk, you will be required to use a true backup program like fastback to backup your files. PCShift 1.00 @Bottom Line Software page 15