# Why can't I set a Pay item as "Allow use in timesheets"?

KB560.htm

## Overview

Within Accentis Enterprise, you can use the Allow use in timesheets checkbox to specify which Pay items an employee can record against their timesheet entries.

You may find that when you attempt to enable a Pay item for an Employee, the Allow use in timesheets checkbox does not appear on the Adjust pay item form. If this happens, then the pay item is invalid for timesheet entries.

A pay item can be invalid for timesheets either because:

- The pay item’s Default qty is automatically calculated based on time remaining.
- The pay item’s Unit is set to Days.

## Quantity is based on time remaining

One reason you may be unable to set the Allow use in timesheets checkbox for a pay item is if it is calculated based on normal time remaining. This happens when the pay item’s Default qty is either Normal Days Remaining or Normal Hours Remaining.

When a pay item that is based on normal time remaining is included on a pay run, its quantity is equal to the amount of time after all other pay items are removed. Because the pay item’s quantity is automatically determined, it cannot also be manually calculated based on the employee’s timesheet entries.

Please see Default qty for more information regarding the different pay item quantities.

To get around this, you have two options. You can either:

- Edit the pay item, and change the Default qty to either Custom, or Normal Hours Worked. With this method, the pay item is no longer auto-reducing.
- Duplicate the pay item, and set the Default qty of the new pay item to either Custom, or Normal Hours Worked. With this method, you still have the auto-reducing pay item, but now also have a separate pay item that can be set to Allow use in timesheets.

If you choose to duplicate the pay item, take care to also link it to any relevant leave accruals and to not have both pay items with Added to pay run by default ticked.

## Unit type is Days

Because timesheet entries don’t allow employees to record time in Days, for a Pay item to be used on a timesheet, its Unit must be either Hours or Each.

If you choose to change a pay item’s Unit, it may result in reporting anomalies, especially if it has already been used on existing pay runs. Instead of editing the existing pay item, you may want to duplicate it and make the necessary changes to a new pay item.

For example, if you pay Annual Leave using a Pay item called AL that is measured in Days, then you could create a new Pay item called ALHOURS that is measured in Hours to include on timesheets. This way you preserve any reports that use the AL Pay item.

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Last edit: 01/04/2026