Warnings that prevent creation of a pay run

Pay day…panic!!!

You’ve Authorised your records, checked them twice, Create the Pay Run aaaaaand….Warning!!!!  

Open Work Activities exist and have been excluded

When creating a Pay Run ABCgrower looks for all Open records up to the Pay Run end date.  Top tip!  When searching Work Activity for the open records to fix, authorise or delete, don’t enter a ‘Work Date From’ in case there’s some erroneous data from way back.  We’ve seen records entered as birth years, typos where 2021 was recorded as 2012 and so on!   

There are timesheet records with no work activity in this section

Still can’t see them?  If your User profile is Restricted to a Grower (see Settings > User) you will not see timesheet records with no work activity.  You can change this if it suits your organisation to do so.

There are employees with an hourly rate less than the minimum rate of 25.41

This is warning you that there are records less than the minimum rate set for your organisation.  And, it’s just a warning – you should check your records are correct but this one won’t prevent you from creating a Pay Run (…phew!).

How to use pay grades

Pay grades

Might sound like a bore, don’t make it a chore…ABCgrower supports using pay grades instead of, or in combination with, hourly rates. 

Hey Aussies! Use this to maintain award levels

By using pay grades for the award Levels, if the pay rate changes you’ll enter the new rate for the award level and this will be applied to all applicable workers, no need to update each worker.

You set up your pay grades, for example Level 1 Casual 20 years and over = $25.41.  Go into each worker you want to use pay grades, set the pay grades flag, and choose the applicable pay grade.

Pay different rates for different tasks?

No problem! This is another use for pay grades.  For example, a worker earns $25.41 per hour, but when they clean the tanks they get $29 per hour (it’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it!).  Attach a pay grade to an activity type and ABCgrower will auto-calculate the right pay rate for the job.  This can be used if workers have a pay grade set or not.

The rate per hour is calculated using the higher of the activity type’s pay grade, or the worker’s hourly rate (or worker’s pay grade if using this). 

This way, if the manager is called in to clean the tanks she’ll get her usual $32 per hour, not the $29 cleaning rate.

Sound good?

This module has already been activated for you.  You’ll just need to add the pay grade role to each user or role you want to be able to set the pay grades.

How to see comments on worker activity records

No Comment!

Did you know you can add a Comment to a Work Activity Record?

Entering Comments

You can enter a Comment against a Non Picking Activity record on the App and it will be uploaded to the website with the record.

On the website you can add a Comment when entering a record via Worker Activity > [New], or Bulk Create.

You can enter a Comment on any Activity record via a Workers Timesheet Activities.  Click the Comment icon and a pop up box will open where you type the Comment. 

But which records have comments?

The Comment icon will show in green for any records with comments recorded, and in blue for records without comments.  This is especially handy where your team in the field add comments to records and you need to check them on the website.

How do I read it?

Click the icon and the Comment will show. 

How to access the new online help manual

Help!

We’re excited to let you know we have released a brand spanking new online Help manual.  It’s comprehensive, up-to-date and covers all modules in ABCgrower and ABCspray.   

Where is it?

It’s accessed the same way as the existing manual.  Click the question mark icon to the right of the top blue banner in ABCgrower.  Whether you consider Help manuals your first port of call, or your place of last resort, check it out, it is helpful!

How to set a default container label printer

Is it your job to print container labels?

Did you know you can set a default container printer?  Whether your organisation has one label printer or a dozen of them, setting a default printer means you don’t have to select the printer when you go to print container labels.  That’s one less step every time you print your labels. 

Sound good? 

Go to Settings > User > click your Username, and then choose the printer from the Container Printer dropdown list. Click Save and it’s done!  If you don’t have user management permissions ask your manager to do this for you.

Get printing! 

Now when you go to Inventory > Print Container Label the Printer field will be pre-populated with your printer. 

It’s not set in stone though, so if you did need to choose another printer the dropdown list remains available to you.

How to control the default ‘work date from’ date

Dating Tips 

‘Work Date From’ is a common filter in ABCgrower, like in Worker Activity Search for example.  It’s set to 3 months by default, but you have control over this.

Fancy a change? 

Go to Settings > Control and change the setting in Work Date Default.  To set the default to the current date leave the field blank.   Just be aware that this setting applies to all users across all searches, so check with the bill payer first!

Hey Aussie citrus growers, listen up!

Wim van Niekerk, Managing Director Widem Farming, has been invited by Citrus Australia to speak about ABC at the upcoming forum.  Wim already uses ABCgrower’s top up function to ensure pieceworkers are paid minimum wage, and the productivity information grower provides has meant big savings on the bottom line.  We are very appreciative to Wim and his team!

How to pin the main menu to always have it visible

It’s the little things that are the cherry on top

When you open the main menu in ABCgrower you can click the pin icon to always have it visible.  The main pane will resize to suit.

You can open multiple tabs

This is especially handy if you’re part way through entering information and want to check something.  Rather than navigating away from where you are and losing the information, open the menu, right click on the item you want and select Open link in a new tab. Now, you can go back and forth between tabs, no problem!

How to ensure you have the latest changes

We listen when you tell us what you need and we're constantly improving your software.

The magic formula

After a release it is good practice to press Ctrl+Shift+R on your keyboard.  This ‘hard reset’ clears the cache, making for smooth sailing ahead.

How do I know what’s new?

Ahead of changes being made we pop a notice up on the home page to say that ABCgrower will be briefly unavailable very early in the morning while the developers work their magic.

Then we add Release Notes that tell you what we’ve been up to.  A number on the bell icon indicates unread notifications.

Click on the bell to see a list of notifications. Then click on a notification to open the Release Notes. This is where we share the update news.

How to inactivate workers

Heading into harvest often means a new bunch of pickers. It's easy to 'deactivate' last seasons pickers in ABCgrower and start afresh.

Why?

Marking workers as ‘inactive’ means you’ll no longer see them in lists, so you won’t have to scroll through all the departed workers to find your current team members.  All records are retained and you can always choose to see inactive workers.

How?

  1. Chose Worker from the Worker menu.
  2. Use the filters if necessary and [Search] for Workers.
  3. Click the [Bulk Update] button.
  4. Tick the Deactivate checkbox.
  5. Select the workers from the list by ticking Select All/and or clicking on individual workers.
  6. Click [Save].

Huge growth for miniature apple producer Rockit Apples with help from ABCpacker

Rockit Apples

Rockit Global has enjoyed phenomenal growth over its nine years of operation, and ABC has played a significant role in helping achieve this.

Scott Griffin, Rockit Global’s General Manager of Operations, says the ABCpacker programme that records and reports on the traceability of apples from orchard to finished goods “has worked well for us. It’s played a big part in getting Rockit to the stage that it is.”

Picking Rockit apples

Rockit Global grows, packs and sells miniature apples packed in unique tubes.  Its apples are grown under license agreements in New Zealand, Australia, USA, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Belgium, and are now available year-round in more than 30 countries.  Turnover is up over 25 percent year on year.

Formed in 2012, ABC came on board in 2015 to help with packing inventory and traceability through its ABCpacker program.  Over the intervening years, the ABC team has worked closely with Rockit Global staff to tailor the software to match the growing business’ needs.

Meeting the regulatory requirements of market access to the ever-expanding number of export countries is “extremely important”, says Sarah Duncan, Quality & Compliance Manager.  

“Regulators have a lot of confidence in the system, which makes our lives easier – we know that all our systems are compliant because of the software.”

Kay Lorimer, Logistics Manager, agrees.  “Market access is the key for us. The software certainly manages the key requirements we have for market access, which is huge.”  She notes that the integration of ABC with NZ Apples and Pears means that shared information “closely flows through into our system”.  “Our phenomenal growth has meant our software has had to grow with us,” says Sarah.  “ABC is very supportive and proactive in developing the software to meet our needs as we grow.”

The ability to customise ABCpacker is fundamental to its success.

“Everything can be customised, it’s not something that’s a flat package where you can’t make any changes. We can dive in and make it exactly how we want it for all our users, which is a benefit of being able to work closely with them.” Supply Chain Manager, Dennis Paxie, agrees.  “The flexibility of the software and the support of the ABC team has made a big difference in helping us grow.  An off the shelf solution wouldn’t have enabled this due to the nuances that we need in our sort of operation.”

The “wealth of knowledge” ABC has of the horticulture industry is another plus for the company, Kay says.  “They’ve been doing this for a long time, and we are a relatively new company. We know what the problem is, and they know how to solve it. They’ve been there before, seen it before, and know what needs to be done. They offer solutions that we can customise to suit us.”  The responsiveness of the ABC team is seen as another strength.  “We just pick up the phone and they’re there. We get answers really quickly, and if they need to come back to us, we’re not left hanging for days on end,” says Kay.

Rockit Global’s off-season provides a short window for enhancements to be made to the software, and 2021 has been a big one ahead of its state-of-the-art packhouse, coolstore and office facility in Irongate, Hastings getting into full swing.  Having not managed its own fruit storage before meant pallet scanning and other systems needed to be trialled and tested to ensure everything is located where it should be. A full despatch module has integrated the sales and logistics teams to provide better visibility and allocation of fruit into specific markets. The tracking of all packaging elements for the vastly increased packhouse throughput has also been strengthened.

In a separate project, Production Manager, Michael Kelly worked with ABC Software to ensure the company could provide full traceability on fruit for the Japanese market.  As fumigation is required, a remote team under his supervision must unpack and then repack the fruit to meet that country’s regulations.  “It works exactly as I need it to, and frankly makes my job a lot easier.”  During the previous season, tracking had been done manually on spreadsheets, which Michael says, “was extremely difficult”.  “We contracted this need to ABC to automate and now it runs seamlessly.”

All agree that working with ABC Software is a pleasant experience, citing good clear communication, responsiveness, and the willingness to “nut things out together”.

"They deliver on what’s needed and are good people to work with”
Scott Griffin, General Manager Operations
Rockit Apple