The first release for 2024 is here. This release contains an overhaul of functionality related to our Payroll, and HRIS modules along with other miscellaneous enhancements. 

To read about our last major release from Dec ’23, click here

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UZIO Payroll Enhancements

• Project Billing Setup for Overtime Hours
• Project Job Assignment
• Automatic Assignment of Job Codes
• Roth IRA added as a Pre-seeded Deduction

UZIO HRIS Enhancements

• Integration with Deputy
• Centralized Work Locations Management
• Employee Time Off Policy Management

Miscellaneous Enhancements

• Enhanced Self-Service Username Retrieval for Employers and Employees
• User Login Accounts
• Change of Username for Downstream Teams by Brokers or Admins
• Minimum Age Restriction Lifted
• Standardized Actions
• Email CC Logic Removal
• Benefits Termination due to Class Change

UZIO Payroll Enhancements

Project Billing Setup for Overtime Hours

We have enhanced our project billing setup to provide greater flexibility and customization for handling overtime hours. With this update, you now have multiple options to bill overtime hours based on your agreement with clients. A new field 'Overtime Billing Methods' has been added under the project with the following options: 

Exempt from Billing: Overtime hours can be marked as non-billable.

Regular Billing Rate: Overtime hours are billed at the same rate as regular rate.

Regular Billing Rate * Multiplier: Overtime hours are billed at a multiple (X times) of the regular rate.

Regular Billing Rate + Flat $: Overtime hours are billed at X amount more than the regular rate.

Flat $ Rate: Overtime hours are billed at a custom rate that is not dependent on the regular rate.

These options provide you with the flexibility to align your billing practices with the specific needs of your clients and projects. 

Project Job Assignment 

Previously, assigning a project to an employee would automatically assign all jobs of the project to the employee. With this update, you now have more control and flexibility in managing project job assignments. We have made an enhancement  and now you can assign specific jobs of a project or a work site location instead of all getting assigned by default. The option of assigning a project job to the employee are available from three screens:

Project Screen: From this screen, you can assign multiple jobs of a project to multiple employees.

• Click on "Projects & Jobs" from the left menu. On the "Projects" tab, you will see a list of existing projects. Click on the project you want to assign employees to. You will then see an "Assign to Employees" button.
• Next, select the employees you want to add to the project by checking the boxes next to their names. Then, select the specific job(s) you want to assign to each employee. You can select multiple jobs for each employee.

Job Master Screen: From the "Jobs" tab, you can assign one job from a project to multiple employees. For example, you can assign the "Painting" job from Project P001 to one or more employees.

• On the 'Jobs' tab, you will see a list of existing Jobs and the associated projects.
• Click on the Actions menu and then 'Assign to Employees' against the respective job.
• Next, select the employees you want to assign to the job by checking the boxes next to their names.

Employee Profile: From the employee profile screen, you can assign one or more project jobs to an employee at once, simplifying individual assignment management.

• Go to Additional Jobs under the Employee Information tab and click on the 'Assign Project/Job' button.
• Then, select the project and the applicable job(s) for the employee.

Automatic Assignment of Job Codes

We are excited to announce that the system has been enhanced to automatically assign job codes to new jobs upon creation. With automatic job code assignment, you can create new jobs quickly and efficiently. The key features include

Automatic Assignment: Jobs will now be assigned job codes automatically upon creation, reducing the need for manual entry and potential errors.

Configuration Options: This feature can be enabled from the employer's settings available in the left menu. When enabling this option, users can provide a starting number for the job codes. Additionally, users have the option to provide a prefix and a suffix to the number if they wish to customize the job codes further.

Roth IRA added as a pre-seeded deduction

Previously, the Roth IRA deduction was not included in the master deduction list, requiring users to create a custom deduction, typically for Calsavers (a Roth IRA program where employees contribute via payroll deductions but enjoy tax-free income in retirement).

Following users feedback, the system has been updated to include the Roth IRA deduction as a pre-seeded option in Uzio Payroll. To set up a Roth IRA at the company level, follow these steps:

• Go to Payroll > Company Deductions > Add Deduction.
• Choose "Roth IRA (post tax)" from the Master list.

• Once created, you need to assign this to applicable employees for the system to process it in the payroll.

  
  

UZIO HRIS Enhancements

Integration with Deputy

Uzio has seamlessly integrated with Deputy a leading time tracking and scheduling platform, allowing you to automatically pull employees' approved timesheets from Deputy to Uzio for payroll processing. Employers can build connections with Deputy and sync employees timesheets in self-serve.

Once a successful connection has been established with your Deputy account, you can effortlessly manage Deputy integration settings for work locations, PTO, Timesheets, and employee sync. The Employee Sync settings page lets you specify criteria for automatically syncing all existing employees who meet those criteria, as well as any new hires, to Deputy. This reduces the need for manual entry or updates in Deputy. Changes made to employees' records in Uzio will be synced to Deputy; however, changes made in Deputy will not be synced back to Uzio.

Employees' approved timesheets from Deputy can be seamlessly synced into the regular payroll with a simple click of the "Sync Timesheets from Deputy" button, which is accessible on the Regular Pay Details page.

Centralize Work Locations Management Powered by Google Address Search

We have overhauled the management of primary and secondary work locations. Now, you can effortlessly handle all your work locations through the 'Work Locations Master page' available under Company Master. Address Line 1 is now powered by Google Address Search, so as you start typing, Google Maps will display matching addresses. You can select the one applicable to your company to easily fill in the addresses.

The Company Address page under the payroll section has been renamed to Filing Address, which will now exclusively hold filing address. All other addresses can be conveniently managed from the “Work Location Master” page.

If you have subscribed to the time tracking module, you can manage geofences for a work location from the Geofence page in time tracking settings or by editing the work location on the Work Location Master page.

Removing Employees from Time Off Policies

We have enhanced our Time Off Policy set up to allow you to remove employees from a time off policy while keeping the policy active for other employees. You can now remove individual employees from a time off policy. Additionally, you can perform bulk removal of multiple employees from a time off policy. This feature streamlines the process for managing large groups of employees.

How to remove employee(s) from Time Off policy?

In order to remove one employee from a policy, 

• Go to the Time Off tab and Click on "Assign or Remove Employee."
• Select the employee you want to remove and confirm the removal.

In order to remove multiple employees from a policy, 

• Go to Time Off Policy and click on "View Employees."
• Select the checkboxes next to the employees you want to remove and click on "Remove Selected Employees.”

Miscellaneous Enhancements

Enhanced Self-Service Username Retrieval for Employers and Employees

We have introduced a new capability for employers and employees to retrieve their usernames through self-service in case they forget them. This feature enables users to retrieve their usernames created on the platform. However, if the user has used social login, those usernames cannot be retrieved.

On the employer and employee portal login pages, the 'Forgot Password' link has been replaced with 'Need help logging in?' This change accommodates both forgotten passwords and the newly added functionality for forgotten usernames. Employers and employees can now use their SSN or Employee ID, along with the Company Name, to retrieve their usernames, making it easier to access their accounts.

External users of the employer portal who are not employees in the company cannot retrieve their usernames through self-service and will still need to contact their HR team or the platform support team.

User Login Accounts

Previously, 'View Username' feature only showed any one username. The 'View Username' action has been renamed to 'Login Accounts' to better reflect its expanded functionality. This update allows brokers or employer admins users to see all usernames linked to the accounts of their downstream team, including social account usernames. For employees, you can click on "Actions" next to the employee and then select "Login Accounts" to view the usernames linked to the employee profile. Similarly, in the "Manage Users" section, you can click on "Actions" next to the specific user and then select "Login Accounts" to see the login usernames linked with that user.

Similarly, the broker portal users can also view the downstream team's login usernames.

Change of Username for Downstream Teams by Brokers or Admins

Previously, brokers or employer admins had to contact the support team for any login problems or changes to usernames for their downstream teams. With this update, they can now change the platform username, giving them greater control over username management within the organization.  For employees, you can click on "Actions" next to the employee and then select "Login Accounts" to view the usernames linked to the employee profile and click on change platform username. It's important to note that usernames for social/enterprise logins can only be changed by the end user after successful authentication.

Employer portal users can change employees' usernames if they have the necessary permissions granted in their assigned role. To enable this feature for your employer portal user account, please contact your employer admin, who can configure the permissions within the role settings.

Minimum Age Restriction Lifted

The minimum age restriction of 14 years for an employee has been lifted. This update enables support for family businesses, facilitating the inclusion of children in the workforce.

Standardized Actions

Actions on both the employee listing page and employee profiles have been standardized for consistency. This change improves usability and makes it easier to manage employee information.

Email CC Logic Removal

Previously, some emails triggered from the system included the same email address in both the “To” and “CC” fields, resulting in the system sending duplicate emails and unnecessarily flooding inboxes. With this product update, the “CC” field has been updated to remove email addresses, ensuring that users receive the same email only once.

Benefits Termination due to class change

The system now promptly terminates benefits when an employee is moved to an ineligible class, instead of waiting for the next 24 hours. This ensures that benefits are accurately reflected based on current eligibility status.