Toolbar

The Toolbar (top right-hand corner) includes a range of options that help you set-up or oversee different aspects of your data, and how the system works.

Left to right these are:-

1. Pillar admin - only Pillar agents will see this
2. Notifications
3. Information
4. Appearance
5. System Settings
6. My Settings

You may not see all these, depending on your level of access.

Notifications

The system will notify you when certain actions take place.

If you have un-read notifications, you'll see how many un-read notifications you have.

The kind of notification you see here will depend on both your role in the system and the level of access you have.

Generally the notifications might include:-

• approvals (timesheets, leave, expenses etc.)
• project updates (project charges ready for review, project has changed status or nearing spend budget, for example)
• system notications from Pillar (e.g. when we're loading an update)

Information

The information menu provides help and supplementary guidance for the system.

It includes links to our website and social media, our roadmap and what's new.

Appearance

Here you can set the 'look' of the system to light or dark mode, essentially offering a high or low contrast feel to suit your own preference.

The settings here apply only to you, and no other users in your database.

System mode simply adopts the wider system-level display preferences (light or dark).

System settings menu

System settings control 'how' the software works for your organisation. The settings here apply across the entire database, constituting your system-wide 'rules'.

Consequently, this option may be hidden if you do not have the rights to change the system settings.

Activities

An Activity is a just a code used to describe the type of work carried out and might, in some settings, refer to work stages (RIBA stages for an architectural practice, for example).

The Activity grid lists all the Activities created so far, click on a line to see the summary card for any particular Activity.

Here you can add and edit an Activity, and get a summary of how much it is used and, if you have an annual budget for that activity, how much you've spent so far.

You can also remove Activities, but not if they've been used on a timesheet (as that time will likely incur a cost and perhaps even recharges - so those lines will need to be removed first).

Q: WHAT ARE ACTIVITIES?

A: Activites represent the repeatable effort put in to achieve the Project goal. A Project is specific (e.g. build a specific school), whereas Activity are the repeatable effort your team might carry out, such as 'Design', 'Management' or 'Feasbility' etc. on any building/project. This means you can see how long, for example, Team A spent on Design in the last month/12 months for example, across all Projects, as well as a specific Project.

A Project will tell you how much time and money was spent on a particular job, but not where the effort was spent. That is what Activities do.

For example, here at Pillar Software, our activities include Development, Testing and Support. In a legal setting you might have Case Management, Legal Advice and Admin.

You can have as many activities as you like, but it is advised you only have as many as are useful to you for reporting. There is no right or wrong number: it's your data, so make it as useful and meaningful to you as you need. The aim is to give you evidence for better decision-making.

Rechargeable activities maybe re-charged at different rates, and you can sepcify overhead activites which have a cost but no change rate. For example you might charge for Design time, but not sales and marketing. Also you'll also be able to oversee overhead activity such as the different kinds of leave (holiday, bank holiday, sickness etc.), training, general admin, general meetings and so on.

My settings menu

The My Settings menu includes a range of controls and options that apply only to your own user account. Note that the user icon for your My Settings option will contain either your own avatar image or system-assigned initials.

My settings

This is the main page for your preferences.

My expenses

Use the My expenses page to enter or review the status of your expenses.

My training

The My training allows you to request training, maintain a training register as well as track learning and skills training undertaken to accrue CPD hours.

Set delegate

The Set delegate option allows you to use the system as if you were another user. This is useful, for example, when a team member is unforseeably absent and you need to complete their timesheet etc.

You can only use 'Set delegate' for users that you've been nominated to delegate for. That option is secure and set on the main user page, which you may not have access to.

Work pattern

The Work pattern page enables you to view the current work pattern set for you by your system administrator.

LOG OUT

There's no need to exit the system - you can simply close your browser when you're done - but it you do wish to fully exit the system, then using LOG OUT will end the session and on next log on you will be presented with the login page.

Sometimes you may periodically have to login again even if you didn't logout. This might be because of your own settings or technical issues your end, or if we upgrade the system or make other changes. But generally, for your convenience, the system operates continuous log on.