Employee Department - Organise Employees into Departments with Ease

Employee Department Overview

The Employee Department Inquiry screen within SapphireOne Payroll/HR allows the grouping of Employees into different Departments as applicable to your business.

For companies that have a large number of employees, the grouping of employees into different Departments will greatly assist in the analysis and production of reports generated from SapphireOne. Departments can be used for a variety of purposes, such as grouping for Accounting Department, Management, Sales Department, Consulting etc, or for any chosen financial analysis purposes. 

The fields accessible through the Employee Department Inquiry screen are the Department ID, Department Name and linked General Ledger accounts. To add an employee to a Department please go to the Employee Inquiry Details Page.

SapphireOne recommends creating Departments before Employee Inquiry files are created, so that Employees can be easily added to an already existing Department. 

To create a New Department or Modify an existing Department, select the Department and click the New or Modify icons as required. Select the Green Tick to save your Employee Department entry.

Once you have set up an Employee Department using the New button, and then created new Employees within this Department, when the Employee Department Inquiry screen is next opened, these employees will be displayed in a list in the lower section of the screen.

To add an existing employee to this Department you would go to an Employee Inquiry, select the required Employee and alter the Department of that Employee. Alternatively, when creating a New Employee, you would set their Department as desired.

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.

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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.

Details Page

Department Area

  • ID – Enter your chosen Department ID.
  • Name – Enter your chosen Department Name.
  • Active Checkbox – This checkbox is automatically selected when an Employee Department is created to indicate that it is active. Unselect this checkbox to no longer display the Department within the Employee Department Inquiry screen.

Defaults Area

The Defaults area facilitates the appropriation of all financial transactions to a specified set of General Ledger accounts. All below fields within the Defaults area are searchable by entering the ‘@’ or the ‘?’ symbols.

  • Company ID – The ability to link to any Company within the SapphireOne datafile.
  • Department ID – The ability to link to any Department set up within the General Ledger Chart of Accounts.
  • Gross GL – The ability to link to a specified General Ledger account and represents the wages and salary gross.
  • PAYG GL – The ability to link to a specified General Ledger account. This is commonly referred to as Pay-As-You-Go or Pay-As-You-Earn General Ledger account.
  • Net GL – This represents the Net amount after tax.
  • Super GL – Ability to link to the Superannuation General Ledger account.
  • Bank GL – The ability to link to the General Ledger bank account that the money will be paid from.

Notes Area

Any Notes that are required may be entered in this area. The user can select the Green Clock Icon to add a Time and Date stamp to the Notes. The user also has the ability to highlight the text in the Notes area and right mouse click to customise the Font, Style, Colour and Background Colour to their 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.

Actions Page

Action Page Overview

The Action Page is a versatile tool that can be added to major records and transaction tables. It includes various actionable items such as Calendar Reminders, Meeting Invites, Alarms, Emails, To-Do Lists, General Notes, Private Notes, Meeting Notes with Date and Time, Start and Finish stamps, as well as All Day Notifications. This provides users with a centralised location to manage and organise their tasks, meetings, and notes, improving efficiency and productivity.

The Action Page allows users to use the add or delete buttons to add or delete actions as required. Simply select the relevant button to add or delete an action.

Diary Area

The Diary Area in SapphireOne provides users with a comprehensive range of options to customise their actions. It includes a sequence number, title, type, action, user, privacy settings, status, tag, and link fields.

  • Sequence – SapphireOne automatically generates a unique sequence number for each action.
  • Title – Enter a title for the action.
  • Type – Choose from the customisable drop-down menu to input a type. This will subsequently become a permanent type within the drop-down.
  • Action – Utilise the user-customisable drop-down menu to input an Action. This will then become a permanent action within the drop-down.
  • User – SapphireOne automatically inputs the user creating this action, though it can be modified if necessary.
  • Private – If this checkbox is selected, SapphireOne will only permit the specified user to view or modify this action.
  • Status – The user has three options: Open, Hold, and Completed.
    • Open – Action is open and active.
    • Hold – Action is active, but no alarms will be active.
    • Completed – Action is now Inactive and won’t be displayed in any list of actions.
  • Tag – Users may attach a tag to an action, which will create a permanent tag within the drop-down. To add a new tag, type the name of the new tag into the tag box and press the tab key. Select “Yes” from the pop-up window to confirm. To remove a tag from the list, click on the tag name while holding down the Command (MacOS) or Control (Windows) key. Select “Yes” from the pop-up window to confirm the deletion.
  • Link – When created within a transaction or record, SapphireOne automatically generates a link to the transaction or record. When created from the Options Menu, Palette, or Workbook, users must select an item or function from the drop-down menu to link the action. There are 12 items on this list, ranging from Clients to Manager.

Check List Area

SapphireOne offers a user-friendly checklist tool to create and track actions, allowing users to check off completed items as they progress.

Dates and Times Area

  • Start/Finish – Set a Start and Finish time for the action, or select the checkbox for an all-day option.
  • Completed – Entering a completion date for an action deactivates it, and it will no longer appear in action lists.

Alarm Area

Never forget a task again – set up alarms to send reminders via email at specific dates and times. Users can also receive email notifications with the provided email address.

Recurring Area

If necessary, the alarm can be set to recur at intervals selected from the Type drop-down menu. Additionally, the recurring period can be defined by date.

Notes Area

Click the green clock button to add time and date stamps to your notes. You can also customise the font, style, color, and background color of the text in the Notes area by highlighting it and right-clicking.

Invite Attendees Area

In the event module, you can invite multiple attendees to your event and track their acceptance or rejection of the invitation. You can also send them an email notification if their email addresses are provided. Additionally, you can manage and track attendees’ RSVP status in real-time.


You can review our Blog and YouTube channel for additional information and resources on SapphireOne ERP, CRM and Business Accounting software.

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