Why isn't my Auto Batch Creation Working?

Use the information below to troubleshoot Auto Batch Creation.

There may be a few factors as to why your Auto Batch Creation isn't working the way you would like it to. Take a moment to run through this checklist:

Is the portal setting enabled?

For automatic batch creation to work, the portal setting Enable automatic Timecard Batch Creation must be turned on.

To enable this setting:

  1. Go to .

  2. Select the checkbox next to Enabled automatic Timecard Batch Creation.

When is your batch creation offset date, and did you have a pay period open at that time?

The portal can only create a batch if there is an open pay period. You can define an offset date to determine how many days relative to the starting date of the pay period that the new batch should be created.

Define the offset date by entering a value in the portal setting Begin date offset - how many days relative to the begin date of the pay period should the portal entry batch be created.

To enable this setting:

  1. Go to .

  2. Enter one of the value options outlined in the portal setting helper text to set when the new batch will be created.

For example, if your batch creation offset is set to the day before the first day of your pay period (a value of -1) but you do not open the pay period until that first day, the portal will not be able to automatically open a batch. This is because the pay period is still closed on the day the batch is supposed to be created.

Do you have pay period labor hours entered properly in Vista?

Check Vista to make sure you have hours entered in your pay period.

  1. In Vista, go to Payroll > Programs > PR Pay Period Control.
  2. On the Info tab of this form, verify that you have hours entered in the Standard Hours field. If you have 0 hours entered here, the web portal will ignore this pay period.

Was the batch opened but accidentally closed?

Check to make sure that the batch was not accidentally closed.

  1. In Vista, go to Payroll > Programs > PR Timecard Entry.

    The batch selection screen for Payroll Timecard Batches opens.

  2. Choose Use an existing batch.
  3. Select Include all unposted batches and deselect Show my batches only.
  4. Scan the list of unposted batches to make sure there is no batch opened for 12:00AM on the PR Pay Period start date for that pay period.

    If there is, and the batch is listed as 6-Canceled, the batch opened successfully. This likely means that a user opened that batch in Vista and then closed the window without entering a line of time, in which case Vista will automatically cancel that batch.

In the example here, the batch for PR Group 2 10/20/15 opened successfully, but it was canceled.

Is the Create Portal Batches Scheduled Job running?

You may need to verify that the scheduled job is turned on and running all the days that you need it to. For instance, if your pay period starts on weekends, you want this job to also run on weekends.

To change the schedule of a job, see Manage Scheduled Jobs.

Is it still not working?

If automatic batch creation is still not working, submit a case in the Customer Support Portal under Viewpoint HR Management for additional assistance.