RGCI-The Power of Pay Codes in Unanet

Have you ever considered the power of the Pay Code function in Unanet? Pay Codes are the earnings and leave categories your organization uses to track and classify reported hours on employees’/subcontractors’ timesheets.

Using Pay Codes

Pay codes are used for:

  • internal/external reporting
  • tracking staff utilization
  • managing time off accrual balances
  • integration with downstream payroll and/or financial systems
  • calculation of overtime and shift differentials

Your pay codes are probably set up to mimic those of your downstream payroll system, for ease of conversion. However, if you have reporting needs beyond the constraints of payroll, the mapping of the payroll export can be customized to group pay codes as needed.

Pay Code Scenarios

Pay Codes can be used for a host of different scenarios outside of calculating overtime and time off accruals.

Dilution:

One scenario that we see regularly with clients is in handling new or terminated salaried employees when dilution is turned on and the effective date creates a partial pay period. There are two good methods of how to appropriately handle this issue within Unanet; the most popular method is calculating the percentage of the employees’ pay for the period via special Pay Code charges. The other method is calculating the percentage of the employee’s pay for the period via adjusting the period dilution hours (which requires manual calculations outside of the system). Deciding which of the solutions your organization should use depends on company policy and your interpretation of FLSA law.

Tracking TITO:

Another situation where the Pay Code function comes in handy is where an organization may require employees to track Time In/Time Out (TITO) on their timesheets and managing employee breaks in this situation. Again, there are multiple ways to handle this type of timekeeping requirement, one of which is creating a dedicated “Break” project and pay code to record TITO to for breaks. This method would show total hours (paid or unpaid) on employee’s timesheets.

Other situations where Pay Codes come into play are for setting up:

  • Hazard Pay or Shift Differentials (situations where employees may receive a stated uplift per hour on their regular pay)
  • Allowing for situations where employees receive a completely different hourly rate of pay based on the pay code (pay rate is set at Pay Code level)
  • Straight Time Over Time, when dilution is on, allows for salaried employees to charge time that is not included in the dilution calculation (typically considered additional pay hours over 40-hour week/bonus)

Other Helpful Aspects of Pay Codes

In Unanet, Pay Codes refer to your organizations classification of pay types that are associated with the hours reported on a timesheet (i.e. regular versus overtime, direct versus indirect, etc.)

  • Earnings and leave categories used to track and classify reported hours.
  • Best Practices
    • Restrict pay codes by project
    • Restrict pay codes to the appropriate groups of Employees

Project Level Pay Codes

  • Default on time tab as well as on left menu to determine which pay codes are allowed on the project

Pay Codes based on Employee Type

  • Pay codes can also be defined by Employee Type, so that non-employees will not have access to the same codes (i.e. fringe) as employees

Additional Pay per Hour

  • Helpful for Hazard Pay or Shift Differentials (receive a standard uplift per hour on their pay)
  • Receive a completely different hourly rate of pay for a specific pay code (rate set at pay code)
  • Straight Time Over Time

Exempt Usage

  • Exempt Usage indicator set to Additional Pay
  • Additional Pay (Undiluted) – Used when dilution is on; time charged is not included in dilution calculations. Considered additional (bonus) pay hours (Straight Time Overtime)

Utilization

  • Track performance by employee: How much direct versus indirect labor an employee must make sure they’re utilized to the extent management would expect

Final Words on Pay Codes

If your organization is using Unanet, understanding the full functions of Pay Codes allows you to maximize the benefits obtained by using this platform. For additional information about using Unanet or for guidance in using it most effectively, contact our Unanet Practice Group. Redstone Government Consulting group includes a team available to help you with this software.

Learn More About Our Unanet Consulting & Implementation Services

Written by Katie Donnell

Katie Donnell Katie is the Unanet Practice Lead at Redstone Government Consulting, Inc. based in our Huntsville, Alabama office. Her areas of expertise include supporting government contract businesses with a special focus in DCAA-compliant Unanet Time and Expense Tracking, Project Portfolio and Financials. QuickBooks, and Deltek GCS. Katie is a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, Certified Unanet Systems Implementer and has completed the Unanet Advanced Project Management training. Katie was one of the first Unanet Certified Implementers and was part of the initial pilot offering to non-Unanet consultants. As part of her certification process, Katie invested over 300-hours of instruction, out of class database development time and testing to obtain her certification. Since certification, Katie has assisted numerous Redstone GCI clients with implementation and post-implementation support services. Katie is frequently called upon by Unanet to join their implementation teams as an external resource and is considered a subject matter expert in the implementation of all Unanet software offerings. In her role with Redstone Government Consulting, Inc., Katie not only provides software systems expertise, but also frequently assists clients with preparation and support of DCAA audit activities including SF1408 pre-award accounting system audits, provisional billing rate submission, development of forward pricing rates for proposals, incurred cost submission preparation and development and design of policies and procedures necessary to support an adequate (DCAA-approved) accounting system. Katie serves as the primary point of contact for many small business clients in government cost accounting/compliance and assists monthly with the close of those contractor’s accounting systems and reporting to program management and executives. Her industry experience, software systems expertise and compliance knowledge provides a rare combination of knowledge to clients looking for a consultant to become an integral part of their team. Professional Experience Prior to joining Redstone Government Consulting, Inc., Katie worked in public accounting as well as small to mid-sized government contractors. She has prior operational experience with the many types of software such as Unanet, Deltek GCS, QuickBooks, SpringAhead, Deltek T&E, ADP, Paychex, and QB Payroll. Education Katie earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from The University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2010, where she was President of Beta Alpha Psi (an honor organization for finance and accounting students and professionals). She received her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The University of North Alabama in 2014, graduating Cum Laude. Decades of Consulting, Training and Helping Government Contractors Succeed Redstone GCI offers a variety of services for large and small government contractors including evaluation, education and training, monitoring and DCAA audit preparation. Through our consulting and training programs, government contractors develop and learn to maintain compliance processes that help them succeed by mitigating risk and maximizing profitability. Our consulting team is comprised of senior leaders from government agencies and industry executives creating balance and an informed approach to our client services. Our services span the entire government contract lifecycle from proposal assistance, accounting, audit readiness, purchasing, project controls, contract administration, system implementation through to contract closeout. We specialize in preparing contractors for growth through our deep knowledge of common pitfalls companies face as they progress from small business in CAS, DFARS Business Systems and other common gates to contractor growth. In addition to almost 30 full-time consultants we also maintain a trusted network of independent contractors and other service providers who work with our team on specialized areas like ITAR, facility security, EVMS and other areas.

About Redstone GCI

Redstone GCI is a consulting firm focused on fulfilling the needs of government contractors in all areas of compliance. With a singular mission to help contractors through the multiple layers of “red tape,” we allow contractors to focus on what they do best – support their mission with the U.S. Government. We are home to a group of consultants made up of GovCon industry professionals, CPAs, attorneys, and retired government audit and acquisition professionals.

Our focus and knowledge of audit and compliance functions administered by DCAA and DCMA will always be at the heart of what we do. However, for the past decade, we’ve strategically grown to support other areas of the government contractor back-office with that same level of focus and expertise. We’ve added expertise in contracts management, subcontract administration, proposal pricing, various software systems, HR and employment law, property administration, manufacturing, data analytics/reporting, Grant specialists, M&A, and many other areas. When we see a trend in the needs of contractors, we act to ensure we can provide the best expertise in the market to fulfill those needs.

One thing our clients can be certain of is that with the Redstone GCI Team in your corner, there is no problem too big and no issue too technical for our team to tackle.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Unanet