AccountLinx is an application we offer that bridges the gap between ComputerEase and ExakTime Connect. With AccountLinx, you can:

• Data map between corresponding entities of ExakTime and ComputerEase.
• Enable various settings to help tailor your time data for ComputerEase.
• Export time data from ExakTime Connect into a compatible file for ComputerEase for reporting, payroll, and more.

SyncLinx is the other half of AccountLinx and allows you to import your ComputerEase entities into ExakTime to limit duplication of effort. If you would like steps on setting up SyncLinx and importing your ComputerEase entities, refer to our article that covers connecting the applications and the importer settings.

If you have any questions or concerns during setup and/or use, you can contact us with the "Request Support" link at the top of the page and we will try to assist as best as possible. Keep in mind, however, that we are not ComputerEase support. We will try to assist you as much as we are able, but there are aspects of ComputerEase that are out of our area of expertise and your questions may be better served by ComputerEase support or your trusted contact to answer/assist.

As ComputerEase allows flexibility to fit various needs, we cannot take every unique setup into account. It is advised to read through this article before setting up SyncLinx/AccountLinx to understand what is needed ahead of time.

Table of Contents

• Special Considerations for SyncLinx/AccountLinx and ComputerEase
• Using AccountLinx with ComputerEase
  • Selecting ComputerEase as your Exporter
  • AccountLinx Settings Unique to ComputerEase
  • General Use of AccountLinx
• How to Import Time Data into ComputerEase
  • Creating an Import Layout
  • Importing Time Data

Special Considerations for Cost Codes

ExakTime "Cost Code" vs. ComputerEase "Cost Code"

It is also important to be aware that the term "Cost Code" differs between ComputerEase and ExakTime. ExakTime uses the term "Cost Code" for activities (what the employee is doing) while ComputerEase uses the term "Cost Code" as a combination of the ComputerEase job, phase, and category IDs.

Phases and Category Codes for Jobs

As ComputerEase setups for phases and categories can differ, it may be helpful to read the below information to see if it applies to your company as it can affect on you utilize phases and categories in AccountLinx and how they are set up in ComputerEase.

The ideal setup for your jobs in ComputerEase for AccountLinx exports is to have consistent phase and category IDs between them. If the phase and category IDs differ between jobs, it can result in additional data clean-up or additional entities to accommodate these combinations.

In the example below, we have an ideal setup where the phase and category codes are consistent for all jobs with little room for misinterpretation. The unideal setup has different phase and category codes between the two jobs, resulting in unique phase/category code combinations. 

If the phases and category codes differ between your jobs in ComputerEase, you will need to either:

• Make the phase and category codes consistent for all jobs in ComputerEase.
• Add additional locations/cost codes in ExakTime to account for all the possible job, phase, and category combinations in ComputerEase.

Consistent phases and categories may require adjustment of existing practices in ComputerEase if not already being done, but it requires the least work moving forward by having a consistent set of phases and category codes across all jobs.

Having inconsistent phases and categories would not require any changes to ComputerEase, but could lead to employee error in ExakTime with numerous duplicate/similar cost codes to accommodate. For example, you have two different cost codes for Travel in ExakTime because one has a category code of 7 while another has a category code of 3.

Selecting ComputerEase as your Exporter

1. Go to Tools and click Exporter Settings.... 
2. The Exporter Settings window should open. Click Select Exporter.... 
3. A window with a list of available exporters should open. Select "ComputerEase" and click OK.

Exporter Settings for to ComputerEase

The ComputerEase exporter for AccountLinx offers a variety of settings when exporting your time data to help tailor the time data to your company's needs. These settings are unique to AccountLinx and will not affect ExakTime Connect or Mobile. If any of the settings offered do not sound familiar to you, then you may not be using the setting in ComputerEase, can disregard the AccountLinx setting, and leave it as <None>.

1. Go to Tools and click Exporter Settings.... 
2. The Exporter Settings window should open. Click Configure....
3. The Configuration window should open. You should see the following options:
   • Map Phase To - Associate a phase with an ExakTime location or cost code. The phase should match the ComputerEase phase.
   • Category To - Associate a category with an Exaktime location or cost code. The category should match the ComputerEase category.
   • Class To - Associate a class with an ExakTime employee, location, or cost code. The class should match the ComputerEase class.
   • Map Equipment Number To - Associate an equipment number with an ExakTime employee, location, cost code, or equipment. The equipment number should match the ComputerEase equipment number.
   • Equipment Cost Code to - Associate an equipment cost code with an ExakTime employee, location, cost code, or equipment. The equipment cost code should match the ComputerEase equipment cost code.
   • Map Alternate Pay Type to - Associate an alternate pay type with an ExakTime employee, location, or cost code. The pay type should match your ComputerEase pay type. This is generally used to help differentiate if an employee should receive a different pay type depending on who it is, where they worked, or what they did. For more information about alternate pay types and how they should be used, you can refer to the following article.
   • Work Type to - Associate a work type with an ExakTime employee, location, or cost code. The work type should match the ComputerEase work type.
   • Department to - Associate a department with an ExakTime employee, location, or cost code. The work type should match the ComputerEase work type.
   • ComputerEase Version - Select if you are using ComputerEase version "8.0 or above" or "7.9 or below".
4. Click OK on the Configuration window and click OK on the Exporter Settings window to return to the main page of AccountLinx.
5. Click the appropriate "Map Employee/Location/Cost Code/Equipment" option to see the columns from the options enabled in Step 3.

Data Mapping

After setting up the exporter settings for ComputerEase, you must map your entity data and fill in any relevant fields enabled in the previous section so your ExakTime time data will export to the corresponding ComputerEase entity. Refer to the following article if you are unfamiliar with mapping your data in AccountLinx.

Exporting Time Data

After mapping your data, you can export your time data into a compatible file format to import into ComputerEase. Refer to the following article if you are unfamiliar with exporting time data from AccountLinx.

Example of AccountLinx Export

An example of an AccountLinx export has been provided below. The columns have been preformatted based on ComputerEase's template. There may be some blank columns as we are trying to best match the export file to ComputerEase's template and not all fields are used by us.

While you can manipulate the exported data after it has been exported, it is highly discouraged as it can result in data discrepancies when double-checking any data.

How to Import Time Data into ComputerEase

While the steps below may not cover all scenarios of importing into ComputerEase, they should cover the basics of what to expect.

If you need assistance, please feel free to contact us, but keep in mind that we are not ComputerEase support. We will try to assist you as much as we can, but there are aspects of ComputerEase that are out of our expertise and your questions may be better served by ComputerEase support or trusted contact to answer/assist.

Create an Import Layout

The import layout is crucial for helping ComputerEase understand what data is to be expected in the columns of the AccountLinx export. If you have already created an import layout, you can skip the next section on how to import the time data.

1. From the main menu of ComputerEase, navigate to the Payroll System and click Enter Labor Distribution by Job.

   

2. A window for "Enter Labor Distribution by Job" should open. Leave the "Cost Code" field blank and select "REGULAR" in the payroll field by clicking the ? icon. Click OK.

   

3. A window for "Labor Distribution by Job" should open. Navigate to File and click Import from a File.

   

4. A window for "Import Labor Distribution" should open with two fields for "Import From" and "Use Layout". Click the ? icon towards the right of "Use Layout".

   

5. You should see the layout list window. Click New on the Labor Distribution Import Layout List window.

   

6. A new window should open to create your import layout.

   

   1. Enter a description for your import layout, such as "AccountLinx Import".
   2. Specify the type as "Tab Delimited".
   3. Select a field from the list of available fields towards the top and select the column that it would correspond to in the bottom section, then click Assign to Field.
      • You can click "Load Sample" towards the bottom left to load your AccountLinx export to have a visual of how ComputerEase would interpret the data.
      • The fields are generally assigned to specific columns. Most fields will not be used by ExakTime and will be blank in our AccountLinx exports. You can leave a column unlabeled or assign different fields to a column, but please be aware that this may also impact how ComputerEase interprets AccountLinx files.
      Click to view the recommended field layout

      Column #	Field Name	Used by ExakTime?	Description
      1	Emp	USED	Employee ID
      2	Type	USED	Type of work (1=Regular, 2=Overtime, etc.)
      3	Otmult	NOT USED	Overtime multiplier
      4	Class	USED	Employee Class
      5	Job	USED	Job Code
      6	Phase	USED	Phase Code
      7	Cat	USED	Category Code
      8	Department	USED	Department Code
      9	Worktype	USED	Work Type
      10	Unionloc	NOT USED	Union Local
      11	Billat	NOT USED	Bill at
      12	Hours	USED	Hours Worked
      13	Rate	NOT USED	Hourly Rate
      14	Amount	NOT USED	Total dollar amount for the record
      15	Date	USED	Date the work was performed
      16	Des1	NOT USED	Description of work done
      17	Des2	NOT USED	Description of work done
      18	Wcomp1	NOT USED	Workers compensation code
      19	Wcomp2	NOT USED	Workers seconadry compensation code
      20	State	NOT USED	State being worked in
      21	Local	NOT USED	Local taxing authority being worked in
      22	Units	NOT USED	Units completed
      23	Costtype	NOT USED
      24	Costcode	NOT USED	Not used by ExakTime as the job, phase, and category code will be used to generate the ComputerEase cost code
      25	Equipnum	USED	Code for the equipment
      26	Equipcode	USED	Equipment cost/revenue code
      27	Equiphours	USED	Hours the equipment was used

   4. After assigning the fields for the columns, click Save to save the import layout. You should see the layout list screen with your newly saved import layout. 

      

Importing Time Data

1. From the main menu of ComputerEase, navigate to the Payroll System and click Enter Labor Distribution by Job.

   

2. A window for "Enter Labor Distribution by Job" should open. Leave the "Cost Code" field blank and select "REGULAR" in the payroll field. Click OK.

   

3. A window for "Labor Distribution by Job" should open. Navigate to File and click Import from a File.

   

4. A window for "Import Labor Distribution" should open with two fields for "Import From" and "Use Layout". Click the ? icon towards the right of "Import From" and select the exported AccountLinx file.

   

5. Click the ? icon towards the right of "Use Layout". A window with a list of previously created layouts should appear. Select your AccountLinx import layout and click Use.

   

   

6. Click Import. Your time data should load into the "Labor Distribution by Job" if the data is properly interpreted by your import layout. From here, you should be able to continue your payroll. If you are unsure of what to do after this, it would be best to consult ComputerEase support or your trusted contact on what to do next after the time data has been imported into ComputerEase.
   • If you are unsure if the data will be properly interpreted, click Preview to view a preview of how your import file will be interpreted by your layout. 
   • If ComputerEase does not recognize the data, a window will open specifying what data is not being imported with the opportunity to correct the data before importing it. The most common cause is the phase and/or category codes not being associated with the job for the time record. If you are consistently receiving import errors, note what is not being recognized so we can try to assist you.