Branches, departments and cost centers

Branches, departments and cost centers are the units you group employees by. A branch is a work location, a department is for reports and approvals, and a cost center splits the payroll journal. This guide shows how to set them up.

Before you start

• Owner / Management users and payroll officers can add and change units.
• Each unit needs a short Code (up to 20 characters) and a name. Imports can find a unit by its code, so keep it stable.

Add a branch

1. Open Company setup and choose Branches.
2. Type the Code and the Branch name.
3. If the branch is in a different place from the company, choose its Region, Minimum wage area, Type of employer, Province (local holidays) and City or municipality (local holidays). Leave them on Same as company otherwise.
4. Click Add. You see "Added" with the branch's name.

The branch's region, area and type of employer decide which minimum wage applies to its employees. Its region, province and city or municipality decide which regional and local holidays apply. A branch without a region follows the company's work place (see BIR details and your work place).

Pin a branch on the map

If employees clock in on their phones, give the branch its location so Sahora can tell whether a clock-in was made at the site.

1. Click Set location on the branch's line.
2. In Google Maps, right-click the office and click the numbers to copy them. Paste them into Coordinates.
3. Type the Radius (m), from 20 to 5,000 metres.
4. Click Save. The line shows "location set" and the radius.

What happens to a clock-in outside the radius (refused, flagged or only recorded) is set in Clock-in controls.

Add a department or cost center

1. In Company setup, choose Departments or Cost centers.
2. Type the Code and the name.
3. Click Add.

• Departments are used in reports and for approvals. A supervisor approves requests for the departments given to them on the Users page (see Users and roles).
• Cost centers split the payroll journal entry by cost center. Paid plans The split journal comes with the paid plans (see Accounting and the payroll journal).

Change or stop using a unit

• To rename a unit or change its code or place, click Edit, make the change and click Save.
• To stop using one, click Deactivate. It is crossed out in the list and can be brought back with Reactivate.

Put employees in a unit

Choose an employee's branch, department and cost center on their page. To move many employees at once, use Bulk changes on the Employees page (see Bulk changes).

What can go wrong

• "That code is already used." Each code must be different within its list.
• "Choose the province." or "Choose the city or municipality." A branch with its own region needs both, so its local holidays are right.
• "The radius must be 20 to 5,000 metres."
• On the Free Plan, the form for a new branch is replaced by an upgrade notice once you reach the plan's limit. See Pricing.

Good to know

• Reports filtered by department or branch use each employee's current department and branch.
• An Owner / Management user can limit an HR admin or payroll approver to some branches or departments on the Users page.