Allowance Class Overview
The Allowance Class Inquiry screen within SapphireOne Payroll/HR allows for the grouping of employees Allowances and Deductions into particular classifications as applicable to your business. For companies or organisations that have a large number of employees, the grouping of Allowances into different Classes will greatly assist in the analysis and production of reports generated from SapphireOne.
The grouping of Allowances into Classes gives the user the ability to provide further classification and breakdown of these Allowances. Classes can be used for a variety of purposes, for example an Allowance of ‘Leave’ can be broken down further into Classes such as Holiday Pay, Personal Leave, Paid Parental Leave, etc.
To add an Allowance to an Allowance Class you can navigate to .Payroll/HR > Administration > Allowance Class page.
To create a New Class or Modify an existing Class, select the Class and click the New 
or Modify 
icons as required. Select the Green Tick 
to save your Allowance Class entry.
To link an Allowance to a Class navigate to Payroll/HR > Administration > Allowances. Either click the New or Modify icons as required.
Allowance or link to an existing allowance
Once you have set up an Allowance Class using the New icon and then created Allowances within this Class, when the Allowance Class Inquiry is next opened these Allowances will be listed in the lower section of the screen.
To add an existing Allowance to this Class, navigate to Any Allowances that have a Class entered in the Class Area on the Details Page will be listed in the Allowance Class Inquiry screen as seen below.
All inquiry screens in SapphireOne offer the option to customise the list of items displayed on the page. This feature, known as Custom Inquiry, allows you to select the data fields to be shown and the order in which the columns of data appear across the screen. Although a client list is used as an example below, any type of inquiry can be customised within SapphireOne.
The list below represents the standard inquiry list, displaying a basic set of data fields for each client record:
Swap to Custom Inquiry
When you select the ‘Swap to Custom Inquiry’ button in the lower left-hand corner of the screen, SapphireOne will display the default Custom Screen, as shown below. This Custom List screen provides the user with two main options for organising the data display:
- To add or remove the data field columns displayed on the screen, click the ‘Setup’ button in the bottom right corner of the screen. Within the Setup screen, you can right-click on the column lines and choose from Delete, Move Left, or Move Right. More information on the Setup screen is provided below.
- To change the order in which the data field columns are displayed, click the ‘Setup’ button in the bottom right corner of the screen. Within the Setup screen, you can right-click on the column lines and choose from Delete, Move Left, or Move Right. More information on the Setup screen is provided below.
Once you have customised the Custom Inquiry screen, the screen view will be unique to you, and each time you log in, you will see the same custom view. You also have the option to select and save an unlimited number of custom views. This can be done in the ‘Setup’ screen, as detailed below.
The Inquiry screen below is the initial Custom Inquiry screen, which can be modified by the user.
Custom Inquiry Screen ‘Setup’ Function
To begin setting up your Customised List screen, click the Setup button, as shown above. The Setup screen will appear, as displayed below.
From this screen, users can add and remove data columns as needed. Almost every field within the SapphireOne data tables can be included in the Custom List screen, provided the user has the necessary authorisation.
The screen features several menu items across the top, which include:
- Reset to Default – Clicking this button resets the display to the default settings determined by SapphireOne. When you add a new data field, SapphireOne will place it on the right-hand side of the data columns. You can then click on the field heading and drag it to your desired location on the screen.
- Show Related Record – This option allows you to add related fields from other tables. By ticking the Show Related checkbox
at the top of the screen, you can select a related record, and a mini view of that related record for the chosen entry will be displayed for the currently selected record. You will need to select the fields to be displayed. - Favourite Set – Located at the top left of the screen, this option enables you to save a custom-created screen for future use. For instance, you can have a simple Inquiry screen for general use and a more complex screen view when auditing specific information.
Class Area
- Class ID – Enter the chosen Allowance Class ID.
- Class Name – Enter the chosen Allowance Class Name.
Notes Area
Any notes that are required may be entered here. You can select the Green clock 
icon to add Time and Date stamps to your notes. You can also highlight the text in the Notes area and right mouse click to customise the Font, Style, Colour and Background Colour to your preference.
Dictation and Speech to Text Overview
SapphireOne’s implementation of both Dictation (MacOS) and Speech to Text (Windows) is a game changer for data entry. Any data entry field you can type into using a keyboard can use this feature.
You can also use this functionality on all inquiry screens within SapphireOne. For example, the user is in a Contact within a Client. They may have made a phone call to that particular client using the Softphone technology. Consequently, this will automatically date and time stamp both the contact and the phone number you called.
As soon as the call is completed, the user has the ability to use Speech to Text (Windows) or Dictation (MacOS). They can dictate into the memo field of the CRM contact, adding as much description as they require.
Dictation and Speech to Text Procedure
This functionality applies across every single Data Entry screen. For example, the SapphireOne user is entering a Vendor Invoice (VI). Additionally, you may want to add a memo within the Vendor Invoice (VI). The user can utilise the tool and simply dictate the memo.
Another example is if the user wants to add additional lines to the General Ledger account, within each General Ledger account. When the user is completing data entry using a General Ledger, there’s always a unique memo field for each GL account line.
The user can then utilise this feature to quickly add the information they need to add. Alternatively, you may have an interview with an employee. After the interview process is completed, the user can then make notes about the employee.
Speech to Text or Dictation is an extremely powerful tool. It is something that we at SapphireOne, as well as our clients, utilise daily. It is a massive time saver.
Allowance Class Lines Area
This area displays a full list of the Allowances that are currently classified under the particular Allowance Class that is being viewed.
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